Radiological Habits Survey Chapelcross 2015
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Radiological Habits Survey Chapelcross 2015 Public Report Report Date: April 2017 i ii Radiological Habits Survey: Chapelcross 2015 Authors and Contributors: A. Tyler, A. Watterson, I. Dale, P. Smith, L. Evans, D. Copplestone, A. Varley, V. Peredo- Alverez, S. Bradley, B. Shaw, P. Bartie and P. Hunter Environmental Radioactivity Laboratoryiii & Occupational and Environmental Health Group iv Foreword This report details the output of the latest Radiological Habits Survey at Chapelcross, which was undertaken in 2015 by the University of Stirling operating under contract to SEPA. This study was one of the first surveys undertaken by a new contractor with a differing approach from the previous contractor in 2010. In order to demonstrate that this new approach was robust and to provide reassurance, as part of its quality assurance, SEPA requested that the contractor put in significant extra verification of data than it would have required had a similar approach been adopted. Steps proposed by the contractor involved undertaking a resurvey during 2016 with a subset of the 2015 group to produce additional data for higher routes of exposure. Data gathered from the survey was then compared to the previous 2010 survey, and provides broadly comparable data which gives reassurance that differing approaches can result in the identification of those higher-rate consumers and locations with the highest occupancy. This data verification exercise was considered useful and has been added to the methodology for future reports. SEPA considers that approaches from this and previous habits surveys are both equally valid and thus provide a robust study into the exposure pathways around the Chapelcross site. This extra verification has provided significant confidence in the findings of the Chapelcross report, as the approach has now been validated; SEPA has not requested such further validation in future reports using this approach. v Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. v Summary ................................................................................................................................................ xi List of abbreviations and definitions ..................................................................................................... xvii Units ..................................................................................................................................................... xvii 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Regulatory Context .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Definition of the Representative Person .................................................................................... 1 1.3 Dose Limits and Constraints...................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Survey Aim ................................................................................................................................ 2 2. Chapelcross Survey Area ................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Chapelcross Site Activity ........................................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 Current Activity ................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Changes Since 2010 .......................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Estimated Activity Concentrations from Licensed Discharges from Chapelcross. .................... 5 2.4 Survey area ............................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 Land Cover Data ....................................................................................................................... 8 2.6 Soil Data .................................................................................................................................. 11 2.7 Crop Production ....................................................................................................................... 13 2.8 Dairy Production ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.9 Livestock .................................................................................................................................. 14 2.9.1 Beef Cattle ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.9.2 Sheep & Lamb .................................................................................................................. 15 2.9.3 Pig Farming ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.9.4 Other Livestock Activity .................................................................................................... 16 2.9.5 Fallen Animals .................................................................................................................. 18 2.9.6 Egg and Poultry ................................................................................................................ 18 2.9.7 Beekeeping ....................................................................................................................... 19 2.10 External Exposure Pathways: Local Business and Commuting Information .......................... 19 2.10.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.10.2 Range of Local Companies and Scale ........................................................................... 20 2.10.3 Commuting Pattern of Local Workers ............................................................................ 20 3. Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 22 3.2 Postal Survey........................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Radiometric Survey ................................................................................................................. 27 3.3.1 In-Situ Dosimetry .............................................................................................................. 27 3.3.2 Beta Dosimetry ................................................................................................................. 27 3.3.3 Sampling ........................................................................................................................... 28 vi 3.4 GPS Tracking .......................................................................................................................... 28 3.5 Conduct of the survey .............................................................................................................. 29 3.6 Meetings and Informal Contacts .............................................................................................. 30 3.7 Data Conversion ...................................................................................................................... 31 3.8 Data Rounding and Grouping .................................................................................................. 31 3.9 Qualitative and Quantitative Observation ................................................................................ 33 3.10 Dose Assessment Tool ............................................................................................................ 33 4. Aquatic Radiation Pathways .......................................................................................................... 36 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 36 4.2 Postal Survey Results ............................................................................................................. 36 4.2.1 Internal Exposure ............................................................................................................. 37 4.2.2 External Exposure ............................................................................................................ 39 4.3 Aquatic Survey Area Descriptions ........................................................................................... 40 4.3.1 Glencaple .......................................................................................................................... 40 4.3.2 Scar Point and Caerlaverock ............................................................................................ 41 4.3.3 Brow Well and Priestside Marsh......................................................................................