Modelling the long-term consequences of a hypothetical dispersal of radioactivity in an urban area including remediation alternatives

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity Vol. 100; no. 6; pp. 445 - 455
• Main Authors: Thiessen, K.M., Andersson, K.G., Batandjieva, B., Cheng, J.-J., Hwang, W.T., Kaiser, J.C., Kamboj, S., Steiner, M., Tomás, J., Trifunovic, D., Yu, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological effects of radiation; Cities; Countermeasures; Environmental Restoration and Remediation - methods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Techniques; Methods and techniques (sampling, tagging, trapping, modelling...); Modelling; Models, Theoretical; NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT; Radioactivity; Radiocontamination; Radiological dispersal device; Remediation; Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics; Urban contamination; Countermeasures; Modelling; Radiological dispersal device; Remediation; Urban contamination; Radioactivity; Radioactive pollution; Device; Urban area; Long term; Modeling; Contamination; Dispersion; Radioactivity measurement; Decontamination
• ISSN: 0265-931X; 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.02.003

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) program was organized to address issues of remediation assessment modelling for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. The present paper describes the second of two modelling exercises. This exercise was based on a hypothetical dispersal of radioactivity in an urban area from a radiological dispersal device, with reference surface contamination at selected sites used as the primary input information. Modelling endpoints for the exercise included radionuclide concentrations and external dose rates at specified locations, contributions to the dose rates from individual surfaces, and annual and cumulative external doses to specified reference individuals. Model predictions were performed for a “no action” situation (with no remedial measures) and for selected countermeasures. The exercise provided an opportunity for comparison of three modelling approaches, as well as a comparison of the predicted effectiveness of various countermeasures in terms of their short-term and long-term effects on predicted doses to humans.