Working Group Experimental Radioecology
| Head: | Dr. Jochen Tschiersch |
| Office: | Anita Pedone |
| Phone: | +49 89 3187-2763 |
| Fax: | +49 89 3187-3363 |
Aims of research
In the working group Experimental Radioecology, the occurrence and the behaviour of radionuclides in the environment is investigated to identify paths of their spread from emission to impact to men and to assess their importance for the exposure of humans. Mitigation strategies shall be developed for the relevant exposure paths. For that purpose sensitive radioanalytical measurement procedures are developed, experimental investigations are performed, and the results are summarized in models.
- Figure: In radioecology, the behaviour of radionuclides in the environment is investigated: from emission into the atmosphere till the impact to men. Transfer processes at the boundary of different compartments (e.g. troposphere/biosphere) are of special interest.
In the focus of the investigations are important radioecological processes at the boundary of troposphere and bio-/geosphere as exhalation from soil and building material, dry and wet deposition, leaf and root uptake of plants, and resuspension of deposited material. Genetic factors are studied which might be responsible for uptake and transport of radionuclides in plants. A main issue in the investigation of the indoor exposure is the indoor behaviour of the decay products of radon and thoron. With the construction of the HMGU thoron experimental house, a new instrument is available for research on the rarely investigated thoron and its dependence on indoor parameters.
Research areas
In detail, current research areas are the following.