page_title: Radioecology
section_title: Radioecological Threats
hierarchical_section_title: Radioecology / Radioecological Threats
caption_attribution_description: English: Removal of 1500 cubic yards of soil contaminated with extremely low levels of nuclear waste from the former Fort Greely Nuclear Power Plant. Fort Greely, Alaska.
context_page_description: Radioecology is the branch of ecology concerning the presence of radioactivity in Earth’s ecosystems. Investigations in radioecology include field sampling, experimental field and laboratory procedures, and the development of environmentally predictive simulation models in an attempt to understand the migration methods of radioactive material throughout the environment.
  The practice consists of techniques from the general sciences of physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and ecology, coupled with applications in radiation protection. Radioecological studies provide the necessary data for dose estimation and risk assessment regarding radioactive pollution and its effects on human and environmental health.
  Radioecologists detect and evaluate the effects of ionizing radiation and radionuclides on ecosystems, and then assess their risks and dangers. Interest and studies in the area of radioecology significantly increased in order to ascertain and manage the risks involved as a result of the Chernobyl disaster.
context_section_description: Earth in the 21st century is at risk of the accumulation of nuclear waste as well as the potentiality of nuclear terrorism, which could both lead to leaks.
  Radioactivity originating from the Northern Hemisphere is observable dating back to the mid-20th century. Some highly toxic radionuclides have particularly long radioactive half-lives (up to as many as millions of years in some cases), meaning they will virtually never disappear on their own. The impact of these radionuclides on biological material (correlated with their radioactivity and toxicity) is similar to that of other environmental toxins, making them difficult to trace within plants and animals.
  Some aging nuclear facilities were not originally intended to operate as long as they have, and the consequences of their waste procedures were not well understood when they were built. One example of this is how the radionuclide tritium is sometimes released into the surrounding environment as a result of nuclear reprocessing, as this was not a foreseen complication in the original waste management orders of operations. It is difficult to diverge from these procedures once a reactor has already been put to use, since any change either risks releasing even more radioactive material or jeopardizes the safety of the individuals working on the disposal. Protection of human well-being has been, and remains to this day, paramount in the aims of radioecological research and risk assessment.
  Radioecology often calls into question the ethics of protecting human health versus the preservation of the environment in the interest of fighting extinction of other species, but public opinion on this matter is shifting.
caption: Fort-greely-low-level-waste
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