Potential Dose to Firefighters from Inhalation of Radionuclides in Smoke

Firefighters and other emergency responders face many risks while working in conditions involving prescribed burns or wildfire activity. An additional risk is present when the surface or fuel materials contain sufficient radioactive material such that nearby personnel may receive radiative doses above safe thresholds when exposed to radionuclides emitted during burning. The pine and hardwood forest at the Savannah River Site (SRS), a Department of Energy site in the southeastern U.S., is one area where localized surface fuels contain radiological material that may become volatilized during prescribed fires and wildfires. We combined fuel consumption and radiological concentration measurements with an empirical model of fraction loss as related to the elements' volatilization temperature to estimate emission rates for hypothetical fire scenarios using the Fire Emission Production Simulator. These data are then input to determine source characteristics in a Gaussian plume dispersion model. Predictions from the dispersion model combined with exposure scenarios allow us to estimate the potential dose to personnel involved with controlling an active burn at SRS. The results can will quantify the potential exposure from airborne radiological material and develop strategies to limit exposure for any vegetation-fuel contamination worldwide as long as the basic variables are characterized.