From 10 to 18 September 2024, ten Vietnamese specialists visited Germany as part of the RENO-TITAN project. The delegation included staff from the Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology (INST) of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM), representatives of several universities– including the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City – as well as two Vietnamese companies from the titanium mining sector. The aim of the trip was to learn on site how Germany deals with naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), how such residues are safely disposed of, and under what conditions reuse — for example in construction products — may be possible.

NORM residues arise, among other things, when natural radionuclides — especially from the uranium and thorium decay chains — become enriched through industrial processes. In Vietnamese heavy mineral sand mining, where titanium minerals are also extracted, this occurs during the processing of raw materials. In Germany, similar issues arise, for example, in drinking water treatment, where uranium, radium or thorium nuclides can accumulate in filter cakes or ion-exchange resins, and in the oil and gas industry, where deposits, or scale, containing Ra-226 or Pb-210 can form.

The study tour took place within the framework of the CLIENT II Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Since May 2025, responsibility has lain with the newly established Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). The RENO-TITAN project, which runs from 2023 to 2026, investigates framework conditions as well as technological and organisational solutions for safely characterising and immobilising NORM residues from the Vietnamese titanium industry and, where appropriate, reusing them or disposing of them properly.

This page describes the stops on the study tour and what the participants were able to experience and learn along the way.