Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

D.8
Baker's analysis indicated that for a constant world population of 3.8 x 109 persons,
the collective population dose rate, at equilibrium with a continuous release of 1 Ci/yr
of 3H, was 1 x 10 - 2 man-rem/yr for all three population groups combined. Less than 10% of
this dose was received by persons residing within 80 km of the plant site but about half was
received by the eastern U.S. population during the initial pass of the 3H released from the
midwestern site. The actual dose to the regional U.S. population from a 3H release to the
atmosphere could range from near zero for plants situated on the eastern seaboard to values
approximately equal in magnitude to the equilibrium worldwide population dose for plants
situated in the West or Midwest.
In Baker's model (Baker and Soldat 1976) the 3H content of water and food consumed by
the world's population was assumed to be related to, but not necessarily as high as, the 3H
concentration in the surface waters of the appropriate latitude band. Even so, the
population-weighted average surface water concentrations were higher than those obtained in
/Ahe simpler model used by the EPA (1973 and 1974), which assumed mixing of the H in the
circulating ocean water of the northern hemisphere. As a result, Baker's calculations of
dose to the world population (excluding the United States) are about seven times greater
than those estimated by EPA.(a)
For the commercial waste management study, the methods used by Baker were adopted with
the exceptions of changing the world population from 3.8 x 109 persons to 6.4 x 109 persons
and using a release time of 30 years in place of a continuous release out to equilibrium.
The resulting dose factors per unit release are summarized in Table 0.2.1.
TABLE D.2.1. Total-Body Dose Factors, and Dose Commitment Factors for the World
Population (6.4 x 109 persons), man-rem per Ci/yr released(a)
Accumulated
Dose Factor Dose Factor Dose Commitment
Radionuclide (1/1)k() (1/30)(c) (70/ 30)(d) Factor ( 7 0/ 1 )(e)
3H 4.7 x 10 - 4 6.8 x 10 -3
2.4 x 10-1 8.2 x 10
14C 2.4 7.2 x 101 4.0 x 103 1.7 x 102
8 5 Kr 3.1 x 10 - 5 4.1 x10 -4
1.4 x 10- 2
- 3
- 4
4.7 x 10
(a) Exclusive of contribution to eastern U.S. population dose from first passage
of fuel reprocessing plant (FRP) gaseous effluents if FRP is
located in the Midwest or West.
(b) World population dose in first year after a 1-Ci release (instantaneous
equilibrium).
(c) Annual world population dose in the 30th year (year 2000) after 30 years
of continuous release of 1 Ci/yr.
(d) Seventy-year accumulated dose to the world population from 30 years of
release at 1 Ci/yr followed by 40 years exposure to the residual environmental
contamination.
(e) Seventy-year dose commitment to the world population from .a 1-year
release of 1 Ci/yr to the environment plus continued exposure to the
residual environmental contamination.
(a) The calculated U.S. population dose, however, is only two times higher for the Baker
model than for the EPA Model. The net result is that the combined world population dose
(including the U.S. population) is about three times higher via Baker's model than via
the model used by EPA.