SREL Reprint #3811
Fundamentals of wildlife dosimetry and lessons learned from a decade of measuring external dose rates in the field
Thomas G. Hinton1,2, Donovan Anderson3, Edda Bæk4, Vikas C. Baranwal5, James C. Beasley6, Helen L. Bontrager6,
David Broggio7, Justin Brown4, Michael E. Byrne8, Hannah C. Gerke6, Hiroko Ishiniwa1, Stacey L. Lance6,
Ole C. Lind2, Cara N. Love6, Hiroko Nagata1, Kenji Nanba1, Kei Okuda9, Brit Salbu2, Dmitry Shamovich10,
Lavrans Skuterud11, François Trompier7, Sarah C. Webster6, and Viachaslau Zabrotski12
1Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan
2CERAD CoE, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management,
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
3Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Aomori, Japan
4Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Østerås, Norway
5Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim, Norway
6Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
7Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
8School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
9Faculty of Human Environmental Sciences, Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
10Sosnovy Bor, Vitebsk Region, Belarus
11Orkland kommune, P.O. Box 83, NO-7301, Orkanger, Norway
12Republican Center for Hydrometeorology, Control of Radioactive Contamination and
Environmental Monitoring (Belhydromet), Minsk, Belarus
Abstract: Methods for determining the radiation dose received by exposed biota require major improvements to reduce uncertainties and increase precision. We share our experiences in attempting to quantify external dose rates to free-ranging wildlife using GPS-coupled dosimetry methods. The manuscript is a primer on fundamental concepts in wildlife dosimetry in which the complexities of quantifying dose rates are highlighted, and lessons learned are presented based on research with wild boar and snakes at Fukushima, wolves at Chornobyl, and reindeer in Norway. GPS-coupled dosimeters produced empirical data to which numerical simulations of external dose using computer software were compared. Our data did not support a standing paradigm in risk analyses: Using averaged soil contaminant levels to model external dose rates conservatively overestimate the dose to individuals within a population. Following this paradigm will likely lead to misguided recommendations for risk management. The GPS-dosimetry data also demonstrated the critical importance of how modeled external dose rates are impacted by the scale at which contaminants are mapped. When contaminant mapping scales are coarse even detailed knowledge about each animal’s home range was inadequate to accurately predict external dose rates. Importantly, modeled external dose rates based on a single measurement at a trap site did not correlate to actual dose rates measured on free ranging animals. These findings provide empirical data to support published concerns about inadequate dosimetry in much of the published Chernobyl and Fukushima dose-effects research. Our data indicate that a huge portion of that literature should be challenged, and that improper dosimetry remains a significant source of controversy in radiation dose-effect research.
Keywords: GPS-coupled dosimetry; External dose rates; Chernobyl - Fukushima; Radiation dose-effects; Screening level risk assessment
SREL Reprint #3811
Hinton, T. G., D. Anderson, E. Baek, V. C. Baranwal, J. C. Beasley, H. L. Bontrager, D. Broggio, J. Brown, M. E. Byrne, H. C. Gerke, H. Ishiniwa, S. L. Lance, O. C. Lind, C. N. Love, H. Nagata, K. Nanba, K. Okuda, B. Salbu, D. Shamovich, L. Skuterud, F. Trompier, S. C. Webster, and V. Zabrotski. 2024. Fundamentals of wildlife dosimetry and lessons learned from a decade of measuring external dose rates in the field. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 278(107472).
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).