Soil surface roughness impacts the risk arising from a hypothetical urban radiological dispersive device activation

Abstract

Abstract This study considers a deliberate hypothetical release of radioactive material over an inhabited urban zone. The event is initiated by the activation of a radiological dispersion device. The main threat is the deposition of radioactive material onto the soil’s surface. The radiation represents the threat-defining risks, which depend on the main variables, i.e. soil surface roughness, sex, age of the exposed individuals and the moment of the release (day or nighttime). This study aims to evaluate the effect of soil surface roughness on the radiological risk. The simulation was performed by an analytical method using the HotSpot Health Physics code within the first 100 h. The results found relevant elements that allow for differentiating consequences as a function of the time of release (whether daytime or nighttime), thus allowing decision-makers to be supported with a little more detail about the situation, although in a critical initial phase.