Exploratory research projects 2007.
Date: 2008-01-15
Institutions: Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen
Subjects: activity report, environmental protection, environmental risk prevention, public safety, research project

The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientiﬁc and technical support for the conception, devel-
opment, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC 
functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, 
it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether 
private or national.

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ISSN 1018-5593 

Report EUR 23022 EN 

E X P L O R A T O R Y   R E S E A R C H
P R O J E C T S

2 0 0 7

 
The Institute for the
Protection and Security 
of the Citizen

Contact details

IPSC Mission

Via E. Fermi, 2749
21027 Ispra (VA) Italy 
Tel.:  +39 0332 78 9511
+39 0332 78 9947
Fax:  +39 0332 78 9923
e-mail: ipsc@jrc.it
http://ipsc.jrc.ec.europa.eu
http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

The Institute for the Protection and Security of the 
Citizen  (IPSC)  provides  research-based,  systems-
oriented support to EU policies so as to protect the 
citizen  against  economic  and  technological  risk. 
The  Institute  maintains  and  develops  its  expertise 
and networks in information, communication, space 
and  engineering  technologies  in  support  of  its 
mission. The strong cross-fertilisation between its 
nuclear and non-nuclear activities strengthens the 
expertise it can bring to the benefit of customers 
in both domains. 

European Commission

EUR 23022 EN – Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen 

Exploratory Research Projects 2007

Editors: B. Mortara, P. Malinverni, N. Kourti
Luxembourg: O÷ce for O÷cial Publications of the European Communities

2007 – 20 pp. – 21.0 x 29.7 cm
EUR – Scientiﬁc and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593
ISBN 978 92-79-07451-6
Catalogue number LB-NA-23022-EN-C

Cover & graphic design: J.J. Blasco 

Abstract
The report describes the main oblectives and results of the seven exploratory research projects carried out at 
IPSC during 2007.

 
E X P L O R A T O R Y   R E S E A R C H
P R O J E C T S

2 0 0 7

Report EUR 23022 EN 

Legal Notice
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission
is responsible for the use which might be made of this publication.

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server http://europa.eu

EUR 23022 EN 
ISBN 978-92-79-07451-6
ISSN 1018-5593

Luxembourg: O÷ce for O÷cial Publications of the European Communities

© European Communities, 2007

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Italy

2

Table of Contents

 4  

Foreword 

 5  Message from the Director

 6 

Techniques for safe removal of nuclear spent fuel from dry storages at Andreeva Bay 

 7 

Imaging Sensor Authentication for Video Surveillance 

 9 

Effect of top-dressing nitrogen fertilization on radiation use efﬁciency: 

physiology, crop modelling and remote sensing - TOPFERT

11 

Characterization of Reprocessed Fuel by Wide Environmental Sampling

13 

Assessment of hurricane-induced damage to and hazardous materials releases

at offshore oil and natural gas platforms - HIDOP

15 

3-D Urban Structure information extraction from Very High Resolution InSAR imagery

17 

EU aquaculture from a ﬁsheries management viewpoint 

3

 
 
 
 
 
Foreword

The IPSC exploratory research programme has the aim 
to  provide  IPSC’s  scientiﬁ c  staff  with  the  opportunity 
and the means to carry out research in new and inno-
vative ﬁ elds related to IPSC’s mission, i.e. the security 
and protection of the European citizen. The traditional 
competencies of IPSC are:

tiﬁ c needs of emerging EU policy issues and produce 
tangible  results  that  could  lead  to  future  activities  to 
be included in the mainstream of the institutional work 
programme. The IPSC Scientiﬁ c Committee has adopt-
ed an open attitude and encourages proposals from all 
thematic areas of IPSC. 

• Analysis of remote sensing data
• IT and web application development
• Data mining and processing 
• Physical & economic modelling and simulation
• Systems engineering
• Sensor technology
• Statistical and economic analysis
• Econometrics 

However  the  exploratory  research  programme,  may 
add new competences to the list.

This research, which can last maximum 2 years, is not 
necessarily focused towards responding to the custom-
er DG needs, but more to anticipate technical / scien- 

This  year  the  selection  criteria  were  focused  on  the 
novelty of the approach and on the correct use of the 
requested resources. However, a shift of the criteria to-
wards scientiﬁ c excellence will become evident in the 
years to come. 

In 2007 seven projects were carried out. They ranged 
from improving rice production forecasts to building re-
connaissance in satellite imagery and to safely remove 
nuclear  material  canisters.  The  speciﬁ c  credits  spent 
were €161500 while 6.9 person-years were requested.

Naouma Kourti
Secretary of the IPSC 
Scientiﬁ c Committee

4

Message 
from the Director

Dear reader, 

Exploratory  research  is  the  lifeblood  of  any  scientiﬁc 
institute, although it may not always be supported by 
the  highest  amounts  of  funding.  It  stimulates  scien-
tist’s  creativity,  it  addresses  new  areas  or  new  tech-
niques to solve difﬁcult problems, and it allows us to 
present to the scientiﬁc community some new, original 
results. Moreover, it is one of the few opportunities to 
try out something really new that is not (yet) located on 
the standard research roadmap. To do so, researchers 
sometimes have to follow thoughts that are irritating or 
even frightening by their disruptiveness.

Exploratory  research  includes  a  higher  risk  of  failure 
than institutional actions, which usually are initiated on 
comparably solid ground. But that is what makes it so 

exciting: at the start, you never know what you ﬁnally 
will achieve - if you achieve something at all. Anyway, 
in the course of the project you will discover things that 
you never would have gotten insight in otherwise. So 
don’t be afraid of failures: a scientist that never leaves 
solid ground will have a hard time in staying really cre-
ative. 

I therefore encourage all our staff to continue in their 
quest  towards  scientiﬁc  excellence,  and  I  wish  all  of 
you a good reading.

Stephan Lechner
IPSC Director
Chairman of the IPSC 
Scientiﬁc Committee

5

Techniques for safe removal of nuclear spent 
fuel from dry storages at Andreeva Bay

Objectives 

In the ex-naval base of Andreeva Bay, North-West Russia, over 22000 
nuclear  spent  fuel  assemblies  (SFA)  coming  from  nuclear-powered 
submarines and ice-breakers are stored in very poor conditions. Since 
the beginning of the 90’s, the AB storage facility has not been main-
tained and today its situation is degraded causing serious environ-
mental and safety concerns. 

In  2000  an  international  collaboration  with  the  Russian  Federation 
(RF) government started to support remediation activities of the An-
dreeva Bay site, involving the UK, Sweden and Norway. In 2005-2006, 
the European Bank (EBRD) and Italy joined the team of donors and 
from  2007,  the  European  Commission  is  being  involved  through  a 
TACIS – Nuclear safety project managed by the JRC. 

Presently,  large-scale  infrastructure  works  started  at  the  Andreeva 
Bay site with the objective to start retrieval of spent nuclear fuel by 
year  2012  for  safe  storage  and  later  reprocessing.  However,  safe 
retrieval of spent nuclear fuel is a technical challenge that requires 
complex remotely controlled operations in highly radiated conditions 
and tight space constraints.

The aim of the exploratory research project was to design, develop 
and  test  a  safe  and  novel  approach  using  remotely  operated  tech-
niques and tools for the retrieval of spent nuclear fuel from storage 
tanks. The results of this project will be transferred to Andreeva Bay in 
the framework of the EC-TACIS project by the supply of the designed 
equipment. 

Results 

IPSC  has  expertise  in  remote  handling  techniques  and  particularly 
in robotics and tele-operation. In addition, its RIALTO laboratory is a 
unique large size manipulation facility in which full-scale experimen-
tal validation tests will be carried out in collaboration with Russian 
organizations in the course of year 2008. The RIALTO laboratory will 
also become a training facility for Russian operators.

This exploratory project has been carried out in close collaboration 
with  UK  donors  and  several  Russian  organizations  involved  at  An-
dreeva Bay who welcome and recognize the JRC added-value contri-
bution. 

In particular, the main outcome of year 2007 is the conceptual design 
of a special preparatory unit of the retrieval machine (see ﬁgure 1). 
This design has been ofﬁcially supported by UK donors and Russian 
organizations.

The project will continue in year 2008 with the design and testing of 
special tools and remote handling techniques at the RIALTO labora-
tory.   

Fig. 1
The  JRC  concept  of  the  preparatory  unit  of 
the spent nuclear fuel retrieval machine.

Project Leader
Emilio Ruiz Morales
Tel. +39 0332 78 9310  
e-mail:  emilio.ruiz@jrc.it

6

Imaging Sensor Authentication 
for Video Surveillance

Objectives 

Surveillance cameras play an important role in many security applica-
tions, including the surveillance of nuclear facilities within the frame-
work of nuclear safeguards. 

Surveillance  cameras  may  obviously  be  subject  to  tampering  and  in-
terception with the goal to manipulate the images transmitted –or ap-
pearing to be transmitted– by the camera to the central. Besides other 
measures, it is therefore necessary to authenticate the image source, 
i.e., to verify that an image really has been acquired by a particular cam-
era and by the speciﬁc sensor chip built into the surveillance camera.

The objective of the proposed exploratory research is to investigate 
whether  a  cost-efﬁcient,  real-time  authentication  of  the  imaging 
sensor is feasible. 

Recently, techniques have evolved to verify the authenticity and also 
the integrity of digital images. Our work was based on a recent publi-
cation by Lukas, Fridrich and Goljan1, who proposed a very promising 
approach for forensic applications where certain characteristic, spa-
tially-variant noise patterns of the imaging sensor are exploited as a 
unique  “ﬁngerprint”  of  each  individual  sensor.  Such  noise  patterns 
result from slight imperfections in the semiconductor material of the 
sensor and would be almost impossible to forge or duplicate. The au-
thors  claim  that  their  technique  does  not  only  allow  the  distinction 
between different camera models but even between different devic-
es of exactly the same type. They give false-acceptance-rates of 10-3 
and false-rejection-rates from 10-2 to 10-11 for a number of commercial 
digital cameras. The approach is not limited to sensors with speciﬁc 
properties and does depend on the scene being imaged. 

Results 

Hardware 
We have built a hardware platform for experimentation (Fig. 1). It con-
sists of four identical cameras of type DMK 21AF04 from the manufac-
turer “The Imaging Source”. Since the serial numbers of the cameras 
are sequential, we are led to believe that all cameras stem from the 
same production batch.

Software
We have further developed a software environment for experimenta-
tion (Fig. 2). The software comprises image acquisition, the algorithms 
for sensor identiﬁcation published in the literature as well as our own 
modiﬁcations and extensions to the algorithms.

Performance evaluation
In order to evaluate the performance of the system, we need to deter-
mine its False Acceptance Rate (FAR, i.e. the probability that an image 
is accepted as stemming from a given camera, even though it does 
not) and its False Rejection Rate (FRR, i.e. the probability that an im-
age is not accepted as stemming from a given camera, even though it 
does).

Fig. 1
Four identical cameras used for the lab set-
up.

Fig. 2
User interface of our software environment.

1. J. Lukas, J. Fridrich and M. Goljan: “Digital camera 
identiﬁcation  from  sensor  pattern  noise’’  IEEE 
Transactions on Information Security and Foren-
sics, vol. 1, no. 2, 2006, pp. 205-214

7

ρ
n
o
i
t
a
l
e
r
r
o
C

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0

-0.01

A-CAM
B-CAM
C-CAM
D-CAM
Threshold

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Frame number

Fig. 3
Correlations  between  a  sequence  of  50 
frames acquired with camera A-CAM with the 
four  different  PRNU  (Photo  Response  Non-
Uniformity) patterns. 

F
R
R

100

10-2

10-4

10-6

10-8

10-10

g =   6.3 dB
g =  22.9 dB
g =  36.0 dB

The main result of our research which was very surprising was that 
–when  using  uncompressed  image  data–  we  can  achieve  virtually 
perfect sensor authentication for our four cameras. We achieve theo-
retical  FAR’s  and  FRR’s  below  10-10,  i.e.  we  have  virtually  no  errors, 
neither false acceptances nor false rejections.

This result is surprising at ﬁrst sight because in the previous publi-
cations, FAR’s and FRR’s in the order of 10-3 to 10-5 were reported. It 
is important to note that in the previous publications digital photo-
graphic cameras were used which had between 1.2 and 6.0 Megapix-
els.  Our  video  cameras  only  have  0.3  Megapixels  which  is  still  the 
state-of-the-art for surveillance cameras (VGA resolution, 640 x 480). 
A  larger  number  of  pixels  should  increase  the  system  performance 
because more values are available as input to the correlation compu-
tation. Since in photographic cameras more pixels were available by 
one order of magnitude, one would expect our results to be inferior. 
Instead, they are dramatically better.

The reason for this is our improved PRNU (Photo Response Non-Uni-
formity)  estimation  procedure  based  on  ﬂat  images  and  avoiding 
scene residuals in the estimated PRNU patterns. While this procedure 
may not always be applicable in the forensics context, it yields a dra-
matic improvement in the context of surveillance.

JPEG compression
Surveillance images are often compressed before they are archived in 
order to save disk space. The most common compression technique 
is based on the JPEG standard. One should note that when applying 
JPEG compression, one can choose a quality factor between 0% and 
100%. Obviously, the lower the quality factor, the stronger the distor-
tion of the image and the higher the compression ratio.

In  Figure  4  we  have  ﬁxed  the  FAR  to  be  10-3  (i.e.  we  selected  the 
threshold in such a way that the FAR always reaches this value) and 
then computed the FRR as a function of the JPEG quality factor. The 
following observations can be made:

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

JPG quality factor in %

Fig. 4
Dependence of the false-rejection rate on the 
JPG  quality  factor  for  a  target  false-accept-
ance-rate of 10-3 and for three different gain 
settings of the camera.

•  Below a quality factor of 85% the FRR becomes rather high (> 10-3), 
below  75%  it  certainly  becomes  unacceptable.  Therefore,  if  JPEG 
compression  in  the  camera  is  to  be  applied,  it  should  only  be  a 
rather weak compression. Note, however, that a JPEG quality factor 
of 75% typically yields compression ratios between 1:10 and 1:15 
(depending on the image), i.e. the savings in bandwidth or memory 
are already very substantial. 

• The deterioration of the FRR as a function of the JPEG quality fac-
tor is stronger than that reported in the literature. This is a conse-
quence of the fact that we have fewer pixels available per image 
(by one order of magnitude), so that we are more sensitive to JPEG 
distortions than the digital photography scenario.

• The results get signiﬁcantly better in situations where a very high 
gain is set in the camera (i.e. a high ampliﬁcation of the CCD sig-
nal prior to analog-to-digital conversion). We suspect that in this 
situation there is not only a (multiplicative) PRNU pattern which we 
are detecting, but also an (additive) dark current component. In the 
high-gain situation, the dark current also undergoes strong ampli-
ﬁcation which facilitates its detection.

Project Leaders
Axel Busboom* and João Gonçalves
Tel. +39 0332 78 9416
e-mail: joao.goncalves@jrc.it

*Left the JRC in November 2007

8

 
Effect of top-dressing nitrogen fertilization 
on radiation use efﬁciency: physiology, crop 
modelling and remote sensing - TOPFERT

Objectives 

The TOPFERT project aims at improving the system currently used by 
the European Commission for rice yield forecast.

In particular, TOPFERT’s activities are focusing on the improvement of 
the simulation of rice growth in the crucial period which starts at the 
beginning of the stem elongation and ends at the heading stage.

Sub-objectives are:

•  the analysis and modelling of the relationship between rice Radia-
tion Use Efﬁciency (RUE) and Plant Nitrogen Concentration (PNC);
•  the development of a procedure (based on the use of satellite data) 

for large-scale estimation of PNC.

Results 

Developing the new model 
for the simulation of PNC-dependent RUE
A new model for the simulation of the effect of PNC on RUE and thus 
on crop growth has been developed using data coming from growth 
chamber experiments. The relation, never modelled before, has been 
introduced  in  WARM  (Water  Accounting  Rice  Model),  which  is  the 
rice growth model developed and used by the Commission, tested at 
ﬁeld scale (http://agriﬁsh.jrc.it/marsstat/warm/) and compared with 
experimental data. It was found that taking into account the PNC sig-
niﬁcantly improves the performances of the WARM rice model. The 
model for RUE as function of PNC was compiled as DLL (TOPFERT.DLL; 
free downloadable at http://agriﬁsh.jrc.it/marsstat/topfert/).

Procedure for deriving plant nitrogen 
concentration from satellite hyperspectral data
PNC as a function of the reﬂectance in speciﬁc wavelengths (λ) was 
derived from ﬁeld experiments. The ﬁeld reﬂectance at various stages 
of rice development was measured with a ﬁeld spectroradiometer. At 
the same time the nitrogen concentration of plant samples was meas-
ured in the laboratory. The derived equation:

(where ρ1 and ρ2 are, respectively, the reﬂectance for λ= 483 nm and 
λ= 503 nm) was then adapted and applied to MERIS data in the bands 
with λ close to those used for ﬁeld spectroradiometer.

Since the rice growth model has a daily time-step, another model to 
ﬁt the PNC data occasionally derived by the MERIS satellite data into 
daily PNC proﬁles was developed and implemented as DLL, the TF_
ForcingPNC.DLL, also free available at the TOPFERT web site.

ATP

+
NH4

ADP

+ P

Cytosollic GS1

Glutamine

Export

Glutamate

α-Ketoglutarate

Fdx-GOGAT or
NAD(P)H-GOGAT

NAD(P)H
NAD(P)+

or 2Fdx-
or 2Fdx

Glutamate

Glutamine

Plastid
GS2

ATP

ADP

+

P

-

6

e

-

2

e

+
NH4

-
NO2

-
NO2

-
NO3

Nitrite
reductase (NiR)

Nitrite
reductase (NR)

Plastid

Cytosol

Fig. 1
Schematic representation of the biochemical 
processes involved.

9

 
     
Development of a software component for the simulation 
of the ﬂoodwater effect on vertical thermal proﬁle
The  TOPFERT  model  delivers  its  greatest  effect  in  a  speciﬁc  crop 
growth phase and it is during this phase in which MERIS data are re-
quired. In order to ensure that simulated development stages match 
those  of  the  real  process,  the  effect  of  the  ﬂood  water  on  the  ﬁeld 
temperatures had to be simulated, since temperature is the variable 
driving  crop  development.  A  software  component  (TRIS.DLL,  http://
agriﬁsh.jrc.it/marsstat/topfert/)  implementing  a  micrometeorologi-
cal,  mechanistic  model  (solving  a  series  of  surface  energy  balance 
equations) was developed.

Development of the prototype
The new prototype system for European rice yield forecast is made of 
the following components: 

1.  WARM model
2.  TOPFERT.DLL
3.  TF_ForcingPNC.DLL
4.  TRIS.DLL
5.  MARS database
6.  An integrated statistical tool for evaluation of results
7.  A graphical user’s interface which allows handling data 
  and running simulations in a friendly way.

Test of exploratory research products at large scale
The prototype has been tested on six 50km x 50km cells (elementary 
simulation units) for 2005 and 2006 (both MERIS images and high-
resolution ofﬁcial yield statistics were available), for a total of 12 el-
ements  for  the  evaluation.  The  explored  area  corresponds  to  more 
than 53% of the total European rice area. The terms “Standard” and 
“TOPFERT” in the maps refer, respectively, to data simulated by the 
standard system for rice yield forecasts, and to those simulated by 
the prototype. Prototype simulations are more accurate, with better 
regression  parameters.  The  maps  show  the  cells  with  model  error 
higher than 7% (red) according to the different combinations year x 
model conﬁguration. Blue indicates rice ﬁelds. The prototype signiﬁ-
cantly improved yields estimation in most of the cases, although im-
provements for 2006 are more evident than for 2005. This can be ex-
plained considering that the TOPFERT conﬁguration is more sensitive 
to anomalous conditions (better / worse than average), not occurred 
in  2005,  therefore  slight  differences  are  simulated  by  the  two  con-
ﬁgurations. Anyway, EC is more interested in early warnings in case of 
possible strong ﬂuctuations around the average yield. Therefore, we 
consider particularly signiﬁcant the sensible improvement provided 
for  2006  (characterized  by  high  temperature  during  the  emergence 
and pre-ﬂowering stages).

2005

2006

d
r
a
d
n
a
t
S

T
R
E
F
P
O
T

Model error higher than 7%

Rice ﬁelds

Fig. 2
Performances of the standard version of the 
rice model WARM and of the WARM version 
which includes the products of the explora-
tory research TOPFERT. Comparison with of-
ﬁcial yield data.

Project Leader
Roberto Confalonieri 
Tel. +39 0332 78 9872
e-mail: roberto.confalonieri@jrc.it 
Website WARM project:
  http://agriﬁsh.jrc.it/marsstat/warm/
Website TOPFERT project
  http://agriﬁsh.jrc.it/marsstat/topfert/

10

Characterization of Reprocessed Fuel 
by Wide Environmental Sampling

Under  the  International  Atomic  Energy  Agency’s  (IAEA)  Additional 
Protocol wide environmental sampling is considered part of the novel 
safeguards technology for future use by the IAEA inspectorate. This 
research will investigate if this monitoring technique could also be ap-
plied to c haracterize reprocessed fuel and localize the corresponding 
place  of  radiochemical  processing.  Therefore,  correlations  between 
the environmental signature (measured volatile ﬁssion product iso-
tope ratio’s) and fuel characteristics (burn-up and isotopic composi-
tion as well as produced Pu) shall be determined. Then, the study will 
examine how these correlations can be used for detection, localisa-
tion and identiﬁcation of undeclared activities.  

Objectives 

The study aims to determine the signature of different types of spent 
fuel by measuring the isotopic abundances of volatile ﬁssion prod-
ucts  that  are  released  during  reprocessing.  A  thorough  literature 
study and ﬁrst theoretical analyses show that released noble gases, 
other volatile ﬁssion gases of chalcogenide, halogen and alkali metal 
type are the best candidates for this type of monitoring. Three types 
of  measurement  stations  are  considered:  1)  a  noble  gas  measure-
ment station at long distance (500 km from the reprocessing plant), 
2)  a  measurement  station  at  the  border  of  the  reprocessing  site  (5 
km from the stack), 3) a measurement station for all volatile ﬁssion 
products in the stack.

5

4

3

2

1

0

)
-
(
e
X
c
i
n
e
g
o
p
o
r
h
t
n
a
o
i
t
a
R

For nuclear safeguards purposes detection of undeclared processing 
of low burnup fuel is important Therefore continuously refuelled reac-
tors such as CANDU are of particular interest. Discrepancies between 
the declared activities and the measured releases could provide a ba-
sis for an early warning system. 

This study examines if data that come off the different measurement 
stations can be correlated to determine the origin and nature of the 
source. 

The ﬁxed measurement stations that are placed by e.g. the Compre-
hensive  Test  Ban  Treaty  Organisation    can  provide  input  signals  of 
the Kr-85 and the Xe-131m, Xe-133m, Xe-133, Xe-135 isotopes. When 
these stations measure deviations from natural abundancy the origi-
nal source term must be located. To do so, the place of detection must 
be linked to the origin of the release under the given weather condi-
tions. It will be examined if atmospheric modelling can be used for 
back tracing of the released noble gases.

Then the concentrations of other ﬁssion gases such as I-127 and I-129 
can be estimated at the two other measurement points. It will be ex-
amined if these data conﬁrm the type of reactor fuel and if they reveal 
additional information on the isotopic composition. For independent 
observations it is recommended to measure also other volatile ﬁssion 
products such as Te-130 and Te-128. 

PWR Xe136a / Xe132a
TRIGA Xe136a / Xe132a
CANDU Xe136a / Xe132a
PWR Xe134a / Xe132a
TRIGA Xe134a / Xe132a
CANDU Xe134a / Xe132a

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

g produced Pu / ton fresh fuel

Fig. 1
Xe isotopic ratios for PWR, TRIGA, CANDU in 
function of produced Pu

11

 
 
 
 
Results 

A complete study of the different isotopes has been carried out. Bur-
nup calculations with the SCALE code for PWR, CANDU and TRIGA yield 
signiﬁcant isotopic ratios. The choice of the “Pu quantity” as variable 
showed to be beneﬁcial because of a reduction in parameters and the 
direct safeguards interest. Moreover the isotopic ratios were convert-
ed  to  represent  only  the  relative  anthropogenic  contributions  (taking 
into account the natural isotopic abundancy. The evolution of Xe-136 
/ Xe-132 with quantity of produced Pu for different enrichment grades 
showed that this ratio is independent from the enrichment grade.

The  Xe  isotopic  ratios  are  found  to  be  reactor-type  dependent  as 
shown  in  Fig.  1  for  the  different  reactors  PWR,  CANDU  and  TRIGA.  
With Kr-83 / Kr84 and Kr-85 / Kr-84 ratios, we can specify the enrich-
ment grade of the PWR fuel.

These  calculations  have  to  be  compared  with  experimental  data, 
which  have  been  collected  and  converted  in  the  mean  time.  An  ex-
tension to other reactor types is only useful if experimental data are 
available. 

However,  with  these  preliminary  results  the  following  procedure  to 
characterize  spent  fuel  using  noble  gas  measurements  at  long  dis-
tance may be promising. 

a. Measure Xe-132, Xe-134, Xe-136
b. Derive anthropogenic ratios Xe-134 anthropogenic / Xe-132 anthro-

pogenic and Xe-136 anthropogenic / Xe-132 anthropogenic

c.  Selecting  the  appropriate  reactor  type  based  upon  the  indicate 

amount of Pu that was derived in (b)

d. Measure Kr-83, Kr-84, Kr-85
e.  Derive anthropogenic ratios Kr-83 anthropogenic/Kr-84 anthropo-

genic and Kr-85/Kr-84 anthropogenic

f.  Determine  the  matching  enrichment  grade  (in  case  of  PWR-fuel. 
In  addition  the  volatile  ﬁssion  products  that  are  not  noble  gases 
for the same type of reactors have been calculated with SCALE and 
some results are shown in Fig. 2. Using the same methodology we 
derived the following procedure that might be used for spent fuel 
characterization using stack measurements of other volatile ﬁssion 
products

g. Measure I-127, I-129
h. Derive anthropogenic ratios I-129 anthropogenic / I-127 anthropo-

genic 

i.  Verify the consistency with the previous selected reactor type. 
j.  Measure Te-128, Te-130
k. Derive anthropogenic ratios Te-128 / Te-130 
l.  Determine  the  matching  enrichment  grade  (PWR-fuel).  Verify  if 

these enrichment determinations conﬁrm the previous ones. 

NUBASE 2003

PWR 
(47520 MWd/ton)

CANDU 
(6000MWd/ton)

TRIGA 
(1742 MWd/ton)

Nat. is. Abdc 

gram% of 
inventory HM

gram% of 
inventory HM

gram% of 
inventory HM

Noble gas

gas

Kr-83

0.1149

Kr-84

0.5700

4.90E-05

1.55E-04

9.91E-06

2.07E-05

3.55E-06

7.15E-06

Kr-85

0.0000

2.57E-05

4.70E-06

1.14E-06

Xe

Xe-132

0.2689

1.46E-03

1.53E-04

4.56E-05

Xe-134

0.1044

1.98E-03

2.58E-04

8.36E-05

Xe136

0.0887

2.93E-03

3.58E-04

6.95E-05

Halogens

I

I-127

I-129

1.0000

0.0000

Alkalimetals

Cs

Cs-133

1.0000

Cs-135

0.0000

Chalcogenides

Te

Te-128

0.3174

Te-130

0.3408

5.49E-05

2.33E-04

1.47E-03

5.38E-04

1.17E-04

4.75E-04

5.41E-06

2.71E-05

2.12E-04

7.76E-05

1.29E-05

5.85E-05

1.28E-06

7.73E-06

7.20E-05

6.90E-05

3.60E-06

1.82E-05

Table 1
Fission  gas  nuclides,  selected  for  isotopic 
correlation  to  characterise  reprocessed 
spent  fuel  in  function  of  burnup  and  fuel 
type.

8

6

4

2

)
-
(
R
W
P
f
o
s
a
g
n
o
i
s
s
ﬁ
o
i
t
a
R

0
5000

12

Te130a / Te128a at  4.2%E
     ...               ...      at   3.8%E
     ...               ...      at   3.2%E
     ...               ...      at   1.8%E
     ...               ...      at   0.2%E
at  4.2%E
I129a / I127a  
at  3.8%E
     ...           ... 
at  3.2%E
     ...           ... 
at   1.8%E
     ...           ... 
at  0.2%E
     ...           ... 

7000

9000

11000

13000

g produced Pu / ton fresh fuel

Fig. 2
Te and I isotopic ratios for PWR fuel for dif-
ferent  enrichment  grades  (%E)  in  function 
of Pu

Project Leaders
Greet Janssens-Maenhout,  Jochen Delbeke 
Tel. +39 0332 78 5831 / 5729
e-mail:  greet.maenhout@jrc.it 
jochen.delbeke@jrc.it 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assessment of hurricane-induced damage 
and hazardous-materials releases’ at 
offshore oil and natural-gas platforms - 
HIDOP

Objectives 

The objectives of this project are: 

•  To assess the structural damage to the offshore oil and gas infra-
structure in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) hit by Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita to extract lessons that may be transferred to other countries. 
•  To identify and analyze the oil spills and hazardous-materials (haz-
mat)  releases  triggered  by  the  storms  from  offshore  oil  and  gas 
platforms and pipelines. 

•  To identify lessons learned concerning the emergency management 
and clean-up activities in response to the hazmat problems caused 
by the storms.

Data collection
Data was obtained through a review of published materials including 
reports from the US Department of Interior’s Minerals Management 
Service and other government documents, offshore industry reports, 
conference proceedings and journal articles, and interviews with gov-
ernment ofﬁcials and industry representatives from the affected re-
gion. In order to determine the prevalence of hazmat releases from 
the offshore industry during the storms we also reviewed over 60,000 
records reported to the US National Response Center’s (NRC) data-
base  to  identify  and  analyze  the  releases  attributed  to  offshore  oil 
and gas platforms and pipelines affected by the two hurricanes. 

Results 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed at least 113 platforms, and se-
verely damaged at least 53 others. 60% of the facilities destroyed 
were built 30 years ago or more prior to the adoption of the more 
stringent design standards that went into effect after 1977. Most of 
the platforms destroyed were small producers in relatively shallow 
waters. The storms also destroyed 5 drilling rigs and severely dam-
aged 19 mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). Some 19 MODUs lost 
their moorings and became adrift during the storms. Katrina and Rita 
set more deepwater drilling units adrift than any previous storms. 

Structural  damage  to  platforms  included  toppling  of  sections,  and 
tilting or leaning of platforms. In some cases the structural integrity 
of platforms and production facilities was untouched; however sup-
port facilities were damaged. Possible causes for failure of structural 
and non-structural components of platforms included loading caused 
by wave inundation of the deck. Inundation of the deck increases the 
horizontal load and overturning moment of the structure resulting in 
failure and possible collapse. 

Failure  of  rigs  attached  to  platforms  was  also  observed  during  the 
hurricanes resulting in signiﬁcant damage to the platform or adjacent 
infrastructure, as well as damage to equipment, living quarters and 
helipads. The failures are attributable to tie-down components and 

Katrina hazmats
Rita hazmats
RITA_I
Rita MPHWind

15-39
40-74
75-95
96-110
111-130
131-155
156-175
KATRINA-track_I

Katrina MPHWind

0-39
40-74
75-95
96-110
111-130
131-155
156-175

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Katrina

Gulf of Mexico

Fig. 1
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita paths and the lo-
cation  of  the  triggered  hazardous-materials 
releases.

13

 
occurred  on  both  ﬁxed  and  ﬂoating  platforms.  Drifting  MODUs  not 
only posed danger to existing facilities but the dragging anchors also 
damaged pipelines and other infrastructure.

The total number of pipelines damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 
as  of  May  1,  2006  was  457.  Pipeline  damage  was  mostly  caused  by 
damage of failure of the host platform or its development and produc-
tion piping, the impact of dragging and displaced objects, and pipeline 
interaction at a crossing. Damage to pipelines was a major contributing 
factor in delaying start up of offshore oil and gas production. 

During  our  analysis  of  the  NRC  database  we  identiﬁed  611  reported 
hazmat  releases  directly  attributed  to  offshore  platforms  and  pipe-
lines affected by the two hurricanes (ﬁg. 1 ). There were twice as many 
releases during Hurricane Katrina than during Rita; 80% or more of the 
releases reported in the NRC database occurred from platforms. The 
type of substances released and the amounts were not reported for 
many of the cases. Our analysis suggests, however, that the majority 
of releases are petroleum products, such as crude oil and condensate, 
followed by natural gas (Table 1). Data collection in the NRC database 
does not include detailed information on equipment failure modes or 
on the experienced wave heights or wind speeds. Thus, deducing les-
sons learned on failure modes leading to damage and releases was 
not feasible from the available data. 

About 88% of Katrina releases occurred within a 120 km radius from 
the storm’s center as it approached land. In both hurricanes, releases 
were more likely in the front, right quadrant of the storm. Storm-surge 
values were highest closer to the coastline. This may help explain the 
higher  number  of  releases  in  shallow  waters.  The  higher  number  of 
hazmat releases from platforms during Katrina may partly be attrib-
uted to the higher wind speeds for this storm as it approached land. 

The following summarizes some lessons learned from the study:

•  Design of deep-water platforms is adequate but fatigue life needs to 

be re-examined.

•  New guidelines are needed for tie-downs for ﬁxed platforms and im-
proved mooring of MODUs. Drifting MODUs were less of a problem 
in the past when there were fewer structures present in deep wa-
ters. The American Petroleum Institute published new guidelines in 
preparation for the hurricane season in 2006.

•  The underwater pipeline network was the weakest link, resulting in 

long delays and repairs before production could be resumed.

•  Pipeline  failure  modes  are  not  completely  understood,  thus  im-

proved incident reporting and documentation is needed.

•  There is questioning as to the continued validity of the 100-yr de-
sign criteria, in particular in view of the predicted increase in severe-
storm events. 

•  The lower number of pipeline releases as compared with releases 
from platforms may be due to de-inventory practice carried out by 
the offshore industry.

•  The  higher  number  of  natural-gas  releases  from  pipelines  during 

Rita needs to be better understood.

•  Reports of hazmat releases triggered by the storms were mostly in-

complete.

•  There  was  little  coordination  and  guidance  for  the  assessment  of 
storms’ impact; thus improved preparation and planning through to 
response and recovery is needed.

Katrina

Rita

Total

Crude oil

267

Other oils

Natural gas

Nox

Other/unknown

77

22

0

42

94

26

42

17

24

Total

408

203

361

103

64

17

66

611

Table 1
Types of hazardous materials released from 
offshore facilities and pipelines due to Hurri-
canes Katrina and Rita. Results of the analy-
sis of the NRC database.

Project Leader
Elisabeth Krausmann 
Tel. +39 0332 78 9612
e-mail:  elisabeth.krausmann@jrc.it 

14

  
3-D Urban Structure information extraction 
from Very High Resolution InSAR imagery

Objectives 

The main advantages of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are 
their  independence  of  the  solar  illumination  as  well  as  their  insen-
sitivity to weather conditions. Up to now, space borne SAR systems 
a)  
were only capable of imaging the Earth surface with a resolution of 
not  better  than  9  m.  This  has  changed  recently  when  the  new  very 
high resolution (VHR) SAR TerraSAR-X and Cosmo Skymed satellites 
were  launched  in  June  2007  with  spatial  resolutions  up  to  1  meter. 
In VHR SAR imagery, features from individual urban structures, like 
buildings,  can  be  identiﬁed  in  their  characteristic  settings  in  urban 
settlement  patterns  (e.g.  different  residential  areas,  inner  city  cen-
tres, industrial parks).

JRC’s Information Support For Effective And Rapid External Aid (ISFE-
REA) action is developing its expertise in urban settlement characteri-
sation as part of its activities in support of crisis management, dam-
age assessment, territorial management in third world countries and 
b)  
assessment of urbanisation in African mega cities. Future use of VHR 
SAR is expected to become an important complimentary methodol-
ogy to urban characterisation based on high and very high resolution 
optical imagery.

In this project we explore the information content of VHR SAR imagery 
of 3-D urban structures in a staged approach: in a ﬁrst step, a scaled 
building  model  is  measured  in  the  European  Microwave  Signature 
Laboratory  (EMSL)  under  well-controlled  conditions  with  a  variety 
of  viewing  conﬁgurations.  For  practical  reasons,  some  simplifying 
assumptions are necessary, which limit the generalisation capabili-
ties of the results. Therefore, in a second phase we analyse VHR SAR 
data of real urban scenes acquired by an airborne SAR sensor, which 
allows controlling different parameters in the acquisition phase. Fi-
nally, we exploit in a third step real satellite VHR SAR data to conﬁrm 
and tune results from previous steps.

Results 

In the ﬁrst phase of the project we measured a scaled building mod-
el in the EMSL, which is an anechoic chamber with a hemispherical 
shape with a diameter of 20 m. The building-like ﬂat roofed structure 
is designed as a cuboid at scale 1:10, with dimensions 120 cm x 90 
cm x 60 cm (length, width, height), corresponding to a normal sized 
building in the real world. It consists of a glued wooden frame with 
2.6 cm thick gypsum plates attached to it. The ground plate is 400 
cm x 450 cm and consists of a wooden frame covered with thin alu-
minium plates. Due to weight limitations of the target carrier we were 
not able to cover the ground with authentic ground material like sand 
or concrete. To simulate random surface roughness, which is neces-
sary to make the setup more realistic, we covered the ground plate 
and the model with aluminium foil, which was crumpled and ﬂattened 
again. The setup of the experiment is shown in Figure 1. The building 
model was measured with various viewing conﬁgurations resulting in 
total in more than 800 images. The data were analysed using state of 

Sensor

450 cm

Direction 
of plate

90 cm

120 cm

215 cm

130 cm

95 cm

200 cm

400 cm

Fig. 1
Setup of EMSL experiment

15

the art SAR techniques leading to a reﬁned model for buildings in VHR 
SAR. The main focus of the analyses was on the effects of changing 
sensor positions with respect to the building.

In the second phase of the project, the results of the EMSL labora-
tory, which is a fully controlled environment, are veriﬁed in a more 
realistic set-up using airborne SAR data. We obtained two VHR SAR 
airborne  scenes  from  a  built-up  area  (Dorsten)  in  Germany,  which 
are from the same region but acquired under different aspect angles, 
with a resolution around 30 cm. Furthermore, we received a digital 
surface model (DSM) from laser scanning measurements, again from 
the same region with a horizontal resolution of 1 meter and a verti-
cal  resolution  around  10  cm.  To  extend  the  dataset,  we  acquired  a 
number of orthophotos of Dorsten with a resolution of 30 cm. Further-
more, we collected ground truth data such as ground control points, 
building heights and building characteristics. To complete the ground 
truth data we carry out Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) measure-
ments, which is based on a laser device, to obtain a 3D model of se-
lected areas within the city. This assembly of data will be analysed in 
the second year of the project for further characterisation of buildings 
in SAR and the development and testing of a building detection and 
reconstruction methodology.

The third phase of the project, which comprises the analysis of the 
VHR space borne data, could not be started yet. Due to the delay of 
the  launch  of  the  new  very  high  resolution  SAR  sensor  TerraSAR-X 
by more then one year, we only expect to receive the ﬁrst very high 
resolution SAR scenes by end of 2007.

In the course of the project we developed a Radar simulator, which 
allows for the better analyses and understanding of the characteris-
tics of buildings in VHR SAR imagery. The simulator was especially 
designed for the simulation of effects which are related to the geom-
etry of the targets. The front end of the simulator, which has three 
columns, is shown in Figure 2.

Regarding  Figure  2,  on  the  left  side  there  are  the  setting  panels  in 
which the parameters for the simulations (e.g. radar sensor param-
eters, parameters which are related to the performance of the simula-
tor) are speciﬁed. It includes a modelling environment in which vari-
ous predeﬁned models can be selected and adjusted to the scenario 
under  investigation.  The  simulator  is  not  limited  to  the  predeﬁned 
objects, but can simulate all targets which can be described or ap-
proximated with triangles. In the middle column of the front end, the 
simulated radar images are shown, while on the right side the scene 
is displayed in 3D mode in such a way as the radar sensor would “see”  
it considering the parameters speciﬁed in the setting panels.

Fig. 2
Radar simulator

Project Leaders
Guido Lemoine, Dominik Brunner
Tel. +39 0332 78 6239 / 9182  
e-mail:  guido.lemoine@jrc.it

dominik.brunner@jrc.it

16

 
EU aquaculture from a 
ﬁsheries management viewpoint

Objectives 

Global production of farmed ﬁsh and shellﬁsh has more than doubled 
in the past 15 years and now accounts for almost 50% of the world’s 
food ﬁsh. Given the projected population growth over the next two 
decades,  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  an  additional  40  million  tons 
of aquatic food will be required by 2030 to maintain the current per 
capita consumption.

The aquaculture industry of EU-25 produces a total of 1.3 million tons 
of ﬁshery products a year for a value of about €3 billion, and is re-
sponsible for 57 000 full-time jobs. This represents about 1/3 of the 
total value of EU ﬁshery production and about a ﬁfth of its volume. 

Though  the  stated  objectives  of  the  project  included  a  lot  more  is-
sues, given other priority work commitments, it became possible to 
concentrate only on research to assess essentially the economic im-
portance of EU aquaculture and its development over time.

Results 

Overall production
European Union (EU 27) in 2005 caught ~6% of the world’s total ﬁsh 
catch. World’s total catch in 2005 was 93,812,982 tons. Aquaculture 
production value stood at 2.6 billion Euros in 2004. Aquaculture pro-
duction  by  weight  in  2005  was  only  1,272,455  tons  which  is  2%  of 
the world’s total. Total world aquaculture production was 62,959,046 
tons. 

As one of the aquaculture success stories could be considered Atlan-
tic salmon. Production in the North Atlantic region is valued at US$ 
141 billions and is 300-600 times the nominal catch of wild salmon. 
Another success story is Greece (main species are sea bass and sea 
bream). In a decade aquaculture products became the second com-
modity after olive oil nationwide. Sales in 2006 were 460 million Eu-
ros, and quantity produced was 100,000 tons. 

Aquaculture statistics for the period 1993-2004 show that the sector 
had highest production in 1999 producing more than 1,430,000 tons. 
Production levelled out and in 2004 and was around 1,380,000 tons. 
The biggest aquaculture producers by quantity in 2005 were France, 
Spain, Italy and UK: 65% of all EU production. The major players in 
aquaculture  production  in  reference  to  the  value  of  ﬁsh  produced 
were France, UK, Italy and Greece: 68% of all EU production value. 
Total value of aquaculture production declined in recent years. In the 
world, aquaculture production leader is Asia, with ~60 million tons of 
ﬁsh in 2005. In the second place we have Europe with 2 million tons.

Fin ﬁsh species
Approximately half of the aquaculture production is attributed to the 
ﬁnﬁsh, the other half to shellﬁsh. The ﬁnﬁsh production is further di-
vided into fresh water and sea water aquacultures. Fresh water aqua-
culture up to the turn of the 21 century contributed a bigger half of the 
ﬁnﬁsh products. In recent years the marine aquaculture was catching 

EUR1000

3500000

3300000

3100000

2900000

2700000

2500000

2300000

2100000

1900000

1700000

1500000

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Fig. 1
Aquaculture Production - Value. All species, 
salt & fresh water, all regions, EU 27 
(source: EUROSTAT)

17

 
up  and  in  2004  was  producing  more  ﬁnﬁsh  than  in  fresh  water  (in 
2004 marine ﬁnﬁsh production was 318,000 tons, while fresh water 
ﬁn ﬁsh production was 308,000 tons). In regards to the country, the 
biggest producers of ﬁnﬁsh were United Kingdom, Greece, and Spain: 
49% of all EU production. 

Shellﬁsh species
The peak of shellﬁsh aquaculture production was in 1998-1999. Later 
production  declined  and  then  bounced  back  but  did  not  reach  the 
800,000 tons mark. The biggest shellﬁsh producer in 2004 was Spain 
with 41% of EU 27 production, followed by France: 25%. 

Major Species
In 2004 major aquaculture species were mussels and oysters (590,000 
and  130,000  tons  respectively)  for  shellﬁsh  and  salmon  (393,000 
tons) for ﬁnﬁsh. Sea bass, sea bream and carp production was in the 
range of 43,000 to 84,000 tons each. 

Aquaculture and capture ﬁsheries
In 2004 19% of total ﬁsh production was coming from aquaculture. 
From  1995  to  2003  the  capture  ﬁsheries  production  decreased  by 
2,000,000 tons. Assuming that the current trend continues, by simple 
extrapolation we could expect that by 2028 aquaculture production 
would contribute 50% of the ﬁsh products in EU.

Capture ﬁsheries
Aquaculture

1997

2001 2005 2009

2013

2017

2021

2025

2029

Fig. 2
Aquaculture Production vs. Capture Fisheries 
- Quantity + Forecast, tons live weight, EU 27 
(source: EUROSTAT)

Employment
According to the Strategy for the Sustainable Development of European 
aquaculture (2002) in 1998 aquaculture in the EU employed 57,000 full-
time workers. Using Eurostat data we came up with a similar number. 
On the other hand, using mostly national data sources, we found that 
for example in 2004 there were 102,532 full time workers.

9000000

8000000

7000000

6000000

5000000

4000000

3000000

2000000

1000000

0
1993

Trade 
In regards to trade, only the most important species are monitored by 
Eurostat. EU countries in recent years started to trade more aquacul-
ture products. For example, in 2001 trout exports reached 100,000 tons 
and imports 40,000 tons. On the other hand data shows that imports/
exports keep changing from year to year – the market is not very sta-
ble. For the shellﬁsh (Mytilus spp. and Perna spp.) the biggest import-
ers were France followed by the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium. France 
alone in 2006 imported more than 44,000 tons. The biggest exporter of 
mussels were the Netherlands: more than 40,000 tons.

Other ﬁndings
• Data provided by the European Mollusk Association indicates that, 
for  example,  in  Italy  mollusk  production  reached  300,000  tons  in 
2004, though Eurostat and FAO shows much lower level of produc-
tion. Further research is needed.

• While the total production has rebounded in recent years, the value 
of ﬁsh products continues to decline.

• The value of ﬁnﬁsh products produced seems to be higher than the 
value of shellﬁsh. The relationship is the opposite if we look at the 
quantity  of  the  aquaculture  products:  there  are  more  shellﬁsh  pro-
duced than ﬁnﬁsh (by weight).

• There is more freshwater ﬁsh produced but the total value is higher 
for the marine species. 

Project Leader
Sarunas Zableckis
Tel. +39 0332 78 5995
e-mail:  sarunas.zableckis@jrc.it

18

JRC and the IPSC
http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is a Directorate General (DG) of the European Commission. 
It has its headquarters in Brussels and seven institutes located in five separate sites:

Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM)

Geel, Belgium

Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU)

Karlsruhe, Germany
Institute for Energy (IE)

Petten, The Netherlands

Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)

Seville, Spain

The largest site is located in Ispra, Italy, hosting three institutes:

Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC)
Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP)
Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES)

19

 
 
 
 
The Institute for the
Protection and Security 
of the Citizen

Contact details

IPSC Mission

Via E. Fermi, 2749
21027 Ispra (VA) Italy 
Tel.:  +39 0332 78 9511
+39 0332 78 9947
Fax:  +39 0332 78 9923
e-mail: ipsc@jrc.it
http://ipsc.jrc.ec.europa.eu
http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

The Institute for the Protection and Security of the 
Citizen  (IPSC)  provides  research-based,  systems-
oriented support to EU policies so as to protect the 
citizen  against  economic  and  technological  risk. 
The  Institute  maintains  and  develops  its  expertise 
and networks in information, communication, space 
and  engineering  technologies  in  support  of  its 
mission. The strong cross-fertilisation between its 
nuclear and non-nuclear activities strengthens the 
expertise it can bring to the benefit of customers 
in both domains. 

European Commission

EUR 23022 EN – Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen 

Exploratory Research Projects 2007

Editors: B. Mortara, P. Malinverni, N. Kourti
Luxembourg: O÷ce for O÷cial Publications of the European Communities

2007 – 20 pp. – 21.0 x 29.7 cm
EUR – Scientiﬁc and Technical Research series – ISSN 1018-5593
ISBN 978 92-79-07451-6
Catalogue number LB-NA-23022-EN-C

Cover & graphic design: J.J. Blasco 

Abstract
The report describes the main oblectives and results of the seven exploratory research projects carried out at 
IPSC during 2007.

 
The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientiﬁc and technical support for the conception, devel-
opment, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC 
functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, 
it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether 
private or national.

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