About this course

The course is about the effects of pollution (radionuclides, metals, etc.) on people and the environment. The course uses ionizing radiation as a case study, but also covers protection and assessment methods for any environmental contaminant, and students can choose their own stressor for their case study. Thus, the course will be relevant to students in radioecology and other areas of ecotoxicology, as it will enable them to set models and approaches to assess radiation in the context of other environmental stressors as well as the protection of humans from ionizing radiation. Topics: Biological effects, hazard characterization, dose-effect relationship, dose models, RBE, biological endpoints, cancer, dose to biota, ecotoxicology, microdosimetry. Ecological impact and risk assessment: Environmental risk, risk characterization, species sensitivity distribution, population dynamics. Measures and remediation. Environmental ethics: philosophy and principles. ALARA and BAT principles, international policy and conventions.

Learning outcome

After completing the course, students will have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge:

• describe the basis for evaluations of the ecological impact of pollutants on people and the environment.

• explain the connection between scientific evidence and legislation in the management of environmental contaminants.

• account for the most important uncertainties related to environmental risk assessment and management.

Skills:

• be able to apply different methods and approaches to assess the effects and consequences of environmental stressors.

• analyse complex relationships between dose, effect, and risk for various organisms.

General competence:

• communicate technical content regarding environmental risk and place different stressors into a broader societal and ethical context.

• understand the interaction between various factors that influence the overall risk profile in ecosystems

  • Learning activities

    Lectures, demonstrations, use of assessment model tools.

  • Teaching support

    Lectures

  • Syllabus

    Suter, A.J. Ecological Risk Assessment, CRC Press, 2006.

    Distributed notes, articles and reports.

  • Prerequisites

    MILJØ200, RAD210 or FMI310

  • Recommended prerequisites

    RAD320. Background in Ecology or Nuclear and Environmental Sciences.

  • Assessment method

    Total assessment

    • Group-work and individual exercises counts 30%
    • Oral presentation of case study counts 70%

    Both assessments have to be passed.

    Students who have previously passed one or more components of the overall assessment in the course do not need to complete these components again when retaking the course.

    Grading system: Passed/Not passed

  • About use of AI

    Oral exam: K1 - No use of AI

    Group-work and individual exercises: K3 - Full use of AI.

    The use of AI is permitted, but it must comply with the Guidelines for Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at NMBU.

    Descriptions of AI-category codes.

  • Examiner scheme

    External examiner at the oral exam.

  • Mandatory activity

    Group exercises

  • Notes

    If there are few students, the course may either be postponed by one year or offered with an alternative teaching arrangement.

  • Teaching hours

    Lectures; about 50 hours

    Demonstrations of tools and practical exercises: approx. 20 hours

    Self Study, group work: 55 hours

  • Preferential right

    M-RAMI, M-MILJØ, M-KJEMI

  • Reduction of credits

    5 ECTS reduced for KJM360

  • Admission requirements

    Science