A cable route is a carrier for cables and wiring.

Instable isotope of caesium, physical half-life ca. 30.2 years.

is the property of substances to cause cancer (malignant tumours).

Section of internal medicine or pediatrics dealing with the diseases and changes of the heart and their treatment.

Easily soluble, water-containing salt mineral (KCl * MgCl₂ *6H₂O).

Salt rock consisting of carnallite, rock salt, and other salt minerals; components are bischofite (MgCl₂ * 6H₂O), carnallite (KCl * MgCl₂ * 6H₂O), kieserite (MgSO₄ * H₂O), rock salt (NaCl), anhydrite (CaSO₄).

In a case-control study it is investigated if persons with a certain disease (so-called cases) have been exposed more or less frequently than comparable persons without this disease (so-called controls). Frequently a certain disease is examined in more detail within the scope of a cohort study. All persons with this disease (so-called cases) are selected from the cohort as well as an accidental part of persons from the cohort without this disease (so-called controls) are selected. Subsequently further interrogations or polls are carried out for this subgroup. This type of study is referred to as nested case-control study since the case-control study is nested into a cohort study.

CASTOR is an abbreviation of the name "Cask for Storage and Transport of Radioactive Material" and comprises several types of containers, constructed in Germany, that are designed for the transport and interim storage of spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste resulting from the reprocessing of fuel elements in Germany.

Dullness of the eye lense.

Causal correlation.

latin caverna (= cave); ellipsoidal underground cavity.

CBRN is an acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear issues that could harm the society through their accidental or deliberate release, dissemination, or impacts.

"N" covers the impact by an explosion of nuclear bombs and the misuse of fissile material, "R" stands for dispersion of radioactive material e.g. by a dirty bomb.

Code Division Multiple Access: access procedure in the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications (3G).

Administrative act effecting the release of radioactive substances and movable objects, of buildings, surfaces, facilities or facility parts which are activated or contaminated with radioactive substances and which originate from activities according to § 2 para. 1 no. 1 letters a, c or d Atomic Energy Act, from the regulating area a) of the Atomic Energy Act and b) legal ordinances based on this as well as administrative decisions on the use, utilisation, removal, owning or their forwarding to third parties as non-radioactive substances.

Clearance measurements are made of radioactive waste when its "radioactivity" is so low that it can be assigned to other waste types and can then be treated or deposited correspondingly. Clearance measurements can possibly require a previous interim storage period, so that waste with short "half-lives" can loose its activity during interim storage - also referred to as decay time.

Cracks generating in rock through tectonic processes.

Part of the inner ear where acoustic signals (tones) are converted into nerve signals.

Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires, today AREVA NC, French group of companies for nuclear fuel supply and waste management, operates among others the reprocessing plant in La Hague.

In physics, coherence is a property of waves. Coherent waves are "in phase" both temporally and spatially. Figuratively speaking, they are oscillating in parallel and with the same rhythm.

An investigation in which a group of persons (cohort) with known exposure conditions are observed over a longer period of time and the various exposures are associated with the occurrence of diseases.

The committed dose is the organ equivalent dose or effective dose resulting from the intake of a radionuclide into the human body (incorporation) and calculated over a certain period of time beginning after the incorporation (hence the name committed dose). This period of time is usually defined in such a way that the committed dose is calculated up to the fictitious end of life.

• The committed organ equivalent dose is obtained by using biokinetic models to calculate the organ equivalent dose rate acting on an organ (organ equivalent dose per unit of time) and integrating this from the time of incorporation over the specified period of time, i.e. dividing the specified period of time into very small time intervals and adding up the organ equivalent doses in these time intervals.
• The committed effective dose is obtained by first multiplying the committed organ equivalent doses by the respective tissue weighting factor and adding the weighted committed organ equivalent doses.

For children, the calculation is up to an age of 70 years from the time of incorporation. For adults, the calculations are uniformly based on a period of 50 years until the fictitious end of life, irrespective of age, i.e. adults are treated as 20-year-old persons for dosimetric purposes. The calculated committed dose for adults is thus overestimated.

There is a special feature for the unborn or breastfed child: Here, the committed dose of the unborn or breastfed child is calculated as a result of the incorporation of radionuclides by the mother.

Unit

The unit of the committed dose (committed organ equivalent dose or committed effective dose) is the sievert (Sv). One sievert corresponds to 1 joule per kilogram (J/kg). In practical radiation protection, fractions of the dose unit are generally used, for example millisievert (mSv) or microsievert (µSv).

latin com-pangere (= together- to fix); compression/solidification of material through pressure.

X-ray examination with relatively high radiation exposure but very high diagnostic significance due to the fact that it is represented as cross-sectional image which is free of overshadowing.

Within the scope of risk communication "confidence" means "to be able to rely" on the availability of competence (knowledge, ability), ensuring of fairness (openness, equality of opportunity) and the performance of social responsibility (e. g. to personnel, clients, neighbours, general public).

Such a variable "disturbs" the correlation between influencing variable and event investigated in a study, i. e. cause of disease or death. A disease investigated in correlation with ionising radiation is generally not only caused by radiation but also by other influencing parameters. Taking such confounders into consideration is therefore an essential point in the planning and carrying out of an epidemiological study. If this is not done, a correlation that does not exist in reality can be pretended or an existing correlation can be blurred.

If the influence of such additional factors that have not been taken into consideration pretends a correlation that does not exist in reality, this is referred to as "positive confounding", but if it overlaps the real correlation, this is referred to as "negative confounding". Frequently a narrow correlation between the disease frequency and the influencing variable is suggested which does not exist in reality since both are connected with a joint third variable.

Falsification of risk assessment through confounders that have not been taken into consideration, which correlate with both the disease and the risk factor investigated.

Calculations are described as conservative when the underlying boundary conditions and assumptions were adopted with a view to overestimating the possible effects.

Pollution of work spaces, devices, rooms, water, air etc. due to radioactive substances.

Surface contamination:

Pollution of a surface with radioactive substances, comprising non-adhesive, adhesive activity and that having entered via the surface. The unit of the measuring quantity of surface contamination is the surface-related activity in Becquerel per square centimetre.

Surface contamination, non-adhesive:

Pollution of a surface with radioactive substances, where a further distribution of the radioactive substances cannot be excluded.

Areas where open radioactive substances were handled in the past and where the existence of covered residual contamination cannot be excluded.

Areas where persons can receive an effective dose per calendar year above 6 mSv or organ doses above 45 mSv for the eye lens or 150 mSv for the skin, hands, forearms, feet, and ankles.

A group of cells, animals or test persons being exposed to the best possible identical conditions as the exposed individuals, with the exception that the effect to be investigated is not administered.

Natural process of volume reduction of underground cavities as a result of deformation or loosening due to rock pressure.

Pond filled with water, where fuel elements (after having been used in the reactor) are stored until activity and heat generation have reduced to the desired level.

drillings to take rock samples.

Radiation reaching the earth from sources outside the earth, e.g. from the sun and the depths of space. Cosmic radiation consists of energetic particles and gamma radiation.

COST is short for "European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research". COST does not support single research projects but the coordination of international research. COST 281 refers to a subgroup focussing on telecommunication. The main objective is the improvement of the information situation on possible health effects of new communication and information technologies associated with the exposure to electromagnetic fields. Presently 23 European countries participate in this campaign.

A period of the Earth's history; approximately 142 to 65 million years ago.

The state of a nuclear reactor where a self-perpetuating chain reaction is taking place. Undercriticality is the state where no chain reaction can be sustained.

Constant decline of a rock layer's thickness.

Cytogenetics deals with the representation and analysis of chromosomes. Chromosomes are carriers of the dispositions and can be represented in the light-optical microscope. They are in the cell nucleus.