Dose reduction associated with various countermeasures in freshwater fish contamination in Hong Kong

Based on a model developed specifically for the local freshwater fish culture system, a dose transfer coefficient for 137Cs of 1.15 mSv per MBq m(-2) is obtained for the consumption of freshwater fish in the first year after deposition. Several countermeasures are suggested to reduce the ingestion dose resulting from a nuclear accident. These countermeasures include suspension of fish culture for a period of time after deposition of radionuclides, the removal of the contaminated pond water and, in the more severe cases, the removal of the sediment. The dose reductions that could be achieved by these countermeasures and the effects of their implementation times relative to the input are investigated. The time of resumption of fish culture in affected ponds and the resulting ingestion dose have also been studied in detail. It is found that reusing a pond for fresh fish culture after 6 months would reduce the ingestion dose in the following year by half as compared with that if the pond was reused a short period of time after deposition. An empirical formula linking the peak concentration in fish and the ingestion dose has been derived. The results are useful to decision-makers in limiting the ingestion dose arising from consumption of contaminated freshwater fish after nuclear accidents.