Radiological accidents are among the potential cases of environmental contamination that could have consequences on the health of the population. These accidents, associated with an increase in the level of radiological exposure surpassing the natural background, have been investigated in greater depth than other conventional accidents. This investigation has included the evaluation of their probability, magnitude and consequences in order to establish safety norms. Nevertheless, the social perception of this type of risk appears to be disproportionately high.

The development of a comprehensible and adequate standardized system for the evaluation of the radiological risk and the applicability of corrective actions to reduce this type of risk at local level, will undoubtedly contribute to increase the public confidence in the advised options for the restoration of environments contaminated with long lived radionuclides. This system should consider the local specificity of each contaminated place, and take into account the associated unwanted consequences for each option.

This paper presents the first results of a system to help the decision makers in the quantitative evaluation of the radiological risk produced by long lived radionuclides Cs137, Cs134 and Sr90 spread over urban, agricultural and semi-natural environments and the applicable options to reduce it. The evaluation of these applicable options is made considering the reduction of dose that can be reached, the monetary costs and the significant associated secondary effects if there are any. All these factors are integrated for a time period depending on the half-life of the contaminants and on their strength and distribution on the scenario when the intervention is being planned.

This work is supported by the association contract UE CIEMAT Nº FI4-CT95-0021.

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