Integration of ecosystem science into radioecology: A consensus perspective.

In the Fall of 2016 a workshop was held which brought together over 50 scientists from the ecological and radiological fields to discuss feasibility and challenges of reintegrating ecosystem science into radioecology. There is a growing desire to incorporate attributes of ecosystem science into radiological risk assessment and radioecological research more generally, fueled by recent advances in quantification of emergent ecosystem attributes and the desire to accurately reflect impacts of radiological stressors upon ecosystem function. This paper is a synthesis of the discussions and consensus of the workshop participant's responses to three primary questions, which were: 1) How can ecosystem science support radiological risk assessment? 2) What ecosystem level endpoints potentially could be used for radiological risk assessment? and 3) What inference strategies and associated methods would be most appropriate to assess the effects of radionuclides on ecosystem structure and function? The consensus of the participants was that ecosystem science can and should support radiological risk assessment through the incorporation of quantitative metrics that reflect ecosystem functions which are sensitive to radiological contaminants.

Radionuclide distribution in soil and undecayed vegetative litter samples in a riparian system at the Savannah River Site, SC.

The aim of this study is to comprehensively investigate radionuclide concentrations in surface soil and un-decayed vegetative litter along four stream systems (i.e. Fourmile Branch, Lower Three Runs, Pen Branch, and Steel Creek) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, South Carolina.

Predicted cumulative dose to firefighters and the offsite public from natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in smoke from wildland fires at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina USA.

The contaminated ground surface at Savannah River Site (SRS) is a result of the decades of work that has been performed maintaining the country's nuclear stockpile and performing research and development on nuclear materials. The volatilization of radionuclides during wildfire results in airborne particles that are dispersed within the smoke plume and may result in doses to downwind firefighters and the public. To better understand the risk that these smoke plumes present, we have characterized four regions at SRS in terms of their fuel characteristics and radiological contamination on the ground.

Comparison of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's CAP88 PC Versions 3.0 and 4.0.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with the assistance of Georgia Regents University, completed a comparison of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.

Measurement of the tritium concentration in the fractionated distillate from environmental water samples.

Standard procedures for the measurement of tritium in water samples often require distillation of an appropriate sample aliquot. This distillation process may result in a fractionation of tritiated water and regular light water due to the vapor pressure isotope effect, introducing either a bias or an additional contribution to the total tritium measurement uncertainty. The current study investigates the relative change in vapor pressure isotope effect in the course of the distillation process, distinguishing it from and extending previously published measurements.

Assessment of (90)sr and (137)cs penetration into reinforced concrete (extent of "deepening") under natural atmospheric conditions.

When assessing the feasibility of remediation following the detonation of a radiological dispersion device or improvised nuclear device in a large city, several issues should be considered, including the levels and characteristics of the radioactive contamination, the availability of resources required for decontamination and the planned future use of the city's structures and buildings. Currently, little is known about radionuclide penetration into construction materials in an urban environment. Knowledge in this area would be useful when considering costs of a thorough decontamination of buildings, artificial structures and roads in an affected urban environment.

Assessment of beta particle flux from surface contamination as a relative indicator for radionuclide distribution on external surfaces of a multistory building in Pripyat.

Several issues should be considered when assessing the feasibility of remediation following the detonation of a radiological dispersion device (e.g., dirty bomb) or improvised nuclear device in a large city.