The thyroid is an organ at risk during a radiological release involving a nuclear power plant due to the radioactive iodine released into the atmosphere. Potassium iodide tablets are commonly used to protect the thyroid during radioactive iodine exposure. Seventeen states currently provide potassium iodide to the public before an...
Honeybees and honey combs are good indicators of environmental contamination and can be important for dose calculations. In the event of reactor accidents and nuclear weapon testing, the released radioactive materials are likely to be transported through various environmental pathways as well as by humans and animals, including bees. Due...
Over the past decade the International Commission on Radiological Protection has developed a comprehensive approach to environmental protection that includes the use of Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs) to assess radiological impacts on the environment. For the purposes of calculating radiation dose, the RAPs are approximated as simple shapes that...
Radioecology observes the movement of radioactive isotopes throughout the environment. For radioecology, locations of study are limited to areas accidentally contaminated from a number of sources. The Chalk River Laboratories of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited have stored low level waste since the mid 1940s. In certain instances, the wastes...
Internal dosimetry is challenging and relies on estimates using MIRD or ICRP biokinetic models. To address this, we looked at gene expression analysis in whole blood from radiotherapy patients. Patients with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma who received ¹³¹I-mIBG at UCSF were used to correlate internal ionizing radiation (IR) dose with...
After contamination of soil in Japan due to the Fukushima Daiichi accident, there has been an increased interest in remediation of radiologically contaminated land. This study investigated the efficacy of a new biological remediation technology developed by Earthfort, an Oregon based company to hold radionuclides at the soil surface. Cesium-134...
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Kathryn A. Higley
After contamination of soil in Japan due to the Fukushima Daiichi
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011 made it apparent that releases of fission products to marine environments is a very real possibility. Additional data on the movement of material through marine environments can be used by radioecology personnel to assist with both ecosystem protection as well as environmental cleanup...
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 458.1 states that the compliance with the DOE annual dose limit of 1 mSv (100 mrem) to a member of the public may be demonstrated by calculating dose to the maximally exposed individual (MEI) or to a representative person. Historically, the MEI concept...
NCRP report No.160 states that medical exposure increased to nearly half of the total radiation exposure of the U.S. population from all sources in 2006 (NCRP 2009). Part of this increase in exposure is due to the rise in nuclear medicine procedures. With this observed growth in medical radionuclide usage,...
Uranium is naturally radioactive and commonly found in water, soil, and rock. It can occur in elevated concentrations due to the presence of ore bearing bodies and be concentrated through human activities. This research focuses on uranium uptake for Capsicum annuum for three growing conditions. These include a set of...