New software guards the public from airborne radiation

A software application developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory makes accurate, actionable information available after an unexpected airborne radiological release to help first responders, policymakers and health professionals respond quickly and effectively.

Called QUIC-DEPDOSE (Quick Urban & Industrial Complex Dispersion Modeling System), the software combines QUIC, an atmospheric plume dispersion application, with DEPDOSE, a respiratory tract deposition and dose calculation application. QUIC-DEPDOSE accurately calculates radiation doses to individual people from inhalation of radionuclides downwind from a radioactive plume. The tool can run within minutes on an average laptop.

“All unexpected radiological releases pose a concern for human health, economic well-being and global stability,” said Matthew Nelson, the project’s co-principal investigator and engineer in Los Alamos’ Analytics, Intelligence and Technology division.

“We’ve seen evidence of that from past events, such as the Chernobyl disaster, as well as modern-day threats, such as Russia’s takeover of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. QUIC-DEPDOSE uses real topography to model the spread and deposition of radiological particles from the scale of kilometers across a city all the way to the scale of microns within the human respiratory tract.”

Additionally, QUIC-DEPDOSE incorporates the effects of terrain and cityscapes, employs a building infiltration model and includes nearly 1,000 different radionuclides.

“That data makes it a really powerful tool to guide evacuations and emergency response while minimizing harm to civilians and responders,” said John Klumpp, the other co-PI and a health physicist at Los Alamos. “The software is user-friendly, portable and fast—it can be run by a nonexpert at an emergency site in under 30 minutes.”

Accurate and timely information about the likely radiation doses to individuals downwind from a release can help inform important public safety measures, such as who should evacuate or shelter in place, what evacuation routes to take if evacuating, who requires urgent medical care, where and for how long emergency responders can operate in the affected area, and how to prepare for possible future releases.

Unlike other plume dispersion modeling tools, QUIC-DEPDOSE provides individualized radiation doses by using inhalation and respiratory tract parameters based on age, sex and activity (e.g., sleep, rest, exercise). QUIC-DEPDOSE can also track movement of individuals, so computed doses account for individual circumstances, such as a jogger passing through a radioactive plume or emergency workers responding in a vehicle. These parameters can significantly impact the dose a person receives.