A method for assessing exposure of terrestrial wildlife to environmental radon ( 222 Rn) and thoron ( 220 Rn)

Citation

Vives i Batlle J, Ulanovsky AV & Copplestone D (2017) A method for assessing exposure of terrestrial wildlife to environmental radon ( 222 Rn) and thoron ( 220 Rn). Science of the Total Environment, 605-606, pp. 569-577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.154

Abstract
A method is presented to calculate radiation dose rates arising from radon, thoron and their progeny to non-human biota in the terrestrial environment. The method improves on existing methodologies for the assessment of radon to biota by using a generalised allometric approach to model respiration, calculating dose coefficients for the ICRP reference animals and plants, and extending the approach to cover thoron in addition to radon-derived isotopes. The method is applicable to a range of environmental situations involving these radionuclides in wildlife, with an envisaged application being to study the impact of human activities, which bring NORM radionuclides to the biosphere. Consequently, there is a need to determine whether there is an impact on non-human biota from exposure to anthropogenically enhanced radionuclides.

Keywords
radon; thoron; non-human biota; dose coefficients; International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)

Journal
Science of the Total Environment: Volume 605-606

People

Professor David Copplestone

Professor, Biological and Environmental Sciences