Assessment of Marine Biota Doses Arising from the Radioactive Sea Discharges of the Cogema Hague Facility – A Comprehensive Ca

This paper reports an assessment of radiation doses to marine biota arising from the radioactive sea discharges (as liquid effluents) of the COGEMA La Hague facility. The La Hague facility is located in the northwest part of France, in the north-west tip of the Nord-Cotentin Peninsula, along the English Channel south shore. The case study was primarily based on the large amount of data from recent studies of the Nord-Cotentin Radioecology Group (GRNC) and from a recent environmental impact assessment of the La Hague facility. The primary objective of this study was to select a representative set of marine biota for the study area (i.e. the Nord-Cotentin Peninsula coast) and to assess the potential radiological impacts, in terms of biota dose-rates and their related potential health effects on marine biota, arising from the radioactive sea discharges of the COGEMA La Hague facility. For assessing potential effects to biota, the predicted biota dose rates were compared to the available guidance for the protection of populations of non-human biota. The guidance values are based on published data by international organizations (e.g. UNSCEAR and IAEA) and on a screening review of a recent database (by FASSET) on biological effects of ionizing radiation on non-human biota. The major conclusion of the case study was that the predicted dose rates to marine biota attributable to radioactive sea discharges from the La Hague facility are small, and in general, well below comparison guidance levels at which deleterious and observable health effects to populations of marine biota might, according to current knowledge, be expected. The predicted incremental dose rates arising from the La Hague facility are also, in general, well below those caused by the background radioactivity in the region. This conclusion and the dose rate predictions in this study are in close agreement with those for the marine biota of Cap La Hague reported in the MARINAII study – recently undertaken for the European Commission. This case study has been presented and discussed at a recent specific workshop of international experts held at La Hague on April 15, 2003. This paper briefly presents the case study and put a particular focus on the study consensus appraisal (which includes the major conclusion stated above) that resulted from the workshop and on an industry perspective on the emerging topic of protection of non-human biota species. The points highlighted in the consensus appraisal have been incorporated in the study final report. The reader is invited to consult the consensus appraisal, contained in the study final report, for an independent and transparent opinion on the La Hague case study that was expressed by a group of international experts. 1. Presentation of the La Hague Case Study