The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) monitors airborne radioactivity concentrations at ten stations throughout Ireland, of which nine are equipped with low volume particulate samplers and one, in Dublin, with a high volume particulate sampler. The low volume particulate samples are assessed for total beta activity. In the period 1998-2003 the total beta activity concentrations observed have been consistently low, ranging between 0.03 and 1.33 mBq m-3 with a mean over all sampling sites of 0.26 ± 0.15 mBq m-3 (n = 2361). High volume particulate samples have been assessed for caesium-137 and beryllium-7. A mean caesium-137 activity concentration of 2.3 ± 2.2 mBq m-3 (n = 26) was observed in samples taken since 1993 while the mean beryllium-7 activity concentration over this period was 3.0 ± 1.6 mBq m-3 (n = 42).In addition, air sampled at the RPII's laboratory in Dublin, is monitored for krypton-85, a radioactive noble gas, released into the environment primarily as a result of the reprocessing of nuclear fuel at installations such as Sellafield in the UK and Cogema La Hague in France. Analysis of the krypton-85 monitoring data, along with additional backward air trajectory modelling, demonstrate the influence of the reprocessing plants on the krypton-85 concentrations in Ireland. 


In terrestrial ecosystems, soil is the main interface between atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. Its interactions with carbon cycle are primordial. Information about carbon 14 dynamics in soils is quite dispersed and an up-to-date status is therefore presented in this paper. Carbon 14 dynamics in soils are governed by physical processes (soil structure, soil aggregation, soil erosion) chemical processes (sequestration by soil components either mineral or organic), and soil biological processes (soil microbes, soil fauna, soil biochemistry). The relative importance of such processes varied remarkably among the various biomes (tropical forest, temperate forest, boreal forest, tropical savannah, temperate pastures, deserts, tundra, marshlands, agro ecosystems) encountered in the terrestrial ecosphere. Moreover, application for a simplified modelling of carbon 14 dynamics in soils is proposed.


The dry deposition to several leafy vegetables (endive, head lettuce, red oak leaf lettuce, spinach) was studied. Particles with attached 134Cs were used for testing the particulate deposition, gaseous elemental 131I was the tracer for gas deposition. The particle deposition was the highest for rough and structured leafs as red oak leaf lettuce has, but as well for spinach with many open stomata. The stomatal uptake seamed to be the most important process for gas deposition, the deposition to spinach was for Radioiodine the highest as compared to all other species. The lowest deposition was always found to the closed heads of head lettuce. The difference in deposition to the various species was up to a factor 9.

Model predictions of solute transport in a wetland were compared with tracer experimental data to illustrate that the number of compartments in a compartmental model should be selected according to certain rules to accurately describe the transport process. If the input pulse is short, the model structure affects the output significantly. The temporal moments of the residence time distribution was obtained from a general solution of the compartmental model in the Laplace domain derived with an arbitrary inflow pollutograph. The variance of the residence time can be used as a useful tool to analyse the effect of model structure and long-term inflow pollutograph on the response of the model predictions.


Temporal changes in radionuclide transfer factors were evaluated in forage fishes over a 40- to 50-year period. In general, 90Sr, 60Co and 137Cs transfer factors fairly consistent over time, as indicated by strong correlations between measured and estimated values. This conclusion was further strengthened by comparing radionuclide transfer factors measured in Perch Lake biota relative to those reported for other Canadian Shield lakes, since similar values were found. Despite these similarities, however, within-lake differences of up to an order of magnitude were observed for a given species collected in a given year, suggesting that within lakes, there may be factors influencing biota exposure to radionuclides and/or bioavailability. 


Earthworms and their growth media were analyzed for 33 elements, including radionuclide related elements such as Cs, Sr and U, in order to obtain basic information on the transfer parameters of the elements. The earthworms analyzed were Eisenia foetida fed in the laboratory by using cotton linters or leaf litter. The concentrations and transfer factors (TFs) of the elements were determined. Relatively high TFs were observed for Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Mo and Cd. The TFs for Al, Sc, Ti, Y, Nb and lanthanide elements were low. The TFs of alkaline elements, K, Rb and Cs, decrease with atomic number. The TFs of Cs were 0.16 for both media. Multi-element analyses could provide much information on the concentration and transfer of elements for earthworms which are one candidate reference organism for environmental radiation protection studies.

More than 200 data sets from the literature of measured time series of activity concentrations and transfer factors concerning: (1) soil, green plants, mushrooms, and game in forests and (2) water, particulate matter, and fish in rivers, reservoirs and lakes in Europe have been analyzed. We used a sum of up to 3 exponential functions to evaluate ecological half-times (T$_{\scriptsize\textrm{eco}}$). In fresh water systems we fitted lognormal distributions of T$_{\scriptsize\textrm{eco}}$ for 137Cs (e.g. in the water of 32 European lakes, T$_{\scriptsize\textrm{eco}1}$ = (0.3*2.2$^{\pm 1}$) years and T$_{\scriptsize\textrm{eco}2}$ = (5.7*3.9$^{\pm 1}$) years as geometric mean value and standard deviation). Pronounced seasonal variations were observed in suspended matter of Lake Lugano, reflecting the bio-mass cycle of this lake. In forests, ecological half-times for 137Cs can also be fitted by a lognormal distribution. For Central Europe T$_{\scriptsize\textrm{eco}}\:<$ 12 years. Extraordinarily high 137Cs activity concentrations were observed recently in wild boar in Germany. For Eastern Europe the physical half-time is dominant and in some components of the ecosystem the activity concentration is still increasing.


One of the most serious problems occurring during coal extraction in Upper Silesia in Poland is caused by waters with very high salinity. These waters often contain also high concentrations of natural radionuclides, mainly 226Ra from uranium series and 228Ra from thorium series. At least 70% of the total amount of radium carried by this waters remains nowadays in underground galleries as radioactive deposits. But, during the period of the most extensive coal extraction up to 225 MBq of 226Ra and 400 MBq of 228Ra were released daily into surface along with the other mine effluents. As a result of discharge of radium-bearing waters into settling ponds and later into rivers a significant increase of radium concentration in bottom sediments has been observed. Sometimes there is also a contamination of river beds, soils and biota. The paper describes results of investigation of waters and sediments with enhanced natural radioactivity, that occur in settling ponds, where mine waters have been dumped. Measurements of different factors of radiological hazard were made, such as radium content in the soil from ponds' banks, variations of gamma radiation background and radon exhalation. Additionally radium transfer to vegetation that had transgressed into the ponds has been calculated.

A comparative assessment of physiological and cygotenetical parameters in Lymnaea stagnalis populations from Perstok lake and the inlet of Pripyat river with the highest in Belarus and moderate levels of radioactive contamination have been carried out. In 2004 f γ-activity of snails from river and lake amounted to 39.2 and 567.8 Bq kg-1, respectively, and β-activity - to 123.4 and 7055 Bq kg-1 respectively. Snails from the lake were characterized by the increase of the cells with cytogenetic damages (micronuclei) and by the decrease of cells with interphase death and proportion of young cells in hemolymph. It indicates the unfavourable environmental conditions in the lake due to increased level of radioactive contamination. Nevertheless, the embryonic mortality in the progeny of the snails from lake was lower and the average population radioresistance of snails much higher than that in the river indicating intensification of the radioadaptation processes in populations from the lake.

This work aimed at treating the new database on cesium-137 and strontium-90 transfer by wash-off collected by IRSN in the framework of the Franco-German Initiative for Chernobyl. It focused on the 71 runoff plot (from 1 to 400 m2) experiments conducted under artificial rainfalls in the Chernobyl district between 1986 and 1998. These data, mostly still unpublished, provide a quantification of wash-off at the rainfall scale, still rare for radionuclides. Normalized entrainment coefficients by liquid and solid wash-off were calculated for each experiment. In average, the liquid entrainment coefficient was 10-5 mm-1 for cesium, and 10-3.8 mm-1 for strontium. The solid entrainment coefficient was 10-41 m2g-1 for cesium and 10-4.3 m2g-1 for strontium. These trends and values were found consistent with reported values in the literature. For assessment purposes, the extrapolation of these coefficients to wider areas and to other sites would need their physical interpretation.

The organic carbon accumulation rate in mangrove ecosystem was reported to be important sink of carbon as well as that in boreal peat accumulation. For the estimation of 10 years scale organic carbon accumulation rates at mangrove plantation coastal area, the 210Pb is expected to be suitable for decades scale estimation by its half-life, though it has possibility of bio-/physical- turbation effect in applying 210Pb chronology, especially in Asian mangrove ecosystem where the anthropogenic physical turbation by coastal fishery is vigorous. We studied the organic carbon and 210Pb accumulation rates in subtropical mangrove coastal ecosystems in Japan, Vietnam and Thailand to remove the effect of bio- anthropogenic turbation on organic carbon accumulation. We finally concluded that 210Pb was applicable to estimate organic carbon accumulation rates in these ecosystems. The measured organic carbon accumulation rates using 210Pb in mangrove coastal ecosystems of Japan, Vietnam and Thailand were $0.22 - 6.0$ t-C ha-1 y-1.

Methodologies have been developed to allow impacts of ionising radiation on marine ecosystems to be evaluated within selected geographical settings. The stages in the assessment require initial information about unit concentrations of radionuclides in reference media to be collated. Activity concentrations for reference groups of flora and fauna and for representatives of these groups are then derived using an equilibrium concentration factor approach. Following this, dose-rates can be calculated using relevant dose conversion factors. Impacts on the environment are evaluated by comparison with dose-rates at which selected biological effects are known to occur and the natural radiation background. This paper focuses mainly on the transfer part of the assessment drawing attention to gaps in information that have been identified through review and providing an outline of methods that may be used to fill these gaps. Biokinetic models parameterised using allometric relationships have shown their utility in this respect. Initial work looking into the application of such models has met with some success with model predictions comparing favourably with the few empirical data available. Further work will be needed to validate the models for a large range of radionuclides and to consider uncertainty in model estimates through probabilistic analyses.

An extensive diagenetic study carried out on a sediment core collected in the Cumbrian mud patch off the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, is presented. Sequential leaching data, using a thoroughly validated protocol specifically designed to prevent any resorption of the released plutonium in the course of the extraction, demonstrate that a significant proportion of the plutonium is loosely bound to sites that readily exchange with seawater, oxidise upon oxygenated water contact (reactive sulphides) or easily dissolve upon changes in pH. Such a result contradicts many previous sequential extraction studies which have reported that little of the plutonium in Irish Sea sediments is in a readily available form. The profile of dissolved plutonium in pore waters indicates an active uptake process at depth, probably linked to sulphide (Acid Volatile Sulphide) precipitation. These reactive sulphides are liable to act as source of plutonium to the overlying water if they are brought close the interface by bioturbation or in contact with oxygenated seawater by burrowing activity.

An aluminum processing plant, which is located at the Antikyra Bay, at the northern margin of Corinth Gulf, is producing a high radioactive contamination in the marine environment, due to the discharge of bauxitic red mud tailings. The levels and the distribution of 238U, 232Th, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs in marine sediments of the area have been determined. The results indicate that the seafloor of Antikyra bay and the basin of Gulf of Corinth are highly contaminated with 238U, 232Th and 226Ra. On the contrary, the red mud tailings induce depletion to the 40K and 137Cs concentrations in the area.

In estuaries, volatiles radionucleides (14C, 3H, 131I) originating from anthropogenic liquid waste release from nuclear reactor or hospitals are potentially transferable to the atmosphere. Due to the high biologic activity, the degradation of organic matter produce carbon dioxide fluxes to the atmosphere allowing transfer of 14CO2 released by nuclear industry. Similarly tritium is transfered to the atmosphere trough evaporation process. We present here, results obtained during FLORE-1 cruise in February 2003, a winter period when biological activity is supposed to be low. The first results of iodine 131 distribution and estimations of radiocarbon and tritium fluxes are presented.

This work aims to validate the dispersion parameters of hydrodynamic models for the short term (hour to week), and short distances (100 m - 30 km), by using high precision and high frequency measurements of tritium obtained in the release plume. An instantaneous 2D hydrodynamic model has been developed with a mesh size of 110m and an area of 50×50 km. More than 7,000 samples have been collected and measured for tritium concentrations in 2002 and 2003. Currents and bathymetric measurements, as well as drifters observations complete these measurements. Results confirm the efficiency of the hydrodynamic model, main differences being attributable to bathymetry incertitudes. After calibration, the model gives accurate results during six hours following a release. The obtained field database represents an exceptional tool for hydrodynamic models validation in realistic conditions of releases, tide and wind, in an area where the current dynamic is particularly strong (more than 5 m/s during high tides). The dispersion parameters obtained will be applied for other hydrodynamic models covering continental macro-tidal seas. Such models will be used to simulate soluble pollutants dispersion, with known uncertainties, in realistic chronic or accidental release conditions.

Radionuclides in the environment require regular monitoring to establish activity concentrations and make reliable dose estimates. This study examines the variability in selected radionuclide activity concentrations at a variety of spatial scales and assesses the resulting errors in dose estimates. The Ribble Estuary, UK provides an ideal location to conduct non-destructive tests (β-dose rate measurements) due to the discharge of 234Th and $^{234\textrm{\tiny{m}}}$Pa from the BNFL fuel fabrication plant at Springfields (Lancashire, UK). This estuary also receives Sellafield derived radionuclides after transport through the Irish Sea. Results indicate that significant errors in external beta and gamma dose assessments may result from the use of single sediment activity concentration or dose values to represent an area of contaminated sediment. For example, in an area only 1m × 1m square, a field coefficient of variation for beta dose may be as high as 25%, even when there are no visible textural or compositional variations to account for this, and this increased to 83% at the 100×100m scale. Erroneous conclusions on the nature of change in time-series measurements can be made if local field variability has not been assessed and allowed for when planning the monitoring programme.

TRANSMER hydrodynamic model simulates dispersion of dissolved substances in seawater at the scale of the English Channel and the south of the North Sea with a mesh size of one kilometre and a time step of 30 minutes. This model evaluates the medium- and long-term consequences of releases of soluble pollutants in the marine ecosystem under normal or accidental conditions, at a very low computation cost (it takes less than one hour to simulate one year). It has been qualitatively and quantitatively validated by 1400 measurements of 125Sb in seawater in the English Channel and the North Sea. Budgets of measured and simulated radionuclide quantities are balanced for theses seas. The correlation factor between individual measurements in seawater and calculation results is 0.88 with an average error of ± 54%, the error attributable to the measurement process being 15% on average. TRANSMER appears as a robust tool for modelling medium- and long-term consequences of releases of soluble pollutants in the marine ecosystem under normal or accidental conditions.

The quantification of radionuclides by direct gamma-X spectrometry with energy below 100 keV requires knowledge the elementary composition of the sample or the development of a device for determining the mass attenuation coefficients. This is especially true for 129I which is characterised by a 29.8 keV X-ray and 39.6 keV gamma ray. Experimental equipment has been developed in order to obtain this mass attenuation coefficient as a function of energy. 129I concentrations were measured in samples of seaweed (Fucus serratus and Laminaria digitata) collected monthly over a period of one year nearby La Hague reprocessing plant in France. This paper describes the measurement methodology used to determine 129I concentrations and variations in the two seaweeds over a one-year period. Mean mass attenuation coefficients for 129I energies were established in order to determine the self-attenuation corrective factor for both seaweed species, regardless of the sampling date.

Oceans, seas, estuaries and rivers represent a vast sink for many substances of anthropic origin (metals, radionuclides, etc...). Depending on their chemical form, artificial radionuclides discharged into the sea by the nuclear industry can be carried onto land in marine aerosols, as well as by degassing seawater as is the case for tritium (3H) or for radiocarbon (14C). Three oceanographic cruises in the English Channel: TE-SEA, TRANSAT 1 and 2 have been performed on R.V. “Côtes de la Manche" to quantify the flux of 3H in gaseous form, from the sea into the atmosphere, following particular discharge into the sea from the COGEMA spent fuel reprocessing plant at La Hague (North West France). During cruises, the maximum concentration measured in the air was 10.6 Bq.L-1, which is distinctly higher than the background of 1$^{\circ}$Bq.L-1 thus demonstrating the transfer of 3H between water and atmosphere. The mean flux of 3H between the water and the atmosphere, calculated during these cruises was 2.4 107 Bq.km-2.d-1. For the Seine Bay area (4400 km2) this flux represents 39 TBq.yr-1 and hence less than 0.3 % of 3H discharged into the ocean from the COGEMA spent fuel reprocessing plant at La Hague.