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Integration of ecosystem science into radioecology: A consensus perspective

Journal Article · · Science of the Total Environment
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  1. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Lab. (SREL)
  2. International Union of Radioecology, St. Paul-lez-Durance (France)
  3. Stockholm Univ. (Sweden)
  4. Fukushima Univ. (Japan)
  5. McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)
  6. Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States)
  7. LWB Environmental Services, Inc., Hamilton, OH (United States)
  8. California Polytechnic State Univ. (CalPoly), Pomona, CA (United States)
  9. Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, GA (United States)
  10. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Lab. (SREL); Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  11. Univ. Lyon, Vaulx-en-Velin (France)
  12. Oregon State Univ., Corvallis, OR (United States)
  13. Clemson Univ., SC (United States)
  14. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
  15. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  16. Murray State Univ., KY (United States)
  17. Univ. of Tokyo (Japan)
  18. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
  19. LK Consultancy, Turner Valley, AB (Canada)
  20. Svensk Kärnbränslehantering, Solna (Sweden)
  21. Ukrainian HydroMeteorological Inst., Kiev (Ukraine)
  22. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  23. Flathead Lake Biological Station, Polson, MT (United States)
  24. Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Inst., Front Royal, VA (United States)
  25. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, ON (Canada)
  26. Clemson Univ., SC (United States); Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)
  27. Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Chelyabinsk (Russia)
  28. Miami Univ., Oxford, OH (United States)
  29. Kyiv Zoological Park of National Importance, Kyiv (Ukraine)
  30. Univ. of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (United States)
  31. Univ. of Salford (United Kingdom)
  32. Univ. of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
In the Fall of 2016 a workshop was held which brought together over 50 scientists from the ecological and radiological fields to discuss feasibility and challenges of reintegrating ecosystem science into radioecology. There is a growing desire to incorporate attributes of ecosystem science into radiological risk assessment and radioecological research more generally, fueled by recent advances in quantification of emergent ecosystem attributes and the desire to accurately reflect impacts of radiological stressors upon ecosystem function. This work is a synthesis of the discussions and consensus of the workshop participant's responses to three primary questions, which were: 1) How can ecosystem science support radiological risk assessment? 2) What ecosystem level endpoints potentially could be used for radiological risk assessment? and 3) What inference strategies and associated methods would be most appropriate to assess the effects of radionuclides on ecosystem structure and function? The consensus of the participants was that ecosystem science can and should support radiological risk assessment through the incorporation of quantitative metrics that reflect ecosystem functions which are sensitive to radiological contaminants. The participants also agreed that many such endpoints exit or are thought to exit and while many are used in ecological risk assessment currently, additional data need to be collected that link the causal mechanisms of radiological exposure to these endpoints. Finally, the participants agreed that radiological risk assessments must be designed and informed by rigorous statistical frameworks capable of revealing the causal inference tying radiological exposure to the endpoints selected for measurement.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1649304
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1776304
Journal Information:
Science of the Total Environment, Journal Name: Science of the Total Environment Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 740; ISSN 0048-9697
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ecosystem ecology
ecosystem health
ecotoxicology
radioecology
radionuclides
risk assessment