International projects

JRC-PROSECUTORS – Crime Scene to Court Room: Strengthening outcomes of nuclear forensics in prosecution – 2026

The aim of the project is to support EU Member States in addressing the challenges and providing guidance on the admissibility of nuclear forensic evidence, the role of expert witnesses, and the opportunities and limits of such evidence for prosecutors and judges. The goal is to elaborate clear and consistent admissibility criteria for nuclear forensic findings and traditional evidence that have been contaminated with radionuclides for court proceedings. The expected outcome of the project is an EU guidance on Admissibility of Nuclear Forensic Evidence

GUARDIANS – inteGrated Users-driven risks Assessment platfoRm for DecIsion mAkers in Nuclear crisis – H2020, 2025 – 2029

Participants: 22 partners from 11 countries, including France, Italy, Norway, Greece, Ukraine, Hungary, Ireland, Netherland, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia

GUARDIANS aims to develop new technologies and strategies to enhance emergency response in nuclear crises by strengthening the protection of first responders, populations and critical infrastructures facing Nuclear and Radiological risks. All these resources will be integrated into a web-based decision-support system with real-time risk assessment for situational awareness during nuclear crisis (GUARDNET).

HUN-REN EK-CER contributes to validating the project solutions through field tests using two testbeds: „Major accident in a nuclear reactor near urban area with nearby people gathering” and „Population care after major accident in nuclear reactor”.

Specific objectives

• Implement intermediate field tests with the different technologies will be organized during national exercises.
• Organize and execute real condition two field tests to validate the GUARDIANS solution both as a whole and at level of single new developed technologies and procedures.
• Assess the field tests and draw conclusions and recommendations.

P104: TRACE ME – sTRengthening crime scene forensics and prosecution cApabilities in investigating Cbrn incidEnts in the Middle East region, EU CBRN Centres of Excellences Project, 2024 – 2027

Partners: Italy, Hungary, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, European Public Law Organization, UNICRI

Overall objective of the project is to address the specific global and trans-regional threats to peace, international security and stability, through enhancing governance and cooperation on CBRN risk prevention, detection and mitigation.

Specific objectives

• Strengthen existing traditional forensic capabilities in investigating and prosecuting CBRN incidents among all relevant stakeholders. 
• Develop a training programme on forensic investigations and prosecution in CBRN related case.
• Improve forensic awareness and procedures for first responders.
• Foster interoperability of institutions, authorities and first responders in CBRN incidents.
• Establish a network of CBRN and forensics-related institutions and experts dealing with CBRN investigations at national and regional level.

INCLUDING – INnovative CLUster for raDIological and Nuclear emerGencies – H2020, 2019 – 2023

Participants: Italy, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal.

The project – in the frame of a Federation – aims at the development of a strategy, an architecture and a tool for optimizing the existing resources at EU level and plans to achieve a more effective sharing strategy of facilities and resources. Therefore, the main objectives of this project are (1) to develop a mixed training/experimentation environment available for RN practitioners; (2) to develop a centralized management tools for remote booking and utilization of resources; (3) to develop a common framework for RN training and organization of exercise and developing real threats driven exercises at the Federation facilities.

ITRAP+10 Phase II. – Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment Program, Round Robin Exercise for portal monitors, personal radiation detectors and RIDs, 2017 – 2019

Participants: France (2), Germany, Austria, Hungary.

The main goal of the project was to build testing and performance assessment capacity within EU Member States and test commercially available mobile and transportable detection systems (SRPM, RIID, PRD) in 5 different testing laboratories within the EU.

INSIDER – Improved Nuclear Site Characterization for Waste minimization in Decommissioning under Constrained Environment – H2020, 2016 – 2021

Participants: France, Belgium, Czech Republic, JRC EU, Germany, Hungary, IAEA, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ukraine.

The global project objective is to improve decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) of nuclear facilities with medium and high radioactivity levels and/or other constrained environments from complex non-standard facilities, with regards to waste production. In the frame of the project the gamma spectrometry experts of HUN-REN EK-CER carried out waste characterization measurements at the partly decommissioned zone of the biological shielding of the BR-3 type research reactor of SCK-CEN in Mol, Belgium. Additionally liquid waste from the research reactor of Ispra (JRC) was characterized the HUN-REN EK-CER gamma spectrometry experts.

C-BORD – effective Container inspection at BORDer control points – H2020, 2015 – 2018

Participants: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom.

The project aimed at the development and testing of innovative detection technologies developed/improved for more efficient customs control of container freight at sea- and landborders.

EUROSTARS MIQE 9481 – Mobile Incident Radiation Identification and Quantification Equipment, 2015 – 2017

Participants: United Kingdom and Hungary.

Development and testing of new mobile gamma and neutron detection systems, capable for the localization and accurate quantitative and qualitative detection of stolen, smuggled, lost or found radioactive and nuclear materials to strengthen nuclear security.

SCINTILLA – Scintillation Detectors and New Technologies for Nuclear Security – FP7, 2012-2014

Participants: France, Italy, JRC EU, Germany, Hungary, United Kingdom.

To build a comprehensive toolbox of devices based on technologies, with enhanced detection and identification of lost, masked, shielded radioactive sources and nuclear material and to find a replacement for the close to unavailable He-3 in the European Union, the major consumable for today’s RPM (radiation portal monitor) devices.

BOOSTER – BiO-dOSimetric Tools for triagE to Responders – FP7, 2010 – 2013

Participants: France, Germany, Ireland, Hungary, Spain.

Designed to develop new bio-dosimetric tools in order to quickly evaluate and treat the consequences of a terror attack (e.g. using dirty bomb) by estimating the level of potential casualties, using a developed toolbox, performing an efficient triage of exposed people, training civil protection operators and define commercial exploitation potentialities.

IAEA CRP F22082 (2023 – 2028)
Development and Implementation of Cultural Heritage Preservation Using Ionizing Radiation Technology

The radiation induced preservation of cultural heritage (CH) artefacts, planned to be introduced and processed in a regular basis in Hungary, is an efficient complementary technology worldwide to remove woodworms, moth, bacteria, mould, etc. from wooden, textile, leather, bone, cellulose items without generating radioactivity in the irradiated objects. To explain the advantages and characteristics of this nuclear preservation technology, scientific visits are initiated, exhibitions and conferences are organized with experts and restorers of museums, and archives. At the same time the gamma and electron irradiation of textiles, wooden objects and papers already started at the pilot scale gamma irradiation facility of the Institute of Isotopes Co. Ltd. and at the 4 MeV energy linear electron accelerator of the HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research. Examples include a gamma-irradiated statue of St. Michael the Archangel and an 18th-century bench end, both severely damaged by insect activity, as well as electron-irradiated stoles affected by clothes moth infestation, as shown below.

The planned future activities involve further electron irradiation of textile samples against moth contamination, as well as gamma irradiation of wooden items to eliminate woodworms and wood sticks and ceramics, archaeological animal bones, as well as books and paper documents to eliminate mould contamination. The establishment of bilateral cooperation programs with potential future stakeholders is in progress.

IAEA CRP J02015 (2023 – 2027)
Facilitation of Safe and Secure Trade Using Nuclear Detection Technology – Detection of RN and Other Contraband – Title of our research: Improvement of cargo content inspection capabilities by use of a specially designed assembly of a detector system

The research involves laboratory experiments and analyses related to nuclear security detection, which are necessary for the identification and precise localization of radionuclides in a cargo content. The goal is to maximize the effectiveness of detector systems in cargo inspections. To achieve this goal, comparative measurements are conducted and the impact of the modifications to detector system is assessed. Using a specially designed/modified assembly of a detector system, the radiation signal can be used to create a kind of gamma heat/anomaly map of the cargo. This leads to more efficient detection of concealed nuclear and other radioactive materials by comparing radiation anomaly patterns with declared cargo information.

IAEA CRP J02020 (2023 – 2026)
Nuclear Forensics Science to Bridge the Radiological Crime Scene to the Nuclear Forensics Laboratory

The goal of the project is to strengthen the relationship between the radiological crime scene and the nuclear forensics laboratory via research focused on applying approaches to nuclear forensics science in support of criminal investigations. The project focus in the HUN-REN EK-CER is the method development for examination of traditional forensic evidences contaminated with radionuclides, as well as development of an online data transfer system that is transferring information directly from the crime scene to the nuclear forensic laboratory

IAEA CRP J02013 (2019 – 2022)
Development of different methods and technologies for effective response to a nuclear security event at the early stages of an investigation.

Nuclear forensic research at HUN-REN EK-CER is focusing on different areas like determination of relevant signatures of sealed radioactive sources; development of new, effective gamma-spectrometric methods for categorization and first in-field characterization of unknown (found or confiscated) nuclear materials (Fig. 8.); development of methods for analysis of radiologically contaminated traditional forensics evidences or establishment of common procedure for radiological crime scene management together with the traditional forensics experts.

IAEA CRP J02012 (2018 – 2022)
Advancing Radiation Detection Equipment for Detecting Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Control

A test campaign is being carried out by the Detector Testing Laboratory of the Centre for Energy Research in the frame of a Coordinated Research Project J02012. The research project includes a number of activities related to nuclear security needs in the area of radioisotope identification and the calibration of the identification equipment. Laboratory test measurements with calibrated sources and analysis of the spectra were carried out with a gamma analysis software (FitzPeaks) and a graphing software (Origin) to apply the source-activity measurement method, widely used with high resolution gamma-ray detectors (e.g. High Purity Germanium – HPGe – detector), to RID devices as well. Measurements and analysis of scintillation crystal based Radioisotope Identification Detectors (RID) have been our main focus, to investigate the possibility of source-activity estimation and to develop that possibility with methods, algorithms and specifications.

IAEA CRP J02003 (2013 – 2016)
Establishment of National Library for Nuclear Forensics Purposes in Hungary

The research was focusing on analysis of numerous comparison samples from the same and also different confiscations and batches with different origin. Using the results obtained development of the national nuclear forensics library to aid in national level comparisons of material out of regulatory control.