NKS/EKO-1. Marine radioecology

The main aim of the EKO-1 project is to enable faster and better assessments to be made of the effects of releases of radionuclides to the marine environment, taking health and economic factors into consideration. The main parts of the project are: Model work -Identifying, estimating and validating parameters of main interest. Research. Quality assurance. Dissemination of information. The Arctic model has been used for a preliminary radiological assessment of the potential consequences of the dumped nuclear waste in the Kara Sea. A worst-case scenario gives collective doses at 10 mansieverts to the world population integrated to 1000 y while a more probable release scenario gives collective doses around 3 mansieverts. The model has also been used to estimate the potential doses to the world population from releases of 239Pu from the Komsomolets nuclear submarine. The collective dose was calculated at a value of 8 mansieverts. Research work has been progressing in accordance with plan. Two sub-projects are investigating the interpretation of sediment profiles and determination of sedimentation rates. The interaction between sea water and sediments is being studied both under various types of natural conditions and in a laboratory. Within EKO-1 there has been organised an intercomparison exercise to check analytical techniques in the participating laboratories. Many laboratories outside EKO-1 were invited to participate, including some in the Baltic States. Most of the laboratories have already submitted their values, the last chance to do so is at the end of this year. Problems concerning sediment sampling have also been discussed, but organizing a large scale intercomparison between sediment samplers would be far too expensive for the EKO-1 project. (EG) 10 refs