[sup 14]C release from a Soviet-designed pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant

Journal Article · Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Health Physics; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199212000-00005· OSTI ID:6833723

Uchrin, G; Csaba, E; Hertelendi, E; Ormai, P; Barnabas, I ^[1]

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1. Inst. of Isotopes, Budapest (Hungary)

The Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary runs with four pressurized water reactors, each of 440-MWe capacity. Sampling systems have been developed and used to determine the [sup 14]C of various chemical forms ([sup 14]CO[sub 2], [sup 14]CO, [sup 14]CnHm) in the airborne releases. The average normalized yearly discharge rates for the time period 1988-1991 are equal to 0.77 TBq GWe-1 y-1 for hydrocarbons and 0.05 TBq GWe-1 y-1 for CO[sub 2]. The contribution of [sup 14]CO was less than 0.5% of the total emission. The [sup 14]C discharge rate is estimated to be four times higher than the corresponding mean data of Western European pressurized water reactors. The calculated effective dose equivalent to individuals living in the vicinity of the power plant, due to [sup 14]C release, was 0.64 microSv in 1991 while the effective dose equivalent due to the natural [sup 14]C level was 15 microSv y-1. The long-term global impact of the [sup 14]C release in the operational period of the plant (1982-1991) was 1,270 man-Sv. The [sup 14]C excess in the environmental air has been measured since 1989 by taking biweekly samples at a distance of 1.7 km from the nuclear power plant. The long-term average of radiocarbon excess coming from the power plant was 2 mBq m-3. The local [sup 14]C deposition was followed by tree ring analysis, too. No [sup 14]C increase higher than the uncertainty of the measurement (four per thousand = 0.17 mBq m[sup [minus]3]) was observed.

• OSTI ID: 6833723
• Journal Information: Health Physics; (United States), Vol. 63:6; ISSN 0017-9078
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
PAKS-1 REACTOR
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
PAKS-2 REACTOR
PAKS-3 REACTOR
PAKS-4 REACTOR
AIR POLLUTION
CARBON 14
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON MONOXIDE
DATA
DEPOSITION
DOSE EQUIVALENTS
HUNGARY
HYDROCARBONS
RADIATION DOSE DISTRIBUTIONS
SAMPLING
TREE RINGS
WATER
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EASTERN EUROPE
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EUROPE
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MATERIALS
NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
THERMAL REACTORS
WASTES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
WWER TYPE REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560100* - Biomedical Sciences
Applied Studies- Radiation Effects