Article

New model for agricultural countermeasures in RODOS and ARGOS

¹ Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, München-Neuherberg, Germany
² Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institut für Kern- und Energietechnik, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
³ Health Protection Agency, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Chilton, Didcot, UK

Abstract

Predictions of the effects of agricultural countermeasures are an important part of the decision-making process following an accidental release of radioactive material into the environment. A new model has been developed for this purpose and integrated into the EU decision support systems RODOS and ARGOS. The model is based on the existing food chain model of RODOS and the previous model for simulating agricultural countermeasures in RODOS. The characteristics of the countermeasures and the supporting databases have been derived from the compendia and handbooks developed within the EURANOS project. A wide range of potentially practicable countermeasures is considered on timescales from a day to many years, and endpoints related to their imposition are calculated such that the economic and health impacts can be evaluated. This paper outlines the countermeasures methodology adopted and the databases used and discusses their applicability.