​The mission of SHARE is to stimulate the integration of social sciences and humanities (SSH) in research, practice and policy related to ionizing radiation, including, for example: radiation protection, low dose risk, radioecology, emergency preparedness and response, dosimetry, medical applications, radioactive waste management, nuclear energy production, safety, NORM, site remediation, radon etc. 

To this end, SHARE structures and enhances dialogue at the European level and beyond, among the different stakeholders, fostering the sharing of knowledge and information among various disciplines working on aspects of ionizing radiation. SHARE was officially launched in July 2019 with the first General Assembly held in Barcelona after the RICOMET 2019 conference. It currently involves 24 organisations from 13 different countries.

A prospective Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in radiological protection was developed by a collective of research institutes and universities. This is the first time such a research agenda has been proposed. Six research lines of interest and concern have been identified:

• Effects of social, psychological and economic aspects on RP behaviour;
• Holistic approaches to the governance of radiological risks;
• Responsible research and innovation in RP;
• Stakeholder engagement and participatory processes in RP research, development, policy and practice;
• Risk communication; and
• RP cultures.

These topics were developed through broad stakeholder consultation, in conjunction with activities carried out in the framework of various projects and initiatives (EU H2020 CONCERT programme, the EU FP7 projects OPERRA, PREPARE and EAGLE, the 2015–2018 RICOMET series of conferences, and the 2014 and 2016 International Symposia on Ethics of Environmental Health); as well as through dialogues with members of the European radiation protection research communities. The six research lines open opportunities to integrate a range of key social and ethical considerations into RP, thereby expanding research opportunities and programmes and fostering collaborative approaches to research and innovation.

​​SHARE organizes annual conference RICOMET. The conference is a unique opportunity to collect state-of-the-art, present and discuss projects or research results since it is an international, multidisciplinary and stakeholder driven event, devoted to academics, researchers, experts and civil society stakeholders involved in social science and humanities research on ionizing radiation. The conference includes scientific sessions, workshops, round tables, parallel meetings and is attended by participants working in the field of SSH and ionizing radiation. 

More information :

Visit the SHARE website

European Network on Operational Experience Feedback - EU Clearinghouse 

Operating experience (OE) gained from the nuclear power plants is a valuable source of information which allows operators to continually improve their knowledge and the safety of these nuclear installations. In the European Union, a regional network has been established to enhance nuclear safety through improvement of the use of lessons learned from OE.

This network’s hub is located at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and is known as the European Clearinghouse on OE for nuclear power plants. The ‘Clearinghouse’ is comprised of dedicated staff from JRC and member states that have joined the organisation. Membership is mainly composed of nuclear safety regulatory authorities and their Technical Support Organizations within the EU region.

Currently sixteen European nuclear safety regulatory authorities are represented (Finland, Hungary, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Spain and the UK – the latter nine as observers) and three European Technical Support Organisations (Belgium, France and Germany).

The objectives of the EU Clearinghouse are to allow effective and efficient implementation of operational experience (OE) feedback for improvement of safety of NPPs through:

• Strengthening co-operation between EU Safety Authorities, Technical Support Organisations and the international OE community to collect, evaluate and share NPP operational events data and apply lessons learnt in a consistent manner throughout European countries participating to the project.
• Establishment of European best-practice for assessment of operational events in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).
• Strengthening EU resources in OE.
• Support to the long-term EU research and policy needs on NPP Operational Experience Feedback.

More information:

Visit the European Clearinghouse website : clearinghouse-oef.jrc.ec.europa.eu

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