Predicting exposure of wildlife in radionuclide contaminated wetland ecosystems

Stark, K; Andersson, P; Beresford, NA; Yankovich, TL; Wood, MD; Johansen, MP; Vives i Batlle, J; Twining, J; Keum, DK; Bollhöfer, A; Doering, C; Ryan, B; Grzechnik, M; Vandenhove, H

Abstract

Many wetlands support high biodiversity and are protected sites, but some are contaminated with radionuclides from routine or accidental releases from nuclear facilities. This radiation exposure needs to
be assessed to demonstrate radiological protection of the environment. Existing biota dose models cover
generic terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, not wetlands specifically. This paper, which was
produced under IAEA's Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) II programme, describes
an evaluation of how models can be applied to radionuclide contaminated wetlands. Participants used
combinations of aquatic and terrestrial model parameters to assess exposure. Results show the importance of occupancy factor and food source (aquatic or terrestrial) included. The influence of soil saturation conditions on external dose rates is also apparent. In general, terrestrial parameters provided
acceptable predictions for wetland organisms. However, occasionally predictions varied by three orders
of magnitude between assessors. Possible further developments for biota dose models and research
needs are identified.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 16, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Oct 25, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2015
• Journal: Environmental Pollution
• Print ISSN: 0269-7491
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 196
• Pages: 201-213
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.10.012
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.10.012
• Related Public URLs: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-pollution/
• Additional Information: Funders : International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Projects : Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) II Programme