Comparison of MCNP and ERICA codes in two different marine areas

Abstract

The internal and external dose rates received by a marine organism, were calculated using the MCNP-CP code and the ERICA Assessment Tool. MCNP/MCNPX is a general purpose Monte Carlo code for the transport of all kinds of particles, while ERICA is a more specified software tool for assessing the radiological risk to terrestrial, freshwater and marine biota. A pelagic organism living only in the water medium, was chosen as a start for this comparison. Additionally, two different coastal areas: Stratoni port at Ierissos Gulf, Greece [1] and Shatt al-Arab estuary at Arabic or Persian Gulf [2] were selected. Both areas are receiving the impact of anthropogenic activities as those related with metal mining (Stratoni port) and oil and gas exploration (Arabic/Persian Gulf). The measured concentrations of natural 40K, 210Pb and 208Tl and artificial (137Cs) radionuclides in the surface sediment, were included in the calculations for the estimation of the activity concentrations in the water using the sediment-water distribution coefficient (Kd) of the ERICA database. The preliminary results of MCNP-CP simulations were in good agreement with those of ERICA for all radionuclides.