The IAEA handbook on radionuclide transfer to wildlife

An IAEA handbook presenting transfer parameter values for wildlife was recently produced. Concentration ratios (CRwo-media) between the whole organism and either soil or water were collated for a range of wildlife groups (classified taxonomically and by feeding strategy) in terrestrial, freshwater, marine and brackish ecosystems. Data have been compiled in an on line database, which will continue to be updated in the future. An overview of the compilation and analysis, and discussion of the extent and limitations of the data is presented. Example comparisons of the CRwo-media values are given for polonium across all wildlife groups and ecosystems and for molluscs for all radionuclides. The CRwo-media values were also compared with those currently used in the ERICA Tool which represented the most complete published database for wildlife transfer values prior to this work. The use of CRwo-media values is a pragmatic approach to predicting radionuclide activity concentrations in wildlife and is similar to that used for screening assessments for the human food chain. The CRwo-media values are most suitable for a screening application where there are several conservative assumptions built into the models which will, to varying extents, compensate for the variable data quality and quantity, and associated uncertainty.