Modelling of radionuclide interception and loss processes in vegetation and of transfer in semi-natural ecosystems. Second report of the VAMP terrestrial working group. Part of the IAEA/CEC co-ordinated research programme on the validation of environmental model predictions (VAMP)

Following the Chernobyl accident and on the recommendation of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) in its Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident, the IAEA established a Co-ordinated Research Programme on ''The Validation of Models for the Transfer of Radionuclides in Terrestrial, Urban and Aquatic Environments and the Acquisition of Data for that Purpose''. The programme seeks to use the information on the environmental behaviour of radionuclides which became available as a result of the measurement programmes instituted in the countries of the former USSR and in many European countries after April 1986 for the purpose of testing the reliability of assessment models. Such models find application in assessing the radiological impact of all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle. They are used at the planning and design stage to predict the radiological impact of planned nuclear facilities, in assessing the possible consequences of accidents involving releases of radioactive material to the environment and in establishing criteria for the implementation of countermeasures. In the operational phase they are used together with the results of environmental monitoring to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements regarding release limitation. Refs, figs and tabs