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Title: Rocky Flats 1990--91 winter validation tracer study: Volume 1

Abstract

During the winter of 1990--91, North American Weather Consultants (NAWC) and its subcontractor, ABB Environmental Services (ABBES), conducted a Winter Validation Study (WVS) for EG&G Rocky Flats involving 12 separate tracer experiments conducted between February 3 and February 19, 1991. Six experiments were conducted during nighttime hours and four experiments were conducted during daytime hours. In addition, there was one day/night and one night/day transitional experiment conducted. The primary purpose of the WVS was to gather data to further the approval process for the Terrain Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC). TRAC is an atmospheric dispersion model developed and operated at the Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) north of Denver, Colorado. A secondary objective was to gather data that will serve to validate the TRAC model physics.

Authors:
 [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. North American Weather Consultants, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
EG and G Rocky Flats, Inc., Golden, CO (United States). Rocky Flats Plant; North American Weather Consultants, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
10190914
Report Number(s):
RFP-4783
ON: DE94001393; IN: AQ-91-19; TRN: 93:003734
DOE Contract Number:
AC34-90DP62349
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Oct 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; ROCKY FLATS PLANT; AEROSOL MONITORING; GASES; DISPERSIONS; MATHEMATICAL MODELS; FIELD TESTS; SULFUR FLUORIDES; SEASONS; WEATHER; TRACER TECHNIQUES; METEOROLOGY; EARTH ATMOSPHERE; DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS; AIR POLLUTION MONITORING; 540110; 053000; BASIC STUDIES; ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS

Citation Formats

Brown, K.J. Rocky Flats 1990--91 winter validation tracer study: Volume 1. United States: N. p., 1991. Web. doi:10.2172/10190914.
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Brown, K.J. Rocky Flats 1990--91 winter validation tracer study: Volume 1. United States. doi:10.2172/10190914.
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Brown, K.J. Tue . "Rocky Flats 1990--91 winter validation tracer study: Volume 1". United States. doi:10.2172/10190914. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10190914.
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@article{osti_10190914,
title = {Rocky Flats 1990--91 winter validation tracer study: Volume 1},
author = {Brown, K.J.},
abstractNote = {During the winter of 1990--91, North American Weather Consultants (NAWC) and its subcontractor, ABB Environmental Services (ABBES), conducted a Winter Validation Study (WVS) for EG&G Rocky Flats involving 12 separate tracer experiments conducted between February 3 and February 19, 1991. Six experiments were conducted during nighttime hours and four experiments were conducted during daytime hours. In addition, there was one day/night and one night/day transitional experiment conducted. The primary purpose of the WVS was to gather data to further the approval process for the Terrain Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC). TRAC is an atmospheric dispersion model developed and operated at the Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) north of Denver, Colorado. A secondary objective was to gather data that will serve to validate the TRAC model physics.},
doi = {10.2172/10190914},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991},
month = {Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991}
}
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Technical Report:
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DOI:  10.2172/10190914
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  • ;
    The objective for this Model Validation Protocol is to establish a plan for quantifying the performance (accuracy and precision) of the Terrain-Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC) model. The performance will be determined by comparing model predictions against tracer characteristics observed in the free atmosphere. The Protocol will also be applied to other reference'' dispersion models. The performance of the TRAC model will be compared to the performance of these reference models in order to establish TRAC's acceptance for use in applications at the Rocky Flats Plant.

  • ;
    The objective for this Model Validation Protocol is to establish a plan for quantifying the performance (accuracy and precision) of the Terrain-Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC) model. The performance will be determined by comparing model predictions against tracer characteristics observed in the free atmosphere. The Protocol will also be applied to other ``reference`` dispersion models. The performance of the TRAC model will be compared to the performance of these reference models in order to establish TRAC`s acceptance for use in applications at the Rocky Flats Plant.

  • The objective for the Winter Validation Study was to gather field data for validation of the Terrain-Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC) under winter time meteorological conditions. Twelve tracer tests were conducted during a two-week period in February 1991. Each test lasted 12 hours, with releases of SF{sub 6} tracer from the Rocky Flats Plant near Golden, Colorado. The tests included ground-based and airborne sampling to 16 km from the release point. This presentation summarizes meteorological conditions during the testing period. Forty six viewgraphs are included.

  • The TRAC code consists of a computerized Gaussian puff model configured as an emergency response predictive technique that will employ regional topographic data, political and demographic data bases along with site specific emission source characteristics and meteorological data. The system developed around the TRAC code is intended to meet emergency response, emergency planning, risk assessment and regulatory compliance needs. The code provides on site and off site predictive information which can be used to diagnose and respond to nuclear and other hazard situations associated with the Rocky Flats Plant operation. The TRAC code has been developed by the Emergency Assessmentmore » Section of EG G Rocky Flats. This experimental plan describes one step in the evaluation and verification of the code. In total, the code is to be evaluated and verified by a multi-step program which because of its extent and complex nature is being carried out over a period exceeding five years in duration. The code will be evaluated and verified through employment of numerous field experimental data sets which are generated during a wide range of meteorological dispersion conditions. An initial experimental data set was generated for use in verification of the code during the summer of 1987 and late special site specific trajectory data were generated during an ongoing yearlong plume trajectory study that was initiated in 1990. The set of experiments which is described by this plan (called the Winter Validation Study, or WVS) will be used for further validation. It will span a representative portion of winter conditions during 1991 and will encompass several atmospheric dispersion experiments, all involving very detailed documentation of concurrent regional atmospheric transport, diffusion and meteorological conditions. 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

  • At Rocky Flats Plant, we developed a technique that employs the release of silver iodide (AgI) smoke as a very economical tracer for air dispersion around the Plant. In an emergency, the AgI smoke would trace a contaminant plume over long distances, in real time, to guide emergency response. To test this technique, we experimented with first releasing AgI smoke particles, then tracking them up to 50 km from the Plant by vehicle and aircraft under various typical weather conditions. Able to detect single AgI particles as small as 0.01 ..mu..m in real time, a portable cloud chamber operated onmore » either a pickup truck or a small aircraft. For both procedures, a simple smoke generator operating unattended produced up to 1 x 10/sup 15/ particles/g of AgI. Ground tracking of the smoke (1) showed the influence on dispersion by the midday shift from downslope to upslope flow during stable conditions and (2) provided an interesting case study of a nearby thunderstorm as a transient effect. Aerial tracking during eight flights covered a wide range of meteorological conditions. Convective flow often lofted the smoke completely off the ground before it left the Plant boundary. During inversion conditions, the tracer remained within 100 m of the ground.« less