Creation and application of voxelised dosimetric models, and a comparison with the current methodology as used for the International Commission on Radiological Protection’s Reference Animals and Plants

Higley, Kathryn A.; Ruedig, Elizabeth; Gomez-Fernandez, Mario; Caffrey, Emily; Jia, Jin; Comolli, Michelle LeAnne; Hess, Catherine

doi:10.1177/0146645315576097

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Such models have served well for many decades, and it is impractical to consider any other approach for the vast range of ROs that are likely to be considered in environmental evaluations. However, for the larger RAPs, the development of voxel phantoms, such as the approach being developed by Higley et al. (2015), will still be necessary in order to interpret the relationships between exposures, dose, and biological effects for different types of animals and plants.…”

Section: Extending the Breadth And Depth Of Dosimetry For Biota In Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

ICRP Publication 136: Dose Coefficients for Non-human Biota Environmentally Exposed to Radiation

Ulanovsky¹,

Copplestone²,

Batlle³

2017

Ann ICRP

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The diversity of non-human biota is a specific challenge when developing and applying dosimetric models for assessing exposures of flora and fauna from radioactive sources in the environment. Dosimetric models, adopted in Publication 108, provide dose coefficients (DCs) for a group of reference entities [Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs)]. The DCs can be used to evaluate doses and dose rates, and to compare the latter with derived consideration reference levels (DCRLs), which are bands of dose rate where some sort of detrimental effect in a particular RAP may be expected to occur following chronic, long-term radiation exposure, as outlined in Publication 124. These dosimetric models pragmatically assume simple body shapes with uniform composition and density, homogeneous internal contamination, limited sets of idealised sources of external exposure to ionising radiation for aquatic and terrestrial animals and plants, and truncated radioactive decay chains. This pragmatic methodology is further developed and systematically extended in this publication, which supersedes the DC values of Publication 108. Significant methodological changes since Publication 108 include: implementation of a new approach for external exposure of terrestrial animals with an extended set of environmental radioactive sources in soil and in air; considering an extended range of organisms and locations in contaminated terrain; transition to the contemporary radionuclide database of Publication 107; assessment-specific consideration of the contribution of radioactive progeny to DCs of parent radionuclides; and use of generalised allometric relationships in the estimation of biokinetic or metabolic parameter values. These methodological developments result in changes to previously published tables of DCs for RAPs, and revised values are provided in this publication. This publication is complemented by a new software tool, called ‘BiotaDC’, which enables the calculation of DCs for internal and external exposures of organisms with user-defined masses, shapes, and locations in the environment and for all radionuclides in Publication 107.

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Section: Extending the Breadth And Depth Of Dosimetry For Biota In Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

ICRP Publication 136: Dose Coefficients for Non-human Biota Environmentally Exposed to Radiation

Ulanovsky¹,

Copplestone²,

Batlle³

2017

Ann ICRP

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“…The validity of the simplified geometries for internal dose assessment can be tested by mapping organ distribution and other tissue characteristics (such as density), and assumes preferential partitioning of internal radionuclides to any particular organ. This approach has been put in practice, including the use of voxel phantoms to represent RAPs (Higley et al, 2015). Fig.…”

Section: Monographs: Task Group 99mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 provides one example that illustrates the consequences of assuming that all radionuclides are partitioned to one specific organ, for the exposure of that organ and other organs, in relation to what the dose would have been if the particular radionuclide had been distributed uniformly. Other and more complex examples are described by Higley et al (2015). The specific example of Fig.…”

Section: Monographs: Task Group 99mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overview of ICRP Committee 5: protection of the environment

Cm¹

2016

Ann ICRP

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Protection of the environment is integral to the system of radiological protection, as outlined in the 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP, Publication 103). The Commission's activities in this area are mainly pursued by Committee 5 and its associated Task Groups. Publication 91 broadly outlines the approach to radiological protection of the environment, and its alignment with approaches to environmental protection from hazardous substances in general. Publications 108 and 114 provide the cornerstones of the environmental protection system and relevant databases. Publication 124 considers its application in planned, existing, and emergency exposure situations. The system centres on 12 Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs) with broad relevance for environmental protection based on their ubiquity and significance as well as other criteria, as described in Publication 108 The databases comprise general biology of the RAPs, transfer parameters, dose conversion coefficients, and effects data. Derived Consideration Reference Levels (DCRLs) were established for each RAP; a DCRL represents a band of dose rates that might result in some deleterious effects in individuals of that type of RAP. Newly established Task Group 99 will compile the RAP-specific reference information into monographs, with the view of updating information and improving the applicability of the system in different exposure situations. For certain scenarios, more precise and ecosystem-specific protection benchmarks may be justified, which would have to be informed by consideration of representative organisms (i.e. representative of a particular ecosystem and relevant to the specific scenario; Publication 124). Committee 5 will explore this further, making use of a limited number of case studies.

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“…The ICRP approach is useful for assessing general radiological impacts on biota; however, as the assumptions are simplified, they are not always suitable for determining specific radiological effects observed in wild organisms in field investigations [5][6][7]. Our previous field investigation of wild fir trees showed morphological defects in newly grown shoots in areas with a high proximity to FDNPP [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose Estimation Model for Terminal Buds in Radioactively Contaminated Fir Trees

Kawaguchi

Kido²,

Watanabe

2022

J Radiat Prot Res

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Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, biological alterations in the natural biota, including morphological changes of fir trees in forests surrounding the power plant, have been reported. Focusing on the terminal buds involved in the morphological formation of fir trees, this study developed a method for estimating the absorbed radiation dose rate using radionuclide distribution measurements from tree organs.Materials and Methods: A phantom composed of three-dimensional (3D) tree organs was constructed for the three upper whorls of the fir tree. A terminal bud was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations for the absorbed dose rate of radionuclides in the tree organs of the whorls. Evaluation of the absorbed dose targeted 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs, the main radionuclides subsequent to the FDNPP accident. The dose contribution from each tree organ was calculated separately using dose coefficients (DC), which express the ratio between the average activity concentration of a radionuclide in each tree organ and the dose rate at the terminal bud.Results and Discussion: The dose estimation indicated that the radionuclides in the terminal bud and bud scale contributed to the absorbed dose rate mainly by beta rays, whereas those in 1-year-old trunk/branches and leaves were contributed by gamma rays. However, the dose contribution from radionuclides in the lower trunk/branches and leaves was negligible.Conclusion: The fir tree model provides organ-specific DC values, which are satisfactory for the practical calculation of the absorbed dose rate of radiation from inside the tree. These calculations are based on the measurement of radionuclide concentrations in tree organs on the 1-year-old leader shoots of fir trees. With the addition of direct gamma ray measurements of the absorbed dose rate from the tree environment, the total absorbed dose rate was estimated in the terminal bud of fir trees in contaminated forests.

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Creation and application of voxelised dosimetric models, and a comparison with the current methodology as used for the International Commission on Radiological Protection’s Reference Animals and Plants

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

ICRP Publication 136: Dose Coefficients for Non-human Biota Environmentally Exposed to Radiation

ICRP Publication 136: Dose Coefficients for Non-human Biota Environmentally Exposed to Radiation

Overview of ICRP Committee 5: protection of the environment

Dose Estimation Model for Terminal Buds in Radioactively Contaminated Fir Trees

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