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1.Radioecology seeks to understand how radiation and radionuclides move through the environment.It was established as an interdisciplinary science during the beginnings of the nuclear age.Radioecological research forms the underpinnings of health and safety assessments for nuclear power plant operation, radioactive waste disposal, and management and closure of nuclear weapons facilities.Its detractors have argued that radioecology has contributed all that it can, and it is time for this discipline to be abandoned.However, two recent events have highlighted the importance of continued research in this area.The recent publication by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of-IAEA TECDOC 1616 (2009), and Technical Reports Series No.472 (2010) illustrate that there are substantial data gaps in our knowledge of environmental transfer of radionuclides.2.The accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi has highlighted the conflict among competing interests: managing public safety, minimizing public disruption, and limiting environmental and economic impacts when dealing with radioactive releases from both accident and planned situations.Because of knowledge gaps, we have limited ability to quickly and accurately forecast near term environmental behavior of many radionuclides.Improved precision of such forecasts could potentially enable timely, and more accurate, delineation of radiologically impacted areas.Such accuracy might minimize radiological and economic impacts as well as public anxiety.Accurate modeling can also make the difference between allowing re-occupation of an exposed area instead of abandonment, allowing sites to be returned to productive use, rather than being cordoned off or unnecessarily remediated.Radioecology, far from being an outmoded discipline, remains an integral part of the development of nuclear power.It can give stakeholders confidence that radiation effects are well understood and that properly run nuclear power facilities have negligible radiological impact on the environment.