The Vegetation-to-air Concentration Ratio in a Specific Activity Atmospheric Tritium Model

Abstract

Specific activity models are frequently used to estimate the concentration of tritium oxide in vegetation. In such models, a single value represents the ratio (R) of the specific activity of tritium oxide in vegetation to the specific activity of atmospheric tritium oxide. Federal agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency have not established a consensus default for R. Literature on this topic suggests that a site-specific distribution of R should be developed when feasible. In this study, a distribution of R is established for the Savannah River Site. Environmental tritium concentrations in air and vegetation measured on and around the Savannah River Site over a 9-y period form the basis for the analysis. For dose assessments of chronic atmospheric tritium releases at the Savannah River Site, R is best parameterized by a normal distribution with a mean of 0.54 and one standard deviation of 0.10. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission default for R is approximately equal to the Savannah River Site site-specific estimate. Based on the results, the default value for R recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency overestimates tritium concentrations in vegetation and, therefore, doses from foodstuff consumption pathways at humid sites. For the Savannah River Site, the magnitude of the error is on the order of a factor of 2. This consideration may be important if an estimated dose approaches an as-low-as-reasonably-achievable or regulatory threshold. Conversely, without the benefit of site-specific data, ingestion doses may be underestimated in regions with dry climates.