Consequences of tritium release to water pathways from postulated accidents in a DOE production reactor (U)

Conference · Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Fusion Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:7116986

O'Kula, K R; Olson, R L; Hamby, D M ^[1]

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1. Savannah River Lab., Aiken, SC (United States)

A full-scale PRA of a DOE production reactor has been completed that considers full release of tritium as part of the severe accident source term. Two classes of postulated reactor accidents, a loss-of-moderator pumping accident and a loss-of-coolant accident, are used to bound the expected dose consequence from liquid pathway release. Population doses from the radiological release associated with the two accidents are compared for aqueous discharge and atmospheric release modes. The expectation values of the distribution of possible values for the societal effective dose equivalent to the general public, given a tritium release to the atmosphere, is 2.8 person-Sv/PBq (9.9 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} person-rem/Ci). The general public drinking water dose to downstream water consumers is 6.5 {times} 10{sup {minus}2} person-Sv/PBq(2.4 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} person-rem/Ci) for aqueous releases to the surface streams eventually reaching the Savannah River. Negligible doses are calculated for freshwater fish and saltwater invertebrate consumption, irrigation, and recreational use of the river, given that an aqueous release is assumed to occur. Relative to the balance of fission products released in a hypothetical severe accident, the tritium-related dose is small. This paper suggests that application of regional models (1610 km radius) will indicate larger dose consequences from short-term tritium releases to the atmosphere than from comparable tritium source terms to water pathways.

• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 7116986
• Report Number(s): CONF-910920-; CODEN: FUSTE
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology; (United States), Vol. 21:2; Conference: 4. topical meeting on tritium technology in fission, fusion, and isotopic applications, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 29 Sep - 4 Oct 1991; ISSN 0748-1896
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
PRODUCTION REACTORS
RISK ASSESSMENT
TRITIUM
RELEASE LIMITS
DRINKING WATER
FISHES
LOSS OF COOLANT
RADIATION DOSES
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
RIVERS
US DOE
ACCIDENTS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DOSES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTORS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
US ORGANIZATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
220504* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Environmental Aspects- Design Basis & Hypothetical Accidents- (1992-)
540330 - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)