Radiation Environment and Medicine 2022 Vol.11, No.2 56–60

ReportDiscussion Points of Radiation Protection for NORM Based on theIAEA Webinar “Holistic Approach to NORM Management”
Md. Mahamudul Hasan1* and Qinyou Zhuang1
1

Department of Environment Systems, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa campus, Chiba 277-8561, Japan
Received 12 October, 2021; revised 25 January, 2022; accepted 9 February, 2022

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized an online meeting on July 15, 2021, entitledʻHolistic Approach to NORM Management Webinar,ʼ which shared the perspectives based on aworkshop held on May 2021 in Brazil assessing the member stateʼs infrastructures in managing
Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM), devised valuable perspectives by providing aroadmap on the integrated system. The panelists, and/or international experts who supported theworkshop summarized new NORM perspectives in the webinar. As the young participants to thewebinar under the invitation of Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA, Japan) and IAEA; the authors,in this report summarized the webinar contents on eight presentations, discussions, important/unique points (strong suggestions, new proposals, potential solutions involving IAEA criticalrole, countrywide strategic examples, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adoption, newinternational standards following political feasibility, and waste handlings on NORM management)along with sharing opinions on the webinar. ʻHow holistic approach is applicable in countries withinappropriate infrastructure,ʼ ʻharmonization,ʼ and ʻfuture decommissioning perspectives in regions
which lacked disposal optionʼ etc. were mainly discussed in the webinar, also showed in this reportbased on the authorʼs opinion exchanges from the viewpoint of young researchers in the field ofradiation protection.
Key words: IAEA, NORM, management, webinar, holistic approach, radiation protection

1. Introduction
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM),
includes radioactive elements found in the environment.
It comprises radionuclides from the so-called longlived primordial decay chains, resulting from thedecay of uranium and thorium, and further long-lived
radionuclides, like potassium1, 2). Although the activity*Md. Mahamudul Hasan: Department of Environment Systems, Graduate Schoolof Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa campus, Chiba 277-8561,Japan.
E-mail: mahamudullpe.du@yahoo.com
https://doi.org/10.51083/radiatenvironmed.11.2_56
Copyright © 2022 by Hirosaki University. All rights reserved.

concentrations of radionuclides found in natural rocks
and soil are usually low, certain minerals, includingcommercially exploited minerals, hold these elements
at higher concentrations. NORM represents no realpotential of a radiological emergency concerning thetissue reactions or the immediate risk to life; actions
protecting the workers and public should consider longterm external exposure, consumption of radioactive
material, and inhalation of radon or thoron. As for NORM
management against the exposures, an integrated system
is recommended to protect the public, workers, andenvironment, including characterization of the exposure
situation and optimization of radiological protective
actions3). International Conference on the Management

Md. Mahamudul Hasan et al./ Radiation Environment and Medicine 2022 Vol.11, No.2 56–60

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Table 1. The list of presentations of Holistic Approach to NORM Management Webinar
SerialPresentation title/topicSpeaker(1)Main conclusions of the workshop on holistic approach to NORM management

Eliana Amaral(2)

The international radiation protection paradigm overlooked NORMs: searching for a holistic solution

Abel Gonzalez

Policies and strategies on NORM residues management

Marta Tallavera
Garcia(4)

Holistic management of NORM resources in the circular green economy transition

Julian Hilton(5)

Extracting metals from tailings-technological challenges and regulatory constraints. Is it a real prospect?

Frank Winde(6)

Holistic approach to NORM management disposal considerations

Roman Bilak(7)

Decommissioning

Janelle Lewis(8)

Towards effective radiation protection based on improved scientific evidence and social considerationsfocus on radon and NORM

Laura Urso(3)Table 2. Panelistʼs info

Eliana Amaral

Julian Hilton

Abel Gonzales

Wismut GmbH Germany

Former Director of Institute of Radiation Protection and Dosimetry
and former Director of NSRW/IAEA Brazil
Former Director NSRW/IAEA and Member of the ICRP Argentina

Marta Tallavera Garcia
CSN/Spain

Roman Bilak

Terralog Canada

Alef Group UK

Frank Winde

Janelle Lewis

Chevron/USA

Pedro Lemos

Autoridade Reguladora de Energia Atómica/Angola – (TBC)

Amir Bagheri

Iran Radioactive Waste Management Co.TBCof Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials, NORM inIndustr y (NORM2020) introduced a holistic framework
for managing NORM sustainably and effectively inmember states; later on, the IAEA Technical Cooperation(TC) program supported a workshop in Brazil reviewing
the member statesʼ infrastructure to deal NORM withdifferent perspectives (policy, strategy, regulations,inventory, valorization of residues, disposal of NORM
waste, characterization of residues, decommissioning offacilities and site remediation and communication in anintegrated way) in addition to providing a road map tothem; raised valuable perspectives4) which were sharedto the international community in a webinar entitledʻHolistic Approach to NORM Management Webinarʼ
held on Thursday, July 15, 2021, 9:00 pm Japan Time
(Tokyo, GMT+09:00). This report summarizes the eight
presentations (Table 1), important Q&As, and provides
the authorsʼ impressions and opinions on the webinar
from the viewpoint of young researchers in the field ofradiation protection, who joined the webinar under theinvitation of NRA, Japan and IAEA. Table 2 presents thepanelistsʼ information.

2. Presentation contents and key points2.1. Main conclusions of the workshop on holistic approachto NORM management
As the first webinar presenter, Eliana Amaral summarized
discussions involving various stakeholders, service
providers, operators, academia, and experts following theBrazil workshopʼs conclusion. First, as a strong suggestion
under the theme of radiation protection and regulation,
the presenter clarified an additional improvement andsufficiently specific regulatory control against the lackof inevitable NORM regulation. Although the regulators,
enterprises, and academia were ready to deal with NORM,
the absence of particular rules formulated a significant
hindrance. In addition, as per the safety issue, NORM
should be separated from the framework of the nuclear
facility. Dose criteria was described in this presentation
as the best approach to regulate NORM facilities; thus,
the arbitrary number of 1 Bq/g of uranium and thorium,
derived from natural radioactivity distribution, should not
be active in use as a platform for controlling facilities/activities. On the contrary, following the theme of NORM
inventory, residues, and wastes, considering possible
future economic importance is necessary (as a resource)
before deciding NORM wastes. This presentationemphasized functional ability as criteria for determining

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NORM residues or hazardous wastes, for which recycling
or re-use would ascertain a better choice for residual
valorization. The speaker claimed at ʻexportation,ʼ
aggravated with decommissioning offshore platforms,
as the unique solution for Brazil, county without any
disposal option. Finally, following the infrastructure
theme, it is strongly suggested to adopt new international
standards and protocols for sampling, characterization,and equipment cleaning. The accredited laboratories andcertified service providers are demanded in these regards.
As a conclusion of the Brazil workshop, this lecture
regarded ʻholistic approachʼ as applicable to NORM
regulation and control, categorizing the entire aspects
into a completed unit of circular economy achieving
future milestones.
2.2. The international radiation protection paradigm
overlooked NORMs: searching for a holistic solution
Abel Gonzales, second speaker in the webinar, explained
the histories and chronological generation backgroundof International Commission on Radiological Protection(ICRP) publications, recommendations, radiologicalmeetings, and IAEA safety standards. The lecture
dispelled the confusion on exposure limits. It definedʻholisticʼ approaches as ʻthe belief that the parts ofsomething are intimately interconnected and explicable
only by reference to the wholeʼ. As the potential solutions,
two suggestions are given on the holistic approach in thislecture: accelerating significant changes on standards
with the help of the IAEA safety standards focusing on
the political feasibility, and dealing with the scope ofICRP 104 to formulate a suitable paradigm. Additionally,the speaker highlighted the four suggested approaches/
proposals (on legislation for NORM industries, on theregulation of NORM industries, on legacy sites withNORMs, and consumer goods with NORMs) derived ininternational conference on the management of NORM
in industry held in October 2020, as effective the NORM
management on the industries.
2.3. Policies and strategies on NORM residues management
Marta Tallavera Garcia interpreted the European safety
standard (Euratom directive) strategy where NORMindustries are regulated under planned exposure situation.
Moreover, the directive proposed 1 Bq/g as the general
exemption and clearance activity concentration levelfor NORM in solid materials. However, countries arealso allowed to apply lower/higher values based on thespecifications of the materials. It is noted that about halfof countries have specific provisions on their regulation
to grant the exemption and conditional clearance of
1 millisievert (mSv) per year or lower dose criterion
above the background. Based on the consideration
criteria of ʻNORM wastes are radioactive wastes or not,ʼthis presentation classified the associated Europeancountries, emphasizing the discussing of ʻNORM waste
as radioactive wasteʼ internationally. Finally, the elements
which should be incorporated into national policy dealing
with NORM residue management are suggested asfollows: financing, horizontal policy coordination, policy
instruments, assigning responsibilities, NORM waste
inventory, infrastructure, regulatory framework and,consultation and participation.
2.4. Holistic management of NORM resources in thecircular green economy transition
Julian Hilton highlighted circular economy following thetransition approach, particularly in the energy sector,replacing the word ʻresidueʼ into ʻwasteʼ. Emphasized at
NORM2020 conference, where the circular economy
issue was started, the presenter proposed adopting acircular economy in place of a linear economy dependingon raw materials, production, use, and recycling as
elements. The government, industry, and academia areencouraged to invent better solutions following SDGs 7,9, 12, 13 & 17. To ascertain the long-term achievement,
proposals those were encouraged to obtain as theprinciples are described as resetting broken linear
model, material value preservation-Zero Waste-whole
life cycle management, accessing primary resources onnecessary while secondary resources are not sufficiently
available, introducing new molecules where hydro-carbon
industries failed to produce, staying existing resources
within the system boundary, reconsidering risk/benefit
model including investment algorithms. Moreover, as
NORM prospects, several additional needs were strongly
suggested: attention on SDGs adoption, IAEA critical rolein leadershipʼs constructive regulation, integrating NORM
materials with water-energy-food nexus, accompanying
entire NORM resource life cycle with people/planet
prosperity, investigating innovative tools/instruments
by NORM regulators, and lastly formulating partnershipof GIA-Government, Industry, Academia leading to zerowaste.
2.5. E xtracting metals f rom tailings-technologicalchallenges and regulatory constraints. Is it a real prospect?
Under t he discussion of cur rent NOR M w ast emanagement approaches, Frank Winde incorporated
the case studies of phosphate industries in Belgium,Brazil, and India, where 100% re-using policy is adopted
in producing fertilizer & cement. Thus, this management
option is considered under the category of complete
revalorization/zero-waste. As a similar concept, ʻcarbon
neutralityʼ is often used in the topic of greenhouse gases,
aiming for ʻno wasteʼ. A complete re-usage in a circular
economy is the ultimate characteristic of this option,
where all wastes are indicated as resources. An extensiveMd. Mahamudul Hasan et al./ Radiation Environment and Medicine 2022 Vol.11, No.2 56–60

discussion on the evolution of mine waste management,
partial revalorization following tailing reclamation,uranium recovery from South African gold tailinghave been made from the viewpoint of environment,
regulation, economics, public health, and social
acceptance. In this lecture, fifteen key points as mine
wastes revalorization outputs were ascertained under
economic category (significant uranium resource bygold tailings, profitability, lower uranium price at the endof the cold war, revival during the nuclear renaissance,
affecting profitability by uranium price & low extraction
efficiency) environmental (cleaning up inner-city, averting
future remedial costs, lowering residual uranium levels,
reduction of contamination potential, future possibility oncomplete revalorization, the further necessity of improving
environmental performance, demanding a viable
commercial uranium extraction market, compliances, andinterventions).
2.6. Holistic approach to NORM management disposal
considerations
Roman Bilak conferred regulatory and environmental
considerations in waste streamsʼ disposal function withNORM to achieve zero discharge operations and greater
ecological security. As the crucial elements, zero surface
discharge theme, future land usage, public acceptability,safety & security, efficient waste management, and longterm liability & cost were pointed out in this lecture.
2.7. Decommissioning
Janelle Lewis concentrated offshore decommissioning
approach by describing its features, potentiality inproducing waste streams; proposing the initiation of
decommissioning plan as early as 30 + years before
the end of the concession date contemplating NORM
as a potentially influential factor in decommissioning
options. Later, emphasizing decommissioning life cycle
materials evaluation, this presentation suggested four
capacity-building opportunities (laboratory capabilities,
surveying tools, expertise, waste management, andalternative management options) as part of successful
decommissioning planning and execution.
2.8. Towards e f f ective radiation protection based on
improved scienti f ic evidence and social considerationsfocus on radon and NORM
Laura Urso introduced the RadoNorm project for morethan twenty member states formulating new scientificknowledge to assess and reduce prolonged dose risk,
mainly focusing on radon and NORM. The projectis undertaken through work packages, regarded as
dosimetry, effects & risks, societal aspects, mitigation,and exposure assessment. However, as per the criticaltasks following NORM, exploring European NORM

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sites & exposure scenarios, long-term prediction model,mitigation strategy on NORM industries, fundamental
research on NORM synthesis, NORM model validation,and methodological tools development are stronglyidentified.
3. Feelings and opinions as the participants of thewebinar
The webinar reformed the authorsʼ outlook regarding
NORMʼs generations, its scientific & social management
strategies and associated international radiation
protection aspects. The presentations describing
NORM from multivariate viewpoints (environment,health, policy making, sustainable economy, mining,
waste management, and social sciences) enlightened
the authorsʼ considerations as the early learners ofradiation protection strategies. The various regulatory
functions/control case studies on NORM described in thepresentations for Brazil-by Eliana Amaral and HERCA
European countries-by Marta Tallavera Garcia were
found to be very influential in categorizing international
scenarios for waste management and developing
associated NORM residues policies & strategies. The
lecture from Abel Gonzales about ʻwhen and howʼradiological recommendations, publications, dose limits,and standards designed for ICRP/IAEA were influential
for learning NORMʼs history and avoiding confusion/
contradiction on human radiological exposure units.
Definition on ʻholistic approachʼ and its potential solutions
and NORM management proposals were given in thispresentation and were caught the authorsʼ great attention.
Furthermore, the RadoNorm project, describedby Laura Urso leading to adequate future radiation
protection of radon and NORM focusing on improved
scientific and social considerations, was also noteworthy.
The authors believe that the experience and the scopeof more than twenty member states covered by thisproject might be a praiseworthy example for learning
the organized project work packages and implementing
suitable recommendations. As for the long-term
implications of developed models & mitigation strategies,
the scope should be extended to countries from otherregions, especially where complex exposure scenarios
and insufficient practices of radon & NORM are available.
The circular economy, revalorization strategies claimed
in the webinar. The provided examples, including thepossible future solutions on the newest form of hazardous
waste due to future mining activities, reviewed during
the free discussion was also attractive. The discussion ofutilizing the word ʻwasteʼ between risk communicationand daily lives caught authorsʼ attention emerging tohighlight clear indication of confused wording/language
usage in radiation protection field. Finally, as of the60

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forthcoming debate over-optimization of NORM radiation
protection, ʻclear definition of wastes/residues for NORM,ʼ
ʻsound decommissioning strategy for no disposal option
zones,ʼ ʻsettlement on reference level for newly discovered
hazardous wastes in NORM industriesʼ and ʻharmonize
national strategies with international regulatoryorganizationsʼ might be necessary for future social,economic, and public health considerations for NORM.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Nuclear Regulation
Authority (NRA, Japan), and International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) for allowing to join in the webinar.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Reference1.

The Canadian NORM Working Group of the Federal Provincial
Territorial Radiation Pretection Committee. Canadian Guidelines
for the Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials(NORM) [Internet]. 2011. 70 p. Available from: https://www.
canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/health-riskssafety/canadian-guidelines-management-naturally-occurringradioactive-materials.html

2.

Chambers DB. Radiological protection in North American
naturally occurring radioactive material industries. Ann ICRP.
2015;44:202–13.

3.

Lecomte JF, Shaw P, Liland A, Markkanen M, Egidi P, Andresz S,
et al. ICRP Publication 142: Radiological Protection from Naturally
Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Industrial Processes.
Ann. ICRP. 2019;48(4):5–67.

4.

IAEA. Holistic Approach to NORM Management Webinar[Internet]. A vailable from: https://www.iaea.org/about/organizational-structure/department-of-nuclear-energy/divisionof-nuclear-power/environet-webinars/holistic-approach-to-normmanagement