Inter-comparison of parameters and exposure scenarios in risk-assessment methodologies for radiological and chemical soil contamination

Abstract

Various guidelines and models exist to assess the dose resulting from a radiological soil contamination. Analogous methodologies have been published to assess the chemical risk from non-radioactive pollutants present in soil. Although most of these methodologies insist on the need to use as much as possible site-specific parameters in the assessment-process, they also suggest a set of default or example parameters. In this study, we compare the suggested parameter values of four different national guidelines for risk-assessment of contaminated soil from France, Germany, Britain and Belgium. The Belgian methodology had been developed for the assessment of chemical risk while the three others are specifically dedicated to radiological risk. Significant discrepancies are found between the parameters of different national guidelines, which stresses the need for carefulness and sound expert judgment in the choice of the parameters of a risk-assessment process.