US Subseabed Disposal Program radioecological data base: summaries of available radionuclide concentration factors and biological half-lives

The US Subseabed Disposal Program has compiled an extensive objective concentration factor and biological half-life data base from the international marine radioecological literature. A microcomputer-based data management system has been implemented to provide statistical and graphical summaries of these data. The data base is constructed in a manner which allows subsets to be sorted using a number of inter-study variables such as organism category, tissue/organ category, geographic location (for in situ studies), and several laboratory-related conditions (e.g., exposure time and exposure concentration). We discuss concentration factor data summaries for many elements. We also discuss summary material for biological half-life data. We discuss the results of our review with the estimates of mean concentration factors provided by the IAEA. It is proposed that this presentation scheme will enable those concerned with predictive assessment of radiation dose in the marine environment to make a more judicious selection of data for a given application. 7 references