Impacts of Stable Element Intake on C and I Dose Estimates - Implications for Proposed Yucca Mountain Repository

Moeller, D.W. ; Ryan, M.T. ; Sun, Lin-Shen C. ; Jr., R.N. Cherry

United States. Department of Energy. Yucca Mountain Project Office.

关键词: Ingestion;    Adults;    Iodine;    Ground Water;    Water;   

DOI  :  10.2172/840145
RP-ID  :  NONE
RP-ID  :  NONE
RP-ID  :  840145

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the intake of stable isotopes of carbon and iodine on the committed doses due to the ingestion of {sup 14}C and {sup 129}I. This was accomplished through the application of two different computational approaches. The first was based on the assumption that ground (drinking) water was the only source of intake of both {sup 14}C and {sup 129}I and stable carbon and stable iodine. For purposes of the second approach, the intake of {sup 14}C and {sup 129}I was still assumed to be only that in the ground (drinking) water, but the intake of stable carbon and stable iodine was assumed to be that in the drinking water plus other components of the diet. The doses were estimated using either a conversion formula or the applicable dose coefficients in Federal Guidance Reports No. 11 and No. 13. Serving as input for the analyses was the estimated maximum concentration of {sup 14}C or {sup 129}I that would be present in the ground water due to potential releases from the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository during the first 10,000 years after closure. The estimated concentrations of stable carbon and iodine were based on analyses of ground water samples collected in the Amargosa Valley, NV. Based on the accompanying analyses, three conclusions were reached. First, no dose estimate, using a conversion formula in which the ratios of the stable to radioactive isotopes of an element serve as input, should ever be made without including the stable element intake contributions from all components of the diet. Second, the study suggests that the dose coefficients for {sup 129}I in Federal Guidance Reports No. 11 and No. 12 which, in turn, are based on publications of the ICRP, may not be appropriate for application in developed nations of the world, especially those in which relatively large amounts of seafood are consumed and the use of iodized salt is common. The estimated average daily intake of stable iodine by the adult U.S. population, for example, is 400 pg. This is twice the value listed by the ICRP for Reference Man. This leads to a dose estimate that is too high by a factor of two. Although the ICRP accounts for stable isotope contributions through the selection of a corresponding biological half-time for iodine, the selection in this case may need reevaluation especially with respect to assessments of potential {sup 129}I releases from the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository. The third conclusion, which confirms earlier studies, is that an increase in the intake of either {sup 14}C or {sup 129}I will not lead to an increase in the dose if there is a corresponding increase in the intake of stable carbon or iodine such that the ratio of {sup 14}C or {sup 129}I to stable carbon or iodine does not change.