Description For many decades, investigations of the behaviour and implications of radioactive contamination in the environment have focused on agricultural
areas and food production. This was due to the erroneous assumption that the consequences of credible contaminating incidents would
be restricted to rural areas. However, due to the Chernobyl accident, more than 250,000 persons were removed from their homes, demonstrating
a great need for knowledge and instruments that could be applied to minimise the manifold adverse consequences of contamination in inhabited
areas. Also, today the world is facing a number of new threats, including radiological terrorism, which would be likely to take place
in a city, where most people would become directly affected. A recent report from the US Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of
Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism concludes that it is most likely that a large radiological, or even nuclear, terror attack
on a major city somewhere in the world will occur before 2013.
For the first time ever, the specific problems of airborne radioactive
contamination in inhabited areas are treated in a holistically covering treatise, pinpointing factorial interdependencies and describing
instruments for mitigation. The state-of-the-art knowledge is here explained by leading scientists in the various disciplines of relevance.
Audience
ecologists, environmental scientists
Contents Foreword
1. Potential sources of contamination in inhabited areas
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Background
1.3. Accidents at nuclear installations
1.4. Accidents with highly radioactive sources
1.5. Transport accidents
1.6. Nuclear powered satellites entering the atmosphere
1.7.
Malicious use of radiation and radiological terrorism
1.8. References
2. The dispersion, deposition and resuspension of atmospheric
contamination in the outdoor urban environment
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Modelling of radionuclide dispersion
2.3. Physical forms of radionuclides
in the environment
2.4. Dry deposition
2.4.1. Atmospheric dry deposition mechanisms
2.4.2. Physical factors affecting deposition velocity
2.4.3. Dry deposition in the urban environment
2.5. Wet deposition
2.5.1. The below-cloud scavenging of particulate materials
2.5.2.
The wet deposition of gases
2.5.3 Retention of deposited material by surfaces
2.5.4. Deposition in fog or cloud
2.6. The resuspension
of deposited material
2.6.1. Factors affecting resuspension
2.6.2. Wind generated resuspension
2.6.3. Resuspension from roads
2.7. References
3. Airborne contamination inside dwellings
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Ingression of contaminants into dwellings
3.3. Deposition and
removal of contaminants on indoor surfaces
3.3.1. Deposition
3.3.1.1. Background theory
3.3.1.2. A review of experimental research to
establish likely ranges of deposition parameter values
3.3.1.3. A review of experimental work to establish influencing factors
3.3.2.
Removal of contaminants from indoor surfaces
3.4. Resuspension
3.4.1. Background theory
3.4.2. A summary of selected studies, to establish
likely ranges of resuspension parameter values
3.4.3. A review of published work to establish the influencing factors on aerosol resuspension
3.5. References
4. Contamination of humans: in respiratory tract and on body surfaces
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Biological effects
of radiation on the respiratory tract
4.2.1. Epidemiological studies
4.2.2. The ICRP lung model
4.2.2.1. Morphology and physiology
4.2.2.2.
Deposition model
4.2.2.3. Clearance Model
4.2.2.4. Validation of the ICRP model with measurement data
4.3. Biological effects of radiation
on the skin
4.3.1. The structure of the human skin
4.3.2. Dose implications of radioactive contamination of the skin
4.4. Contaminant
exposure and clearance on humans
4.4.1. Airborne contaminant deposition on human skin, hair and clothing
4.4.2. Aerosol deposition velocities
to humans
4.4.2.1. Aerosol deposition velocities to skin
4.4.2.2. Aerosol deposition velocities to clothing
4.4.2.3. Aerosol deposition
velocities to hair
4.4.3. Contact transfer of contaminants to humans
4.4.4. Natural clearance of contaminants from humans
4.5. References
5. Migration of radionuclides on outdoor surfaces
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Influence of initial physico-chemical forms of deposited
contaminants
5.3. Migration of radionuclides in areas of soil in an inhabited environment
5.3.1. Selective fixation of caesium in soil
minerals
5.3.2. Retention in soil of contaminant ions by different mechanisms
5.3.3. Binding strength and migration of contaminants in
areas of soil
5.4. Migration of radionuclides on anthropogeneous surfaces in an inhabited environment
5.4.1. Migration of contamination
deposited on roofs
5.4.2. Migration of contamination deposited on walls
5.4.3. Migration of contamination deposited on horizontal paved
surfaces
5.5. References
6. Estimation of doses in inhabited areas
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Why models are needed
6.3. External dose
rate from contaminated surfaces
6.3.1. Initial deposition to different surfaces
6.3.2. Behaviour of material following deposition
6.3.3.
External dose rate from gamma irradiation
6.3.4. External dose rate from beta irradiation
6.4. Ingestion dose from food contaminated
in inhabited areas
6.5. Other possible dose contributions in the inhabited environment
6.6. Examples of calculated dose rates
6.6.1.
Illustrative calculations of dose components for a dry deposition case
6.6.1.1. Contamination on streets
6.6.1.2. Contamination on roofs
6.6.1.3. Contamination on walls
6.6.1.4. Contamination on open (grassed) soil areas
6.6.1.5. Contamination on trees and shrubs
6.6.1.6.
Contamination on indoor surfaces
6.6.1.7. Contamination on humans
6.6.1.8. Contamination inhaled during the plume passage
6.6.1.9. External
irradiation from the contaminated plume
6.6.1.10. Contamination in locally produced food
6.6.1.11. Discussion of dose calculations
6.6.2.
Example of external dose calculations made with a complex model
6.7. Doses from non-anthropogenic sources
6.8. Current and future inhabited
area dose model trends and needs
6.8.1. Initial deposition
6.8.2. Weathering
6.8.3. Calculating dose rate from contamination on different
surfaces
6.8.4. Behaviour of people
6.8.5. The choice of model
6.8.6. Future work needed
6.9. References
7. Measurement and screening
of contaminated inhabited areas
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Main issues to be considered when designing contamination monitoring capabilities
7.3. Objectives and scope of contamination measurements and screening
7.4. Instrumentation
7.4.1. Measurement of pure alpha emitters
7.4.2. Measurement of pure beta emitters
7.4.3. Measurement of gamma emitters
7.5. Contamination monitoring techniques, basic elements
of a comprehensive monitoring programme
7.5.1. Air contamination monitoring
7.5.2. Large area contamination monitoring
7.5.3. Sampling
and measurement of the soil concentration of radionuclides
7.5.4. Surface contamination monitoring
7.5.5. Characterization of the contamination
by dose rate measurements
7.5.6. Personal monitoring
7.5.7. QA measurements
7.6. Scenarios
7.7. Measurement of dose rates
7.8. Screening
of contamination level
7.9. References
8. Countermeasures for reduction of dose in contaminated inhabited areas
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Types of countermeasures
8.2.1. Countermeasures for reduction of doses from different exposure pathways
8.2.2. Countermeasures for
different time phases
8.2.3. Countermeasures for decontamination or shielding
8.2.4. Countermeasures for different surfaces
8.2.5. Countermeasure
alternatives for different area sizes: an example
8.3. Systematic countermeasure descriptions
8.4. Management of waste generated by countermeasures
8.4.1. Management of clean-up waste prior to disposal
8.4.1.1. Loading and transportation
8.4.1.2. Waste storage
8.4.1.3. Filtration
of solid particles out of waste water
8.4.1.4. Treatments for contaminants in liquid waste
8.4.1.5. Reduction of volume of organic waste
8.4.1.6. Stabilisation of solid waste to avoid migration of contaminants
8.4.2. Waste disposal options
8.5. References
9. Non-radiological
perspectives – holistic value assessment of countermeasure strategies
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Holistic assessment of countermeasures
9.2.1.
Assessing countermeasure strategies
9.3. General ethical issues
9.3.1. Disruption of everyday life and self-help
9.3.2. Free informed
consent of workers (to risks of radiation exposure and/or chemical exposure) and consent of private owners for access to property
9.3.3.
Distribution of dose, costs and benefits
9.3.4. Liability and/or compensation for unforeseen health or property effects
9.3.5. Animal
welfare issues
9.3.6. Change in public perception or use of an amenity
9.3.7. Uncertainty
9.3.8. Environmental risk from ecosystem changes,
groundwater contamination, etc.
9.3.9. Environmental consequences of waste generation and treatment (chemical and radioactive)
9.4. The
ethical matrix as a case specific tool for mapping ethical concerns
9.5. Application to an inhabited area scenario
9.5.1. Ethical assessment
of lawn mowing
9.5.2. Ethical assessment of deep ploughing
9.5.3. Ethical assessment of a holistic countermeasure strategy
9.6. Social
countermeasures
9.6.1. Dietary advice
9.6.2. Provision of counting/monitoring equipment
9.6.3. Do nothing
9.6.4. Raising intervention
limits
9.6.5. Food labelling
9.6.6. Compensation scheme
9.6.7. Information/Advice bureau
9.6.8. Education programme in schools
9.6.9.
Medical check up
9.6.10. Stakeholder and public consultation methods
9.7. Stakeholder involvement as a social management option
9.7.1.
Arguments for a wider inclusion of citizens and stakeholders in ethical assessments and decision making
9.7.2. A good consultation process
is an ethical issue
9.7.2.1. Representativeness
9.7.2.2. Transparency and openness
9.7.2.3. Accountability and influence
9.8. References
10. Strategies for restoration of contaminated inhabited areas
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Overall purposes and criteria for restoration
strategies
10.3. Influences of type and scale of the contaminating incident
10.4. Practical examples of implementation of dose reduction
strategies for inhabited areas
10.4.1. Clean-up attempts by the Soviet army in 1989
10.4.2. Clean-up tests in the Bryansk area in 1997
10.5. Decision support tools
10.5.1. Decision support handbooks
10.5.2. Computerised decision support systems for consequence assessment
10.5.3. Multi-criteria analysis tools for optimisation of countermeasure strategies
10.6. References
Concluding remarks
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