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

Conference · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 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--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Fusion Technology; (United States) Journal Volume: 21:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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