Abstract
The radiation doses to humans resulting from a potential release of radionuclides from a geological repository for long-lived waste are assessed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. Ingestion is expected to be the major exposure pathway, and the group with the highest exposures will be those that consume the most contaminated food. In this paper, we characterize the group of individuals with the highest exposures by considering the physical and biological characteristics of the contaminated area and human requirements for energy and nutrients. We then calculate intake rates based on land-use scenarios drawn from self-sustained communities spanning prehistoric times to an industrial-age agrarian culture. The approach is illustrated by simulating groundwater release of four radionuclides to an expected discharge area. We argue that the derived intake rates may serve as credible bounding cases when projected doses are evaluated for compliance with regulatory criteria.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-013-0400-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The radiation doses to humans resulting from a potential release of radionuclides from an existing or planned repository for long-lived waste are assessed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years
By identifying environmental media accessible to humans and with a high potential for radionuclide accumulation, and considering human behavior that would lead to the greatest exposure from utilizing such contaminated natural resources, a framework for calculating stylized exposure scenarios can be defined
We describe a method for identifying the most exposed group with respect to the potential exposure from a geological repository for long-lived, high-level radioactive waste which is planned in Forsmark, Sweden
Summary
The radiation doses to humans resulting from a potential release of radionuclides from an existing or planned repository for long-lived waste are assessed over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. Assumptions as to the characteristics and habits of the humans that will inhabit or utilize the contaminated areas are required in order to estimate external exposures and intakes of contaminated food (i.e., exposure scenarios have to be defined). Due to the long time-scales considered for evaluating the safety of disposal of long-lived solid radioactive waste, the characteristics and habits of future inhabitants, as well as the characteristics of the contaminated area, can only be based on a number of assumptions (cf ICRP 1998). The assumed habits should reflect all relevant pathways of exposure and, as far as can be ascertained, be reasonable and sustainable with respect to the considered area, as well as human physiological requirements (ICRP 2006). By identifying environmental media accessible to humans and with a high potential for radionuclide accumulation, and considering human behavior that would lead to the greatest exposure from utilizing such contaminated natural resources, a framework for calculating stylized exposure scenarios can be defined
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