Model Testing Using Chernobyl Data

The "Cooling Pond" scenario is designed to test models for radioactive contamination of aquatic ecosystems, based on data for contamination of different aquatic media and biota due to fallout of radionuclides into the cooling pond of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Input data include characteristics of the cooling pond ecosystem (hydrological, hydrochemical, and hydrobiological conditions) and estimates of the amounts of 137Cs in the cooling pond. Predictions are requested in two stages: (1) calculations for 137Cs concentrations for comparison against actual measurements, including activities of 137Cs in the cooling pond water, in sediment layers, and in fish; and (2) calculations for which actual measurements are not available, including dose and risk estimates for aquatic biota and for humans following hypothetical consumption of contaminated biota. The latter calculations are intended to provide an opportunity for intercomparison among modelers of their results for a simulated assessment problem.