L . Canet et al .: Radioprotection 2024 , 59 ( 2 ), 69 – 79 75 Fig . 3 . Correspondence analysis : a ) Guidelines and subthemes ( dimension1 & dimension2 ) b ) Guidelines and subthemes ( dimension1 & dimension3 ). Red squares and blue circles indicate guidelines and sub-themes , respectively . The distance between the square and the circle indicates the closeness of opinions . As to explanation of the X and Y axes , since we employed a correspondence analysis , no specific variables correspond to both axes .
The Social aspect ( RPPs , Health , Land , Stakeholder involvement ) is the most common theme in all guidelines analyzed , whereas the environmental and economic themes are the least common . The co-occurrence network of the phase-related guidelines ( Fig 4b ) with the subthemes showed interesting results and allowed for clearer definitions of the transition and recovery phases . Guidelines focusing on this transition tend to emphasize food restrictions and environmental monitoring . The early phases focused primarily on protecting human health and psychological impacts . Recovery phase covers every subtheme except ‘ food ’ and ‘ Health ’ for which the latter was expected . Broader guidelines mentioning all phases focus more on ‘ Land ’, ‘ RPPs ’, ‘ Psychological impact ’, ‘ Stakeholder involvement ’, and ‘ Health ’. All preceding interpretations aligned relatively well with the structure of each guideline ( Fig . 2 ).
4 Discussion
The qualitative analysis in this study offers a comprehensive overview of the focus of the analyzed guidelines . Overall , these guidelines exhibit similar structures and cover the same important and fundamental topics : protection of human health ; ethics such as stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes ; environmental protection ; human life ; and , economic considerations . Each guideline , national or international , also has a specific emphasis that is addressed in more depth than in other guidelines , such as waste consideration in NCRP 175 or food consideration in STUK .
These guidelines are consistent with the concept of sustainable remediation , which has been advocated in the environmental field in recent years . Principles of sustainable
remediation that encompass relationships , rationale , and resources have been advocated . Incorporating sustainable environmental practices into the remediation of contaminated sites aligns with the remediation goals and guidelines linked to other industries ( SuRF , 2020 ; EPA , 2008 ), and such considerations are increasing in the nuclear industry ( Mobbs et al ., 2019 ).
It is important to acknowledge that the analysis of both the data and guideline collection is shaped by the researcher ’ s viewpoint and personal beliefs . Consequently , qualitative analysis is inherently subjective because it relies on the researcher ’ s perspective . Moreover , the length of each document influenced the analysis as the longer it is , the more it will skew the results and the theme creation .
Across all guidelines , a central theme emerged : the significance of safeguarding the population , particularly in the early phase and throughout the transition and recovery phases . Stakeholder involvement in decision-making processes and the management of radioactive waste has been extensively emphasized in all guidelines . International guidelines delve deeply into stakeholder involvement , radiological protection principles , and procedural fairness , whereas national guidelines tend to offer specific protective and recovery measures .
4.1 . Life
The recovery phase focuses on community enhancement and protection concepts such as improving the resilience of populations , the desire to return to a new normal , ensuring fair radioprotection principles , and developing a radioprotection culture . Human health protection actions in the recovery phase following a nuclear incident differ from those in the early transition phase . The guidelines specifically emphasize the assessment of psychological impacts ( e . g ., stress , depression , drug disorders ; Maeda et al ., 2018 ) resulting from factors such