Generation II
GENII is a set of computer programs for estimating radionuclide concentrations in the environment and dose/risk to humans from acute or chronic exposures, releases to surface water or atmosphere, initial contamination conditions, expected use, research, licensing reviews, routine releases, emergency response planning, and dose reconstruction.
The GENII computer code was developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to incorporate the internal dosimetry models recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the radiological risk estimating procedures of Federal Guidance Report 13 into updated versions of existing environmental pathway analysis models. The resulting environmental dosimetry computer codes are compiled in the GENII Environmental Dosimetry System. The GENII system was developed to provide a state-of-the-art, technically peer-reviewed, documented set of programs for calculating radiation dose and risk from radionuclides released to the environment. Although the codes were initially developed at Hanford , they were designed with the flexibility to accommodate input parameters for a wide variety of sites.
More information as available at http://radiologicalsciences.pnl.gov/resources/hardware.asp
The GENII system includes the capabilities for calculating radiation doses following chronic and acute releases. Radionuclide transport via air, water, or biological activity may be considered. Air transport options include both puff and plume models; each allows use of an effective stack height or calculation of plume rise from buoyant or momentum effects (or both). Building wake effects can be included in acute atmospheric release scenarios. The code provides risk estimates for health effects to individuals or populations; these can be obtained using the code by applying appropriate risk factors to the effective dose equivalent or organ dose. In addition, Version 2 uses cancer risk factors from Federal Guidance Report 13 to estimate risk to specific organs or tissues.
Data entry is accomplished via interactive, menu-driven user interfaces. Default exposure and consumption parameters are provided for both the average (population) and maximum individual; however, these may be modified by you, the user. Source term information may be entered as radionuclide release quantities for transport scenarios or as basic radionuclide concentrations in environmental media (air, water, soil). For input of basic or derived concentrations, decay of parent radionuclides and ingrowth of radioactive decay products before the start of the exposure scenario may be considered. A single code run can accommodate unlimited numbers of radionuclides including the source term and any radionuclides that accumulate from decay of the parent, because the system works sequentially on individual decay chains.
The code package also provides interfaces, through FRAMES, for external calculations of atmospheric dispersion, geohydrology, biotic transport, and surface water transport. Target populations are identified by direction and distance (radial or square grids for Version 2) for individuals, populations, and intruders into contained sources.
GENII Version 2 was developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, incorporating improved transport models, exposure options, dose and risk estimation, and user interfaces. This version is specifically designed to function within FRAMES, a framework that allows GENII to execute with, and provide inputs to, other related programs. A NESHAPS Edition of GENII was designed for regulatory compliance questions, and provides a subset of the full GENII Version 2 capabilities with most approved input parameters hardwired for you, the user. It is intended for use with routine chronic atmospheric releases of radionuclides, providing a standardized output in terms of radiation doses and risks. The 2002 Version of the Users Guide and design documentation for GENII within FRAMES 1.3 (NESHAPS version) is available on the EPA website.
GENII has the following limitations:
Back: Chapter 1: Viewing Results ~ Next: GENII Module Options 
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