Derivation of transfer parameters for use within the ERICA Tool and the default concentration ratios for terrestrial biota

Beresford, Nicholas A.; Barnett, C.L.; Howard, B.J.; Scott, W. A.; Brown, Justin; Copplestone, David

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2008.01.020

Cited by 119 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…4). Furthermore, the data of Bastian and Jackson had to be manipulated from tissue-specific activity concentrations to generate whole body concentrations for the database underpinning ICRP (2009) (Beresford et al 2008a) which may have introduced some uncertainty into the estimated CR wo-soil . However, the Co CR wo-soil values reported in Table 6 for Rat are similar to those estimated for owls in the United Kingdom from stable element measurements (Barnett et al 2011).…”

Section: Ratmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transfer parameters for ICRP reference animals and plants collected from a forest ecosystem

Barnett¹,

Beresford²,

Walker³

et al. 2013

Radiat Environ Biophys

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Ratmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transfer parameters for ICRP reference animals and plants collected from a forest ecosystem

Barnett¹,

Beresford²,

Walker³

et al. 2013

Radiat Environ Biophys

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Tier 3 allows the user to additionally run the assessment probabilistically. In both Tiers 2 and 3 the user can select a default concentration ratio (CR) database to estimate biota whole-body activity concentrations from input media activity concentrations (the CR databases are described within Beresford et al (2008) and Hosseini et al (2008)); Tier 3 also contains default probability distribution functions for each CR. For the purposes of this paper the CR for terrestrial ecosystems is defined as: Both Tiers 2 and 3 also allow the user to input biota whole-body activity concentrations if they are available.…”

Section: The Erica-toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the exposure of small mammals at three sites within the Chernobyl exclusion zone – a test application of the ERICA Tool

Beresford

Gaschak

Barnett

et al. 2008

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trade marks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. AbstractAn essential step in the development of any modelling tool is the validation of its predictions. This paper describes a study conducted within the Chernobyl exclusion zone to acquire data to conduct an independent test of the predictions of the ERICATool which is designed for use in assessments of radiological risk to the environment. Small mammals were repeatedly trapped at three woodland sites between early July and mid-August 2005. Thermoluminescent dosimeters mounted on collars were fitted to Apodemus flavicollis, Clethrionomys glareolus and Microtus spp. to provide measurements of external dose rate. A total of 85 TLDs were recovered. All animals from which TLDs were recovered were live-monitored to determine 90 Sr and 137 Cs whole-body activity concentrations. A limited number of animals were also analysed to determine 239,240 Pu activity concentrations. Measurements of whole-body activity concentrations and dose rates recorded by the TLDs were compared to predictions of the ERICA-Tool. The predicted 90 Sr and 137 Cs mean activity concentrations were within an order of magnitude of the observed data means. Whilst there was some variation between sites in the agreement between measurements and predictions this was consistent with what would be expected from the differences in soil types at the sites. Given the uncertainties of conducting a study such as this the agreement observed between the TLD results and the predicted external dose rates gives confidence to the predictions of the ERICA-Tool.

show abstract

“…[10][11][12]). The substitution approach has been used in the development of recent databases of radionuclide transfer parameters for wildlife where <20% of the data were LOD values, compiled under European Commission and International Atomic Energy Agency programmes [13][14][15]. The use of the substitution approach in the development of these transfer databases is in line with the guidance provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), which suggests that substitution may be an adequate approach when up to 15% of the data are censored [16].…”

Section: Current Norms In Environmental Radioactivity Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limit of detection values in data analysis: Do they matter?

2011

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Data sets containing values below the limit of detection (LOD) are known as 'censored data sets'. Such data sets are encountered regularly in most fields of environmental contaminant research. The current norm within environmental radioactivity research is to use substitution methods when analysing data sets that include values below the LOD, commonly replacing each LOD value with a value equal to half the LOD (LOD/2). However, this approach has no statistical basis and has implications when summarising or comparing data sets because it can lead to underestimates or overestimates of both the mean and the standard deviation. To remove the need to apply substitution methods, over the last four decades other fields of environmental science have been adopting statistical techniques developed for medical research applications. Despite the long history of applying these techniques in other fields and two recent environmental radioactivity publications that have used survival analysis techniques, there still seems to be reluctance within the environmental radioactivity research community to adopt these 'new' methods. This paper introduces the statistical techniques that can be used in place of LOD substitution, presents some guidance on the applicability of these techniques for different levels of data censoring and provides some examples of the use of these methods in various contexts. It is hoped the present paper will contribute to the evidence-base supporting the use of survival analysis within the field of environmental radioactivity research and go some way to changing the current norm of substitution using LOD/2.

show abstract

Derivation of transfer parameters for use within the ERICA Tool and the default concentration ratios for terrestrial biota

Cited by 119 publications

References 64 publications

Transfer parameters for ICRP reference animals and plants collected from a forest ecosystem

Transfer parameters for ICRP reference animals and plants collected from a forest ecosystem

Estimating the exposure of small mammals at three sites within the Chernobyl exclusion zone – a test application of the ERICA Tool

Limit of detection values in data analysis: Do they matter?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About