Fundamentals of wildlife dosimetry and lessons learned from a decade of measuring external dose rates in the field.

Methods for determining the radiation dose received by exposed biota require major improvements to reduce uncertainties and increase precision. We share our experiences in attempting to quantify external dose rates to free-ranging wildlife using GPS-coupled dosimetry methods. The manuscript is a primer on fundamental concepts in wildlife dosimetry in which the complexities of quantifying dose rates are highlighted, and lessons learned are presented based on research with wild boar and snakes at Fukushima, wolves at Chornobyl, and reindeer in Norway. GPS-coupled dosimeters produced empirical data to which numerical simulations of external dose using computer software were compared. Our data did not support a standing paradigm in risk analyses: Using averaged soil contaminant levels to model external dose rates conservatively overestimate the dose to individuals within a population. Following this paradigm will likely lead to misguided recommendations for risk management. The GPS-dosimetry data also demonstrated the critical importance of how modeled external dose rates are impacted by the scale at which contaminants are mapped. When contaminant mapping scales are coarse even detailed knowledge about each animal's home range was inadequate to accurately predict external dose rates. Importantly, modeled external dose rates based on a single measurement at a trap site did not correlate to actual dose rates measured on free ranging animals. These findings provide empirical data to support published concerns about inadequate dosimetry in much of the published Chernobyl and Fukushima dose-effects research. Our data indicate that a huge portion of that literature should be challenged, and that improper dosimetry remains a significant source of controversy in radiation dose-effect research.

Rapid in situ assessment of radiocesium wood contamination using field gamma-ray spectroscopy to optimise felling.

The Chernobyl nuclear power meltdown that took place in 1986 has left a radioactive contamination legacy that currently severely limits the economic potential of impacted regions including the Polessie State Radioecology Reserve in Southern Belarus. Extensive areas of forested land could potentially become economically viable for firewood and building materials if radioactive contamination, notably 137Cs, could be characterised faster, whilst closely adhering to regulatory limits. Currently, laboursome tree coring and unreliable transfer factors derived from limited soil sampling data are routinely employed in felling decision making, which has financial repercussions owed to the large amounts of waste produced and unnecessary transportation costs. In this study, it is demonstrated that a combination of targeted mobile gamma-ray spectrometry and a newly developed, lead shielded, in situ gamma-ray spectrometry method can significantly speed up the process of characterisation of 137Cs wood activity in the field. For the in situ method, Monte Carlo calibration routines were developed alongside spectral processing procedures to unfold spectra collected in the field allowing for separation of ground and tree spectral components. Isolated contributions from the tree could then be converted to activity. The method was validated at a test facility and then demonstrated at three separate sites with differing contamination levels. This technique showed that single trees could be measured within approximately 20% of the activity compared to conventional tree core data. However, some discrepancies were found which were attributed to under sampling using the tree corer and low count rates at the lowest activity site, prompting the need for further data collection to optimise the method. It was concluded that this real-time approach could be a valuable tool for management of contaminated forested areas, releasing valuable timber and ultimately reducing the risk associated with living and working in these areas.

Reconstructing the deposition environment and long-term fate of Chernobyl 137Cs at the floodplain scale through mobile gamma spectrometry.

Cs-137 is considered to be the most significant anthropogenic contributor to human dose and presents a particularly difficult remediation challenge after a dispersal following nuclear incident. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant meltdown in April 1986 represents the largest nuclear accident in history and released over 80 PBq of 137Cs into the environment. As a result, much of the land in close proximity to Chernobyl, which includes the Polessie State Radioecology Reserve in Belarus, remains highly contaminated with 137Cs to such an extent they remain uninhabitable. Whilst there is a broad scale understanding of the depositional patterns within and beyond the exclusion zone, detailed mapping of the distribution is often limited. New developments in mobile gamma spectrometry provide the opportunity to map the fallout of 137Cs and begin to reconstruct the depositional environment and the long-term behaviour of 137Cs in the environment. Here, full gamma spectrum analysis using algorithms based on the peak-valley ratio derived from Monte Carlo simulations are used to estimate the total 137Cs deposition and its depth distribution in the soil. The results revealed a pattern of 137Cs distribution consistent with the deposition occurring at a time of flooding, which is validated by review of satellite imagery acquired at similar times of the year. The results were also consistent with systematic burial of the fallout 137Cs by annual flooding events. These results were validated by sediment cores collected along a transect across the flood plain. The true merit of the approach was confirmed by exposing new insights into the spatial distribution and long term fate of 137Cs across the floodplain. Such systematic patterns of behaviour are likely to be fundamental to the understanding of the radioecological behaviour of 137Cs whilst also providing a tracer for quantifying the ecological controls on sediment movement and deposition at a landscape scale.

An in situ method for the high resolution mapping of 137Cs and estimation of vertical depth penetration in a highly contaminated environment.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown has to date been the single largest release of radioactivity into the environment. As a result, radioactive contamination that poses a significant threat to human health still persists across much of Europe with the highest concentrations associated with Belarus, Ukraine, and western Russia. Of the radionuclides still prevalent with these territories 137Cs presents one of the most problematic remediation challenges. Principally, this is due to the localised spatial and vertical heterogeneity of contamination within the soil (~10's of meters), thus making it difficult to accurately characterise through conventional measurement techniques such as static in situ gamma-ray spectrometry or soil cores. Here, a practical solution has been explored, which utilises a large number of short-count time spectral measurements made using relatively inexpensive, lightweight, scintillators (sodium iodide and lanthanum bromide). This approach offers the added advantage of being able to estimate activity and burial depth of 137Cs contamination in much higher spatial resolution compared to traditional approaches. During the course of this work, detectors were calibrated using the Monte Carlo Simulations and depth distribution was estimated using the peak-to-valley ratio. Activity and depth estimates were then compared to five reference sites characterised using soil cores. Estimates were in good agreement with the reference sites, differences of ~25% and ~50% in total inventory were found for the three higher and two lower activity sites, respectively. It was concluded that slightly longer count times would be required for the lower activity (<1MBqm-2) sites. Modelling and reference site results suggest little advantage would be gained through the use of the substantially more expensive lanthanum bromide detector over the sodium iodide detector. Finally, the potential of the approach was demonstrated by mapping one of the sites and its surrounding area in high spatial resolution.