1. NAME AND TITLE

PABLM: Calculation of Accumulated Radiation Doses to Man from Radionuclides Found in Food Products and from Radionuclides in the Environment.

2. CONTRIBUTOR

Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Richland, Washington.

3. CODING LANGUAGE AND COMPUTER

ASCII Fortran; UNIVAC 1100/44.

4. NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVED

PABLM calculates internal radiation doses to man from radionuclides in food products and external radiation doses from radionuclides in the environment. It can be used to calculate accumulated doses to 23 possible body organs or tissues for any one or a combination of radionuclides.

Radiation doses from radionuclides in the environment may be calculated from deposition on the soil or plants during an atmospheric or liquid release, or from exposure to residual radionuclides in the environment after the releases have ended. Radioactive decay is considered during the release of radionuclides, after they are deposited on the plants or ground, and during holdup of food after harvest. A chain decay scheme is used; it includes branching to account for transitions to and from isomeric states.

Doses may be calculated for either a maximum-exposed individual or for a population group. The doses calculated are accumulated doses from continuous chronic exposure. A first-year committed dose is calculated as well as an integrated dose for a selected number of years.

5. METHOD OF SOLUTION

The equations for calculating internal radiation doses are derived from those given by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for body burdens and MPC's of each radionuclide.

The radiation doses from external exposure to contaminated water and soil are calculated using the basic assumption that the contaminated medium is large enough to be considered an ``infinite'' volume or plane relative to the range of the emitted radiations. The equations for the calculations of the radiation dose from external exposure to shoreline sediments include a correction for the finite width of the contaminated beach.

6. RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS

A total of 19 ingestion pathways (or food products) may be selected with corresponding consumption rates, growing periods, and air or water concentrations and deposition rates. A total of 4 external exposure pathways may also be selected with corresponding exposure times and soil or water concentrations.

7. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

No study has been made by RSIC of typical running times for PABLM.

8. COMPUTER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

The code is operable on the UNIVAC 1100/44 computer.

9. COMPUTER SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

A Fortran compiler is required.

10. REFERENCE

D. Strenge, Related Information "PABLM Computer Program" (January 1981).

B. A. Napier, W. E. Kennedy, Jr., and J. K. Soldat, "PABLM A Computer Program to Calculate Accumulated Radiation Doses from Radionuclides in the Environment," PNL-3209 (March 1980).

11. CONTENTS OF CODE PACKAGE

Included are the referenced document and one (1.2MB) DOS diskette which contains the source code and sample problem input.

12. DATE OF ABSTRACT

February 1982; revised February 1983 and August 1991.