The RESRAD-BIOTA code for application in biota dose evaluation.

The RESRAD-BIOTA code was developed through a partnership among U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. RESRAD-BIOTA provides a full spectrum of analysis capabilities, from cost effective conservative screening methods (using biota concentration guides) to realistic, organism-specific dose assessment. A beta version of the RESRAD-BIOTA code is currently available for use and testing. Continued coordination and partnerships with U.S. agencies and international organizations is providing opportunities for the inclusion of additional evaluation approaches and capabilities, such as (1) development of biota concentration guides for additional radionuclides, (2) additional flexibility for specifying and expanding organism options, (3) improvements to parameter datasets of environmental transfer factors, (4) inclusion of additional ''reference organism geometries'' (e.g., dose conversion factors for ellipsoids of appropriate size and shielding properties for different sized organisms, appropriate for specific ecosystem types), and (5) the capability to perform sensitivity and uncertainty analyses for calculated dose estimates.