Biosphere model for the interim assessment of the Canadian concept for nuclear fuel waste disposal

The Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program has been established to assess the concept of geological disposal of nuclear fuel waste in plutonic rock. The Systems Variability Analysis Code (SYVAC) has been developed to estimate the range and probabilities of effects on man and the environment that could result from the disposal of nuclear fuel waste. SYVAC is composed of three submodels that represent the vault, the geosphere and the biosphere. The biosphere submodel calculates the transport of radionuclides through the environment following release from the geosphere and estimates the resulting radiation dose to man. This paper describes the biosphere submodel