The objective of this research was to estimate the radiological impact on various non-human biotas by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant radiation release resulting from Japan's tsunami in March 2011 consistent with the recent recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Soil concentration data given by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT) were used to approximate doses to various organisms. Cumulative doses and dose rates were plotted in ArcGIS 10, geographic information system (GIS) software, and Kriging interpolations were performed between the sampling points. The conclusion of this preliminary investigation that there appears to be the potential for adverse biological impacts of the studied biota; however, the magnitude of the impact will require further investigation. / Graduation date: 2013

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been assigned toxic equivalency factors (TEFs). These compounds are today routinely analysed with sophisticated analytical techniques. In a near future, there might be other dioxinlike compounds such as polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), alkyl-polychlorodibenzofurans (R-PCDFs), and polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) added to this list of toxic dioxin-like compounds. It is therefore important to have a readiness to analyse these new compounds in environmental samples. In this study, a multi-residue non-destructive analytical method for the analyses of these planar dioxin-like compound classes was developed. The use of HPLC PX-21 carbon column fractionation enabled the separation of interfering PCBs from coplanar PCBs and other planar dioxin-like compounds of interest. The obtained planar fraction containing the dioxin-like compounds was analysed using high-resolution GC-MS. Levels of PCNs in surface sediments and settling particulate matter in the northern Baltic Sea were determined. The concentrations of PCNs in background surface sediments were approximately 1 ng/g dw and the estimated PCN fluxes were similar to the pre-industrial levels determined in Europe. The PCN congener patterns in the surface sediments suggest that the PCNs deposited in the Baltic Sea originate from similar sources. Bioaccumulation of PCNs in a benthic food chain (sediment, amphipod, isopod, and four-horned sculpin) from the Gulf of Bothnia was studied. The results indicated that only a few PCN congeners biomagnified. The highest biomagnification factors (BMFs) were found for 2,3,6,7-substituted congeners and those lacking adjacent hydrogen-substituted carbon atoms. The calculated biota to sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) showed that the tetra- and penta- CNs exhibited BSAF values higher than one, while BSAFs for the more chlorinated PCNs were less than one. A general difference between the northern and southern parts of the Gulf of Bothnia could be seen in the samples, with the lowest PCN and total PCB concentrations being found in the north and the highest in the south. This gradient is related to distance from the more industrialised and populated regions in the southern parts of Sweden and Finland, and central Europe. Analysis of R-PCDFs in crustacean samples from the Swedish west coast was performed using HRGC-MS/MS. The ΣR-PCDFs in these samples were present at concentrations up to 10 times higher than the ΣPCDFs. The relatively high concentrations of R-PCDFs in the crab samples demonstrate that these compounds bioaccumulate. The fate of a pollutant in the environment and the toxicity of a compound are governed by its physicochemical properties. The information found in a data set of properties can predict a compound’s mode of action. The following physicochemical properties for 87 PCDFs were measured: ultra-violetadsorption, relative retention times on two common gas chromatographic stationary phases, and relative mass spectrometric response factors using EI- and NCI- modes.

The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to assess the probable impact of ionizing radiation on the public health and the environment (including fauna and flora) in the vicinity of nuclear power engineering objects (in case of the Maišiagala near-surface radioactive waste repository – by evaluating the possible impact on the human health, while in case of the Ignalina NPP cooling basin, Lake Drūkšiai – by evaluating the possible impact on the freshwater ecosystem biota) by applying probabilistic methods as well as to determine whether this activity after assessment of its character and impact on the environment meets the standards valid in the Republic of Lithuania or in the European Union and is permissible at a selected site at present or in the future. In the work two main programs, RESRAD-OFFSITE and ERICA, using scattering of site-specific parameter values and probabilistic (correlation, regressive, sensitivity, etc.) analysis, have been applied. It has been determined that in the environment of the Maišiagala repository after installation of additional protective barriers the annual effective human exposure dose is significantly lower as compared to the limited dose and 95th percentile dose not exceed the exposure of 1 mSv per year regulated in the hygiene standards. The exposure dose rate of standardized organisms of Lake Drūkšiai, the Ignalina NPP cooler, freshwater ecosystem biota due to the INPP discharges and waterway radionuclide migration from a hypothetic... [to full text] / Šios daktaro disertacijos tikslas - įvertinti galimą jonizuojančiosios spinduliuotės poveikį visuomenės sveikatai ir aplinkai (tame tarpe gyvūnijai ir augalijai) branduolinės energetikos objektų aplinkoje (Maišiagalos radioaktyviųjų atliekų saugyklos atveju - vertinant galimą poveikį žmogui, ir IAE aušintuvo Drūkšių ežero atveju - vertinant galimą poveikį gėlavandenės ekosistemos biotai), taikant tikimybinius metodus; nustatyti, ar ši veikla, įvertinus jos pobūdi ir poveikį aplinkai, atitinka Lietuvos Respublikoje arba Europos Sąjungoje galiojančius standartus, yra leistina pasirinktoje vietoje dabartiniu laikotarpiu arba ateityje. Darbe buvo taikomos 2 pagrindinės programos: RESRAD-OFFSITE ir ERICA., naudojant vietines sąlygas atitinkančius parametrų verčių išbarstymą, taikant tikimybinę (koreliacinę, regresinę, jautrio ir kt.) analizę. Nustatyta, kad, įrengus papildomus apsauginius barjerus, Maišiagalos saugyklos aplinkoje metinė efektinė gyventojų apšvitos dozė yra ženkliai mažesnė lyginant su apribotosios dozės dydžiu, 95 procentilė nesiekia higienos normose patvirtintos 1mSv per metus ribinės dozės dydžio. Ignalinos AE aušintuvo Drūkšių ežero gėlavandenės ekosistemos biotos standartizuotųjų organizmų apšvitos dozės galia dėl IAE nuotekų ir radionuklidų sklaidos vandens keliu iš hipotetinio Stabatiškės radioaktyviųjų atliekų kapinyno rodo, kad apšvitos dozės galia dėl antropogeninės kilmės radionuklidų jonizuojančiosios spinduliuotės poveikio neviršija Europos Sąjungoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Šios daktaro disertacijos tikslas - įvertinti galimą jonizuojančiosios spinduliuotės poveikį visuomenės sveikatai ir aplinkai (tame tarpe gyvūnijai ir augalijai) branduolinės energetikos objektų aplinkoje (Maišiagalos radioaktyviųjų atliekų saugyklos atveju - vertinant galimą poveikį žmogui, ir IAE aušintuvo Drūkšių ežero atveju - vertinant galimą poveikį gėlavandenės ekosistemos biotai), taikant tikimybinius metodus; nustatyti, ar ši veikla, įvertinus jos pobūdi ir poveikį aplinkai, atitinka Lietuvos Respublikoje arba Europos Sąjungoje galiojančius standartus, yra leistina pasirinktoje vietoje dabartiniu laikotarpiu arba ateityje. Darbe buvo taikomos 2 pagrindinės programos: RESRAD-OFFSITE ir ERICA., naudojant vietines sąlygas atitinkančius parametrų verčių išbarstymą, taikant tikimybinę (koreliacinę, regresinę, jautrio ir kt.) analizę. Nustatyta, kad, įrengus papildomus apsauginius barjerus, Maišiagalos saugyklos aplinkoje metinė efektinė gyventojų apšvitos dozė yra ženkliai mažesnė lyginant su apribotosios dozės dydžiu, 95 procentilė nesiekia higienos normose patvirtintos 1mSv per metus ribinės dozės dydžio. Ignalinos AE aušintuvo Drūkšių ežero gėlavandenės ekosistemos biotos standartizuotųjų organizmų apšvitos dozės galia dėl IAE nuotekų ir radionuklidų sklaidos vandens keliu iš hipotetinio Stabatiškės radioaktyviųjų atliekų kapinyno rodo, kad apšvitos dozės galia dėl antropogeninės kilmės radionuklidų jonizuojančiosios spinduliuotės poveikio neviršija Europos Sąjungoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to assess the probable impact of ionizing radiation on the public health and the environment (including fauna and flora) in the vicinity of nuclear power engineering objects (in case of the Maišiagala near-surface radioactive waste repository – by evaluating the possible impact on the human health, while in case of the Ignalina NPP cooling basin, Lake Drūkšiai – by evaluating the possible impact on the freshwater ecosystem biota) by applying probabilistic methods as well as to determine whether this activity after assessment of its character and impact on the environment meets the standards valid in the Republic of Lithuania or in the European Union and is permissible at a selected site at present or in the future. In the work two main programs, RESRAD-OFFSITE and ERICA, using scattering of site-specific parameter values and probabilistic (correlation, regressive, sensitivity, etc.) analysis, have been applied. It has been determined that in the environment of the Maišiagala repository after installation of additional protective barriers the annual effective human exposure dose is significantly lower as compared to the limited dose and 95th percentile dose not exceed the exposure of 1 mSv per year regulated in the hygiene standards. The exposure dose rate of standardized organisms of Lake Drūkšiai, the Ignalina NPP cooler, freshwater ecosystem biota due to the INPP discharges and waterway radionuclide migration from a hypothetic... [to full text]

Marine aerosols have attracted increasing attention over the past 15 years because of their potential significance for global climate modelling. The size distribution of these aerosols extends from super-micrometer sea salt mode particles down through 150 nm accumulation mode particles, 40 nm Aitken mode particles and nucleation mode particles which extend from 25 nm right down to clusters of a few molecules. The process by which the submicrometer modes form and grow and their composition have remained topics of debate throughout this time in large part because of the difficulties associated with determining their composition and relating it to proposed models of the formation process. The work compared the modality of marine aerosol influencing the South-east-Queensland region with that of other environmental aerosols in the region. The aerosol was found to be consistent with marine aerosols observed elsewhere with concentrations below 1000 cm-3 and frequently exhibiting the distinct bimodal structure associated with cloud processing, consisting of an Aitken mode at approximately 40 nm, an accumulation mode in the range 100-200 nm and a coarse mode attributed to sea salt between 600 and 1200 nm. This work included the development of two new techniques for aerosol research. The first technique measures aerosol density using a combination of aerosol size distribution and gravimetric mass concentration measurements. This technique was used to measure the density of a number of submicrometer aerosols including laboratory generated NaCl aerosol and ambient aerosol. The densities for the laboratory generated aerosols were found to be similar to those for the bulk materials used to produce them. The technique, extended to super-micrometer particle size range may find application in ambient aerosol research where it could be used to discriminate between periods when the aerosol is dominated by NaCl and periods when the density is more representative of crustal material or sulfates. The technique may also prove useful in laboratory or industrial settings for investigating particle density or in case where the composition is known, morphology and porosity. The second technique developed, integrates the existing physicochemical techniques of volatilisation and hygroscopic growth analysis to investigate particle composition in terms of both the volatilisation temperatures of the chemical constituents and their contribution to particle hygroscopic behaviour. The resulting volatilisation and humidification tandem differential mobility analyser or VH-TDMA, has proven to be a valuable research tool which is being used in ongoing research. Findings of investigations relating the composition of the submicrometer marine aerosol modes to candidate models for their formation are presented. Sea salt was not found in the numerically dominant particle type in coastal nucleation mode or marine Aitken and accumulation modes examined on the Southeast Queensland coast during periods where back trajectories indicated marine origin. The work suggests that all three submicrometer modes contain the same four volatile chemical species and an insoluble non-volatile residue. The volatility and hygroscopic behaviours of the particles are consistent with a composition consisting of a core composed of sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate and an iodine oxide coated with a volatile organic compound. The volume fraction of the sulfuric acid like species in the particles shows a strong dependence on particle size.

At low doses, relevant to nuclear incidents and accidental releases of radioactivity, the detriment of radiation extends beyond direct effects. This thesis investigates genomic instability, a subclass of non-targeted effects where damage and lethality is transmitted vertically and expressed in the progeny of cells many generations after initial radiation exposure. Through a series of experiments using clonogenic assay of human and fish cell culture, studies described in this thesis describe lethal mutations, hyper radiosensitivity and increased radioresistance – processes involving repair mechanisms that dictate survival in cells exposed to low doses. Further study investigates the difference in the relative biological effect of alpha particle radiation compared to what is expected at high doses. Results demonstrate increased radioresistance in a human cell line while also revealing increased lethality in a fish cell line confirming the need for consideration of dose-dependence as well as variance in behaviors of different cell lines and species. It is hoped the conclusions of this thesis will inspire the creation of protocols with greater attention to the indirect consequences of exposure to radiation at doses relevant to nuclear incidents and accidents. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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