Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Construction: Integrating Radiation Protection in Reuse (Cost Action Tu1301 Norm4building)

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Construction (COST Action NORM4Building) discusses the depletion of energy resources and raw materials and its huge impact not only on the building market, but also in the development of new synthetic building materials, whereby the reuse of various (waste) residue streams becomes a necessity.

It is based on the outcome of COST Action TU 1301, where scientists, regulators, and representatives from industry have come together to present new findings, sharing knowledge, experiences, and technologies to stimulate research on the reuse of residues containing enhanced concentrates of natural radionuclides (NORM) in tailor-made building materials.

Chapters address legislative issues, measurement, and assessment of building materials, physical and chemical aspects, from raw materials, to residues with enhanced concentrations of natural radionuclides (NORM), processes, building products containing NORM, and end-of-life and reuse requirements.

• Presents a holistic approach in developing new reuse pathways involving experts on different (technical, chemical, physical, ecological, economical and radiological) aspects of materials
• Provides practical guidance that address questions and comments regarding the EU-BSS standards linked to the processing of NORM in building materials
• Investigates realistic legislative scenarios
• Primarily aimed at industry and actors linked to the industry, but also researchers
• Contains a strong international network of expert authors and internal reviewers for each chapter

Dr. Schroeyers is Full Professor at Hasselt University, Belgium. He is the head of the educational management team for nuclear technology and a researcher at the Nuclear Technological Centre (NuTeC) of the Research Institute for Environmental Sciences (CMK). He completed a PhD in Chemistry at KU Leuven in 2005. His research, at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, and nuclear engineering, focuses on developing suitable management options for radiological residues., particularly on methods and protocols for characterization of natural and artificial radionuclides, radiological monitoring, nuclear decommissioning, recycling and immobilization of radiological wastes and residues in cementitious binders and concrete. He was the chair of the COST Action NORM4Building (2014-2017) and is the co-founder of the European NORM Association (2017) and the SHARE (Social Sciences and Humanities in Ionizing Radiation Research) network. He is a member of the central management team for the Belgian Society for Radiation Protection and, in 2017, edited Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Construction (Elsevier).