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Hinton TG, Anderson D, Bæk E, Baranwal VC, Beasley JC, Bontrager HL, Broggio D, Brown J, Byrne ME, Gerke HC, Ishiniwa H, Lance SL, Lind OC, Love CN, Nagata H, Nanba K, Okuda K, Salbu B, Shamovich D, Skuterud L, Trompier F, Webster SC, Zabrotski V. Fundamentals of wildlife dosimetry and lessons learned from a decade of measuring external dose rates in the field. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2024; 278:107472. [PMID: 38905881 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2024.107472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G Hinton
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan; CERAD CoE, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
| | - Donovan Anderson
- Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, Aomori, Japan.
| | - Edda Bæk
- Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Østerås, Norway.
| | | | - James C Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - Helen L Bontrager
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - David Broggio
- Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Justin Brown
- Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Østerås, Norway.
| | - Michael E Byrne
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
| | - Hannah C Gerke
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - Hiroko Ishiniwa
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan.
| | - Stacey L Lance
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - Ole C Lind
- CERAD CoE, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
| | - Cara N Love
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - Hiroko Nagata
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan.
| | - Kenji Nanba
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan.
| | - Kei Okuda
- Faculty of Human Environmental Sciences, Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan.
| | - Brit Salbu
- CERAD CoE, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
| | | | | | - François Trompier
- Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Sarah C Webster
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA.
| | - Viachaslau Zabrotski
- Republican Center for Hydrometeorology, Control of Radioactive Contamination and Environmental Monitoring (Belhydromet), Minsk, Belarus.
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Stäger F, Zok D, Schiller AK, Feng B, Steinhauser G. Disproportionately High Contributions of 60 Year Old Weapons- 137Cs Explain the Persistence of Radioactive Contamination in Bavarian Wild Boars. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:13601-13611. [PMID: 37646445 PMCID: PMC10501199 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Radionuclides released from nuclear accidents or explosions pose long-term threats to ecosystem health. A prominent example is wild boar contamination in central Europe, which is notorious for its persistently high 137Cs levels. However, without reliable source identification, the origin of this decades old problem has been uncertain. Here, we target radiocesium contamination in wild boars from Bavaria. Our samples (2019-2021) range from 370 to 15,000 Bq·kg-1 137Cs, thus exceeding the regulatory limits (600 Bq·kg-1) by a factor of up to 25. Using an emerging nuclear forensic fingerprint, 135Cs/137Cs, we distinguished various radiocesium source legacies in their source composition. All samples exhibit signatures of mixing of Chornobyl and nuclear weapons fallout, with 135Cs/137Cs ratios ranging from 0.67 to 1.97. Although Chornobyl has been widely believed to be the prime source of 137Cs in wild boars, we find that "old" 137Cs from weapons fallout significantly contributes to the total level (10-68%) in those specimens that exceeded the regulatory limit. In some cases, weapons-137Cs alone can lead to exceedances of the regulatory limit, especially in samples with a relatively low total 137Cs level. Our findings demonstrate that the superposition of older and newer legacies of 137Cs can vastly surpass the impact of any singular yet dominant source and thus highlight the critical role of historical releases of 137Cs in current environmental pollution challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Stäger
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Dorian Zok
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Anna-Katharina Schiller
- Institute
of Radioecology and Radiation Protection, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany
| | - Bin Feng
- Institute
of Inorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Universität
Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
- TU
Wien, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center
Atominstitut, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg Steinhauser
- TU
Wien, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry & TRIGA Center
Atominstitut, 1060 Vienna, Austria
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Gembal M, Czerski P, Milczarczyk E, Warenik-Bany M. Levels of caesium-137 in food of animal origin in Poland. J Vet Res 2023; 67:407-414. [PMID: 37786845 PMCID: PMC10541660 DOI: 10.2478/jvetres-2023-0044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Radioactive contamination of the environment is one of the greatest threats after a nuclear accident due to released radionuclides. From a radiotoxicological point of view, the most important radionuclide is caesium-137. Formed mainly during nuclear explosions, caesium-137 can persist in the soil for many years, from where it constantly enters the food chain. One of the elements of ensuring food safety is the monitoring of its radioactive contamination, mainly with radioactive caesium isotopes. The aim of the study was to determine the content of caesium-137 in food of animal origin. Material and Methods A total of 1,416 muscle samples from cattle, sheep, pigs, game and fish, as well as chicken eggs and dairy products were examined using gamma-ray spectrometry. Results Caesium-137 activities ranged from below the minimum detectable activity concentration (MDC) to over 4,000 Bq/kg wet weight (w.w.). Most often, the values did not exceed the MDC or were in a range below 100 Bq/kg. The exception was the muscle tissue of game animals, especially wild boar, where a significant activity of caesium-137 was recorded, the highest of which was 4,136.8 ± 238 Bq/kg w.w. Committed effective doses determined for each matrix ranged from 0.01 to 0.83 µSv/kg, with the highest value determined for wild boar. Conclusion The calculated exposure doses with values well below the accepted low radiation dose (100 mSv) did not indicate any significant amounts of ionising radiation from the food consumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Gembal
- Radiobiology Department, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
| | - Paweł Czerski
- Radiobiology Department, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
| | - Ewelina Milczarczyk
- Radiobiology Department, National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
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Exemplifying the “wild boar paradox”: dynamics of cesium-137 contaminations in wild boars in Germany and Japan. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-022-08528-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
AbstractWild boars (Sus scrofa) are notorious for accumulating high contamination levels of 137Cs in their meat. Publicly available data of 137Cs contamination levels in wild boars from 2011 to 2019 were used to determine some radioecological characteristics in Germany (affected by Chernobyl-fallout, 1986) and Japan (affected Fukushima, 2011). The effective half-life of 137Cs in wild boar meat was much longer in Germany (7.3 y) than in Japan (2.6 y), respectively. Wild boars in Germany thus show much more persistent contamination levels than other game or forest animals. This unusual behavior has been termed “wild boar paradox.” In German wild boars, the data sets reveal a distinct geographical and seasonal dependence with higher activity concentrations in winter than in summer. In Japan, contamination levels only exhibit a distinct decline behavior.
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