An approach to identifying the relative importance of different radionuclides in ecological radiological risk assessment: Application to nuclear power plant releases

Autor: Brenda J. Howard, Karine Beaugelin-Seiller, Jacqueline Garnier-Laplace
Přispěvatelé: PSE-ENV/SRTE, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEAÉlectricité de France, EDF
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Elsevier, 2019, 197, pp.116-126. ⟨10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.11.011⟩
ISSN: 0265-931X
1879-1700
Popis: International audience; There is a need to prioritise the requirements for data to assess the radiological risk for fauna and flora, as inevitable large data gaps occur due to the large number of combinations of radionuclides and organisms for which doses need to be assessed. The potentially most important dose-forming radionuclide-pathways combinations need to be identified to optimize filling these gaps. Few attempts have been made to classify the importance of isotopes with regard to radiation protection of the environment. A hierarchical approach is described here for radionuclides that are potentially present in generic ecosystems (freshwater, marine or terrestrial) and is applied for scenarios considering ecologically relevant chronic exposure. In each ecosystem, the top ten radionuclides that may contribute to doses were identified using a qualitative Chronic Hazard Index. Including quantitative aspects by incorporating discharge quantities changed the priority list, and increased the relative importance of radionuclides contributing most to the authorized releases of nuclear facilities (14C and 3H followed by 60C). The potentially most important dose-contributing radionuclides in the framework of environmental radiation protection under a chronic exposure situation included isotopes of about 20 elements. The five most important in order of decreasing importance were carbon, hydrogen, caesium, cobalt and americium. Consideration of acute exposure situations was hampered by data gaps that were even greater than that for chronic exposure situations, so it was only possible to consider the feasibility of developing a consistent approach. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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