Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland
The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) is part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Since its establishment in 1992, the RPII has played a vital role in:
- Educating the public on the risks of ionising radiation. Ionising radiation may be defined as radiation consisting of particles, X-rays, or gamma rays with sufficient energy to cause ionization in the medium through which it passes.
- Contributing to Government policy on radiation protection matters
- Licensing and regulating the possession and use of ionising radiation in medicine, industry, research and education
- Maintaining a national laboratory for the measurement of radioactivity levels in the environment
- Providing an instrument calibration service
- Assisting in the development of national plans to deal with nuclear accidents and incidents
- Conducting and promoting research on a range of areas relevant to radiation protection
- Drawing up national radon maps indicating the geographic areas most likely to be affected by high indoor radon concentrations
- Driving forward programmes of radon measurement and remediation in homes, workplaces and schools
- Representing Ireland on international bodies dealing with radiation protection and nuclear matters
- Cooperating with radiation protection authorities and other relevant organisations overseas.
How do they use mathematics?
The RPII use maths in a variety of ways for monitoring and assessing radioactivity in our environment, such as Radon gas which occurs naturally or artificial radioactivity. The most significant source of artificial radioactivity in the Irish marine environment is the discharge of low level liquid radioactive waste from the Sellafield Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant on the north-west coast of England.
