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A model approach for tritium dynamics in wild mammals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2012

J. Barescut,
D. Lariviere,
T. Stocki,
D. Galeriu and
A. Melintescu
D. Galeriu
Affiliation:
“Horia Hulubei” National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Department of Life and Environmental Physics, 30 Reactorului St., POB MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele, RO-077125, Romania
A. Melintescu
Affiliation:
“Horia Hulubei” National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Department of Life and Environmental Physics, 30 Reactorului St., POB MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele, RO-077125, Romania
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Abstract

Tritium (3H) transfer into environment must be modelled differently than the transfer of other radionuclides released from nuclear reactors because hydrogen represents the building blocks of life. A solid understanding of 3H behaviour is essential because 3H may be released in large quantities from CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactors and from future thermonuclear reactors. Recently, the authors published a complex dynamic metabolic model for 3H and 14C transfer in farm and wild animals, but the model applications for wild biota were restricted to too few examples and mostly for 14C transfer. In this study, the model is applied to few selected wild animals for 3H uptake. Despite the lack of any experimental data for wild animals, the results presented in this study are less uncertain than for many other radionuclides and can provide a useful estimation for biota radioprotection.

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References

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