[ RadSafe ] [EXTERNAL] Bq/kg soil

[Karen Street]

Pretend I'm a lay person who blogs on climate change and energy issues and wants to put the 5,000 Bq/kg limit in Japan in context. Be kind.

I used to teach high school physics so I understand the really easy stuff.

> RESRAD is OK, but you NEED to understand your scenario, and make sure
> the assumptions that go into it are reasonable.  RESRAD will happily
> allow scenarios that have little connection with reality.  
> 
> If you are plugging in a bunch of isotopes quantified through gamma
> spec, make sure you leave out K40.  In many soils (and water, for that
> matter) K40 may be the isotope with the highest activity, but it
> actually does not contribute any actual dose through ingestion pathways
> (because the body regulates potassium so well) and if there is enough
> K40 in the soil for significant external dose, you aren't farming it.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Wasiolek,
> Maryla
> Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 1:47 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] [EXTERNAL] Bq/kg soil
> 
> Activity concentration in the soil gets converted to doses by using the
> environmental transport and exposure models.  ResRad
> (http://web.ead.anl.gov/resrad/home2/) is a good example of software
> that uses such model.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
> [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Karen Street
> Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 2:31 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ RadSafe ] Bq/kg soil
> 
> I see Japan has a standard of 5,000 Bq/kg soil, and that a sizable
> amount of acreage is affected.
> 
> What are the standards of other countries, and how the heck does this
> get converted into mmSv, assuming this is agricultural land?
> 
> I assume there is variation by crop.
> 
> What do I not know? 
> 

--
Best wishes, 
Karen Street
Friends Energy Project
blog http://pathsoflight.us/musing/index.php