Invited plenary talk (part one) given by Prof. Farid El-Daoushy at the Inter. Radiation Protection Congress, Afrirpa-2010, Sept. 2010, Nairobi, Kenya, It summarizes assessing large-scale and long-term transport and accumulation processes of radioactivity, anthropogenic and human waste. It compares the impacts of such processes on European and Nile Basin surface water systems. Utilization of these instruments for decision making and for sustainable water management policies are also explained.

1. Assessing the natural and anthropogenic
changes of radioactivity in complex eco-systems
Previous disasters and ongoing climate-environment changes
can shape our thinking for radiological assessment strategies
Large-scale and long-term assessment of nuclear disasters
depends on transport and chemistry processes. Chernobyl
dominated by tropospheric and local surface water processes.
Assessment strategies for the Nile Basin , and other African
rivers, would be different. Are we prepared to face similar
disasters in these regions? What would be the impacts and
how can we set up an appropriate assessment agenda.
Farid El-Daoushy, Department of Physics and
Astronomy, Uppsala University, Sweden

2. European surface water are primarily forced by
atmospheric and local catchment interactions
Surface water are
multi-scale systems
with local, regional &
global interactions.
Natural and artificial
radioactivity were
assessed in European
inland waters. Scales
and interactions were
detailed using Lake-
catchment systems.

3. Surface water
interactions in the Nile
Basin has much more
large scale dynamics
as compared by the
European ones. The
spatio-temporal scales
of this complex river
system are much more
comprehensive due to
its complex boundaries
and intensive coupling
with climate and
environment.

4. Decision Making Process for Sustainable
Water Resource Management Path
Actors/Level Criteria Policy Instrument Limitations
Multinational/(1) Economic Finance, Technology Transfer Uncertainties
Performance Cost, Technology,
International / (1) Welfare Treaties, Directives Environ. impacts
Commercial / (2) Resources Laws, Regulations, Lack of analytical
tools/observation
Government/(2&3) Sustainability Guide-lines, R & D, and field facilities
Lack of skills,
Water Utilities/(3) Quality Economic/Prices
weak institutions
Consumers / (4) Information Timing, Requirements (e.g. Insufficient funds
permission, rules)
Public Groups /(4) Others Public Information Lack of interest

5. Level (1)*
International Interaction and Trans-national Coordination/Management
Burundi Congo Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Sudan Tanzania Uganda
Level (2)*
National Interactions Between Water Sector and Rest of the Economy
Industry/ Transport Energy Environment Water Health Agriculture Tourism
mining
RP
Level (3)*
Precipitation/ Surface Ground Potable Hydro Naviga- Sewage/ Irriga- Coastal
Flood water water water power tion Sanitation tion water
Level (4)*
** R & D Based Monitoring and Planning
Supply Management Demand Management

6. Lakes and rivers are space-time indicators of
atmospheric and land-based human activities
Studies of complex water systems involve assessment of the
interacting sub-compartments and associated boundaries

7. Mass-balance of lake-catchment systems
Härsvatten: a reference lake in acid rain studies
External processes
Internal processes

8. Field and laboratory infra-structures for
model development, tests and validation
Atmospheric Flux
AC Atmospheric Flux
A
C (t) O (t)
Catchment
Inventory QC(t)
Lake Waters
Transport Loss via
Inventory Q(t)
from outflow
Catchment
To sediment record

9. Global inventories of Pu in soils and lakes
Solid line based on worldwide data from Hardy et al. 73.
Inventories for the other nuclides from nuclear weapons
tests can be deduced from known ratios .

10. Delayed effects in surface water