Joint Research Centre (JRC) - rpkgdansk.pl Commission Members Joint Research Centre (JRC) DG Research and Innovation JRC Director-General ... Institute for Health and Consumer Protection

1 Seminars for Young Researchers, Poland, 7-8 December 2011

Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Serving society, stimulating innovation,

supporting legislation

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Maruszewski

Director of the JRC Institute for

Reference Materials and Measurements


President José Manuel Barroso

27 Commission Members


DG Research and Innovation

JRC Director-General

Dominique Ristori

DG Environment DG Climate Action

DG Agriculture and Rural Affairs

DG Mobility and Transport

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn Research, Innovation and Science

JRC in the European Commission

DG Energy

…

…

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/geoghegan-quinn/index_en.htm


JRC is the European Commission's in-house science

service. It provides the science for policy decisions, with

a view to ensuring that the EU achieves its Europe 2020

goals for a productive economy as well as a safe, secure

and sustainable future.

The JRC plays a key role in the European Research Area

and reinforces its multi-disciplinarity by networking

extensively with leading scientific organisations in the

Member States, Associated Countries and worldwide.

… is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception,

development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies.

JRC’s Mission and Role

JRC – the only service of the EC in charge of direct research


Reinforcing the JRC support to EU policy-making

Compliance checks

Independent verification

Anti-fraud measures

Policy implementation

Expert advice

Policy formulation

Decision-making process

Selection of programme

options

Policy adoption

Effectiveness

and impact

assessment

Policy evaluation

Crisis response

Ad-hoc policy support JRC

Agenda-setting

Identification of emerging

issues

Policy anticipation

Policy cycle and JRC contribution and support


Quick facts

• Established in 1957

• 7 institutes in 5 countries: Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain

• 2845 permanent and temporary staff in 2010

• 1584 scientific publications in 2010

• 125 key elements of support to the EU policy-makers in 2010

• Budget: €356 million annually, plus €62 million earned income

JRC Institutes

• IRMM – Geel, Belgium Institute for Reference Materials and

Measurements

• ITU – Karlsruhe, Germany Institute for Transuranium Elements

• IET – Petten, the Netherlands and Ispra, Italy Institute for Energy and Transport

• IPSC – Ispra, Italy Institute for the Protection and Security of the

Citizen

• IES – Ispra, Italy Institute for Environment and Sustainability

• IHCP – Ispra, Italy Institute for Health and Consumer Protection

• IPTS – Seville, Spain Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

JRC – the Institutes


• Energy and clean transport

• Environment & climate change

• Agriculture & food security

• Health & consumer protection

• Nuclear safety and security

• Information society and cyber security

• Crisis and hazard management

key priority areas:

http://www.cc.cec/galleries/jrc/main.php?g2_itemId=15083&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1045051


• Reference Reports are authoritative documents that represent a JRC-wide view on a

subject for which the JRC is noted as expert.

• 5-10 released per annum, 3 so far in 2011

• 116 Scientific and Technical Reports publishes 1/1 – 30/6 2011

solid scientific work in support of policies

Examples of JRC Reference Reports


JRC Standardisation Projects 2011

Energy (smart grids; energy efficiency and the building sector);

Transport (electro-mobility and clean transport);

Digital Agenda (data standards for digital earth and satellite data quality);

Safety and Security (nuclear safety and security; European security label);

Consumer Protection (nanomaterials; biotechnology including GMOs and

synthetic biology; internationalisation of standards for alternatives to animal

testing).

Contribution to Standardisation Process


The JRC Provides:

• Cooperation and partnerships with key

organisations

• Support to enlargement

• Training and mobility of researchers

• Access to scientific infrastructures

• Support to European Researc1h Area

policies

• Support to standardisation

JRC collaborates extensively with over 1 000 public and private

organisations, institutions and expert groups in more than 250

major networks worldwide:

Partners include:

• Government departments

• Government laboratories

• Industry

• Universities and research institutes

Close cooperation with the JRC partners and networks:


JRC Large Scale Research Infrastructure

Accelerator Laboratories

EU Reference Laboratories

On feed additives, heavy metals, mycotoxins, GMO’s, etc.

Vehicle Emissions Laboratories

High Flux Reactor

45 MW High Flux Reactor (HFR)

Indoortron

ELSA European Laboratory for Structural Assessment

Cyclotron


•

• 150 MeV Linear Electron Accelerator

• 7 MV Van de Graaff accelerator driven quasi

mono-energetic neutron source

• Neutron data for modelling:

• Nuclear waste transmutation studies

• Safe operation of nuclear power plants

• Modelling of ageing reactors

• Understanding safety issues of innovative

reactor concepts


Two Accelerator Laboratories


5. GMOs in Food and Feed

6. Food Contact Materials

1. Feed additives

2. Heavy metals in feed and food

3. Mycotoxins

4. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Objectives:

• Set up EU-wide standards for testing methods

• Organise comparative tests, train analysts from national laboratories

and improve their performance in measurements

• Know international standards and practices

• Keep lists of reference substances and their suppliers

• Coordinate a network of National Reference Laboratories


EU Reference Laboratories


The Vehicle Emissions Laboratories (VELA)

• equipped with the most advanced facilities and

instrumentation

• allows the physical/chemical and toxicological

characterisation of the emissions from all types of

transport fleet

• research lines of VELA cover all environmental

aspects related to advanced technologies, new

engines and after-treatment systems, new or

reformulated fuels, bio-fuels, gaseous fuels and

assessment of future vehicle concepts and

technologies

VELA



The 45 MW High Flux Reactor (HFR) is one of the most powerful multi-

purpose research and test reactors in Europe.

Activities include:

• Nuclear fission and fusion energy research

• Providing neutron beams for analytical applications (e.g., neutron

activation analysis, neutron radiography) and further research (solid state

physics, materials science, medical therapy);

• Producing radioisotopes for scientific, industrial and medical purposes


High Flux Reactor



Cyclotron

JRC Cyclotron:

• Highly versatile accelerator

• Large energy range and the capability of accelerating

protons and alpha particles (up to energies of 40 MeV) as

well as deuterons (up to 20 MeV)

• Allows production of a wide variety of radioisotopes

• Especially suitable for research purposes


• The Indoortron laboratory is a unique, 30 m3 volume walk-in environmental chamber featuring

controlled temperature, relative humidity, air quality, and air exchange rate.

• With the indoortron laboratory we can study the sources of indoor pollution by volatile organic

compounds (VOCs) and evaluate human exposure to these compounds and their impact on human

health and comfort.


Indoortron


European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA)

• Reaction wall facility

• Largest facility of its kind in Europe and one of the largest in the world

- only exceeded in Japan

• Consists of an extremely stiff vertical wall and a horizontal floor, made

of reinforced concrete, rigidly connected together

• By means of computer controlled hydraulic actuators mounted on the

reaction-wall, is it possible to expose full scale structures to loads of

dynamic strong forces and control the resulting movements with high

precision.

• Pseudo-dynamic test (PSD) technique - simulation of earthquake

loading of full-scale buildings

ELSA



• ARTINA category 10-100 Clean Lab for safeguards

and nuclear forensic applications

• Actinide User lab, open to universities, national

authorities, research organisations, industry, for highly

specialised studies

• Minor Actinide Lab for preparing irradiation targets

containing amounts of actinides for transmutation

experiments

• Design and operation of two "On-Site-Laboratories" at

COGEMA – La Hague (FR) and BNFL – Sellafield (UK),

under contract with the European Safeguards Office in

Luxembourg

JRC’s special facilities consist of:

• 24 hot cells with capacities up to 1 Mio

Curies

• ~ 400 glove boxes

Hot cell at ITU

Nuclear facilities



BREFs

• For the purpose of achieving integrated control of consumptions of energy, water and raw

materials as well as prevention of pollution to water, air and soil, the European Integrated

Pollution Prevention and Control Bureau (EIPPCB) was set up in JRC in 1997

• Best Available Techniques Reference Documents (BREFs) - result from an exchange of

technical information between experts from industry, Member States, research institutes and

NGOs. This exchange is catalysed by the EIPPCB, which sets up a technical working group for

each BREF.

• Each BREF is the outcome of a two to three year process involving up to 100 experts

• EIPPCB has produced more than 30 BREFs since 1997



and many more...

• Plant Simulation Testing Laboratory

• Non Destructive Evaluation Facilities

• Material and Component Performance Labs

• Hydrogen high pressure tank testing bunker

• Large scale Fuel Cell testing Facility

• Pyrometallurgy

• Trace analyses

• Major Accident Hazards Bureau

• Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System GDACS


Making the EU's electricity grids smarter

The JRC has identified and analysed the vulnerabilities of

Member States’ electricity transmission systems for the

implementation of a Directive on Critical European

Infrastructures.

Calculating greenhouse gas emissions from biofuel crops

The JRC developed a new methodology to estimate changes in

global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to biofuel crops. This

work underpinned the Commission Report required for the

implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive.

Supporting EU Policies: Examples


Nuclear forensics support to Member States The JRC supports safeguard authorities by providing environmental

sampling and measurements techniques that are essential in the

detection of non-declared nuclear activities. The JRC ‘clean lab’ is

used for the measurement of uranium enrichment in particles found

in ‘swipes’ taken by IAEA or Euratom inspectors across the globe.


Control of major accident hazards

The JRC published a report on the hazard potential of dangerous

substances and activities for the Directive on the control of major

accident hazards (SEVESO). This work also requires a formal review of

past accidents in the JRC’s Major Accident Reporting System to help

prevent similar accidents in the future.


Responding to crises

GDACS (the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System)

provides near real-time alerts about natural disasters around

the world. In addition, the JRC provided support to rescue

operations by carrying out a rapid damage assessment based

on the analysis of very high resolution satellite imagery.

European Flood Alert System and European Forest Fire

Information System (EFFIS) JRC provides essential information to prepare for floods in Europe

by complementing the information of national hydrological

services with novel probabilistic flood forecasting information up

to 10 days in advance. EFFIS comprehensively addresses forest

fires in Europe providing EU level assessments from pre-fire to

post-fire phases, thus supporting fire prevention, preparedness,

fire fighting and post-fire evaluations.



INSPIRE: Harmonising environmental data

worldwide

The JRC is the technical and scientific coordinator of

INSPIRE, the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in

Europe, which provides the knowledge needed for

mitigating natural and man-made hazards to make more

efficient use of natural resources, to better protect the

environment and to adapt to climate change.


Controlling emissions from heavy duty vehicles

The JRC made significant technical contributions to the procedure to

check the in-use emissions of heavy duty vehicles. This supports the

new Euro VI Regulation on motor vehicles and engines, moving the

new emission standards one step closer to final approval.


Supporting sustainable fishing in the Mediterranean

The JRC provides the necessary scientific data and advice on fish stocks,

fishing effort and landings to the European Commission’s Scientific,

Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) to promote a

more sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

Sustaining European Soil

The JRC has developed robust databases supporting the European

Soil Thematic Strategy and as a result created three soil atlases,

unique collections of maps illustrating the varying patterns of

different soil types occurring across Europe. One of the resulting

outputs is the first ever European Atlas of Soil Biodiversity.


Plasma proteins in human blood testing

The JRC developed reference materials for the concentration of 14 plasma

proteins regularly controlled in human blood testing for the detection of

many conditions including infection, liver/ kidney disorders, iron deficiency,

malnutrition and the monitoring of autoimmune diseases. These reference

materials are now used worldwide as the standards for achieving

comparable diagnostic data.

Twenty-four new reference materials

24 new reference materials were made available by the JRC in 2010.

These targeted areas such as food safety and quality (including GMO),

environmental monitoring, engineered materials and clinical testing.

Three new certified reference materials are now available for water-

quality testing set out in the Water Framework Directive.



Detecting GMOs in food and feed

The JRC provided the "Compendium of Reference Methods

for GMO analysis", a reference report listing 79 GMO

detection methods validated according to international

standards in support of the Regulation on official food and

feed controls.

New developments in nanotechnology

The JRC is working closely with policy makers providing science and

research-based policy support for improving regulation of

nanotechnology. It also hosts the largest repository of nano reference

materials, has developed an internationally-available database

containing test and measurement results used by the OECD, Member

States and industry. In February 2011, the JRC released the world's

first certified reference material for nanoparticles, based on industry-

sourced materials.



Reducing experiments on animals

The JRC’s European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods

(ECVAM) was established as the EU Reference Laboratory for the

validation of alternative methods which could reduce, refine or replace

the use of laboratory animals as required in the revised Directive on the

protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Eurocodes for building

Pre-normative research at ELSA (European Laboratory for

Structural Assessment) contributed to the development of the

common European Standards for Construction (Eurocodes). From

2010, all new public buildings and other civil engineering

structures in the EU should be constructed with similar levels of

structural safety and energy efficiency in line with the Eurocodes.

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Vital information for R&D and Innovation policy

The PREDICT project analyses R&D investments in the EU Information

and Communication Technology sector. This is a unique source of

information for investment on ICT R&D investments in the EU and its

main global competitors, and directly supports R&D and Innovation

policy.

More resilient banking sector

The JRC contributed to the development of the directive proposal

which amends existing European rules on deposit protection

through an impact assessment of the proposed changes and of

possible criteria to determine individual banks’ contributions

based on their risk profiles.



Web: www.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for your attention!