This project aims to stimulate intersectoral and international collaboration within Europe and with an ICPC country, Kazakhstan, in the area of novel nanoporous and nanostructured adsorbents for the treatment of very serious health conditions associated with acute and chronic exposure to external radiation and uptake of heavy metals and radiation as a consequence of accidental, occupational or deliberate activities and events. This can dramatically lower the quality of life of the people affected and at present the treatment available is costly and inefficient. Radioactive contamination is a particularly serious problem in two of the countries participating in this project, namely, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, on large territories of the Chernobyl zone and around Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, respectively. A large number of people are affected by living in the areas with elevated level of radioactivity with uncertain long-term consequences to their health and the health of future generations. The expected impact of the project results is development of efficient and cost-effective methods of protection of first responders, population and cancer patients treated with radiotherapy from elevated doses of external and incorporated radiation and for occupational health protection of personnel working and the population living in areas contaminated with heavy metals.

DANUBIUS-PP is a three-year project to raise DANUBIUS-RI (International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems) to the legal, financial and technical maturity required for successful implementation and development. DANUBIUS-RI is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure (RI) building on existing expertise to support interdisciplinary research on river-sea (RS) systems, spanning the environmental, social and economic sciences. It will provide access to a range of RS systems, facilities and expertise, a ‘one-stop shop’ for knowledge exchange, access to harmonised data, and a platform for interdisciplinary research, education and training. DANUBIUS-PP will bring together key stakeholders at different levels, and strengthen the consortium through a process of wide engagement. Individual work packages will refine, inter alia, the scientific and innovation agenda, the legal framework, governance and management, and policies for access and data management. The financial requirements of the RI will be refined to assist funding agencies as they consider future spending priorities. Key deliverables of DANUBIUS-PP include development of the legal and financial agreements for the components of the RI (including Hub, Nodes and Supersites), their governance, and internal organisation which will be confirmed via a Memorandum of Understanding. This preparatory phase project will develop the structures and processes to ensure that the RI strengthens scientific performance by providing a sustainable basis for future operation, delivering key services to the different user communities.