Radioactivity in the environment

Natural and man-made radioactivities in the environment have been extensively researched in the second half of this century. Recently, increased attention has been given to (1) radioactive waste willfully placed in the environment by discharges from nuclear reprocessing plants or by dumping at sea, and (2) radioactive materials lost due to accidents in terrestrial (civilian power) or marine (submarine propulsion) reactors. Increasing field measurements, and disclosures of dumping and accidents in the former Soviet Union, are adding greatly to the knowledge of environmental radioactivity. New, more powerful computers are having a double impact. They make possible Geographical Information Systems for geo-referencing and correlating multi-variable datasets. Furthermore, supercomputers enable global atmospheric, oceanographic and terrestrial circulation and transport models, which include physical, chemical and biological processes. We will review exemplary work on the sources, transport, disposition and impact of anthropogenic environmental radioactivity. Such work both provides new knowledge of environmental processes and furnishes the basis for deciding on potential remediation actions.