Selecting passive dosimetry technologies for measuring the external dose of terrestrial wildlife

Aramrun, P; Beresford, NA; Wood, M

Abstract

Dosimeters attached to wild animals can be used to validate regulatory assessment approaches and models for estimating radiation exposure of wild animals. Such measurements are also necessary to ensure that robust dose-effect relationships can be developed from the results of field research programmes. This paper presents the first comprehensive evaluation of the different dosimetry technologies available for specifically measuring the external exposure of wildlife. Guidance is provided on the selection of appropriate passive dosimetry approaches for directly measuring external exposure of terrestrial wildlife under field conditions. The characteristics and performance of four available dosimetry technologies (thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD), optically stimulated luminescent dosimeter (OSLD), radiophotoluminescent dosimeter (RPLD) and direct ion storage, (DIS)) are reviewed.
Dosimeter properties, detection limit and dose range, study organisms and the intended application are variables that need to be considered when selecting a suitable dosimetry technology. Evaluated against these criteria, it is suggested that LiF based and Al2O3:C TLDs, OSLD and RPLD could all be used to estimate doses to wildlife. However, only LiF based TLDs have been used to directly measure wildlife doses in field studies to date. DIS is only suitable for comparatively large species (e.g. medium to large mammals), but has the advantage that temporal variation in dose can be recorded. In all cases, dosimeter calibration is required to ensure that the dose measurements reported can be interpreted appropriately for the organisms of interest.

Citation

Aramrun, P., Beresford, N., & Wood, M. (2018). Selecting passive dosimetry technologies for measuring the external dose of terrestrial wildlife. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 182, 128-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.12.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 4, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Dec 11, 2017
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jan 29, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
• Print ISSN: 0265-931X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 182
• Pages: 128-137
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.12.001
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.12.001
• Related Public URLs: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-environmental-radioactivity
• Additional Information: Funders : Ministry of Science and Technology, The Royal Thai Government;The Radioactivity and The Environment (RATE) programme by the Natural Environment Research Council; Projects : The Transfer-Exposure-Effects (TREE) project; Grant Number: NE/ L000318/1 (NERC-CEH); Grant Number: NE/L000520/1 (University of Salford)