Assessment of potential radiation dose-to-man from an acute tritium release into a forest ecosystem
On May 2, 1974, 479,000 curies of tritium gas escaped from a Savannah River Plant exhaust stack. The tritium first reached the ground in a pine forested area and was partially assimilated into the ecosystem. Samples of vegetation collected and measured for a period of 70 days showed an increase in the levels of tritiated water. Cycling of the tritium retained in the forest ecosystem resulted in a higher concentration of tritiated water vapor in the air at breathing height near the forest floor than that calculated by the usual models used for predicting air concentration. In addition, the model for tritium cycling in the forest predicts a diurnal cycle of tritiated water vapor concentration with higher concentrations at night when air movement under the canopy is slower. The potential dose to the maximum individual because of inhalation and skin absorption of tritium as HTO after the release was calculated three ways: by using the body water model from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 2 and assimilation during the passage of the puff; by using the body water model from the ICRP Publication 2 and assimilation during an extended exposure period to tritium determined by the experimental measurements; and by using a three-compartment dosimetry model with retention half times of 9, 30, and 450 days with the extended exposure period. The potential doses were 0.14, 0.80, and 0.89 mrem, respectively. These potential doses show the necessity of considering the interaction of radioactive material with the ecosystem for dose calculation.
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) and Co., Aiken, SC (USA). Savannah River Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-09-001
- OSTI ID:
- 7100365
- Report Number(s):
- DP-MS-76-89; CONF-770720-3; TRN: 77-015331
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 22. annual meeting of the Health Physics Society, Atlanta, GA, USA, 3 Jul 1977
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
FORESTS
CONTAMINATION
MAN
RADIATION DOSES
TRITIUM
DOSIMETRY
AIR
BIOLOGICAL MODELS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
FORECASTING
INHALATION
PLANTS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOMASS
DOSES
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
GASES
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
INTAKE
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAMMALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PRIMATES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOISOTOPES
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
US AEC
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
510300* - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
560161 - Radionuclide Effects
Kinetics
& Toxicology- Man