Estimation of 50% lethal doses from nuclear DNA contents and subsequent species sensitivity distribution analysis was performed to derive regional 5% hazardous doses (HD5) for major orders Anura (e.g., frogs) and Caudata (e.g., salamanders) of amphibians inhabiting Japan, Australia, France, Czech Republic, Canada and some US states, where nuclear power plants or uranium mines are located. The HD5 values ranged from 3.0 to 7.7 Gy for the Anura inhabiting there while they ranged from 2.9 to 4.6 Gy for the Caudata. Comparison of these results with the worldwide HD5s (5.3 Gy for the Anura and 3.3 Gy for the Caudata) suggests that benchmark values for the Asian and Oceanic Anura and the European Caudata can be set at higher doses than the global values. Regional differences should be, therefore, considered when benchmark values are derived for some taxonomic groups.

The aim of this work is to develop methods for an assessment of critical doses and dose rates that can result in significant radiation-induced effects in agrocenoses. This is realized on an example of cultivated plants which are one of the main components of agroecosystems. Available information on dose dependences in such umbrella endpoints as reproduction, survival, morbidity, alterations in morphological and biochemical processes, genetic effects in crops, vegetables, fruit trees, etc are gathered from papers issued mainly in Russian scientific press during last 50 years. Data are maintained as database in MS Access that contains about 10000 records at the moment. As critical exposure values, doses are considered producing 50% changes of biological effect at acute impact (ED50), or dose rates resulting in 10% changes at chronic exposure of plants (EDR10). The critical doses and dose rates for agrocenosis estimated from available information on reproduction and survival are presented here. Primary data are assesed for their quality according to several criteria. Three models (linear, logariphmic, logistic) for dose-effect relationship are tested for an applicability to fit a dose-effect dependence taking account of their goodness-of-fit and robustness of ED50 and EDR10 estimates.

In a survey on uranium and 226Ra concentrations in water distributed by Finnish waterworks, 548 samples were analysed that covered drinking water networks servicing 84% of all consumers. Among all consumers, the mean and median uranium concentrations at the point of use were 0.58 and 0.15 μg L–1. The mean uranium concentration in drinking water produced from groundwater was 0.88 μg L–1, and when surface water was used in production the mean concentration was only 0.15 μg L–1. 226Ra concentrations were generally below our detection limit of 0.01 Bq L–1. The annual effective doses to the public arising from these radionuclides were only a few microsieverts, and the 0.1 mSv limit laid down in the EU Drinking Water Directive was not exceeded in any of the studied water distribution networks.

Fine radioactive particulate dispersal in outdoor areas presents significant economic, social, environmental and public health concerns. The interactions of these radioactive particles with urban surfaces need to be well understood to develop optimized decontamination strategies. The major environmental factors influencing these interactions are relative air humidity, temperature and rain. The objective of this work is to investigate the fate and transport of water soluble cesium deposited on conventional urban building materials, especially concrete, brick, asphalt, limestone, and granite, under various environmental conditions (relative humidity (RH), and atmospheric precipitation). The data on the kinetics of 137Cs desorption from building materials by the solution containing 100 mM of Ca2+ and 0.5 mM of K+ have shown that the shape of the 137Cs desorption curves is similar for all building materials. There is a rapid initial decrease in the activity of the sorbed 137Cs. The desorption rate first decreases quickly during 7–10 days and practically does not change later. The remaining 137Cs in building materials that is not desorbed by the solution is 30-40% of the initially sorbed amount. For the building materials of interest, radiocaesium interception potentials (RIP). The RIP(K) value has been shown to range from 20 to 300 mM/kg and increase in the order: limestone > brick > concrete > granite > asphalt. The fine fraction of building materials (<0.125 mm) sorbs 137Cs better than the coarse fraction (0.0125–0.25 mm). Based on RIP(K) value and measured concentration of cations the distribution coefficients Kd(137Cs) were determined. The study of the mechanisms of radiocesium binding by different components of building materials, based on sequential extraction technique, shows that the highest ability to bind 137Cs is characteristic of asphalt which retains 40.9±1.0 % of 137Cs after all extractions. By the ability to bind 137Cs with the residual fraction, the studied materials form the following sequence: concrete > limestone > granite > brick. Method to study radionuclides distribution in depth of building materials using layer-by-layer grinding has been developed.

Surface, intermediate and near-bottom water samples were collected at two of the North East Atlantic radioactive waste dumping sites (47∘ 14’N, 05∘ 33’W and 45∘ 27’N, 06∘ 16’W) in the course of a sampling campaign in June–July 1998. Analysis of 239,240Pu concentrations show no significant differences with respect to measured concentrations in waters taken from control (background) stations well removed from the dumping sites.

A widely applied method of supported lead estimation in sediments using gamma spectrometric 226Ra determination via 222Rn short lived daughter products relies on radioactive equilibrium between 226Ra and 222Rn being established after sealing the samples. Advantages and disadvantages of methods of 226Ra estimation in sediments, using either 226Ra daughter products or direct estimation by the 186.2 keV gamma-emissions are discussed. An equilibrium experiment was performed using test samples and in one case radioactive equilibrium was not reached. On theoretical sediment profiles it is shown how systematic errors in supported 210Pb estimation can lead to wrong interpretations of 210Pbxs profiles and therefore affect 210Pb derived chronologies.

A programme of work, commissioned within the BIOPROTA collaborative forum, has recently been undertaken to assess the quantitative and qualitative elements of uncertainty associated with non-human biota (NHB) dose assessment in relation to the potential long-term release of radionuclides from a geological disposal facility (GDF). This was achieved through combining quantitative sensitivity and qualitative knowledge quality analyses based on the EC ERICA assessment approach and default assessment parameters. The results of the project demonstrate that this combination of approaches may be used to identify important parameters that could be significant in assessments of the impacts of any radionuclide release from a GDF on NHB, and for which there is low confidence. The output is intended to provide information on those parameters that may need to be considered in more detail for site-specific assessments. Such information should help users to enhance the quality of their assessments and build greater confidence in the results.

The evaluation of environmental vulnerability is one of the key factors in need of consideration during the improvement of decision-making systems and the development of response strategies to radionuclide release into marine regions. Environmental marine modelling has to simultaneously describe the dispersion of radionuclides in water and sediment phases; bioaccumulation of radionuclides in biota and finally, dose assessments. It is obvious that such an approach comes up against the problem of complexity and the need for a large set of parameters. The sensitivity analysis of the model parameters can contribute to a better understanding of experimental data as well as define parameters which can play a key role in the evaluation of environmental vulnerability. In the present paper sensitivity analysis has been carried out using the compartment modelling approach for assessment of the environmental vulnerability as dose to man. The sensitivity analysis shows that the influence of model parameters can vary greatly depending on the concrete radionuclude and on the marine region. It is also shown that the results of the sensitivity parameter analysis can contribute to the process of defining which parameters can play an important role in the dose assessment and the evaluation of environmental vulnerability.

Uranium mine Žirovski vrh in Slovenia was closed in the year 1993. In the past years a lot of work was done for restoration of the area around the mine. There are two tailing sites, Jazbec and Boršt, filled with material with high specific activity of 226Ra. Tailings are covered by different layers of clay and soil in depth of 2 m for reducing radon exhalation rate. Gras, growing on the surface of tailing sites has been used as fodder for domestic animals. We were interesting about the amount of the specific activity of natural radionuclides 238U, 226Ra or 210Pb, transferred from the covering soil on the tailing to the grass on the surface area. The transfer factors of naturally occurring radionuclides have not been studied to the same extent as their artificial counterparts, but some comprehensive investigations have been done by various institutions around the world. In case of 226Ra calculated values are two times or four times bigger than measured. For 210Pb measured values are up to hundred times bigger than calculated. The reason for that is radon in the air, decays to the 210Pb, deposited on the grass and not 210Pb coming from the soil.

Over the last 30 years there has been a reduction in the radioactive discharges from the UK’s Sellafield site. Radionuclide activity concentrations in the environment around Sellafield have declined as a result. However, routine monitoring results from the nearby Esk Estuary show a less clear trend, with fluctuations in gamma dose rate measurements being reported from year to year. A comprehensive survey (n = 576) of gamma dose rates in the Esk Estuary was undertaken in 2007 and the data compared to a similar survey carried out in 1989. There was a highly statistically significant decrease in the external gamma dose rates within the Esk Estuary between 1989 and 2007. The measured total gamma dose rate range in 2007 was 0.064 – 0.235 μGy h−1with a mean of 0.123 μGy h−1. This equates to a maximum exposure of 0.200 μSv h−1. There was no evidence of large-scale sediment redistribution under current conditions. However, there was limited evidence to suggest that part of the reason for the reduction in measured dose rates was the burial of contaminated sediment deposits by uncontaminated sediments transported by tidal processes.

Ukrainian Radiation Protection Institute has developed system for calculation of doses to the population living in the supervision zone of the NPP from atmospheric discharges of Nuclear Power Plants during normal operation. The system analyses daily meteorological data, and also daily and monthly atmospheric discharges of radionuclides. The developed system is applied for dose calculation for Ukrainian population and identification of radionuclides, which form considerable contribution to total doses (noble gases, H-3, I-131). A special attention has been given for variability of actual meteorological conditions and discharges. For example, it has been revealed the case when I-131 discharge from a Ukrainian NPP during 4 consecutive days has made 34 % of annual discharge (and 72% during 3 weeks). Variability of actual discharges is a result of changes in an operation mode of NPP unit and it is a typical situation for Ukrainian NPPs. Apparently, the similar situation can be typical for NPPs in another countries. Such results lead to necessity to consider possible variations of meteorological conditions and discharges for establishment of permissible levels (for example, by introduction of variability factor).

Annual intake of 90Sr trough foodstuffs and drinking water was assessed for eleven age categories of Finnish females and males in 1955–2010. Maximum intakes were received by young men in 1963–64. Cereals and milk contributed more than 80% to the dietary dose then. Per capita dose from ingestion of 90Sr corresponded to the dose for a boy 13 years of age and a man older than 65 years. Lifetime committed effective dose from ingestion of 90Sr for a newborn male was 0.49 mSv and for a 20 years old male 0.32 mSv, when the exposure of 70 and 50 years started in the beginning of 1955. For females the doses were 0.39 and 0.25 mSv, respectively. The activity concentrations of 90Sr in milk varied in the whole country by a factor of two in the years of maximum fallout and decreased towards the 1980s. Also other than soil related factors have contributed to the variation in human exposure to dietary 90Sr.

The understanding of the fate of the various pollutants and its mobility in the catchments of Nagarjun Sagar dam built on the Krishna river is of utmost important .As the Pedaguttu and Lambarpur catchments area has a proposed Uranium mining sites and Nagarjuna Sagar dam is the third largest man made dam which is the ultimate destination of all the rivulets in the Pedaguttu catchments. The concept of the distribution coefficient is invoked to understand the residence time of radionuclide on its nature. Expressions are derived to estimate the value of soil erosion constant using naturally occurring radionuclide. Based on 210Pb profile in the sediment core, the sedimentary load of 0.24 gm m−2y−1 was observed in the Pedaguttu and Lambarpur side of the Dam. The retention time and the transport coefficient of the pollutant were further obtained by using the appropriate modeling equation and was found 3776 and 2.7 × 10−5 respectively. The comparative exercise of the retention time and transport coefficient was done with the other studied catchments of the world for the further validation of the result.

In this study, we investigated the microbial community (bacteria and protozooplankton) of a Brazilian reservoir that receives neutralized acid mine drainage flowing from piles of earth produced during uranium extraction. Thus, this research represents an attempt to fill a gap in the information on the ecology of freshwater microorganisms in tropical oligotrophic habitats, in particular in systems affected by high levels of the uranium. During the study, we observed very low chlorophyll a contents and protozooplankton cell densities and biomass. These cell densities were between 0 and 89 cells L−1 and were lower than those frequently reported for oligotrophic freshwater lakes. In contrast, bacterial densities were normal or even slightly high, between 1.85 to 6.0 × 109 cells L−1. The present study has demonstrated very low protozooplankton cell densities and biomass in oligotrophic reservoir under the influence of acidic mining effuents and of high levels of ionizing radiation. It is likely that the ciliate cell densities and biomasses recorded in this study, which fall significantly below the previously published values, can be explained by the chronic fractionated exposure of these protozoa to the high levels of uranium to this system.

Studies that examine biological effects on non-human biota in natural settings provide a unique opportunity for obtaining information about the potential biological hazard associated with radioactive contamination. The results of long-term field study in the Bryansk Region, Russia, affected by the Chernobyl accident are discussed. Plant populations growing in areas with relatively low levels of pollution are characterized by the increased level of both cytogenetic alterations and genetic diversity. In particular, radioactive contamination of the plants’ environment activates genetic mechanisms, changing a population’s resistance to exposure. However, there are radioecological situations where enhanced radioresistance has not evolved or has not persisted. A development of a system for protection of the environment from ionizing radiation should be based on a clear understanding of these effects and their contribution to response of populations.

The effects of low-dose γ-irradiation on the crustacean Daphnia magna have been analyzed. Given that the LD50 for this species is approximately 100 Gy, one-day-old daphnids were exposed to 10, 100 and 1000 mGy of acute γ-rays. The survival of irradiated animals was evaluated over the maximum lifespan of 90 days. Increased mortality among irradiated at doses of 100 and 1000 mGy daphnids was found. Our data also showed that the observed decrease in survival of irradiated animals was attributed to their early aging, thus providing an important evidence for the effects of low-dose irradiation on early senescence. Overall, the results of our studies have shown that low-dose irradiation can result in a significant reduction in life span of exposed daphnids. As the majority of irradiated Daphnia showed reduced viability regardless the dose, our data therefore imply the presence of a threshold of dose of low-LET exposure capable of impairing the viability of this species. We have also found that parental irradiation significantly affected the survival of first-generation offspring, the magnitude of which cannot be attributed to the segregation of radiation-induced deleterious mutations. Potential implications of the results of our studies for the risk assessment of low-dose exposure have been discussed.

Original data of tritium (1H3HO, or HTO) studying (1959–2010) of both natural, and artificial (technogenic) origin in natural waters on the country territory and in the seas of the World Ocean are presented. Entry sources of cosmogenic and technogenic HTO in hydrosphere of the Earth from atmosphere and its carrying over to various links of hydrological cycle are considered. The basic laws of the space-temporal HTO distribution in surface water of the northern part of the Eurasian continent, in the seas washing Russia and in separate water areas of the World Ocean, and also in atmospheric precipitation and Antarctica’s firn snow are studied. Prevailing influence of a molecular exchange on the HTO content in the top layer of lakes, the seas and oceans and in atmospheric moisture over the ocean is shown. The theory of a multicomponent isotope balance method is developed for studying of dynamic characteristics of water objects. Priority results of tritium use in the industry (on oil deposits, collieries, mines etc.) and in researches under national and international programs (WESTPAK, SOUTHERN OCEAN, “Isotopes in deposits”, the Soviet Arctic and Antarctic expeditions) are given. Systems of national and Far East regional monitoring HTO pollution of natural waters are created. Complexes for HTO measuring with record levels of threshold sensitivity (in the late seventies sensitivity of complex POI equaled to 4 × 10−6 Bq/ml) have been developed.

The new technologies were developed for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) condition operative monitoring and search for the lost objects with SNF at the sea bottom using Kr-85. The new paradigm of sea radioecology based on extensive research was proposed. The investigations include a preliminary experimental study of kinetics of fission products (Kr-85 and Cs-137) release from SNF, a subsequent expedition to the Arctic, as well as modeling radionuclides transfer in a near-bottom layer by means of fractal formalism using hydrological data on the expedition area [1,2]. Series of original experimental studies on Kr-85 and Cs-137 release from SNF during corrosion in sea water were conducted in 2002–2010. Time dependence of fission products (FP) release was measured in laboratory under conditions typical of a near-bottom water layer in the Novaya Zemlya Basin. Another important result was received during the expedition to the Arctic in the fall of 2000. The H-3 anomaly was recognized in the surface layer of the Kara Sea in the Novaya Zemlya Basin (228 ± 9.1 TU vs.10–15 TU in the Arctic on average!). This anomaly is located 100 miles south from the dumped reactor of atomic icebreaker “Lenin”. So it can be caused by SNF from the reactors of icebreaker “Lenin” or nuclear submarine K-140.

Vertical distribution of uranium and its decay products (226Ra and 210Pb) in the uppermost layers of the oxidised brown coals was studied for some deposits and natural outcrops of the Western part of the Kansko-Achinsk brown-coal basin. Abnormal accumulation of the mentioned radioactive elements is observed in all studied sites. Several types of radioactive anomalies are differed by the ratio of activities of 238U and 226Ra: 1) Equilibrium; 2) Radium; 3) Uranium. The depletion of 210Pb in the radioactive horizons of some sites indicates an active emanation of 222Rn in the underlying coal layers. Uranium besides the form sorbed on coal is presented in poral solutions. It says about its potential mobility and is confirmed experimentally. Radium is actively absorbed by the plants growing on radioactive coals.

Of the radiation types, alpha-(α) particles are of particular interest as they are an environmental concern, predominately due to inhalation of radon and its daughter progeny. Furthermore, α-particle emitters like Americium-241, Plutonium-238 and Polonium-210 have been identified as probable isotopes to be used in radiological dispersal devices. Thus, the identification of potential biomarkers to α-particle radiation exposure would be useful for the development of field deployable bioassays which could be used for human risk assessment and public health protection. Human lung cells were exposed to α-particle radiation and assessed for modulations in protein expression using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). Concurrently, cell culture supernatants were analyzed for cytokine secretion using a multiplex-27 bead array assay. Cell culture supernatants assessed for cytokine secretion expressed 8 statistically significant cytokines following α-particle exposure, among which VEGF was confirmed to be dose-responsive and not modulated in X-irradiated cells. Analysis of whole cell lysates using 2-D gel electrophoresis showed 15 upregulated and 1 downregulated protein spot, of which 4 were identified by mass spectrometry. These data suggest that α-particle exposure results in the alterations in expression-levels of specific proteins which may be potential biomarkers used further for the development of fast and reliable bioassays.