RESRAD Biota vs ERICA Tool: Challenges and Opportunities for Holistic Radiation Protection

The risk associated with natural ionizing radiation is of increasing interest for human health protection. For this reason, many international and national regulations are continuously updated to guarantee the management of exposure scenarios in living and working environments, or in contexts in which the use of raw materials, by-products, final products, and effluents containing NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) is required. In the latter case, attention is also paid to the adoption of the principles of the circular economy which requires an extension of the life cycle of materials. However, while there are rules and guidelines for the protection of humans from ionizing radiation, there is a regulatory gap of a binding nature regarding the protection of the environment. Therefore, it would be desirable for the indications contained in technical-scientific documents (e.g. ICRP) to be implemented as regulations. In this work we evaluate the most suitable methodology to implement the risk assessment of radiation protection with a holistic vision of the environment. Limits and opportunities are considered in the use of two dose calculation software for animals and plants: RESRAD BIOTA and ERICA Tool. The aim is to identify which of the two guarantees the best conservative approach to be integrated into human dose calculation models. The results highlighted the need to have fully editable software so that parameters such as Dose Conversion Factors (DCF), geometries of the organisms, and exposure scenarios can always be updated. In this way, dose assessment and radioprotection of both humans and the ecosystem would be guaranteed.