The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) developed a five-tier classification scheme for carcinogenicity, that is the risk to develop cancer, referring to 935 agents at present (IARC Monographs, Volume 1-100, as of 30 August 2010).

Immission describes the impact of environmental factors (as e.g. ionising radiation, electromagnetic fields, noise, pollutants) on humans and the environment.

The implementation of technical measures with the aim of achieving a required standard of performance or improving the performance.

In a cohort study the incidence rate is the ratio of the incidences to the totality of persons in a cohort observed during a certain period.

Course of events leading, for safety reasons, to a discontinuation of the facility’s operation or the activity. The facility must be designed for this course of events or precautions must be taken for the activities.

Generally: uptake into the body. Especially: uptake of radioactive substances into the human body.

The indicative dose is the effective dose that an adult receives in a year following ingestion of the natural radionuclides detected in the drinking water, as well as any artificial radionuclides that the water may contain. It takes into account the six dose-relevant natural radionuclides uranium-234, uranium-238, radium-226, radium-228, lead-210 and polonium-210.

Quantity of radiation exposure to individuals due to ionising radiation.

Process in which electric current (eddy current) is generated in a conductor when the magnetic flux within this conductor is changed.

INES (International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale) is the assessment scale used by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna for nuclear and radiological events. The INES-scale is an internationally established tool for the numerical rating to explain the significance of events.

Process in which a redistribution of charge occurs through an outer electric field, so that a surplus of positive and negative electric charges occur locally at the surface of this body.

Saline solutions flowing into the mine.

Generally: uptake of food. Especially: uptake of radioactive substances with food.

Generally: breathing in of air, gases or aerosols (mixture of gas and particles). Especially: uptake of radioactive substances with breathed air.

Determination of radioactivity on soil surface using stationary or mobile gamma-ray spectrometry.

Control and regulation of technical processes.

IMIS is a nation-wide comprehensive measuring system which permanently monitors the radioactivity in all important environmental media in the whole area of the Federal Republic of Germany. Federation and Laender share in this task: federal authorities monitor the large-area transport of radioactive substances and their distribution in air and water - Laender authorities monitor radioactivity where radioactive substances deposit and can possibly enter the food chain of man. IMIS comprises more than 2000 stationary measuring stations for the monitoring the gamma dose rate and the activity concentration in air, precipitation and watercourses. Additionally, radioactivity is permanently measured in food, feedstuffs, drinking water but also in residues and waste waters. All measuring institutions at federation and Laender are connected through a computer-aided data monitoring system to the Central Federal Agency at the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

Measure of the local macroseismic effects of an earthquake at the earth's surface to humans, buildings and landscape. The 12-point scale MSK 1964 (Medvedev, Sponheuer, Karnik) is used for classification. Short form of the 12 point macroseismic intensity scale MSK 1964 (Sponheuer, 1965).

Alternative

• Intensity I
• Intensity II
• Intensity III
• Intensity IV
• Intensity IX
• Intensity V
• Intensity VI
• Intensity VII
• Intensity VIII
• Intensity X
• Intensity XI
• Intensity XII

Not noticeable. Only registered by earth quake instruments

Alternative

• Intensity

Hardly noticeable. Only perceived by resting persons in individual cases.

Alternative

• Intensity

Weak, only observed partially.

Alternative

• Intensity

Largely observed. Perceived in houses by many persons, in the open just by a few persons.

Alternative

• Intensity

General damage to buildings.

Alternative

• Intensity

Rousing from sleep. Observed by everyone in houses, in the open by many persons.

Alternative

• Intensity

Alarming. First slight damage to buildings

Alternative

• Intensity

Damage to buildings

Alternative

• Intensity

Partial destruction of buildings.

Alternative

• Intensity

Landslides. General damage to buildings. Cracks up to one metre wide in the ground.

Alternative

• Intensity

Disaster. Serious damage to even best-constructed buildings. Numerous landslides and cracks in the ground.

Alternative

• Intensity

Changing landscape. Major transformation to the earth's surface.

Alternative

• Intensity

Temporally limited storage of spent fuel elements or radioactive waste prior to their disposal. Spent fuel elements are to be stored in decentralised interim storage facilities on the sites of the nuclear power plants, in fact until they have been conditioned suitably for disposal in a repository.

Facilities where spent fuel elements can be stored in appropriate transport and storage containers on the site of a nuclear power plant until their conditioning suitable for disposal in a repository. Storage time is planned to be 40 years at maximum, starting at loading of the first container.

Radioactive waste requiring additional shielding of the containers when being handled.

International organisation founded in 1957 for the support of the peaceful application and use of nuclear energy, registered office in Vienna. The IAEA is an independent organisation within the UN.

International body in the field of radiation protection. The International Commission on Radiological Protection consists of a chairperson, twelve other members and the secretary. The members are elected through the ICRP of nominations submitted by the national delegations of the International Congress and by their own members. The members of the ICRP are selected on the basis of their acknowledged performance in the fields medical radiology, radiation protection, physics, medical physics, biology, genetics, biochemistry, and biophysics. The ICRP was founded in 1928, then named "International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee", upon decision of the 2nd International Congress for Radiology. In 1950 it was restructured and renamed. The Commission works in close co-operation with the International Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements (ICRU) and has official connections to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Nerve cells which serve to control excitation and to process information by switching other nerve cells inhibitorily or excitingly.

Intervention in order to get influence on existing exposure pathways with the objective to effect a reduction in exposure even when parties involved are exposed more during the time of intervention.

Alternative

• Exposure pathway

Procedure in which healing measures - mainly the stretching of narrowed or locked blood vessels are performed under fluoroscopic control.

In the test tube (observed or performed).

At the living object (observed or performed).

Discharge or uptake of electrons through atoms or molecules which are converted into an electrically charged state through this.

Each type of radiation generating directly or indirectly electrically charged atomic or molecular particles, so-called ions, by taking up or discharging electrons from neutral atoms or molecules and is thus in a position to effect ionisation processes at atoms and molecules in the matter penetrated by it. Alpha radiation: Particle radiation in the form of nuclei of the helium element (alpha particles). Beta radiation: Particle radiation in the form of electrons (beta particles). Gamma radiation: High-energetic, short-wave electromagnetic radiation being emitted at the radioactive decay of a nuclide from the atomic nucleus. It occurs frequently together with alpha and beta radiation. Neutron radiation: Radiation in the form of electrically neutral elementary particles (neutrons). X-radiation: High-energetic, short-wave electromagnetic radiation being generated with the help of technical equipment (X-ray tube). X-radiation and gamma radiation are identical in the basic physical nature.

Atoms of one and the same chemical element with the same number of protons (same atomic number) but different number of neutrons and hence a different nuclear number. Isotopes have the same chemical but different nucleonic characteristics.