Evaluating the radiological impact of uranium emissions in Port Hope, Ontario - A comparison of monitoring and modelling results

被引:11
作者
Ahier, BA
Tracy, BL
机构
[1] Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ont. K1A ICI
关键词
D O I
10.1016/0265-931X(96)00008-2
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
During 1988 and 1989, an environmental monitoring study was conducted to assess the possible health impact of airborne emissions from a Canadian uranium processing facility. Airborne U dust was collected using high-volume air samplers located within 2 km of the facility. Weekly concentrations of U in air varied from the detection limit of 0.06 ng m(-3) to 75.7 ng m(-3), with a geometric mean of 1.05 ng m(-3). Decreases in concentration during the summer facility slowdown period indicated that the observed levels of airborne U resulted primarily from processing operations, and not from the resuspension of previously emitted material. The committed inhalation dose to the nearest receptor from 1 year of facility operation was estimated to be 0.014 mSv. This was well below ICRP guidelines, and represented a small fraction of normal background radiation. No health effects would be expected at these levels. Results of the study were compared with the predictions of a longterm Gaussian dispersion model based on a hindcast approach to derive the best-fit emission rates. Predicted concentrations were generally within a factor of 2-3 of field observations. Discrepancies were due to inherent limitations of the model, uncertainties in the source emission characteristics, and variations between the long-term meteorological frequency distributions based on remote and local data. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited
引用
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页码:187 / 205
页数:19
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