Naslov
Assessing doses to terrestrial wildlife at a radioactive waste disposal site: Inter-comparison of modelling approaches

Autori
Johansen, Mathew P., Barnett, Catherine Louise ; Beresford, Nicholas A. ; Brown, Justin E. ; Černe, Marko ; Howard, Brenda Jane ; Kamboj, Sunita ; Keum, Dong-Kwon ; Smodiš, Borut ; Twining, John R. ; Vandenhove, Hildegarde ; Vives i Batlle, Jordi ; Wood, Mike D. ; Yu, Charley

Izvornik
Science of the total environment (0048-9697) 427-428 (2012); 238-246

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Biota dose modelling ; Radionuclides ; Transfer ; Concentration ratio ; Wildlife

Sažetak
Radiological doses to terrestrial wildlife were examined in this model inter-comparison study that emphasised factors causing variability in dose estimation. The study participants used varying modelling approaches and information sources to estimate dose rates and tissue concentrations for a range of biota types exposed to soil contamination at a shallow radionuclide waste burial site in Australia. Results indicated that the dominant factor causing variation in dose rate estimates (up to three orders of magnitude on mean total dose rates) was the soil-to-organism transfer of radionuclides that included variation in transfer parameter values as well as transfer calculation methods. Additional variation was associated with other modelling factors including: how participants conceptualised and modelled the exposure configurations (two orders of magnitude) ; which progeny to include with the parent radionuclide (typically less than one order of magnitude) ; and dose calculation parameters, including radiation weighting factors and dose conversion coefficients (typically less than one order of magnitude). Probabilistic approaches to model parameterisation were used to encompass and describe variable model parameters and outcomes. The study confirms the need for continued evaluation of the underlying mechanisms governing soil-to organism transfer of radionuclides to improve estimation of dose rates to terrestrial wildlife. The exposure pathways and configurations available in most current codes are limited when considering instances where organisms access subsurface contamination through rooting, burrowing, or using different localised waste areas as part of their habitual routines.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne prirodne znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA