A Sensitivity Analysis of a Radiological Assessment Model for Arctic Waters

• Published in: Radiation Protection Dosimetry
• Main Author: Nielsen, S.P.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1998
• Subjects: Article; Arctic; Kara Sea
• Online Access: http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/75/1-4/213; https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a032232

A model based on compartment analysis has been developed to simulate the dispersion of radionuclides in Arctic waters for an assessment of doses to man. The model predicts concentrations of radionuclides in the marine environment and doses to man from a range of exposure pathways. A parameter sensitivity analysis has identified components of the model that are potentially important contributors to the predictive accuracy of doses to individuals of critical groups as well as to the world population. The components investigated include features associated with water transport and mixing, particle scavenging, water-sediment interaction, biological uptake, ice transport and fish migration. Two independent evaluations of the release of radioactivity from dumped nuclear waste in the Kara Sea have been used as source terms for the dose calculations.