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OCR for page 331
Ecological Effects of
Nuclear Radiation
Particular kinds of environmental perturbation are essentially replicated
in many places. Because no two sites are identical, detailed prediction of
effects requires knowledge of the ecosystem in question. Much can be
learned, however, by carrying out generic studies designed to discover
results of general applicability to many conditions. Studies supported by
the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to determine the effects of radiation
on living organisms and how radionuclides move through natural envi-
ronments have been the most extensive attempts to use a generic approach
to obtain information required for making major policy decisions. This
case study summarizes and analyzes these studies and their contributions
both to the solution of problems at which they were directed and to
ecological theory generally.
331
OCR for page 332
Case Study
CARL F. JORDAN, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia
INTRODUCTION
Ionizing radiation resulting from production of radionuclides by bombs
and reactors was the first pollutant given major national and international
attention. It became an environmental concern soon after the first test of
a nuclear weapon, which occurred on July 16, 1945, at Trinity, New
Mexico. Starting almost immediately after the test and continuing for
years thereafter, field surveys were conducted at Trinity to discover the
extent and degree of environmental contamination by radionuclides, per-
sistence of radionuclides, and effects of radiation on organisms and eco-
systems (Larson, 19631. The studies showed that it would be extremely
important to understand the effect of this pollutant on organisms and how
it moves through the environment. It was thought that dispersion of
radioisotopes in the environment as a result of fallout, reactor develop-
ment, waste disposal, nuclear war, and technological projects could pose
serious environmental problems (Wolfe, 19631.
As nuclear energy was developed, for both peaceful and military uses,
programs were established to evaluate the environmental effects of human-
produced radiation. Many of the programs were at laboratories that became
parts of the complex supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC), such as those at Argonne, Illinois; Brookhaven, New York; Han-
ford, Washington; Idaho Engineering Laboratory; Los Alamos, New Mex-
ico; Livermore, California; the Nevada test site; Oak Ridge, Tennessee;
and Savannah River, South Carolina (Whicker and Schultz, 19821. Other
programs were established at universities or in conjunction with state
agencies.
The effects of ionizing radiation and radionuclide movement in the
environment were also studied in other countries. A series of symposia
sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency dealt with the uses
of radionuclides in various disciplines, such as hydrology and plant nu-
trition, as well as with environmental contamination by radioactive ma-
terials. The series of studies sponsored by the Environmental Sciences
Branch of the Division of Biology and Medicine of AEC (later the Energy
Research and Development Administration and now the Department of
Energy) probably constituted the greatest concentrated effort ever ex-
pended to understand the environmental impact of a pollutant. (Lists of
332
OCR for page 333
ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION
333
proceedings, books, and bibliographies of primary references were com-
piled by Klement and Schultz in 1980 and Whicker and Schultz in 1982.)
The studies of environmental effects of nuclear radiation covered most
aspects of ecology. Some dealt with life histories to determine at which
stage in its life cycle an organism was most sensitive to ionizing radiation.
Studies of population dynamics and population interactions were crucial
in understanding the dynamics of radionuclides in food chains. Studies
sponsored by AEC were carried out in various habitats to determine the
effects of radiation on community structure and community pattern. De-
termining changes in nutrient cycling and productivity of ecosystems also
was a major goal of many studies.
This case study illustrates a generic approach to evaluating environ-
mental pollutants. Ecological theory often cannot be used to make accurate
predictions about individual cases. Valuable predictions for specific cases
often are based on local field experience, not on formal theory. Further-
more, predictions are usually difficult to apply beyond the bounds of a
specific case. In a generic approach, the effects of a pollutant on a large
number of different organisms in different environments are studied, thereby
providing a framework for predicting effects on new organisms or envi-
ronments.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
Ionizing radiation is radiation with sufficient energy for its interactions
with matter to produce an ejected electron and a positively charged ion
(Whicker and Schultz, 19821. In large numbers, such interactions in the
cells of living organisms can cause genetic and physiological damage and
death. Low levels of ionizing radiation from cosmic rays and radionuclides
in the earth's crust have always been present. Life has evolved in an
environment of low background radiation.
Some of the first environmental studies concerned the radioactivity
discharged in the mid-1940s from reactors at Hanford, Washington, into
the Columbia River (Whicker and Schultz, 19821. Others concerned the
magnitude and duration of radioactivity at weapon test sites (Hines, 1962;
Koranda, 1965, 1969; Larson, 19631. Studies at nuclear test sites were
important, not only because of the environmental dangers at the sites
themselves, but also because results could be used to predict conditions
at sites affected by nuclear war.
An important early stimulus for studies of radionuclides in the envi-
ronment was observation of the fate of radioactive fallout from atmospheric
tests of nuclear weapons. One particularly disturbing case involved the
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334
SELECTED CASE STUDIES
movement of cesium-137 in the lichen-reindeer-human food chain in tun-
dra ecosystems (Liden and Gustafsson, 1967; Nevstrueva et al., 1967~.
Cesium-137, a relatively strong emitter of gamma radiation, has a rela-
tively long half-life (30 years) and metabolic effects similar to those of
potassium. It is adsorbed on the surface of lichens, which are abundant
in the tundra. Lichens are an important food of reindeer, and the nuclide
became concentrated in tissue of reindeer and of the Finnish Lapps and
Alaskan eskimos, who depend heavily on reindeer for meat (Hanson et
al., 1967; Lindell and Magi, 1967; Miettinen and Hasanen, 19671. Another
potentially hazardous combination of nuclide and food chain that was
identified early involved iodine-131, which, if deposited on pasture grass,
quickly moves through dairy cattle to milk (Barth and Seal, 1967; Bergs-
trom, 1967) and becomes concentrated in the thyroid (Turner and Jennrich,
19671. Although there was never any conclusive evidence of damage to
humans, the potential for danger was recognized.
Observation of potential hazards of fallout gave rise to systematic studies
of radionuclide concentrations in several species, such as deer (Schultz
and Longhurst, 1963), and to studies of the environmental factors im-
portant in radionuclide accumulation (Davis et al., 19631. An important
result of these analyses (see Auerbach, 1965, for review) was a series of
international symposia (Whicker and Schultz, 19823 in which the problem
of radioactive contamination and accumulation in food chains was high-
lighted and brought to international attention.
In 1957, AEC established the Plowshare Program to investigate and
develop peaceful uses for nuclear explosions (Auerbach, 1971a; Kelly,
19661. Studies were carried out to obtain food-chain and transport data
needed for calculating radiation doses to human populations and to assess
the impact on the local environment. One of the first was designed to
predict the environmental impact of the use of nuclear explosives to ex-
cavate a harbor in the Cape Thompson region of Alaska (Wolfe, 19661.
Another focused on the feasibility of using thermonuclear devices to create
a new transisthmian canal in Panama (Atlantic-Pacific Interoceanic Canal
Study Commission, 1970; Martin, 19691. Although the studies did not
conclusively predict damage to human health as a result of using nuclear
explosives in these regions, neither of the proposed excavations ever took
place (for reasons never made public).
As nuclear technology advanced to the point where nuclear energy could
be used to generate electricity, studies began to address the ecological
problems in siting nuclear power plants, particularly the problem of ra-
dioactive discharge into the environment, both accidental and as a result
of normal operations (Auerbach, 1971b; Schultz and Whicker, 19801.
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ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION
335
Underground detonations were also used experimentally to stimulate gas
flow in geological formations of low permeability (Alldredge et al., 1976~.
APPROACHES TO THE PROBLEM OF RADIOACTIVITY IN
THE ENVIRONMENT
After the early observations of environmental radioactivity caused by
nuclear testing, experimental studies were begun to evaluate the problem.
These studies had two basic aspects. One was the movement of radio-
nuclides in the environment after accidental or deliberate release from a
nuclear device or power plant (Comer, 1965~; radioactive tracers were
often used to determine the pathway of each potentially dangerous nuclide
and the rate of movement alone that nathw~v The Arena oc^~t ~,^~ Alas
effect of ionizing radiation
--D ~ red ~ ·~1~ it ~r~.~ who; run
~_t _ _ ,, ~ ~.~
. on organisms in the environment v~ri^~l~
animal populations (French, 1965; Turner, 1975), plant communities
(Whicker and Fraley, 1974), aquatic organisms (Blaylock and Trabalka,
1978), and other ecosystem components (Platt, 1965) were irradiated
experimentally .
Movement of Radionuclides in the Environment
Before the advent of radioecology, studies of food chains and of whole
ecosystems had scarcely been initiated. An important contribution of the
studies of radionuclide dynamics was to show that species in ecosystems
were connected with each other and how particular species depended on
the flows and cycles of nutrients and energy among all the other species
in the Rat U~r;A~ or I_ ~
·~^- ~-v~,~lil. ~VlUcil~c of Iee(lnH~K in f&.f~l~t-~O ~1~ ~ ~
those studies; e.g., they showed that the rate of return of a nuclide to an
individual or species can depend on other sneci~.s ~n`1 On Pn`~ir^
factors.
^ ~7~O TV 1111 11-()m
- r ~-~ ~ 1~ wilill~ll ta
Perhaps the most important idea used in the efforts to understand
radionuclide movement in food chains was the specific-activity concept
discussed by Kaye and Nelson (19681. Specific activity is defined as the
ratio of radioactive atoms to totr>.l ~tnmc Off the ~ 1~ ~
~~ 4 ~111O V1 L11~ ~lll~ ~1~111~nt. my USlIlg
the stable-element distribution in environmental samples as a chemical
analog for the radionuclide, we can predict the dispersal of radionuclides
through environmental pathways, if we know the stable-element chemistry
of organisms constituting the links in the biological pathways of food
chains and the ratio of the radionuclide to its stable element at the source
of entry of the radionuclide into the food chain (Reichle et al., 19701.
A modification of the specific-activity approach uses the ratio of the
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336
SELECTED CASE STUDIES
potentially dangerous radionuclides to analogous nutrient elements. Sev-
eral radionuclides produced in important quantities during nuclear reac-
tions are chemically similar to nutrient elements important in animal diets.
For example, strontium-90 is similar to calcium and is accumulated in
bones, and cesium-137 and potassium are metabolized similarly. Known
pathways and concentrations of calcium and potassium in food chains can
be used to predict concentrations of the analogous radionuclides, after
corrections are made for discrimination or concentration factors (Comer
and Lengemann, 19671. Discrimination and concentration are affected by
the atomic weight of the isotope, as well as feeding habits and other food-
chain characteristics (Whicker and Schultz, 19821.
The need to make predictions about the fates and concentrations of
radionuclides in ecosystems where experimental tests were not feasible
gave rise to the development of systems analysis techniques in ecology
(Kaye and Ball, 1969; Shugart and O'Neill, 19791. These techniques used
models of the flux and turnover of radionuclides in ecosystems. When
data were not available, assumptions were based on studies in other eco-
systems, on known metabolism of stable-element analogs in the species
of interest, or on other appropriate physical, chemical, and biological
models. Once all important ecosystem turnovers and transfers were for-
mulated, equations were solved simultaneously to predict radionuclide
dynamics through an entire ecosystem.
One of the efforts to predict radionuclide movement in an ecosystem
was an analysis of the fate of radioactivity, if thermonuclear devices were
used to excavate a new canal across Central America (Kaye and Ball,
19691. The predictive model was based on stable-element data collected
at the proposed site and at similar sites and on results of laboratory analy-
ses. Because the canal was never excavated, the model was never tested.
But Jordan et al. (1973) used a similar approach to predict the environ-
mental residence half-time of strontium-90 after its release into a tropical
rain forest. They then used atmospheric fallout measured before the at-
mospheric-test ban in 1963 as model input and predicted concentrations
of the nuclide in the forest through the end of the century. Measurements
in 1974 (Jordan and Kline, 1976) showed that actual concentrations in the
forest were higher than those predicted, because of atmospheric tests after
1963. The strontium-90 study showed that the environmental half-time of
the isotope in this system was about 20 years and that loss was predom-
inantly by physical decay.
Predictions of movement of radionuclides in food chains also were based
on laboratory data on the biological turnover of radionuclides in organisms
and on the factors such as intake, assimilation, metabolism, and excre-
tion that affect turnover (Reichle et al., 1970~. Other tracer studies
OCR for page 337
ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION
337
showed the rate of movement of radionuclides between living and non-
living portions of ecosystems (Auerbach, 19651.
An important early study that showed how changes in ecosystem struc-
ture affected radionuclide dynamics used a series of microcosms in com-
bination with mathematical modeling (Patten and Witkamp, 1967~. Leaf
litter tagged with cesium-134 was introduced into microecosystems com-
posed of different combinations of soil, microflora, millipedes, and aqueous
leachate. Field studies were much more difficult, because of the health
hazard of radioactivity. However, the section of Oak Ridge National
Laboratory that is now the Environmental Sciences Division carried out
a study in which a whole stand of trees was inoculated with cesium-137
in 1962 and the movement of the nuclide in the ecosystem was followed
for a number of years thereafter (Francis and Tamura, 19711. An unex-
pected finding of that study was that much of the cesium did not move
up through the leaves, but rather moved down into the roots and then into
the soil when roots died and decomposed.
Radiation Effects
In addition to predicting the rate of nuclide movement through food
chains and the amounts of radioactivity reaching valued species, it was
necessary to know what effect a given amount of radioactivity would have
on the valued species.
The behavior of individuals of a species is obviously important in the
effect of radiation release. For example, burrowing animals are shielded
from radiation (Buchsbaum, 19581. Other factors that influence radiation
sensitivity in complex ways are body size, temperature, rate of reproduc-
tion, and life span. It was initially predicted that the most important
biological factor affecting sensitivity to radiation would be the volume of
chromosomes, but the first tests suggested that interphase chromosomal
volume was a better predictor of both species sensitivity (Sparrow et al.,
1968) and pattern of community response (Woodwell and Whittaker, 19681.
Another important hypothesis regarding radiation sensitivity (Henshaw,
1963) was that there is a threshold of radiation tolerance, which may be
different for each species. For radiation exposure below this threshold,
damage does not exceed that caused by natural background radiation.
Studies of the effects of ionizing radiation on ecosystems were carried
out in an oak-pine forest at Brookhaven, New York (Woodwell and Re-
buck, 1967), a tropical rain forest (Odum et al., 1970), a northern hard-
wood forest (Murphy et al., 1977), southern pine-hardwood forests in
Georgia (Cotter and McGinnis, 1965) and in Tennessee (Witherspoon,
1965), a pine forest (McCormick, 1969), and a shortgrass prairie (Fraley
OCR for page 338
338
SELECTED CASE STUDIES
and Whicker, 19711. There were many other studies on the effects on
populations and species (Appendix). In these studies, a shielded source
of radiation was used, so that scientists could enter the irradiated areas.
At the completion of an experiment, the source was removed. Because
the source of radioactivity was thereby contained, there was no residual
contamination, which was a problem in tracer studies.
Results showed that radiation sensitivity of plants was correlated to
some extent with interphase chromosomal volume, but there were frequent
exceptions (Koo and deIrizarry, 1970; Woodwell and Whittaker, 19681.
A much more useful generalization from the radiation studies is that
sensitivity of plants depends on the ratio of photosynthetic tissue to total
tissue (Woodwell, 1967, 1970~. The most sensitive plants are trees, which
have a relatively low ratio of photosynthetic mass (leaves) to nonphoto-
synthetic mass (stem and root). Shrubs are less sensitive than trees, and
herbs and grasses are less sensitive than shrubs. Plants like algae, in which
much of the tissue is photosynthetic, are highly resistant. Among trees,
pine trees-which produce long-lived leaves-are more sensitive than
deciduous hardwoods, in which replacement of leaves represents a smaller
drain on energy reserves. Rhizomatous species, such as sedges, a large
proportion of whose biomass is shielded by the soil, usually are relatively
resistant. A generalization that applied to both plants and animals is that
radiation sensitivity is correlated with size: the largest species are usually
the most sensitive (Woodwell, 1967), as they are to stress in general
(Woodwell, 19701.
Two irradiation experiments contrasted the effects of long exposure
(Woodwell, 1967) and short exposure (Odum, 19701. In the site exposed
for a short time, sprouting of trees played an important part in ecosystem
recovery (Jordan, 1969~. In a site chronically irradiated, root carbohydrate
reserves were exhausted and sprouting was not important. Disturbed areas
at that site were colonized by fortes and grasses with seeds that are widely
dispersed and that germinate rapidly (Woodwell, 19671.
CONCLUSION
The AEC-sponsored studies of radiation in the environment resulted in
two major conclusions. First, some but not all radionuclides released into
the environment are concentrated as they are passed through food chains,
and, if concentration factors are high, relatively low releases of radio-
activity can pose a danger. Because every ecosystem and every food chain
is different, potential danger depends in part on characteristics of the
particular ecosystem and food chain and in part on the radionuclide.
Concentration of radionuclides in food chains is a generic characteristic
OCR for page 339
ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR RADIATION
339
with the potential to occur in any ecosystem; for purposes of environmental
safety, it must be predicted specifically for the ecosystem of interest.
Second, although radiosensitivity is sometimes correlated with inter-
phase chromosomal volume, a more practical index of radiation sensitivity
is simply the size of an organism and its life span. Large organisms are
almost always more sensitive to radiation than small organisms. Long-
lived species usually suffer more from radiation exposure than short-lived
species.
In evaluating the effect of a particular radionuclide in ~ particular en-
vironment, both the food-chain accumulation factors and the sensitivity
of the organisms in the food chain to the predicted dose must be known.
These factors are now known for some organisms in many types of eco-
system, but must be evaluated in light of the specific conditions at par-
ticular sites.
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Parzyck, D. C., J. P. Witherspoon, and J. E. Till. 1976. Validation of environmental
transport models in the CUEX methodology. Pp. 194-198 in C. E. Cushing, ed.
Radioecology and Energy Resources. Proceedings of the Fourth National Symposium
on Radioecology. Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Patten, B. C., and M. Witkamp. 1967. Systems analysis of i34cesium kinetics in terrestrial
microcosms. Ecology 48:813-824.
Platt, R. B. 1965. Radiation effects on plant populations and communities: Research status
and potential. Health Phys. 11: 1601 - 1606.
Reichle, D. E., P. B. Dunaway, and D. J. Nelson. 1970. Turnover and concentration of
radionuclides in food chains. Nucl. Safety 11:43-55.
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SELECTED CASE STUDIES
Schultz, V., and W. M. Longhurst. 1963. Accumulation of strontium-90 in yearling Co-
lumbian black-tailed deer, 1950-1960. Pp. 73-76 in V. Schultz and A. W. Clement,
eds. Radioecology. Proceedings of the First National Symposium. Reinhold, New York.
Schultz, V., and F. W. Whicker. 1980. Nuclear fuel cycle, ionizing radiation, and effects
on biota of the natural environment. CRC Crit. Rev. Environ. Control 10:225-268.
Shugart, H. H., and R. V. O'Neill. 1979. Introduction. Pp. 1-6 in H. H. Shugart and R.
V. O'Neill, eds. Systems Ecology. Benchmark Papers in Ecology. 9. Dowden, Hutch-
inson, and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Sparrow, A. H., A. F. Rogers, and S. S. Schwemmer. 1968. Radiosensitivity studies with
woody plants. I. Radiat. Bot. 8:149-186.
Turner, F. B. 1975. Effects of continuous irradiation on animal populations. Adv. Radiat.
Biol. 5:83-144.
Turner, F. B., and R. I. Jennrich. 1967. The concentration of i3tI in the thyroids of
herbivores and a theoretical consideration of the expected frequency distribution of
thyroidal '3iI in a large consumer population. Pp. 175-182 in B. Aberg and F. P. Hungate,
eds. Radioecological Concentration Processes. Proceedings of an International Sympos-
ium. Pergamon Press, Oxford, Eng.
Whicker. F. W.. and L. Fraley. 1974. Effects of ionizing radiation on terrestrial plant
,
communities. Adv. Radiat. Biol. 4:317-366.
Whicker, F. W., and V. Schultz. 1982. Radioecology: Nuclear Energy and the Environ-
ment. Vols. I and II. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.
Witherspoon, J. P. 1965. Radiation damage to forest surrounding an unshielded fast reactor.
Health Phys. 11: 1637- 1642.
Wolfe, J. N. 1963. Impact of atomic energy on the environment and env~rvnme~ Amp.
Pp. 1-2 in V. Schultz and A. W. Klement, eds. Radioecology. Proceedings of the First
National Symposium. Reinhold, New York.
. · . ~ _ .~ 1 ~ ~an_ ~
, ,
Wolfe, J. N. 1966. Committee on environmental studies for Project Chariot, Plowshare
Program. Pp. ix-x in Environment of the Cape Thompson Region, Alaska. U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission, Washington, D.C.
Woodwell, G. M. 1967. Radiation and the pattern of nature. Science 156:461-470.
Woodwell, G. M. 1970. Effects of pollution on the structure and physiology of ecosystems.
Science 168:429-433.
Woodwell, G. M., and A. L. Rebuck. 1967. Effects of chronic gamma radiation on the
structure and diversity of an oak-pine forest. Ecol. Monogr. 37:53-69.
Woodwell, G. M., and R. H. Whittaker. 1968. Effects of chronic gamma irradiation on
plant communities. Q. Rev. Biol. 43:42-55.
APPENDIX: Some Sources of Information on Radioecology
Aberg, B., and F. P. Hungate, eds. 1967. Radioecological Concentration Processes. Pro-
ceedings of an International Symposium. Pergamon Press, Oxford, Eng.
Cushing, C. E., ed. 1976. Radioecology and Energy Resources. Proceedings of the Fourth
National Symposium on Radioecology. Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudsburg,
Pa.
Hanson, W. C., ed. 1980. Transuranic elements in the environment. U.S. DOE Rep. DOE/
TIC-22800. U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
icky HanfntA .Qvmnoci''m on Radiation and Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Hungate, F. P., ed. 1~VJ. A4~llJ~VA~v^
Health Phys. 11: 1255-1675
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ECOLOGICAL EFFECIS OF NUCLEI AVIATION
343
Klement, A. W., and V. Schultz. 1980. Freshwater and Terrestrial Radioecology: A Se-
lected Bibliography. Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Nelson, D. J., ed. 1971. Radionuclides in Ecosystems. Proceedings of the Third National
Symposium on Radioecology. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C.
Nelson, D. J., and F. C. Evans, eds. 1969. Symposium on Radioecology. Proceedings of
the Second National Symposium. CONE 670-503. U.S. Department of Commerce,
Springfield, Va.
Odum, H. T., and R. F. Pigeon, eds. 1970. A Tropical Rain Forest. A Study of Irradiation
and Ecology at El Verde, Puerto Rico. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington,
D.C.
Schultz, V., and A. W. Klement, eds. 1963. Radioecology. Proceedings of the First
National Symposium on Radioecology. Reinhold, New York.
Thompson, R. C., and W. J. Blair, eds. 1972. Hanford Symposium on the Biological
Implications of the Transuranium Elements. Health Phys. 22:533-957.
Whicker, F. W., and V. Schultz. 1982. Radioecology: Nuclear Energy and the Environ-
ment. Vols. I and II. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.
Committee Comment
Environmental problem-solving is hindered by differences in insight
derived from general and specific approaches. General ecological theory
usually makes only crude predictions about specific conditions or impacts
at a specific site. Useful predictions for a specific case often are based
on local field experience, rather than on formal theory, and it is difficult
to determine their applicability beyond the bounds of the specific case.
The AEC studies used both generic and specific approaches. Studies
were carried out on a wide variety of ecosystems in an effort to form
generalizations about radioactivity in the environment. The relative sen-
sitivity of plants as a function of the ratio of photosynthetic tissue to total
tissue (photosynthesis:respiration ratio) is an example of a generalization
that emerged from these comparative studies. Studies on conditions at a
specific site or with a specific nuclide were useful in predicting effects of
the same nuclide under similar conditions. For example, the Arctic studies
suggested that scavenging might be important wherever lichens were dom-
inant members of the community.
This case study suggests the value of approaching many types of en-
vironmental perturbations both generically and specifically. The generic
approach predicts what, in general, to expect from a perturbation, re-
gardless of where it occurs; the specific approach addresses the question
of whether the specific case differs in any important way from the general
case.
The many studies in radioecology have resulted in one of the most
successful evaluations of the impact of an environmental hazard. One
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SELECTED CASE STUDIES
reason is that they were adequately funded. Most environmental evaluation
must be carried out with less support than was available for the radio-
ecological work. The results of these studies show that thorough under-
standing can be achieved if enough time and money are allocated.
Another notable characteristic of the AEC studies was the separation
of studies of radionuclide movement in the environment from studies of
the effects of ionizing radiation. Had these two aspects of the radiation
problem not been separated, much less progress would have been made.
Experiments in which exposure to radiation was great enough to reveal
dose-response relationships would have been impossible with radionu-
clides released into the environment. Conversely, laboratory studies cannot
reveal how radionuclides behave in nature.
Studies sponsored by AEC, particularly those of nuclide movement
through the environment, made an important contribution to the emergence
of "ecosystem ecology" (Odum, 1965; Odum and Golley, 1963), in which
a major focus is the flow of energy and elements through a unit of land-
scape. This work supplements and extends studies oriented toward the
ecology of individuals, populations, species, and communities.
This examination of the history of AEC-sponsored environmental ra-
diation studies suggests that their contribution to ecological knowledge
has been as important as, or perhaps even more important than, the con-
tr~bution of ecological knowledge to the design and interpretation of the
AEC studies. During the four decades of radioecological studies, the
constant interplay between experimental results and general theory has
proved fruitful to the basic science of ecology and the applied field of
radioecology.
References
Odum, E. P. 1965. Feedback between radiation ecology and general ecology. Health Phys.
1 1: 1257-1262.
Odum, E. P., and F. B. Golley. 1963. Radioactive tracers as an aid to the measurement
of energy flow at the population level in nature. Pp. 403-410 in V. Schultz and A. W.
Klement, eds. Radioecology. Proceedings of the First National Symposium. Reinhold,
New York.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
food chains
