Geothermal environmental overview project

The basic purpose of the Geothermal Environmental Overview Project is to summarize and assess the state of environmental issues of the top priority KGRAs from among the 37 KGRAs currently identified by the Division of Geothermal Energy as having possibility for commercial development. The objectives of the Overview Project are inventory of available data, assessment of available data, identification of data gaps, and identification of key issues. (JGB

Chernobyl Studies Project: Working group 7.0, Environmental transport and health effects. Progress report, March--September 1994

In April 1988, the US and the former-USSR signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety; this MOC was a direct result of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 and the following efforts by the two countries to implement a joint program to improve the safety of nuclear power plants and to understand the implications of environmental releases. A Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS) was formed to implement the MOC. The JCCCNRS established many working groups; most of these were the responsibility of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as far as the US participation was concerned. The lone exception was Working Group 7 on Environmental Transport and Health Effects, for which the US participation was the responsibility of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of Working Group 7 was succintly stated to be, ``To develop jointly methods to project rapidly the health effects of any future nuclear reactor accident.`` To implement the work DOE then formed two subworking groups: 7.1 to address Environmental Transport and 7.2 to address Health Effects. Thus, the DOE-funded Chernobyl Studies Project began. The majority of the initial tasks for this project are completed or near completion. The focus is now turned to the issue of health effects from the Chernobyl accident. Currently, we are involved in and making progress on the case-control and co-hort studies of thyroid diseases among Belarussian children. Dosimetric aspects are a fundamental part of these studies. We are currently working to implement similar studies in Ukraine. A major part of the effort of these projects is supporting these studies, both by providing methods and applications of dose reconstruction and by providing support and equipment for the medical teams

United States-assisted studies on dose reconstruction in the former Soviet Union

Following the Chernobyl accident, the US and the USSR entered into an agreement to work on the safety of civilian nuclear reactors; one aspect of that work was to study the environmental transport and health effects of radionuclides released by the accident. After the break-up of the USSR separate agreements were established between the US and Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia to continue work on dose reconstruction and epidemiologic studies of health effects from exposure to external radiation and the incorporation of radionuclides. Studies in Belarus and Ukraine related to the Chernobyl accident now emphasize epidemiologic: studies of childhood-thyroid cancer and leukemia, and eye-lens-cataract formation in liquidators. Supporting studies on dose reconstruction emphasize a variety of ecological, physical, and biological techniques. Studies being conducted in Russia currently emphasize health effects in the workers and the population around the Mayak Industrial Association. As this production complex is an analogue of the US Hanford Works, advantage is being taken of the US experience in conducting a similar, recently completed dose-reconstruction study. In all cases the primary work on dose reconstruction is being performed by scientists from the former Soviet Union. US assistance is in the form of expert consultation and participation, exchange visits, provision of supplies and equipment, and other forms of local assistance

Chernobyl Studies Project: Working group 7.0, Environmental transport and health effects. Progress report, March--September 1994

In April 1988, the US and the former-USSR signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety; this MOC was a direct result of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 and the following efforts by the two countries to implement a joint program to improve the safety of nuclear power plants and to understand the implications of environmental releases. A Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS) was formed to implement the MOC. The JCCCNRS established many working groups; most of these were the responsibility of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as far as the US participation was concerned. The lone exception was Working Group 7 on Environmental Transport and Health Effects, for which the US participation was the responsibility of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of Working Group 7 was succintly stated to be, ``To develop jointly methods to project rapidly the health effects of any future nuclear reactor accident.`` To implement the work DOE then formed two subworking groups: 7.1 to address Environmental Transport and 7.2 to address Health Effects. Thus, the DOE-funded Chernobyl Studies Project began. The majority of the initial tasks for this project are completed or near completion. The focus is now turned to the issue of health effects from the Chernobyl accident. Currently, we are involved in and making progress on the case-control and co-hort studies of thyroid diseases among Belarussian children. Dosimetric aspects are a fundamental part of these studies. We are currently working to implement similar studies in Ukraine. A major part of the effort of these projects is supporting these studies, both by providing methods and applications of dose reconstruction and by providing support and equipment for the medical teams

Working Group 7.0 Environmental Transport and Health Effects, Chernobyl Studies Project. Progress report, October 1994 -- March 1995

This document presents the details from the working group 7.0 Chernobyl Studies Project. This working group looked at the environmental transport and health effects from the fallout due to the meltdown of Chernobylsk-4 reactor. Topics include: hydrological transport; chromosome painting dosimetry; EPR, TL and OSL dosimetry; stochastic effects; thyroid studies; and leukemia studies

Environmental, health, safety, and socioeconomic concerns associated with oil recovery from US tar-sand deposits: state-of-knowledge

Tar-sand petroleum-extraction procedures undergoing field testing for possible commercial application in the US include both surface (above-ground) and in situ (underground) procedures. The surface tar-sand systems currently being field tested in the US are thermal decomposition processes (retorting), and suspension methods (solvent extraction). Underground bitumen extraction procedures that are also being field tested domestically are in situ combustion and steam-injection. Environmental, health, safety, and socioeconomic concerns associated with construction and operation of 20,000-bbl/d commercial tar-sand surface and in situ facilities have been estimated and are summarized in this report. The principal regulations that commercial tar-sand facilities will need to address are also discussed, and environmental control technologies are summarized and wherever possible, projected costs of emission controls are stated. Finally, the likelihood-of-occurrence of potential environmental, health, and safety problems that have been determined are reviewed, and from this information inference is made as to the environmental acceptability of technologically feasible 20,000-bbl/d commercial tar-sand oil-extraction procedures

Health and environmental effects document on geothermal energy: 1981

Several of the important health and environmental risks associated with a reference geothermal industry that produces 21,000 MW/sub e/ for 30 y (equivalent to 20 x 10/sup 18/ J) are assessed. The analyses of health effects focus on the risks associated with exposure to hydrogen sulfide, particulate sulfate, benzene, mercury, and radon in air and arsenic in water. Results indicate that emissions of hydrogen sulfide are likely to cause odor-related problems in geothermal resources areas, assuming that no pollution controls are employed. For individuals living within an 80 km radius of the geothermal resources, chronic exposure to particulate sulfate could result in between 0 to 95 premature deaths per 10/sup 18/ J of electricity generated. The mean population risk of leukemia from the inhalation of benzene was calculated to be 3 x 10/sup -2/ cases per 10/sup 18/ J. Exposure to elemental mercury in the atmosphere could produce between 0 and 8.2 cases of tremors per 10/sup 18/ J of electricity. Inhalation of radon and its short-lived daughters poses a mean population risk of 4.2 x 10/sup -1/ lung cancers per 10/sup 18/ J. Analysis of skin cancer risk from the ingestion of surface water contaminated with geothermally derived arsenic suggests that a dose-response model is inconsistent with data showing that arsenic is an essential element and that excessive body burdens do not appear even when arsenic reaches 100 ..mu..g/liter in drinking water. Estimates of occupational health effects were based on rates of accidental deaths and occupational diseases in surrogate industries. According to calculations, there would be 14 accidental deaths per 10/sup 18/ J of electricity and 340 cases of occupational diseases per 10/sup 18/ J. The analysis of the effects of noncondensing gases on vegetation showed that ambient concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide are more likely to enhance rather than inhibit the growth of plants

A test of resuspension factor models against Chernobyl data

After the accident at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP), stationary air samplers were operated at Chernobyl and Baryshevka, cities which are 16 km and 150 km, respectively, from the NPP. Other air samplers were operated simultaneously, but intermittently, at locations within the 30 km zone at distances of 4-25 km from the NPP. These data were used to check the validity of time dependent models of the resuspension factor K (m{sup -1}). Seven different models were examined, three of which are discussed in the paper. Data from the stationary air samplers were averaged over one day or one month; dam from the intermittent air samplers were averaged over three days in 1986 and over four hours in 1991. The concentrations of eight radionuclides were measured at ten points during the same time period (14-17 September 1986). The calculated resuspension factors range from 6 x 10{sup -9} m{sup -1} to 3 x 10{sup -6} m{sup -1}. Data for the spatial means of K are given for certain time periods in 1986 and 1991; also presented are the calculated values according to the models. The experimental data and the calculated values differ by up to more than one order of magnitude. Also analysed was the temporal change in experimental values of K and these values were compared with model predictions. The annual means of the resuspension factor as determined experimentally and as calculated with the models are presented. The model derived from empirical data measured in Neuherberg after the Chernobyl accident agrees best with the data. The Garland model systematically gives results lower than the experimental values, and the calculated values of K from the Linsley model are consistently conservative. Also considered were the uncertainty of K due to fluctuations in air concentrations and possible biological effects of episodic exposures

Chernobyl Accident : Retrospective and Prospective Estimates of External Dose of the Population of Ukraine.

Following the Chernobyl accident many activities were conducted in Ukraine in order to define the radiological impact. Considered here are gamma spectrometric analyses of soil-depth-profile samples taken in the years 1988-1999, gamma spectrometric measurements of radionuclide concentration in soil samples taken in 1986, and measurements of external gamma-exposure rate in air. These data are analyzed in this paper to derive a reference" radionuclide composition and an attenuation function for the time-dependent rate of external gamma exposure that changes due to the migration of radiocesium into the soil column. An attenuation function for cesium is derived that consists of two exponential functions with half lives of 1.5 and 50 y. The dependencies of attenuation on direction and distance from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant are also demonstrated. On the basis of these analyses the average individual and collective external gamma doses for the population of Ukraine are derived for 1986, 1986-2000, and 1986-2055. For the 1.4 million persons living in rural areas with Cs-137 contamination of >37 kBq m(-2), the collective effective dose from external exposure is estimated to be 7,500 person-Sv by the end of 2000. A critical group of 22,500 persons who received individual doses of >20 mSv is identified for consideration of increased social and medical attention.