This is a live virtual workshop that will take place on Wednesday September 11, 2024 from 1:00 - 4:00 PM Eastern over Zoom.
Stormwater transports pollutants, contributing to the spread of contamination. What if the contamination was from a nuclear power plant or a “dirty bomb”? After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, stormwater played a role in transport of radionuclides. High concentrations of 137Cs were found around houses where rain transported radioactive materials from roofs and decontamination activities included watering streets to move radionuclides into the sewer system. The washoff from roads contaminated sewage systems and sludge storage areas. In some locations, stormwater runoff from streets was contaminated by 137Cs for up to seven years, continuing to spread contamination. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, 137Cs associated with soil particles was mobilized during periods of high rainfall and hydrogeological maps were used when planning decontamination. Unlike these nuclear power plant incidents, a radiological dispersal device (RDD) can happen anywhere. All organizations should be prepared to recover from a radiological contamination incident – are you ready? If you are a stormwater modeler, do you know how to represent the incident? If you are an emergency planner, have you developed radiologically contaminated stormwater exposure scenarios to base dose assessments?
Hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Homeland Security Research Program, this workshop will focus on the potential interplay between radiological response and stormwater modeling. A “Radiation 101” introduction will provide an overview of threats and highlight federal radiological resources. Facilitated discussions will help participants understand the important interdisciplinary connections and modeling setup that should occur prior to an emergency. Stormwater modeling may be used to support response actions and to explore the feasibility of different remediation and sampling options. A case study of a RDD explosion in downtown Detroit with subsequent storm water management modeling (SWMM) of radionuclide washoff through the system will be presented as an example and expert panelists available to answer participant’s questions. Managing the response to an urban radiological terrorism incident requires advanced planning and rapid mobilization to minimize health risks to residents and mitigate long-term impacts to municipal infrastructure and the environment. A well-organized response is critical to effectively managing contaminant transport and exposure and reducing the spread of radiological contamination.
