Atmospheric Transport Results for Fukushima Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3

Technical Report · Mon Aug 06 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1463070· OSTI ID:1463070

Bixler, Nathan E. ^[1]; Clayton, Daniel James ^[1]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Many of the BSAF participants provided source terms to be evaluated by Sandia National Laboratories by applying HYSPLIT [2,3,4,5] to treat atmospheric transport and dispersion (ATD). The objective was to estimate the deposition pattern that would have resulted from the predicted source term. For the participants who provided results for all three units, the overall deposition pattern can be compared with the observed deposition pattern; for the participants who submitted source terms for one or two units, the results can only be compared with each other. Atmospheric transport calculations were performed for a single isotope, Cs-137. It is the primary isotope of concern for long-term contamination and it is relatively easy to measure the strong gamma signal produced from its short-lived decay product, Ba-137m. All the atmospheric transport calculations used the actual location of each of the three units; the releases were not presumed to emanate from the same location. Also, when they were provided, release energies were accounted for in the analysis, so plume lofting was considered. Finally, aerosol size distribution data were considered for purposes of estimating deposition. In some cases, aerosol size distribution can significantly influence deposition patterns.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USNRC; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1463070
• Report Number(s): SAND--2018-8356R; 666584
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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