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Principles and issues in radiological ecological risk assessment.
Daniel Jones1, Stephen Domotor, Kathryn Higley
1Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6036, USA. jonesds@ornl.gov
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
|February 19, 2003
Summary
This study bridges ecological risk assessment (ERA) and radioecology, detailing biota dose assessment for protecting natural populations. It ensures comprehensive consideration of radiation types, pathways, and biological effectiveness for accurate risk evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Radioecology
- Risk Assessment
Background:
- Ecological risk assessment (ERA) and radioecology are distinct fields.
- US Department of Energy's Graded Approach for Evaluating Radiation Doses to Aquatic and Terrestrial Biota needs alignment with EPA's ERA framework.
- Current methods focus on population protection, not individual organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To bridge ERA and radioecology by addressing biota dose assessment issues.
- To align US Department of Energy's biota dose assessment with EPA's ERA framework.
- To ensure comprehensive radiation dose evaluation for natural populations.
Main Methods:
- Integrating US Department of Energy's Graded Approach with EPA's ERA framework.
- Identifying key biota dose assessment issues for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
- Considering all media, radionuclides, radiation types, and exposure pathways.
Main Results:
- Established safe exposure levels for aquatic biota (10 mGy d(-1)), terrestrial plants (10 mGy d(-1)), and animals (1 mGy d(-1)).
- Emphasized the need to include alpha particle relative biological effectiveness for deterministic effects.
- Highlighted the importance of combining all exposure factors in each scenario.
Conclusions:
- The presented approach provides a consistent framework for radiological ecological risk assessment.
- Recommended safe exposure levels are suitable for all radiological ERA tiers with appropriate assumptions.
- Caution and strong justification are needed for using more restrictive limits in biota dose assessment.