WorldWideScience

Sample records for accident source term

  1. 10 CFR 50.67 - Accident source term.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Conditions of Licenses and Construction Permits § 50.67 Accident source term. (a) Applicability. The... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Accident source term. 50.67 Section 50.67 Energy NUCLEAR... to January 10, 1997, who seek to revise the current accident source term used in their design basis...

  2. Revised accident source terms for light-water reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soffer, L. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

    1995-02-01

    This paper presents revised accident source terms for light-water reactors incorporating the severe accident research insights gained in this area over the last 15 years. Current LWR reactor accident source terms used for licensing date from 1962 and are contained in Regulatory Guides 1.3 and 1.4. These specify that 100% of the core inventory of noble gases and 25% of the iodine fission products are assumed to be instantaneously available for release from the containment. The chemical form of the iodine fission products is also assumed to be predominantly elemental iodine. These assumptions have strongly affected present nuclear air cleaning requirements by emphasizing rapid actuation of spray systems and filtration systems optimized to retain elemental iodine. A proposed revision of reactor accident source terms and some im implications for nuclear air cleaning requirements was presented at the 22nd DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning Conference. A draft report was issued by the NRC for comment in July 1992. Extensive comments were received, with the most significant comments involving (a) release fractions for both volatile and non-volatile species in the early in-vessel release phase, (b) gap release fractions of the noble gases, iodine and cesium, and (c) the timing and duration for the release phases. The final source term report is expected to be issued in late 1994. Although the revised source terms are intended primarily for future plants, current nuclear power plants may request use of revised accident source term insights as well in licensing. This paper emphasizes additional information obtained since the 22nd Conference, including studies on fission product removal mechanisms, results obtained from improved severe accident code calculations and resolution of major comments, and their impact upon the revised accident source terms. Revised accident source terms for both BWRS and PWRS are presented.

  3. Source term and radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mourad, R.

    1987-09-01

    This report presents the results of a study of the source term and radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The results two parts. The first part was performed during the first 2 months following the accident and dealt with the evaluation of the source term and an estimate of individual doses in the European countries outside the Soviet Union. The second part was performed after August 25-29, 1986 when the Soviets presented in a IAEA Conference in Vienna detailed information about the accident, including source term and radiological consequences in the Soviet Union. The second part of the study reconfirms the source term evaluated in the first part and in addition deals with the radiological consequences in the Soviet Union. Source term and individual doses are calculated from measured post-accident data, reported by the Soviet Union and European countries, microcomputer program PEAR (Public Exposure from Accident Releases). 22 refs

  4. Source term analyses under severe accidents for KNGR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Yong Mann; Park, Soo Yong

    2001-03-01

    In this study, in-containment source term for LOFW (Loss of Feed Water), which has appeared the most frequent core melt accident, is calculated and compared with NUREG-1465 source term. This study provides not only new source term data using MELCOR1.8.4 and its state-of-the-art models but also evaluating basis of KNGR design and its mitigation capability under severe accidents. As the selected accident is identical with LOFW-S17, which has been analyzed using MAAP by KEPCO with only difference of 2 SITs, mutual comparison of the results is especially expected.

  5. Regulatory impact of nuclear reactor accident source term assumptions. Technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasedag, W.F.; Blond, R.M.; Jankowski, M.W.

    1981-06-01

    This report addresses the reactor accident source term implications on accident evaluations, regulations and regulatory requirements, engineered safety features, emergency planning, probabilistic risk assessment, and licensing practice. Assessment of the impact of source term modifications and evaluation of the effects in Design Basis Accident analyses, assuming a change of the chemical form of iodine from elemental to cesium iodide, has been provided. Engineered safety features used in current LWR designs are found to be effective for all postulated combinations of iodine source terms under DBA conditions. In terms of potential accident consequences, it is not expected that the difference in chemical form between elemental iodine and cesium iodide would be significant. In order to account for the current information on source terms, a spectrum of accident scenerios is discussed to realistically estimate the source terms resulting from a range of potential accident conditions

  6. Source terms derived from analyses of hypothetical accidents, 1950-1986

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stratton, W.R.

    1987-01-01

    This paper reviews the history of reactor accident source term assumptions. After the Three Mile Island accident, a number of theoretical and experimental studies re-examined possible accident sequences and source terms. Some of these results are summarized in this paper

  7. Severe accident source term reassessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazzan, M.J.; Gardner, R.; Warman, E.A.; Jacobs, S.B.

    1987-01-01

    This paper summarizes the status of the reassessment of severe reactor accident source terms, which are defined as the quantity, type, and timing of fission product releases from such accidents. Concentration is on the major results and conclusions of analyses with modern methods for both pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), and the special case of containment bypass. Some distinctions are drawn between analyses for PWRs and BWRs. In general, the more the matter is examined, the consequences, or probability of serious consequences, seem to be less. (author)

  8. Source term estimation during incident response to severe nuclear power plant accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenna, T.J.; Glitter, J.G.

    1988-10-01

    This document presents a method of source term estimation that reflects the current understanding of source term behavior and that can be used during an event. The various methods of estimating radionuclide release to the environment (source terms) as a result of an accident at a nuclear power reactor are discussed. The major factors affecting potential radionuclide releases off site (source terms) as a result of nuclear power plant accidents are described. The quantification of these factors based on plant instrumentation also is discussed. A range of accident conditions from those within the design basis to the most severe accidents possible are included in the text. A method of gross estimation of accident source terms and their consequences off site is presented. 39 refs., 48 figs., 19 tabs

  9. Quantification of severe accident source terms of a Westinghouse 3-loop plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee Min; Ko, Y.-C.

    2008-01-01

    Integrated severe accident analysis codes are used to quantify the source terms of the representative sequences identified in PSA study. The characteristics of these source terms depend on the detail design of the plant and the accident scenario. A historical perspective of radioactive source term is provided. The grouping of radionuclides in different source terms or source term quantification tools based on TID-14844, NUREG-1465, and WASH-1400 is compared. The radionuclides release phenomena and models adopted in the integrated severe accident analysis codes of STCP and MAAP4 are described. In the present study, the severe accident source terms for risk quantification of Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant of Taiwan Power Company are quantified using MAAP 4.0.4 code. A methodology is developed to quantify the source terms of each source term category (STC) identified in the Level II PSA analysis of the plant. The characteristics of source terms obtained are compared with other source terms. The plant analyzed employs a Westinghouse designed 3-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) with large dry containment

  10. Development of source term PIRT of Fukushima Daiichi NPPs accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suehiro, S.; Okamoto, K.

    2017-01-01

    The severe accident evaluation committee of AESJ (Atomic Energy Society of Japan) developed the thermal hydraulic PIRT (Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table) and the source term PIRT based on findings during the Fukushima Daiichi NPPs accident. These PIRTs aimed to explore the debris distribution and the current condition in the NPPs with high accuracy and to extract higher priority from the aspect of the sophistication of the analytical technology to predict the severe accident phenomena by the code. The source term PIRT was divided into 3 phases for the time domain and 9 categories for the spatial domain. The 68 phenomena were extracted and the importance from viewpoint of the source term was ranked through brainstorming and discussion. This paper describes the developed source term PIRT list and summarized the high ranked phenomena in each phase. (author)

  11. Source term estimation during incident response to severe nuclear power plant accidents. Draft

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McKenna, T J; Giitter, J

    1987-07-01

    The various methods of estimating radionuclide release to the environment (source terms) as a result of an accident at a nuclear power reactor are discussed. The major factors affecting potential radionuclide releases off site (source terms) as a result of nuclear power plant accidents are described. The quantification of these factors based on plant instrumentation also is discussed. A range of accident conditions from those within the design basis to the most severe accidents possible are included in the text. A method of gross estimation of accident source terms and their consequences off site is presented. The goal is to present a method of source term estimation that reflects the current understanding of source term behavior and that can be used during an event. (author)

  12. Source term estimation during incident response to severe nuclear power plant accidents. Draft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenna, T.J.; Giitter, J.

    1987-01-01

    The various methods of estimating radionuclide release to the environment (source terms) as a result of an accident at a nuclear power reactor are discussed. The major factors affecting potential radionuclide releases off site (source terms) as a result of nuclear power plant accidents are described. The quantification of these factors based on plant instrumentation also is discussed. A range of accident conditions from those within the design basis to the most severe accidents possible are included in the text. A method of gross estimation of accident source terms and their consequences off site is presented. The goal is to present a method of source term estimation that reflects the current understanding of source term behavior and that can be used during an event. (author)

  13. Spallation Neutron Source Accident Terms for Environmental Impact Statement Input

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Devore, J.R.; Harrington, R.M.

    1998-08-01

    This report is about accidents with the potential to release radioactive materials into the environment surrounding the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). As shown in Chap. 2, the inventories of radioactivity at the SNS are dominated by the target facility. Source terms for a wide range of target facility accidents, from anticipated events to worst-case beyond-design-basis events, are provided in Chaps. 3 and 4. The most important criterion applied to these accident source terms is that they should not underestimate potential release. Therefore, conservative methodology was employed for the release estimates. Although the source terms are very conservative, excessive conservatism has been avoided by basing the releases on physical principles. Since it is envisioned that the SNS facility may eventually (after about 10 years) be expanded and modified to support a 4-MW proton beam operational capability, the source terms estimated in this report are applicable to a 4-MW operating proton beam power unless otherwise specified. This is bounding with regard to the 1-MW facility that will be built and operated initially. See further discussion below in Sect. 1.2.

  14. A simplified approach to evaluating severe accident source term for PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Gaofeng; Tong, Lili; Cao, Xuewu

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Traditional source term evaluation approaches have been studied. • A simplified approach of source term evaluation for 600 MW PWR is studied. • Five release categories are established. - Abstract: For early design of NPPs, no specific severe accident source term evaluation was considered. Some general source terms have been used for some NPPs. In order to implement a best estimate, a special source term evaluation should be implemented for an NPP. Traditional source term evaluation approaches (mechanism approach and parametric approach) have some difficulties associated with their implementation. The traditional approaches are not consistent with cost-benefit assessment. A simplified approach for evaluating severe accident source term for PWR is studied. For the simplified approach, a simplified containment event tree is established. According to representative cases selection, weighted coefficient evaluation, computation of representative source term cases and weighted computation, five containment release categories are established, including containment bypass, containment isolation failure, containment early failure, containment late failure and intact containment

  15. Revised accident source terms and control room habitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lahti, G.P.; Hubner, R.S.; Johnson, W.J.; Schwartz, B.C.

    1993-01-01

    In April 1992, the NRC staff presented to the Commissioners the draft NUREG open-quotes Revised Accident Source Terms for Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants.close quotes This document is the culmination of more than ten years of NRC-sponsored research and represents the first change in the NRC's position on source terms since TID-14844 was issued in 1962. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the revised source terms on the current approach to analyzing control room habitability as required by 10 CFR 50. Sample calculations are presented that identify aspects of the model requiring clarification before the implementation of the revised source terms. 6 refs., 4 tabs

  16. Revised reactor accident source terms in the U.S. and implementation for light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soffer, L.; Lee, J.Y.

    1992-01-01

    Current NRC reactor accident source terms used for licensing are contained in Regulatory Guides 1.3 and 1.4 and specify that 100 % of the core inventory of noble gases and 25 % of the iodine fission products are assumed to be instantaneously available for release from the containment. The chemical form of the iodine fission products is also assumed to be predominantly elemental (I 2 ) iodine. These assumptions have strongly affected present nuclear plant designs. Severe accident research results have confirmed that although the current source term is very substantial and has resulted in a very high level of plant capability, the present source term is no longer compatible with a realistic understanding of severe accidents. The NRC has issued a proposed revision of the reactor accident source terms as part of several regulatory activities to incorporate severe accident insights for future plants. A revision to 10 CFR 100 is also being proposed to specify site criteria directly and to eliminate source terms and doses for site evaluation. Reactor source terms will continue to be important in evaluating plant designs. Although intended primarily for future plants, existing and evolutionary power plants may voluntarily apply revised accident source term insights as well in licensing. The proposed revised accident source terms are presented in terms of fission product composition, magnitude, timing and iodine chemical form. Some implications for light water reactors are discussed. (author)

  17. Realistic minimum accident source terms - Evaluation, application, and risk acceptance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelo, P. L.

    2009-01-01

    The evaluation, application, and risk acceptance for realistic minimum accident source terms can represent a complex and arduous undertaking. This effort poses a very high impact to design, construction cost, operations and maintenance, and integrated safety over the expected facility lifetime. At the 2005 Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) Meeting in Knoxville Tenn., two papers were presented mat summarized the Y-12 effort that reduced the number of criticality accident alarm system (CAAS) detectors originally designed for the new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (HEUMF) from 258 to an eventual as-built number of 60. Part of that effort relied on determining a realistic minimum accident source term specific to the facility. Since that time, the rationale for an alternate minimum accident has been strengthened by an evaluation process that incorporates realism. A recent update to the HEUMF CAAS technical basis highlights the concepts presented here. (authors)

  18. Accident source terms for Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soffer, L.; Burson, S.B.; Ferrell, C.M.; Lee, R.Y.; Ridgely, J.N.

    1995-02-01

    In 1962 tile US Atomic Energy Commission published TID-14844, ''Calculation of Distance Factors for Power and Test Reactors'' which specified a release of fission products from the core to the reactor containment for a postulated accident involving ''substantial meltdown of the core''. This ''source term'', tile basis for tile NRC's Regulatory Guides 1.3 and 1.4, has been used to determine compliance with tile NRC's reactor site criteria, 10 CFR Part 100, and to evaluate other important plant performance requirements. During the past 30 years substantial additional information on fission product releases has been developed based on significant severe accident research. This document utilizes this research by providing more realistic estimates of the ''source term'' release into containment, in terms of timing, nuclide types, quantities and chemical form, given a severe core-melt accident. This revised ''source term'' is to be applied to the design of future light water reactors (LWRs). Current LWR licensees may voluntarily propose applications based upon it

  19. Impact of source terms on distances to which reactor accident consequences occur

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostmeyer, R.M.

    1982-01-01

    Estimates of the distances over which reactor accident consequences might occur are important for development of siting criteria and for emergency response planning. This paper summarizes the results of a series of CRAC2 calculations performed to estimate these distances. Because of the current controversy concerning the magnitude of source terms for severe accidents, the impact of source term reductions upon distance estimates is also examined

  20. The Chernobyl reactor accident source term: development of a consensus view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devell, L.; Guntay, S.; Powers, D.A.

    1995-11-01

    Ten years after the reactor accident at Chernobyl, a great deal more data is available concerning the events, phenomena, and processes that took place. The purpose of this document is to examine what is known about the radioactive materials released during the accident, a task that is substantially more difficult than it might first appear to be. The Chernobyl station, like other nuclear power plants, was not instrumented to characterize a disastrous accident. The accident was peculiar in the sense that radioactive materials were released, at least initially, in an exceptionally energetic plume and were transported far from the reactor site. Release of radioactivity from the plant continued for several days. Characterization of the contamination caused by the releases of radioactivity has had a much lower priority than remediation of the contamination. Consequently, an assessment of the Chernobyl accident source term must rely to a significant extent on inferential evidence. The assessment presented here begins with an examination of the core inventories of radioactive materials. In subsequent sections of the report, the magnitude and timing of the releases of radioactivity are described. Then, the composition, chemical forms, and physical forms of the releases are discussed. A number of more recent publications and results from scientists in Russia and elsewhere have significantly improved the understanding of the Chernobyl source term. Because of the special features of the reactor design and the peculiarities of the Chernobyl accident, the source term for the Chernobyl accident is of limited applicability to the safety analysis of other types of reactors

  1. Source terms for analysis of accidents at a high level waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mubayi, V.; Davis, R.E.; Youngblood, R.

    1989-01-01

    This paper describes an approach to identifying source terms from possible accidents during the preclosure phase of a high-level nuclear waste repository. A review of the literature on repository safety analyses indicated that source term estimation is in a preliminary stage, largely based on judgement-based scoping analyses. The approach developed here was to partition the accident space into domains defined by certain threshold values of temperature and impact energy density which may arise in potential accidents and specify release fractions of various radionuclides, present in the waste form, in each domain. Along with a more quantitative understanding of accident phenomenology, this approach should help in achieving a clearer perspective on scenarios important to preclosure safety assessments of geologic repositories. 18 refs., 3 tabs

  2. An investigation of the closure problem applied to reactor accident source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brearley, I.R.; Nixon, W.; Hayns, M.R.

    1987-01-01

    The closure problem, as considered here, focuses attention on the question of when in current research programmes enough has been learned about the source terms for reactor accident releases. Noting that current research is tending to reduce the estimated magnitude of the aerosol component of atmospheric, accidental releases, several possible criteria for closure are suggested. Moreover, using the reactor accident consequence model CRACUK, the effect of gradually reducing the aerosol release fractions of a pressurized water reactor (PWR2) source term (as defined in the WASH-1400 study) is investigated and the implications of applying the suggested criteria to current source term research discussed. (author)

  3. Accident source terms for boiling water reactors with high burnup cores.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauntt, Randall O.; Powers, Dana Auburn; Leonard, Mark Thomas

    2007-11-01

    The primary objective of this report is to provide the technical basis for development of recommendations for updates to the NUREG-1465 Source Term for BWRs that will extend its applicability to accidents involving high burnup (HBU) cores. However, a secondary objective is to re-examine the fundamental characteristics of the prescription for fission product release to containment described by NUREG-1465. This secondary objective is motivated by an interest to understand the extent to which research into the release and behaviors of radionuclides under accident conditions has altered best-estimate calculations of the integral response of BWRs to severe core damage sequences and the resulting radiological source terms to containment. This report, therefore, documents specific results of fission product source term analyses that will form the basis for the HBU supplement to NUREG-1465. However, commentary is also provided on observed differences between the composite results of the source term calculations performed here and those reflected NUREG-1465 itself.

  4. The Chernobyl reactor accident source term: Development of a consensus view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guntay, S.; Powers, D.A.; Devell, L.

    1997-01-01

    In August 1986, scientists from the former Soviet Union provided the nuclear safety community with an impressively detailed account of what was then known about the Chernobyl accident. This included assessments of the magnitudes, rates, and compositions of radionuclide releases during the ten days following initiation of the accident. A summary report based on the Soviet report, the oral presentations, and the discussions with scientists from various countries was issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency shortly thereafter. Ten years have elapsed since the reactor accident at Chernobyl. A great deal more data is now available concerning the events, phenomena, and processes that took place. The purpose of this document is to examine what is known about the radioactive materials released during the accident. The accident was peculiar in the sense that radioactive materials were released, at least initially, in an exceptionally energetic plume and were transported far from the reactor site. Release of radioactivity from the plant continued for about ten days. A number of more recent publications and results from scientists in Russia and elsewhere have significantly improved our understanding of the Chernobyl source term. Because of the special features of the reactor design and the pecularities of the Chernobyl accident, the source term for the Chernobyl accident is of limited applicability of the safety analysis of other types of reactors

  5. Centrifugal Filtration System for Severe Accident Source Term Treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Shu Chang; Yim, Man Sung [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The objective of this paper is to present the conceptual design of a filtration system that can be used to process airborne severe accident source term. Reactor containment may lose its structural integrity due to over-pressurization during a severe accident. This can lead to uncontrolled radioactive releases to the environment. For preventing the dispersion of these uncontrolled radioactive releases to the environment, several ways to capture or mitigate these radioactive source term releases are under investigation at KAIST. Such technologies are based on concepts like a vortex-like air curtain, a chemical spray, and a suction arm. Treatment of the radioactive material captured by these systems would be required, before releasing to environment. For current filtration systems in the nuclear industry, IAEA lists sand, multi-venturi scrubber, high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA), charcoal and combinations of the above in NS-G-1-10, 4.143. Most if not all of the requirements of the scenario for applying this technology near the containment of an NPP site and the environmental constraints were analyzed for use in the design of the centrifuge filtration system.

  6. Source terms associated with two severe accident sequences in a 900 MWe PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fermandjian, J.; Evrard, J.M.; Berthion, Y.; Lhiaubet, G.; Lucas, M.

    1983-12-01

    Hypothetical accidents taken into account in PWR risk assessment result in fission product release from the fuel, transfer through the primary circuit, transfer into the reactor containment building (RCB) and finally release to the environment. The objective of this paper is to define the characteristics of the source term (noble gases, particles and volatile iodine forms) released from the reactor containment building during two dominant core-melt accident sequences: S 2 CD and TLB according to the ''Reactor Safety Study'' terminology. The reactor chosen for this study is a French 900 MWe PWR unit. The reactor building is a prestressed concrete containment with an internal liner. The first core-melt accident sequence is a 2-break loss-of-coolant accident on the cold leg, with failure of both system and the containment spray system. The second one is a transient initiated by a loss of offsite and onsite power supply and auxiliary feedwater system. These two sequences have been chosen because they are representative of risk dominant scenarios. Source terms associated with hypothetical core-melt accidents S 2 CD and TLB in a French PWR -900 MWe- have been performed using French computer codes (in particular, JERICHO Code for containment response analysis and AEROSOLS/31 for aerosol behavior in the containment)

  7. Source term and behavioural parameters for a postulated HIFAR loss-of-coolant accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    May, F.G.

    1987-01-01

    The fraction of the fission product inventory which might be released into the atmosphere of the HIFAR reactor containment building (RCB) during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has been evaluated as a function of time, for each classification of airborne radioactivity. This appraisal will be used as the source term for a computer program, which uses realistic attenuation of the fission product aerosol in a single compartment model with a defined leakrate to predict possible radioactive releases into the environment in a hypothetical bounding case reactor accident which is rather more severe in all major aspects than any single LOCA. Also given are the parameters governing the attenuation of the aerosol and vapours in the atmosphere of the RCB so that their behaviour may be accurately modelled. The source terms for several other types of accident involving the meltdown of fuel elements have also been considered but in less detail than the LOCA case. In some of the cases, the fission products are released directly to atmosphere, so there is no attenuation of the release by deposition within the RCB

  8. SARNET. Severe Accident Research Network - key issues in the area of source term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giordano, P.; Micaelli, J.C.; Haste, T.; Herranz, L.

    2005-01-01

    About fifty European organisations integrate in SARNET (Network of Excellence of the EU 6 th Framework Programme) their research capacities in resolve better the most important remaining uncertainties and safety issues concerning existing and future Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) under hypothetical Severe Accident (SA) conditions. Wishing to maintain a long-lasting cooperation, they conduct three types of activities: integrating activities, spreading of excellence and jointly executed research. This paper summarises the main results obtained by the network after the first year, giving more prominence to those from jointly executed research in the Source Term area. Integrating activities have been performed through different means: the ASTEC integral computer code for severe accident transient modelling, through development of PSA2 methodologies, through the setting of a structure for definition of evolving R and D priorities and through the development of a web-network of data bases that hosts experimental data. Such activities have been facilitated by the development of an Advanced Communication Tool. Concerning spreading of excellence, educational courses covering Severe Accident Analysis Methodology and Level 2 PSA have been set up, to be given in early 2006. A detailed text book on Severe Accident Phenomenology has been designed and agreed amongst SARNET members. A mobility programme for students and young researchers is being developed, some detachments are already completed or in progress, and examples are quoted. Jointly executed research activities concern key issues grouped in the Corium, Containment and Source Term areas. In Source Term, behaviour of the highly radio-toxic ruthenium under oxidising conditions (like air ingress) for HBU and MOX fuel has been investigated. First modelling proposals for ASTEC have been made for oxidation of fuel and of ruthenium. Experiments on transport of highly volatile oxide ruthenium species have been performed. Reactor

  9. Review of the accident source terms for aluminide fuel: Application to the BR2 reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joppen, F.

    2005-01-01

    A major safety review of the BR2, a material test reactor, is to be conducted for the year 2006. One of the subjects selected for the safety review is the definition of source terms for emergency planning and in particular the development of accident scenarios. For nuclear power plants the behaviour of fuel under accident conditions is a well studied object. In case of non-power reactors this basic knowledge is rather scarce. The usefulness of information from power plant fuels is limited due to the differences in fuel type, power level and thermohydraulical conditions. First investigation indicates that using data from power plant fuel leads to an overestimation of the source terms. Further research on this subject could be very useful for the research reactor community, in order to define more realistic source terms and to improve the emergency preparedness. (author)

  10. Source term assessment, containment atmosphere control systems, and accident consequences. Report to CSNI by an OECD/NEA Group of experts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-04-01

    CSNI Report 135 summarizes the results of the work performed by CSNI's Principal Working Group No. 4 on the Source Term and Environmental Consequences (PWG4) during the period extending from 1983 to 1986. This document contains the latest information on some important topics relating to source terms, accident consequence assessment, and containment atmospheric control systems. It consists of five parts: (1) a Foreword and Executive Summary prepared by PWG4's Chairman; (2) a Report on the Technical Status of the Source Term; (3) a Report on the Technical Status of Filtration and Containment Atmosphere Control Systems for Nuclear Reactors in the Event of a Severe Accident; (4) a Report on the Technical Status of Reactor Accident Consequence Assessment; (5) a list of members of PWG4

  11. Review of the status of validation of the computer codes used in the severe accident source term reassessment study (BMI-2104)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kress, T.S.

    1985-04-01

    The determination of severe accident source terms must, by necessity it seems, rely heavily on the use of complex computer codes. Source term acceptability, therefore, rests on the assessed validity of such codes. Consequently, one element of NRC's recent efforts to reassess LWR severe accident source terms is to provide a review of the status of validation of the computer codes used in the reassessment. The results of this review is the subject of this document. The separate review documents compiled in this report were used as a resource along with the results of the BMI-2104 study by BCL and the QUEST study by SNL to arrive at a more-or-less independent appraisal of the status of source term modeling at this time

  12. Independent assessment of MELCOR as a severe accident thermal-hydraulic/source term analysis tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madni, I.K.; Eltawila, F.

    1994-01-01

    MELCOR is a fully integrated computer code that models all phases of the progression of severe accidents in light water reactor nuclear power plants, and is being developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has a program with the NRC called ''MELCOR Verification, Benchmarking, and Applications,'' whose aim is to provide independent assessment of MELCOR as a severe accident thermal-hydraulic/source term analysis tool. The scope of this program is to perform quality control verification on all released versions of MELCOR, to benchmark MELCOR against more mechanistic codes and experimental data from severe fuel damage tests, and to evaluate the ability of MELCOR to simulate long-term severe accident transients in commercial LWRs, by applying the code to model both BWRs and PWRs. Under this program, BNL provided input to the NRC-sponsored MELCOR Peer Review, and is currently contributing to the MELCOR Cooperative Assessment Program (MCAP). This paper presents a summary of MELCOR assessment efforts at BNL and their contribution to NRC goals with respect to MELCOR

  13. Analysis of the primary source term for meltdown accidents using MELCOR 1.8.2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmuck, P.

    1995-01-01

    The MELCOR code describing accident phenomena in the core and primary systems was used for source term calculations and - in the context of the MELCOR Cooperative Assessment Programme - for studying two-phase flows through components such as valves and chokes. Results of the latter studies in comparison to experiments gave hints for an improved calculation of momentum transfer between the phases. (orig.)

  14. Some practical implications of source term reassessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-03-01

    This report provides a brief summary of the current knowledge of severe accident source terms and suggests how this knowledge might be applied to a number of specific aspects of reactor safety. In preparing the report, consideration has been restricted to source term issues relating to light water reactors (LWRs). Consideration has also generally been restricted to the consequences of hypothetical severe accidents rather than their probability of occurrence, although it is recognized that, in the practical application of source term research, it is necessary to take account of probability as well as consequences. The specific areas identified were as follows: Exploration of the new insights that are available into the management of severe accidents; Investigating the impact of source term research on emergency planning and response; Assessing the possibilities which exist in present reactor designs for preventing or mitigating the consequences of severe accidents and how these might be used effectively; Exploring the need for backfitting and assessing the implications of source term research for future designs; and Improving the quantification of the radiological consequences of hypothetical severe accidents for probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) and informing the public about the realistic risks associated with nuclear power plants. 7 refs

  15. Estimation of Source Term Behaviors in SBO Sequence in a Typical 1000MWth PWR and Comparison with Other Source Term Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Tae Woon; Han, Seok Jung; Ahn, Kwang Il; Fynan, Douglas; Jung, Yong Hoon [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    Since the Three Mile Island (TMI) (1979), Chernobyl (1986), Fukushima Daiichi (2011) accidents, the assessment of radiological source term effects on the environment has been a key concern of nuclear safety. In the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the long-term SBO (station blackout) accident occurs. Using the worst case assumptions like in Fukushima accident on the accident sequences and on the availability of safety systems, the thermal hydraulic behaviors, core relocation and environmental source terms behaviors are estimated for long-term SBO accident for OPR-1000 reactor. MELCOR code version 1.8.6 is used in this analysis. Source term results estimated in this study is compared with other previous studies and estimated results in Fukushima accidents in UNSCEAR-2013 report. This study estimated that 11 % of iodine can be released to environment and 2% of cesium can be released to environment. UNSCEAR-2013 report estimated that 2 - 8 % of iodine have been released to environment and 1 - 3 % of cesium have been released to the environment. They have similar results in the aspect of release fractions of iodine and cesium to environment.

  16. Effect of hypoiodous acid volatility on the iodine source term in reactor accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Routamo, T [Imatran Voima Oy, Vantaa (Finland)

    1996-12-01

    A FORTRAN code ACT WATCH has been developed to establish an improved understanding of essential radionuclide behaviour mechanisms, especially related to iodine chemistry, in reactor accidents. The accident scenarios calculated in this paper are based on the Loss of Coolant accident at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The effect of different airborne species, especially HIO, on the iodine source term has been studied. The main cause of the high HIO release in the system modelled is the increase of I{sub 2} hydrolysis rate along with the temperature increase, which accelerates HIO production. Due to the high radiation level near the reactor core, I{sub 2} is produced from I{sup -}very rapidly. High temperature in the reactor coolant causes I{sub 2} to be transformed into HIO and through the boiling of the coolant volatile I{sub 2} and HIO are transferred efficiently into the gas phase. High filtration efficiency for particulate iodine causes I{sup -} release to be much lower than those of I{sub 2} and HIO. (author) 15 figs., 1 tab., refs.

  17. Effect of hypoiodous acid volatility on the iodine source term in reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Routamo, T.

    1996-01-01

    A FORTRAN code ACT WATCH has been developed to establish an improved understanding of essential radionuclide behaviour mechanisms, especially related to iodine chemistry, in reactor accidents. The accident scenarios calculated in this paper are based on the Loss of Coolant accident at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The effect of different airborne species, especially HIO, on the iodine source term has been studied. The main cause of the high HIO release in the system modelled is the increase of I 2 hydrolysis rate along with the temperature increase, which accelerates HIO production. Due to the high radiation level near the reactor core, I 2 is produced from I - very rapidly. High temperature in the reactor coolant causes I 2 to be transformed into HIO and through the boiling of the coolant volatile I 2 and HIO are transferred efficiently into the gas phase. High filtration efficiency for particulate iodine causes I - release to be much lower than those of I 2 and HIO. (author) 15 figs., 1 tab., refs

  18. Analysis of the source term in the Chernobyl-4 accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso, A.; Lopez Montero, J.V.; Pinedo Garrido, P.

    1990-01-01

    The report presents the analysis of the Chernobyl accident and of the phenomena with major influence on the source term, including the chemical effects of materials dumped over the reactor, carried out by the Chair of Nuclear Technology at Madrid University under a contract with the CEC. It also includes the comparison of the ratio (Cs-137/Cs-134) between measurements performed by Soviet authorities and countries belonging to the Community and OECD area. Chapter II contains a summary of both isotope measurements (Cs-134 and Cs-137), and their ratios, in samples of air, water, soil and agricultural and animal products collected by the Soviets in their report presented in Vienna (1986). Chapter III reports on the inventories of cesium isotopes in the core, while Chapter IV analyses the transient, especially the fuel temperature reached, as a way to deduce the mechanisms which took place in the cesium escape. The cesium source term is analyzed in Chapter V. Normal conditions have been considered, as well as the transient and the post-accidental period, including the effects of deposited materials. The conclusion of this study is that Chernobyl accidental sequence is specific of the RBMK type of reactors, and that in the Western world, basic research on fuel behaviour for reactivity transients has already been carried out

  19. Iodine chemistry effect on source term assessments. A MELCOR 186 YT study of a PWR severe accident sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz, Luis E.; Garcia, Monica; Otero, Bernadette

    2009-01-01

    Level-2 Probabilistic Safety Analysis has demonstrated to be a powerful tool to give insights into multiple aspects concerning severe accidents: phenomena with the greatest potential to lead to containment failure, safety systems performance and, even, to identify any additional accident management that could mitigate the consequences of such an even, etc. A major result of level-2 PSA is iodine content in Source Term since it is the main responsible for the radiological impact during the first few days after a hypothetical severe accident. Iodine chemistry is known to considerably affect iodine behavior and although understanding has improved substantially since the early 90's, a thorough understanding is still missing and most PSA studies do not address it when assessing severe accident scenarios. This paper emphasizes the quantitative and qualitative significance of considering iodine chemistry in level-2 PSA estimates. To do so a cold leg break, low pressure severe accident sequence of an actual pressurized water reactor has been analyzed with the MELCOR 1.8.6 YT code. Two sets of calculations, with and without chemistry, have been carried out and compared. The study shows that iodine chemistry could result in an iodine release to environment about twice higher, most of which would consist of around 60% of iodine in gaseous form. From these results it is concluded that exploratory studies on the potential effect of iodine chemistry on source term estimates should be carried out. (author)

  20. Reassessment of the technical bases for estimating source terms. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silberberg, M.; Mitchell, J.A.; Meyer, R.O.; Ryder, C.P.

    1986-07-01

    This document describes a major advance in the technology for calculating source terms from postulated accidents at US light-water reactors. The improved technology consists of (1) an extensive data base from severe accident research programs initiated following the TMI accident, (2) a set of coupled and integrated computer codes (the Source Term Code Package), which models key aspects of fission product behavior under severe accident conditions, and (3) a number of detailed mechanistic codes that bridge the gap between the data base and the Source Term Code Package. The improved understanding of severe accident phenonmena has also allowed an identification of significant sources of uncertainty, which should be considered in estimating source terms. These sources of uncertainty are also described in this document. The current technology provides a significant improvement in evaluating source terms over that available at the time of the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400) and, because of this significance, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is recommending its use

  1. Analysis of accident sequences and source terms at treatment and storage facilities for waste generated by US Department of Energy waste management operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Roglans-Ribas, J.; Folga, S.; Policastro, A.; Freeman, W.; Jackson, R.; Mishima, J.; Turner, S.

    1996-12-01

    This report documents the methodology, computational framework, and results of facility accident analyses performed for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS). The accident sequences potentially important to human health risk are specified, their frequencies assessed, and the resultant radiological and chemical source terms evaluated. A personal-computer-based computational framework and database have been developed that provide these results as input to the WM PEIS for the calculation of human health risk impacts. The WM PEIS addresses management of five waste streams in the DOE complex: low-level waste (LLW), hazardous waste (HW), high-level waste (HLW), low-level mixed waste (LLMW), and transuranic waste (TRUW). Currently projected waste generation rates, storage inventories, and treatment process throughputs have been calculated for each of the waste streams. This report summarizes the accident analyses and aggregates the key results for each of the waste streams. Source terms are estimated, and results are presented for each of the major DOE sites and facilities by WM PEIS alternative for each waste stream. Key assumptions in the development of the source terms are identified. The appendices identify the potential atmospheric release of each toxic chemical or radionuclide for each accident scenario studied. They also discuss specific accident analysis data and guidance used or consulted in this report.

  2. Source term analysis for a criticality accident in metal production line glove boxes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, D.H.

    1991-06-01

    A recent development in criticality accident analysis is the deterministic calculations of the transport of fission products and actinides through the barriers of the physical facility. The knowledge of the redistribution of the materials inside the facility will help determine the reentry and clean-up procedures. The amount of radioactive materials released to the environment is the source term for dispersion calculations. We have used an integrated computer model to determine the release of fission products to the environment from a hypothetical criticality event in a glove box of the metal production line (MPL) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

  3. On the sequence of core-melt accidents: Fission product release, source terms and Chernobyl release

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albrecht, H

    1986-01-01

    There is a sketch of our ideas on the course of a core melt-out accident in a PWR. There is then a survey of the most important results on fission product release, which were obtained by experiments on the SASCHA melt-out plant. The 3rd part considers questions which are important for determining source terms for the environment and the last part contains some considerations on radioactivity release from the Chernobyl reactor.

  4. Development of dose calculation program (DBADOSE) incorporating alternative source term due to design basis accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bae, Young Jig; Nam, Ki Mun; Lee, Yu Jong; Chung, Chan Young

    2003-01-01

    Source terms presented in TID-14844 and Regulatory Guide 1.4 have been used for radiological analysis of design basis accidents for licensing existing pressurized water reactor (PWR). However, more realistic and physically-based source term based on results of study and experiments for about 30 years after the publication of TID-14844 was developed and presented in NUREG-1465 published by U.S NRC in 1995. In addition, ICRP has revised dose concepts and criteria through the publication of ICRP-9, 26, 60 and recommended effective dose concepts rather than critical organ concept since the publication of ICRP-26. Accordingly, multipurpose computer program called DBADOSE incorporating alternative source terms in NUREG-1465 and effective dose concepts in ICRP-60 was developed. Comparison of results of DBADOSE with those of POSTDBA and STARDOSE was performed and verified and no significant difference and inaccuracy were found. DBADOSE will be used to evaluate accidental doses for licensing application according to the domestic laws that are expected to be revised in the near future

  5. Aerosol behavior and light water reactor source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbey, F.; Schikarski, W.O.

    1988-01-01

    The major developments in nuclear aerosol modeling following the accident to pressurized water reactor Unit 2 at Three Mile Island are briefly reviewed and the state of the art summarized. The importance and implications of these developments for severe accident source terms for light water reactors are then discussed in general terms. The treatment is not aimed at identifying specific source term values but is intended rather to illustrate trends, to assess the adequacy of the understanding of major aspects of aerosol behavior for source term prediction, and demonstrate in qualitative terms the effect of various aspects of reactor design. Areas where improved understanding of aerosol behavior might lead to further reductions in current source terms predictions are also considered

  6. Diagnostic and prognostic system for identification of accident scenarios and prediction of 'source term' in nuclear power plants under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santhosh; Gera, B.; Kumar, Mithilesh

    2014-01-01

    Nuclear power plant experiences a number of transients during its operations. These transients may be due to equipment failure, malfunctioning of process support systems etc. In such a situation, the plant may result in an abnormal state which is undesired. In case of such an undesired plant condition, the operator has to carry out diagnostic and corrective actions. When an event occurs starting from the steady state operation, instruments' readings develop a time dependent pattern and these patterns are unique with respect to the type of the particular event. Therefore, by properly selecting the plant process parameters, the transients can be distinguished. In this connection, a computer based tool known as Diagnostic and Prognostic System has been developed for identification of large pipe break scenarios in 220 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and for prediction of expected 'Source Term' and consequence for a situation where Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) is not available or partially available. Diagnostic and Prognostic System is essentially a transient identification and expected source term forecasting system. The system is based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) that continuously monitors the plant conditions and identifies a Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario quickly based on the reactor process parameter values. The system further identifies the availability of injection of ECCS and in case non-availability of ECCS, it can forecast expected 'Source Term'. The system is a support to plant operators as well as for emergency preparedness. The ANN is trained with a process parameter database pertaining to accident conditions and tested against blind exercises. In order to see the feasibility of implementing in the plant for real-time diagnosis, this system has been set up on a high speed computing facility and has been demonstrated successfully for LOCA scenarios. (author)

  7. The European PASSAM project. R and D outcomes towards enhanced severe accident source term mitigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albiol, T.; Herranz, L.; Riera, E.; Dalibart, C.; Lind, T.; Corno, A. Del; Kärkelä, T.; Losch, N.; Azambre, B.

    2017-01-01

    The European PASSAM project (Passive and Active Systems on Severe Accident source term Mitigation) involved nine partners from six countries during four year (2013 - 2016): IRSN (project coordinator), EDF and University of Lorraine (France); CIEMAT and CSIC (Spain); PSI (Switzerland); RSE (Italy); VTT (Finland) and AREVA GmbH (Germany). It was mainly of an R and D experimental nature and aimed at investigating phenomena that might enhance source term mitigation in case of a severe accident in a LWR. Both already existing systems and innovative ones were experimentally studied. This paper presents the main outcomes of this project, including experimental results, understanding of phenomena and corresponding models and correlations with some preliminary analyses for potential use in severe accident management strategies, taking into account the passive or non-passive nature of the systems studied. Pool scrubbing represented the most studied domain of the PASSAM project. As an example of results, it was shown that gas hydrodynamics, at least in some relevant scenarios, is significantly different from what is nowadays encapsulated in severe accident analysis codes, particularly at high velocities and, that in the long run, maintaining an alkaline pH in the scrubber solution is absolutely necessary for preventing a delayed iodine release. Regarding sand bed filters plus metallic pre-filters, implemented on all French nuclear power plants, filtration efficiency for gaseous molecular and organic iodine was checked. Other experiments showed that under severe accident conditions, cesium iodide aerosols trapped in the sand filter are unstable and may constitute a delayed source term, which is not the case for CsI particles trapped on the metallic pre-filter. As innovative processes, both acoustic agglomeration and high pressure spray systems were studied mainly in the aim of leading to bigger particles upstream of filtered containment venting systems (FCVS), and so enhancing

  8. Real time source term and dose assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breznik, B.; Kovac, A.; Mlakar, P.

    2001-01-01

    The Dose Projection Programme is a tool for decision making in case of nuclear emergency. The essential input data for quick emergency evaluation in the case of hypothetical pressurised water reactor accident are following: source term, core damage assessment, fission product radioactivity, release source term and critical exposure pathways for an early phase of the release. A reduced number of radio-nuclides and simplified calculations can be used in dose calculation algorithm. Simple expert system personal computer programme has been developed for the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant for dose projection within the radius of few kilometers from the pressurised water reactor in early phase of an accident. The input data are instantaneous data of core activity, core damage indicators, release fractions, reduction factor of the release pathways, spray operation, release timing, and dispersion coefficient. Main dose projection steps are: accurate in-core radioactivity determination using reactor power input; core damage and in-containment source term assessment based on quick indications of instrumentation or on activity analysis data; user defines release pathway for typical PWR accident scenarius; dose calculation is performed only for exposure pathway critical for decision about evacuation or sheltering in early phase of an accident.(author)

  9. Assessment Of Source Term And Radiological Consequences For Design Basis Accident And Beyond Design Basis Accident Of The Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luong Ba Vien; Le Vinh Vinh; Huynh Ton Nghiem; Nguyen Kien Cuong; Tran Tri Vien

    2011-01-01

    The paper presents results of the assessment of source terms and radiological consequences for the Design Basis Accident (DBA) and Beyond Design Basis Accident (BDBA) of the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor. The dropping of one fuel assembly during fuel handling operation leading to the failure of fuel cladding and the release of fission products into the environment was selected as a DBA for the analysis. For the BDBA, the introduction of a step positive reactivity due to the falling of a heavy block from the rotating bridge crane in the reactor hall onto a part of the platform where are disposed the control rod drives is postulated. The result of the radiological consequence analyses shows that doses to members of the public are below annual dose limit for both DBA and BDBA events. However, doses from exposure to operating staff and experimenters working inside the reactor hall are predicted to be very high in case of BDBA and therefore the protective actions should be taken when the accident occurs. (author)

  10. Source terms in relation to air cleaning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernero, R.M.

    1985-01-01

    There are two sets of source terms for consideration in air cleaning, those for routine releases and those for accident releases. With about 1000 reactor years of commercial operating experience in the US done, there is an excellent data base for routine and expected transient releases. Specifications for air cleaning can be based on this body of experience with confidence. Specifications for air cleaning in accident situations is another matter. Recent investigations of severe accident behavior are offering a new basis for source terms and air cleaning specifications. Reports by many experts in the field describe an accident environment notably different from previous models. It is an atmosphere heavy with aerosols, both radioactive and inert. Temperatures are sometimes very high; radioiodine is typically in the form of cesium iodide aerosol particles; other nuclides, such as tellurium, are also important aerosols. Some of the present air cleaning requirements may be very important in light of these new accident behavior models. Others may be wasteful or even counterproductive. The use of the new data on accident behavior models to reevaluate requirements promptly is discussed

  11. Estimation of Source terms for Emergency Planning and Preparedness

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yi, Chul Un; Chung, Bag Soon; Ahn, Jae Hyun; Yoon, Duk Ho; Jeong, Chul Young; Lim, Jong Dae [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Sun Gu; Suk, Ho; Park, Sung Kyu; Lim, Hac Kyu; Lee, Kwang Nam [Korea Power Engineering Company Consulting and Architecture Engineers, (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-12-31

    In this study the severe accident sequences for each plant of concern, which represent accident sequences with a high core damage frequency and significant accident consequences, were selected based on the results of probabilistic safety assessments and source term and time-histories of various safety parameters under severe accidents. Accidents progression analysis for each selected accident sequence was performed by MAAP code. It was determined that the measured values, dose rate and radioisotope concentration, could provide information to the operators on occurrence and timing of core damage, reactor vessel failure, and containment failure during severe accidents. Radioactive concentration in the containment atmosphere, which may be measured by PASS, was estimated. Radioisotope concentration in emergency planning, evaluation of source term behavior in the containment, estimation of core damage degree, analysis of severe accident phenomena, core damage timing, and the amount of radioisotope released to the environment. (author). 50 refs., 60 figs.

  12. Evaluation of severe accident risks: Methodology for the containment, source term, consequence, and risk integration analyses. Volume 1, Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorham, E.D.; Breeding, R.J.; Brown, T.D.; Harper, F.T.; Helton, J.C.; Murfin, W.B.; Hora, S.C.

    1993-12-01

    NUREG-1150 examines the risk to the public from five nuclear power plants. The NUREG-1150 plant studies are Level III probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) and, as such, they consist of four analysis components: accident frequency analysis, accident progression analysis, source term analysis, and consequence analysis. This volume summarizes the methods utilized in performing the last three components and the assembly of these analyses into an overall risk assessment. The NUREG-1150 analysis approach is based on the following ideas: (1) general and relatively fast-running models for the individual analysis components, (2) well-defined interfaces between the individual analysis components, (3) use of Monte Carlo techniques together with an efficient sampling procedure to propagate uncertainties, (4) use of expert panels to develop distributions for important phenomenological issues, and (5) automation of the overall analysis. Many features of the new analysis procedures were adopted to facilitate a comprehensive treatment of uncertainty in the complete risk analysis. Uncertainties in the accident frequency, accident progression and source term analyses were included in the overall uncertainty assessment. The uncertainties in the consequence analysis were not included in this assessment. A large effort was devoted to the development of procedures for obtaining expert opinion and the execution of these procedures to quantify parameters and phenomena for which there is large uncertainty and divergent opinions in the reactor safety community

  13. Accident source terms for pressurized water reactors with high-burnup cores calculated using MELCOR 1.8.5.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauntt, Randall O.; Powers, Dana Auburn; Ashbaugh, Scott G.; Leonard, Mark Thomas; Longmire, Pamela

    2010-04-01

    In this study, risk-significant pressurized-water reactor severe accident sequences are examined using MELCOR 1.8.5 to explore the range of fission product releases to the reactor containment building. Advances in the understanding of fission product release and transport behavior and severe accident progression are used to render best estimate analyses of selected accident sequences. Particular emphasis is placed on estimating the effects of high fuel burnup in contrast with low burnup on fission product releases to the containment. Supporting this emphasis, recent data available on fission product release from high-burnup (HBU) fuel from the French VERCOR project are used in this study. The results of these analyses are treated as samples from a population of accident sequences in order to employ approximate order statistics characterization of the results. These trends and tendencies are then compared to the NUREG-1465 alternative source term prescription used today for regulatory applications. In general, greater differences are observed between the state-of-the-art calculations for either HBU or low-burnup (LBU) fuel and the NUREG-1465 containment release fractions than exist between HBU and LBU release fractions. Current analyses suggest that retention of fission products within the vessel and the reactor coolant system (RCS) are greater than contemplated in the NUREG-1465 prescription, and that, overall, release fractions to the containment are therefore lower across the board in the present analyses than suggested in NUREG-1465. The decreased volatility of Cs2MoO4 compared to CsI or CsOH increases the predicted RCS retention of cesium, and as a result, cesium and iodine do not follow identical behaviors with respect to distribution among vessel, RCS, and containment. With respect to the regulatory alternative source term, greater differences are observed between the NUREG-1465 prescription and both HBU and LBU predictions than exist between HBU and LBU

  14. Estimation of marine source-term following Fukushima Dai-ichi accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bailly du Bois, P.; Laguionie, P.; Boust, D.; Korsakissok, I.; Didier, D.; Fiévet, B.

    2012-01-01

    Contamination of the marine environment following the accident in the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant represented the most important artificial radioactive release flux into the sea ever known. The radioactive marine pollution came from atmospheric fallout onto the ocean, direct release of contaminated water from the plant and transport of radioactive pollution from leaching through contaminated soil. In the immediate vicinity of the plant (less than 500 m), the seawater concentrations reached 68 000 Bq.L −1 for 134 Cs and 137 Cs, and exceeded 100 000 Bq.L −1 for 131 I in early April. Due to the accidental context of the releases, it is difficult to estimate the total amount of radionuclides introduced into seawater from data obtained in the plant. An evaluation is proposed here, based on measurements performed in seawater for monitoring purposes. Quantities of 137 Cs in seawater in a 50-km area around the plant were calculated from interpolation of seawater measurements. The environmental halftime of seawater in this area is deduced from the time-evolution of these quantities. This halftime appeared constant at about 7 days for 137 Cs. These data allowed estimation of the amount of principal marine inputs and their evolution in time: a total of 27 PBq (12 PBq–41 PBq) of 137 Cs was estimated up to July 18. Even though this main release may be followed by residual inputs from the plant, river runoff and leakage from deposited sediments, it represents the principal source-term that must be accounted for future studies of the consequences of the accident on marine systems. The 137 Cs from Fukushima will remain detectable for several years throughout the North Pacific, and 137 Cs/ 134 Cs ratio will be a tracer for future studies. Highlights: ► Fukushima Dai-ichi accident is the most important artificial radioactive release flux into the sea. ► Quantities of 137 Cs in seawater are deduced from individual measurements. ► Local concentrations in

  15. A source term estimation method for a nuclear accident using atmospheric dispersion models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Minsik; Ohba, Ryohji; Oura, Masamichi

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study is to develop an operational source term estimation (STE) method applicable for a nuclear accident like the incident that occurred at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in 2011. The new STE method presented here is based on data from atmospheric dispersion...... models and short-range observational data around the nuclear power plants.The accuracy of this method is validated with data from a wind tunnel study that involved a tracer gas release from a scaled model experiment at Tokai Daini nuclear power station in Japan. We then use the methodology developed...... and validated through the effort described in this manuscript to estimate the release rate of radioactive material from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station....

  16. Analysis of accident sequences and source terms at waste treatment and storage facilities for waste generated by U.S. Department of Energy Waste Management Operations, Volume 3: Appendixes C-H

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Roglans-Ribas, J.

    1995-04-01

    This report contains the Appendices for the Analysis of Accident Sequences and Source Terms at Waste Treatment and Storage Facilities for Waste Generated by the U.S. Department of Energy Waste Management Operations. The main report documents the methodology, computational framework, and results of facility accident analyses performed as a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS). The accident sequences potentially important to human health risk are specified, their frequencies are assessed, and the resultant radiological and chemical source terms are evaluated. A personal computer-based computational framework and database have been developed that provide these results as input to the WM PEIS for calculation of human health risk impacts. This report summarizes the accident analyses and aggregates the key results for each of the waste streams. Source terms are estimated and results are presented for each of the major DOE sites and facilities by WM PEIS alternative for each waste stream. The appendices identify the potential atmospheric release of each toxic chemical or radionuclide for each accident scenario studied. They also provide discussion of specific accident analysis data and guidance used or consulted in this report

  17. Analysis of accident sequences and source terms at waste treatment and storage facilities for waste generated by U.S. Department of Energy Waste Management Operations, Volume 3: Appendixes C-H

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Roglans-Ribas, J. [and others

    1995-04-01

    This report contains the Appendices for the Analysis of Accident Sequences and Source Terms at Waste Treatment and Storage Facilities for Waste Generated by the U.S. Department of Energy Waste Management Operations. The main report documents the methodology, computational framework, and results of facility accident analyses performed as a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS). The accident sequences potentially important to human health risk are specified, their frequencies are assessed, and the resultant radiological and chemical source terms are evaluated. A personal computer-based computational framework and database have been developed that provide these results as input to the WM PEIS for calculation of human health risk impacts. This report summarizes the accident analyses and aggregates the key results for each of the waste streams. Source terms are estimated and results are presented for each of the major DOE sites and facilities by WM PEIS alternative for each waste stream. The appendices identify the potential atmospheric release of each toxic chemical or radionuclide for each accident scenario studied. They also provide discussion of specific accident analysis data and guidance used or consulted in this report.

  18. SARNET integrated European Severe Accident Research-Conclusions in the source term area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haste, T., E-mail: tim.haste@irsn.f [Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Giordano, P. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, BP 3, F-13115 St Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Herranz, L. [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medio Ambientales y Tecnologica, CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense 22, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Girault, N.; Dubourg, R. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, BP 3, F-13115 St Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Sabroux, J.-C. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, Saclay Research Centre, BP 68, F-91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Cantrel, L. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, BP 3, F-13115 St Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Bottomley, D. [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Transuranium Institute, P.O. Box 2340, D-76125 Karlsruhe (Germany); Parozzi, F. [ENEA - Ricerca sul Sistema Elettrico (ERSE) SpA., Via Rubattino 54, I-20134 Milano (Italy); Auvinen, A. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT Espoo (Finland); Dickinson, S. [National Nuclear Laboratory, Harwell Business Centre, Didcot, OX11 0QJ (United Kingdom); Lamy, J.-C. [Electricite de France, 12-14 avenue Dutrievoz, F-69100 Villeurbanne (France); Weber, G. [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Forschungsgelaende, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Albiol, T. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, IRSN, BP 3, F-13115 St Paul lez Durance Cedex (France)

    2009-12-15

    The overall aim of the SARNET (Severe Accident Research NETwork), in the EU 6th Framework programme was to integrate in a sustainable manner the research capabilities of fifty-one European organisations from eighteen member states of the European Union (EU) plus the Joint Research Centres, with one Canadian company, to resolve important remaining uncertainties and safety issues concerning existing and future nuclear plant, especially water-cooled reactors, under hypothetical severe accident conditions. It emphasised integrating activities, spreading of excellence (including knowledge transfer) and jointly executed research, with the knowledge gained being encapsulated in the European severe accident modelling code ASTEC. This paper summarises the achievements over the whole project in the Source Term Topic, which dealt with potential radioactive release to the environment, covering release of fission products and structural materials from the core, their transport in the primary circuit, and their behaviour in the containment. The main technical areas covered, as emphasised by the earlier EURSAFE project, were the effect of oxidative conditions on fission product release and transport (especially the behaviour of the highly radiotoxic ruthenium under air ingress conditions), iodine volatility in the primary circuit, control rod aerosol release (Ag-In-Cd) that affects iodine transport, containment by-pass in the case of steam generator tube rupture, aerosol retention in containment cracks, aerosol remobilisation in the circuit, and iodine/ruthenium behaviour in the containment especially concerning the volatile fraction in the atmosphere. The studies also covered performance of new experiments, analysis of existing data, and formulation and improvement of theoretical models. Significant progress was made in each area. Looking to the future, the 7th Framework successor project SARNET2 covers the remaining issues concerning iodine and ruthenium, including practical

  19. Supplemental analysis of accident sequences and source terms for waste treatment and storage operations and related facilities for the US Department of Energy waste management programmatic environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Folga, S.; Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Kohout, E.; Mishima, J.

    1996-12-01

    This report presents supplemental information for the document Analysis of Accident Sequences and Source Terms at Waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities for Waste Generated by US Department of Energy Waste Management Operations. Additional technical support information is supplied concerning treatment of transuranic waste by incineration and considering the Alternative Organic Treatment option for low-level mixed waste. The latest respirable airborne release fraction values published by the US Department of Energy for use in accident analysis have been used and are included as Appendix D, where respirable airborne release fraction is defined as the fraction of material exposed to accident stresses that could become airborne as a result of the accident. A set of dominant waste treatment processes and accident scenarios was selected for a screening-process analysis. A subset of results (release source terms) from this analysis is presented

  20. Literature study of source term research for PWRs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sponton, L.L.; NiIsson, Lars

    2001-04-01

    A literature survey has been carried out in support of ongoing source term calculations with the MELCOR code of some severe accident scenarios for the Swedish Ringhals 2 pressurised water reactor (PWR). The research in the field of severe accidents in power reactors and the source term for subsequent release of radioisotopes was intensified after the Harrisburg accident and has produced a large amount of reports and papers. This survey was therefore limited to research concerning PWR type of reactors and with emphasis on papers related to MELCOR code development. A background is given, relating to some historic documents, and then more recent research after 1990 is reviewed. Of special interest is the ongoing PMbus-programme which is creating new and important results of benefit to the code development and validation of, among others, the MELCOR code. It is concluded that source term calculations involve simulation of many interacting complex physical phenomena, which result in large uncertainties The research has, however, over the years led to considerable improvements Thus has the uncertainty in source term predictions been reduced one to two orders of magnitude from the simpler codes in the early 1980-s to the more realistic codes of today, like MELCOR.

  1. Literature study of source term research for PWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sponton, L.L.; NiIsson, Lars

    2001-04-01

    A literature survey has been carried out in support of ongoing source term calculations with the MELCOR code of some severe accident scenarios for the Swedish Ringhals 2 pressurised water reactor (PWR). The research in the field of severe accidents in power reactors and the source term for subsequent release of radioisotopes was intensified after the Harrisburg accident and has produced a large amount of reports and papers. This survey was therefore limited to research concerning PWR type of reactors and with emphasis on papers related to MELCOR code development. A background is given, relating to some historic documents, and then more recent research after 1990 is reviewed. Of special interest is the ongoing PMbus-programme which is creating new and important results of benefit to the code development and validation of, among others, the MELCOR code. It is concluded that source term calculations involve simulation of many interacting complex physical phenomena, which result in large uncertainties The research has, however, over the years led to considerable improvements Thus has the uncertainty in source term predictions been reduced one to two orders of magnitude from the simpler codes in the early 1980-s to the more realistic codes of today, like MELCOR

  2. Severe accident behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denning, R.S.

    1986-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of severe accident behavior. The term source term is defined and a brief history of the regulatory use of source term is presented. The processes in severe accidents in light water reactors are described with particular emphasis on the relationships between accident thermal-hydraulics and chemistry. Those factors which have the greatest impact on predicted source terms are identified. Design differences between plants that affect source term estimation are also described. The principal unresolved issues are identified that are the focus of ongoing research and debate in the technical community

  3. Inventory and source term evaluation of Russian nuclear power plants for marine applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reistad, O.; Oelgaard, P.L.

    2006-04-01

    This report discusses inventory and source term properties in regard to operation and possible releases due to accidents from Russian marine reactor systems. The first part of the report discusses relevant accidents on the basis of both Russian and western sources. The overview shows that certain vessels were much more accident prone compared to others, in addition, there have been a noteworthy reduction in accidents the last two decades. However, during the last years new types of incidents, such as collisions, has occurred more frequently. The second part of the study considers in detail the most important factors for the source term; reactor operational characteristics and the radionuclide inventory. While Russian icebreakers has been operated on a similar basis as commercial power plants, the submarines has different power cyclograms which results in considerable lower values for fission product inventory. Theoretical values for radionuclide inventory are compared with computed results using the modelling tool HELIOS. Regarding inventory of transuranic elements, the results of the calculations are discussed in detail for selected vessels. Criticality accidents, loss-of-cooling accidents and sinking accidents are considered, bases on actual experiences with these types of accident and on theoretical considerations, and source terms for these accidents are discussed in the last chapter. (au)

  4. Inventory and source term evaluation of Russian nuclear power plants for marine applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reistad, O. [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (Norway); Oelgaard, P.L. [Risoe National Lab. (Denmark)

    2006-04-15

    This report discusses inventory and source term properties in regard to operation and possible releases due to accidents from Russian marine reactor systems. The first part of the report discusses relevant accidents on the basis of both Russian and western sources. The overview shows that certain vessels were much more accident prone compared to others, in addition, there have been a noteworthy reduction in accidents the last two decades. However, during the last years new types of incidents, such as collisions, has occurred more frequently. The second part of the study considers in detail the most important factors for the source term; reactor operational characteristics and the radionuclide inventory. While Russian icebreakers has been operated on a similar basis as commercial power plants, the submarines has different power cyclograms which results in considerable lower values for fission product inventory. Theoretical values for radionuclide inventory are compared with computed results using the modelling tool HELIOS. Regarding inventory of transuranic elements, the results of the calculations are discussed in detail for selected vessels. Criticality accidents, loss-of-cooling accidents and sinking accidents are considered, bases on actual experiences with these types of accident and on theoretical considerations, and source terms for these accidents are discussed in the last chapter. (au)

  5. Analysis of accident sequences and source terms at treatment and storage facilities for waste generated by US Department of Energy waste management operations. Volume 1: Sections 1-9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Roglans-Ribas, J.; Folga, S.; Policastro, A.; Freeman, W.; Jackson, R.; Mishima, J.; Turner, S.

    1996-12-01

    This report documents the methodology, computational framework, and results of facility accident analyses performed for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS). The accident sequences potentially important to human health risk are specified, their frequencies assessed, and the resultant radiological and chemical source terms evaluated. A personal-computer-based computational framework and database have been developed that provide these results as input to the WM PEIS for the calculation of human health risk impacts. The WM PEIS addresses management of five waste streams in the DOE complex: low-level waste (LLW), hazardous waste (HW), high-level waste (HLW), low-level mixed waste (LLMW), and transuranic waste (TRUW). Currently projected waste generation rates, storage inventories, and treatment process throughputs have been calculated for each of the waste streams. This report summarizes the accident analyses and aggregates the key results for each of the waste streams. Source terms are estimated, and results are presented for each of the major DOE sites and facilities by WM PEIS alternative for each waste stream. Key assumptions in the development of the source terms are identified. The appendices identify the potential atmospheric release of each toxic chemical or radionuclide for each accident scenario studied. They also discuss specific accident analysis data and guidance used or consulted in this report

  6. Methods to prevent the source term of methyl lodide during a core melt accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karhu, A. [VTT Energy (Finland)

    1999-11-01

    The purpose of this literature review is to gather available information of the methods to prevent a source term of methyl iodide during a core melt accident. The most widely studied methods for nuclear power plants include the impregnated carbon filters and alkaline additives and sprays. It is indicated that some deficiencies of these methods may emerge. More reactive impregnants and additives could make a great improvement. As a new method in the field of nuclear applications, the potential of transition metals to decompose methyl iodide, is introduced in this review. This area would require an additional research, which could elucidate the remaining questions of the reactions. The ionization of the gaseous methyl iodide by corona-discharge reactors is also shortly described. (au)

  7. Accident Source Terms for Pressurized Water Reactors with High-Burnup Cores Calculated using MELCOR 1.8.5.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauntt, Randall O.; Goldmann, Andrew; Kalinich, Donald A.; Powers, Dana A.

    2016-12-01

    In this study, risk-significant pressurized-water reactor severe accident sequences are examined using MELCOR 1.8.5 to explore the range of fission product releases to the reactor containment building. Advances in the understanding of fission product release and transport behavior and severe accident progression are used to render best estimate analyses of selected accident sequences. Particular emphasis is placed on estimating the effects of high fuel burnup in contrast with low burnup on fission product releases to the containment. Supporting this emphasis, recent data available on fission product release from high-burnup (HBU) fuel from the French VERCOR project are used in this study. The results of these analyses are treated as samples from a population of accident sequences in order to employ approximate order statistics characterization of the results. These trends and tendencies are then compared to the NUREG-1465 alternative source term prescription used today for regulatory applications. In general, greater differences are observed between the state-of-the-art calculations for either HBU or low-burnup (LBU) fuel and the NUREG-1465 containment release fractions than exist between HBU and LBU release fractions. Current analyses suggest that retention of fission products within the vessel and the reactor coolant system (RCS) are greater than contemplated in the NUREG-1465 prescription, and that, overall, release fractions to the containment are therefore lower across the board in the present analyses than suggested in NUREG-1465. The decreased volatility of Cs 2 MoO 4 compared to CsI or CsOH increases the predicted RCS retention of cesium, and as a result, cesium and iodine do not follow identical behaviors with respect to distribution among vessel, RCS, and containment. With respect to the regulatory alternative source term, greater differences are observed between the NUREG-1465 prescription and both HBU and LBU predictions than exist between HBU and LBU

  8. In-Plant Fission Product Behavior in SGTR Accident with Long-Term SBO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Tae Woon; Han, Seok Jung; Ahn, Kwang Il [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    The off-site AC power was recovered in 9 days after the accident in the NPS. Therefore safety injection by fire pump truck with fresh water or seawater is only available in the Fukushima accident. However, safety injection by fire pump truck is not always effective due to the high pressure of RPV inside or leakages of alternative water injection flow paths. In the SBO situations in pressurized water reactor plant (PWR), turbine driven auxiliary feedwater (TD-AFW) pump can inject water to the secondary side of steam generator. However, turbine inlet steam flow control valve cannot work properly when loss of vital DC power occurs. Vital DC power is designed to be maintained during 4 or 8 hours in the SBO conditions. In this paper motor-driven and turbine driven AFW pumps are all assumed to be not working at time 0 sec as a worst case assumption. Iodine pool-scrubbing can occur in the secondary side of the faulted steam generator. However, iodine pool-scrubbing in the secondary side of the faulted steam generator is assumed not to be working, due to the assumption of the loss of DC battery for turbine inlet flow control valve. Iodine pool-scrubbing is one of the long-term research issues in safety assessment of nuclear power plant severe accident. PHEBUS FPT series and THAI experiment projects are typical projects on the resolving source term issues in severe accident of nuclear power plants. However, iodine retention by pool scrubbing is still a debating issue. In such containment bypass sequences, fission products can be released out to environment directly from RCS without retention or deposition in containment structures. SGTR is one of the hazardous accident scenarios in the typical PSA, because SGTR induces a large release amount of source term to environment directly. A key operation strategy was the isolation of the broken reactor coolant system loop from the intact loop. Typical core degradation in SGTR scenarios occurs with multiple failures of the isolation

  9. The latest results from source term research. Overview and outlook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herranz, Luis E. [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medio Ambientales y Tecnologica (CIEMAT), Madrid (Spain); Haste, Tim [Centre d' Etudes de Cadarache, Paul-Lez-Durance (France). Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN); Kaerkelae, Teemu [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Espoo (Finland)

    2016-12-15

    Source term research has continued internationally for more than 30 years, increasing confidence in calculations of the potential radioactive release to the environment after a severe reactor accident. Important experimental data have been obtained, mainly under international frameworks such as OECD/NEA and EURATOM. Specifically, Phebus FP provides major insights into fission product release and transport. Results are included in severe accident analysis codes. Data from international projects are being interpreted with a view to further improvements in these codes. This paper synthesizes the recent main outcomes from source term research on these topics, and on source term mitigation. It highlights knowledge gaps remaining and discusses ways to proceed. Aside from this further knowledge-driven research, there is consensus on the need to assess the source term predictive ability of current system codes, taking account of scale-up from experiment to reactor conditions.

  10. A comparison of world-wide uses of severe reactor accident source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ang, M.L.; Frid, W.; Kersting, E.J.; Friederichs, H.G.; Lee, R.Y.; Meyer-Heine, A.; Powers, D.A.; Soda, K.; Sweet, D.

    1994-09-01

    The definitions of source terms to reactor containments and source terms to the environment are discussed. A comparison is made between the TID-14844 example source term and the alternative source term described in NUREG-1465. Comparisons of these source terms to the containments and those used in France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are made. Source terms to the environment calculated in NUREG-1500 and WASH-1400 are discussed. Again, these source terms are compared to those now being used in France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. It is concluded that source terms to the containment suggested in NUREG-1465 are not greatly more conservative than those used in other countries. Technical bases for the source terms are similar. The regulatory use of the current understanding of radionuclide behavior varies among countries

  11. Selected source term topics. Report to CSNI by an OECD/NEA Group of experts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-04-01

    CSNI Report 136 summarizes the results of the work performed by the Group of Experts on the Source Term and Environmental Consequences (PWG4) during the period extending from 1983 and 1986. This report is complementary to Part 1, 'Technical Status of the Source Term' of CSNI Report 135, 'Report to CSNI on Source Term Assessment, Containment atmosphere control systems, and accident consequences'; it considers in detail a number of very specific issues thought to be important in the source term area. It consists of: an executive summary (prepared by the Chairman of the Group), a section on conclusions and recommendations, and five technical chapters (fission product chemistry in the primary circuit of a LWR during severe accidents; resuspension/re-entrainment of aerosols in LWRs following a meltdown accident; iodine chemistry under severe accident conditions; effects of combustion, steam explosions and pressurized melt ejection on fission product behaviour; radionuclide removal by pool scrubbing), a technical annex and two appendices

  12. Source-term reevaluation for US commercial nuclear power reactors: a status report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herzenberg, C.L.; Ball, J.R.; Ramaswami, D.

    1984-12-01

    Only results that had been discussed publicly, had been published in the open literature, or were available in preliminary reports as of September 30, 1984, are included here. More than 20 organizations are participating in source-term programs, which have been undertaken to examine severe accident phenomena in light-water power reactors (including the chemical and physical behavior of fission products under accident conditions), update and reevaluate source terms, and resolve differences between predictions and observations of radiation releases and related phenomena. Results from these source-term activities have been documented in over 100 publications to date

  13. A risk-based evaluation of the impact of key uncertainties on the prediction of severe accident source terms - STU

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ang, M.L.; Grindon, E.; Dutton, L.M.C.; Garcia-Sedano, P.; Santamaria, C.S.; Centner, B.; Auglaire, M.; Routamo, T.; Outa, S.; Jokiniemi, J.; Gustavsson, V.; Wennerstrom, H.; Spanier, L.; Gren, M.; Boschiero, M-H; Droulas, J-L; Friederichs, H-G; Sonnenkalb, M.

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this project is to address the key uncertainties associated with a number of fission product release and transport phenomena in a wider context and to assess their relevance to key severe accident sequences. This project is a wide-based analysis involving eight reactor designs that are representative of the reactors currently operating in the European Union (EU). In total, 20 accident sequences covering a wide range of conditions have been chosen to provide the basis for sensitivity studies. The appraisal is achieved through a systematic risk-based framework developed within this project. Specifically, this is a quantitative interpretation of the sensitivity calculations on the basis of 'significance indicators', applied above defined threshold values. These threshold values represent a good surrogate for 'large release', which is defined in a number of EU countries. In addition, the results are placed in the context of in-containment source term limits, for advanced light water reactor designs, as defined by international guidelines. Overall, despite the phenomenological uncertainties, the predicted source terms (both into the containment, and subsequently, into the environment) do not display a high degree of sensitivity to the individual fission product issues addressed in this project. This is due, mainly, to the substantial capacity for the attenuation of airborne fission products by the designed safety provisions and the natural fission product retention mechanisms within the containment

  14. Long-term follow-up of radiation accident patients in Peru: Review of two cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barriga, L. E.; Zaharia, M.; Pinillos, L.; Moscol, A.; Heredia, A.; Sarria, G.; Marquina, J.; Barriga, O.; Picon, C.

    2012-01-01

    Overexposure to radioactive sources used in radiotherapy or industrial radiography may result in severe health consequences. This report assesses the initial clinical status and the medical and psychological long-term follow-up of two radiation accident patients from Peru during the mid-to-late 1990's: one patient exposed to a radiotherapy 60 Co source in Arequipa, the other patient to a 192 Ir source in Yanango. Commonalities and differences are described. The main causes in both accidents were human error and the failure to apply appropriate safety guidelines and standard operating procedures. Education and training of the personnel working with radiation sources are essential to prevent accidents. The experience gained from the medical management of the two patients is valuable for future treatment of such patients. (authors)

  15. Evolution of source term definition and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutz, R.J. Jr.

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this presentation was to provide an overview of the evolution of accident fission product release analysis methodology and the obtained results; and to provide an overview of the source term implementation analysis in regulatory decisions

  16. Probabilistic Dose Assessment from SB-LOCA Accident in Ujung Lemahabang Using TMI-2 Source Term

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunarko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Probabilistic dose assessment and mapping for nuclear accident condition are performed for Ujung Lemahabang site in Muria Peninsula region in Indonesia. Source term is obtained from Three-Mile Island unit 2 (TMI-2 PWR-type SB-LOCA reactor accident inverse modeling. Effluent consisted of Xe-133, Kr-88, I-131, and Cs-137 released from a 50 m stack. Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Method (LPDM and 3-dimensional mass-consistent wind field are employed to obtain surface-level time-integrated air concentration and spatial distribution of ground-level total dose in dry condition. Site-specific meteorological data is obtained from hourly records obtained during the Site Feasibility Study period in Ujung Lemahabang. Effluent is released from a height of 50 meters in uniform rate during a 6-hour period and the dose is integrated during this period in a neutrally stable atmospheric condition. Maximum dose noted is below regulatory limit of 1 mSv and radioactive plume is spread mostly to the W-SW inland and to N-NE from the proposed plant to Java Sea. This paper has demonstrated for the first time a probabilistic analysis method for assessing possible spatial dose distribution, a hypothetical release, and a set of meteorological data for Ujung Lemahabang region.

  17. Calculation of source terms for NUREG-1150

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breeding, R.J.; Williams, D.C.; Murfin, W.B.; Amos, C.N.; Helton, J.C.

    1987-10-01

    The source terms estimated for NUREG-1150 are generally based on the Source Term Code Package (STCP), but the actual source term calculations used in computing risk are performed by much smaller codes which are specific to each plant. This was done because the method of estimating the uncertainty in risk for NUREG-1150 requires hundreds of source term calculations for each accident sequence. This is clearly impossible with a large, detailed code like the STCP. The small plant-specific codes are based on simple algorithms and utilize adjustable parameters. The values of the parameters appearing in these codes are derived from the available STCP results. To determine the uncertainty in the estimation of the source terms, these parameters were varied as specified by an expert review group. This method was used to account for the uncertainties in the STCP results and the uncertainties in phenomena not considered by the STCP

  18. The long-term problems of contaminated land: Sources, impacts and countermeasures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baes, C.F. III.

    1986-11-01

    This report examines the various sources of radiological land contamination; its extent; its impacts on man, agriculture, and the environment; countermeasures for mitigating exposures; radiological standards; alternatives for achieving land decontamination and cleanup; and possible alternatives for utilizing the land. The major potential sources of extensive long-term land contamination with radionuclides, in order of decreasing extent, are nuclear war, detonation of a single nuclear weapon (e.g., a terrorist act), serious reactor accidents, and nonfission nuclear weapons accidents that disperse the nuclear fuels (termed ''broken arrows'')

  19. Estimation of the time-dependent radioactive source-term from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident using atmospheric transport modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoeppner, M.; Plastino, W.; Budano, A.; De Vincenzi, M.; Ruggieri, F.

    2012-04-01

    Several nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant have been severely damaged from the Tōhoku earthquake and the subsequent tsunami in March 2011. Due to the extremely difficult on-site situation it has been not been possible to directly determine the emissions of radioactive material. However, during the following days and weeks radionuclides of 137-Caesium and 131-Iodine (amongst others) were detected at monitoring stations throughout the world. Atmospheric transport models are able to simulate the worldwide dispersion of particles accordant to location, time and meteorological conditions following the release. The Lagrangian atmospheric transport model Flexpart is used by many authorities and has been proven to make valid predictions in this regard. The Flexpart software has first has been ported to a local cluster computer at the Grid Lab of INFN and Department of Physics of University of Roma Tre (Rome, Italy) and subsequently also to the European Mediterranean Grid (EUMEDGRID). Due to this computing power being available it has been possible to simulate the transport of particles originating from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant site. Using the time series of the sampled concentration data and the assumption that the Fukushima accident was the only source of these radionuclides, it has been possible to estimate the time-dependent source-term for fourteen days following the accident using the atmospheric transport model. A reasonable agreement has been obtained between the modelling results and the estimated radionuclide release rates from the Fukushima accident.

  20. The long-term problems of contaminated land: Sources, impacts and countermeasures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baes, C.F. III

    1986-11-01

    This report examines the various sources of radiological land contamination; its extent; its impacts on man, agriculture, and the environment; countermeasures for mitigating exposures; radiological standards; alternatives for achieving land decontamination and cleanup; and possible alternatives for utilizing the land. The major potential sources of extensive long-term land contamination with radionuclides, in order of decreasing extent, are nuclear war, detonation of a single nuclear weapon (e.g., a terrorist act), serious reactor accidents, and nonfission nuclear weapons accidents that disperse the nuclear fuels (termed ''broken arrows'').

  1. Determination of the in-containment source term for a Large-Break Loss of Coolant Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-04-01

    This is the report of a project that focused on one of the most important design basis accidents: the Large Break Loss Of Coolant Accident (LBLOCA) (for pressurised water reactors). The first step in the calculation of the radiological consequences of this accident is the determination of the source term inside the containment. This work deals with this part of the calculation of the LBLOCA radiological consequences for which a previous benchmark (1988) has shown wide variations in the licensing practices adopted by European countries. The calculation of this source term may naturally be split in several steps (see chapter II), corresponding to several physical stages in the release of fission products: fraction of core failure, release from the damaged fuel, airborne part of the release and the release into the reactor coolant system and the sumps, chemical behaviour of iodine in the aqueous and gas phases, natural and spray removal in the containment atmosphere. A chapter is devoted to each of these topics. In addition, two other chapters deal with the basic assumptions to define the accidental sequence and the nuclides to be considered when computing doses associated with the LBLOCA. The report describes where there is agreement between the partner organisations and where there are still differences in approach. For example, there is agreement concerning the percentage of failed fuel which could be used in future licensing assessments (however this subject is still under discussion in France, a lower value is thinkable). For existing plants, AVN (Belgium) wishes to keep the initial licensing assumptions. For the release from damaged fuel, there is not complete agreement: AVN (Belgium) wishes to maintain its present approach. IPSN (France), GRS (Germany) and NNC (UK) prefer to use their own methodologies that result in slightly different values to the proposed values for a common position. There are presently no recommendations of the release of fuel particulates

  2. Atucha-I source terms for sequences initiated by transients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baron, J.; Bastianelli, B.

    1997-01-01

    The present work is part of an expected source terms study in the Atucha I nuclear power plant during severe accidents. From the accident sequences with a significant probability to produce core damage, those initiated by operational transients have been identified as the most relevant. These sequences have some common characteristics, in the sense that all of them resume in the opening of the primary system safety valves, and leave this path open for the coolant loss. In the case these sequences continue as severe accidents, the same path will be used for the release of the radionuclides, from the core, through the primary system and to the containment. Later in the severe accident sequence, the failure of the pressure vessel will occur, and the corium will fall inside the reactor cavity, interacting with the concrete. During these processes, more radioactive products will be released inside the containment. In the present work the severe accident simulation initiated by a blackout is performed, from the point of view of the phenomenology of the behavior of the radioactive products, as they are transported in the piping, during the core-concrete interactions, and inside the containment buildings until it failure. The final result is the source term into the atmosphere. (author) [es

  3. Phase 1 immobilized low-activity waste operational source term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burbank, D.A.

    1998-01-01

    This report presents an engineering analysis of the Phase 1 privatization feeds to establish an operational source term for storage and disposal of immobilized low-activity waste packages at the Hanford Site. The source term information is needed to establish a preliminary estimate of the numbers of remote-handled and contact-handled waste packages. A discussion of the uncertainties and their impact on the source term and waste package distribution is also presented. It should be noted that this study is concerned with operational impacts only. Source terms used for accident scenarios would differ due to alpha and beta radiation which were not significant in this study

  4. PSA modeling of long-term accident sequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgescu, Gabriel; Corenwinder, Francois; Lanore, Jeanne-Marie

    2014-01-01

    In the context of the extension of PSA scope to include external hazards, in France, both operator (EDF) and IRSN work for the improvement of methods to better take into account in the PSA the accident sequences induced by initiators which affect a whole site containing several nuclear units (reactors, fuel pools,...). These methodological improvements represent an essential prerequisite for the development of external hazards PSA. However, it has to be noted that in French PSA, even before Fukushima, long term accident sequences were taken into account: many insight were therefore used, as complementary information, to enhance the safety level of the plants. IRSN proposed an external events PSA development program. One of the first steps of the program is the development of methods to model in the PSA the long term accident sequences, based on the experience gained. At short term IRSN intends to enhance the modeling of the 'long term' accident sequences induced by the loss of the heat sink or/and the loss of external power supply. The experience gained by IRSN and EDF from the development of several probabilistic studies treating long term accident sequences shows that the simple extension of the mission time of the mitigation systems from 24 hours to longer times is not sufficient to realistically quantify the risk and to obtain a correct ranking of the risk contributions and that treatment of recoveries is also necessary. IRSN intends to develop a generic study which can be used as a general methodology for the assessment of the long term accident sequences, mainly generated by external hazards and their combinations. This first attempt to develop this generic study allowed identifying some aspects, which may be hazard (or combinations of hazards) or related to initial boundary conditions, which should be taken into account for further developments. (authors)

  5. Chernobyl source term estimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gudiksen, P.H.; Harvey, T.F.; Lange, R.

    1990-09-01

    The Chernobyl source term available for long-range transport was estimated by integration of radiological measurements with atmospheric dispersion modeling and by reactor core radionuclide inventory estimation in conjunction with WASH-1400 release fractions associated with specific chemical groups. The model simulations revealed that the radioactive cloud became segmented during the first day, with the lower section heading toward Scandinavia and the upper part heading in a southeasterly direction with subsequent transport across Asia to Japan, the North Pacific, and the west coast of North America. By optimizing the agreement between the observed cloud arrival times and duration of peak concentrations measured over Europe, Japan, Kuwait, and the US with the model predicted concentrations, it was possible to derive source term estimates for those radionuclides measured in airborne radioactivity. This was extended to radionuclides that were largely unmeasured in the environment by performing a reactor core radionuclide inventory analysis to obtain release fractions for the various chemical transport groups. These analyses indicated that essentially all of the noble gases, 60% of the radioiodines, 40% of the radiocesium, 10% of the tellurium and about 1% or less of the more refractory elements were released. These estimates are in excellent agreement with those obtained on the basis of worldwide deposition measurements. The Chernobyl source term was several orders of magnitude greater than those associated with the Windscale and TMI reactor accidents. However, the 137 Cs from the Chernobyl event is about 6% of that released by the US and USSR atmospheric nuclear weapon tests, while the 131 I and 90 Sr released by the Chernobyl accident was only about 0.1% of that released by the weapon tests. 13 refs., 2 figs., 7 tabs

  6. Graphic console for analysis of severe accidents visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for the NPP-LV (CoGrAAS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandoval V, S.; Mendoza E, P. R.; Gonzalez C, J. M.; Cecenas F, M.; Tijerina S, F.

    2016-09-01

    In response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, the NRC conducted an analysis and issued recommendations to improve the safety of the nuclear reactors. These include strengthening and integrating emergency response capabilities and emphasizing periodic staff training, the performance of simulation exercises. As a tool to observe these recommendations, the Graphic Console was developed for Analysis of Severe Accidents, Visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-LV ; CoGrAAS). The CoGrAAS is a computer system that displays in an integrated, graphic and dynamic way the information of a catalog of previously simulated accident scenarios. Has core mimics, vessel, primary containment and safety systems, trend graph of thermodynamic and radiological variables and the emergency procedures (OEs), chronological list of events, windows with detailed information for the dry-well, among others. The use of CoGrAAS allows that staff to understand and become familiar with the thermo-hydraulic progression of actual scenarios that exceed the design basis including those with core damage as severe accidents. The system enables personnel to develop an integral vision of the scenarios during the exercises and drills by observing and analyzing the evolution of the main reactor, core and primary containment variables, the response of emergency systems and the influence of that progression on OEs and the emergency action levels (NAEs). The CoGrAAS allows o observe the radiological variables and obtain the source term, to make the projection of doses, at any time within the scenario evolution. Thus, not only can the phenomenology of severe accidents be analyzed and understood, it is also possible to exercise, verify and evaluate the performance of critical tasks in the application of procedures, guidelines and emergency management plans. (Author)

  7. Source term estimation for small sized HTRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moormann, R.

    1992-08-01

    Accidents which have to be considered are core heat-up, reactivity transients, water of air ingress and primary circuit depressurization. The main effort of this paper belongs to water/air ingress and depressurization, which requires consideration of fission product plateout under normal operation conditions; for the latter it is clearly shown, that absorption (penetration) mechanisms are much less important than assumed sometimes in the past. Source term estimation procedures for core heat-up events are shortly reviewed; reactivity transients are apparently covered by them. Besides a general literature survey including identification of areas with insufficient knowledge this paper contains some estimations on the thermomechanical behaviour of fission products in water in air ingress accidents. Typical source term examples are also presented. In an appendix, evaluations of the AVR experiments VAMPYR-I and -II with respect to plateout and fission product filter efficiency are outlined and used for a validation step of the new plateout code SPATRA. (orig.)

  8. Effect of source term composition on offsite doses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karahalios, P.; Gardner, R.

    1985-01-01

    The development of new realistic accident source terms has identified the need to establish a basis for comparing the impact of such source terms. This paper attempts to develop a generalized basis of comparison by investigating contributions to offsite acute whole body doses from each group of radionuclides being released to the atmosphere, using CRAC2. The paper also investigates the effect of important parameters such as regional meteorology, sheltering, and duration of release. Finally, the paper focuses on significant changes in the relative importance of individual radionuclide groups in PWR2, SST1, and a revision of the Stone and Webster proposed interim source term

  9. Source terms: an investigation of uncertainties, magnitudes, and recommendations for research. [PWR; BWR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levine, S.; Kaiser, G. D.; Arcieri, W. C.; Firstenberg, H.; Fulford, P. J.; Lam, P. S.; Ritzman, R. L.; Schmidt, E. R.

    1982-03-01

    The purpose of this document is to assess the state of knowledge and expert opinions that exist about fission product source terms from potential nuclear power plant accidents. This is so that recommendations can be made for research and analyses which have the potential to reduce the uncertainties in these estimated source terms and to derive improved methods for predicting their magnitudes. The main reasons for writing this report are to indicate the major uncertainties involved in defining realistic source terms that could arise from severe reactor accidents, to determine which factors would have the most significant impact on public risks and emergency planning, and to suggest research and analyses that could result in the reduction of these uncertainties. Source terms used in the conventional consequence calculations in the licensing process are not explicitly addressed.

  10. Large Break LOCA Accident Management Strategies for Accidents With Large Containment Leaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sdouz, Gert

    2006-01-01

    The goal of this work is the investigation of the influence of different accident management strategies on the thermal-hydraulics in the containment during a Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident with a large containment leak from the beginning of the accident. The increasing relevance of terrorism suggests a closer look at this kind of severe accidents. Normally the course of severe accidents and their associated phenomena are investigated with the assumption of an intact containment from the beginning of the accident. This intact containment has the ability to retain a large part of the radioactive inventory. In these cases there is only a release via a very small leakage due to the un-tightness of the containment up to cavity bottom melt through. This paper represents the last part of a comprehensive study on the influence of accident management strategies on the source term of VVER-1000 reactors. Basically two different accident sequences were investigated: the 'Station Blackout'- sequence and the 'Large Break LOCA'. In a first step the source term calculations were performed assuming an intact containment from the beginning of the accident and no accident management action. In a further step the influence of different accident management strategies was studied. The last part of the project was a repetition of the calculations with the assumption of a damaged containment from the beginning of the accident. This paper concentrates on the last step in the case of a Large Break LOCA. To be able to compare the results with calculations performed years ago the calculations were performed using the Source Term Code Package (STCP), hydrogen explosions are not considered. In this study four different scenarios have been investigated. The main parameter was the switch on time of the spray systems. One of the results is the influence of different accident management strategies on the source term. In the comparison with the sequence with intact containment it was

  11. Application of the source term code package to obtain a specific source term for the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souto, F.J.

    1991-06-01

    The main objective of the project was to use the Source Term Code Package (STCP) to obtain a specific source term for those accident sequences deemed dominant as a result of probabilistic safety analyses (PSA) for the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (CNLV). The following programme has been carried out to meet this objective: (a) implementation of the STCP, (b) acquisition of specific data for CNLV to execute the STCP, and (c) calculations of specific source terms for accident sequences at CNLV. The STCP has been implemented and validated on CDC 170/815 and CDC 180/860 main frames as well as on a Micro VAX 3800 system. In order to get a plant-specific source term, data on the CNLV including initial core inventory, burn-up, primary containment structures, and materials used for the calculations have been obtained. Because STCP does not explicitly model containment failure, dry well failure in the form of a catastrophic rupture has been assumed. One of the most significant sequences from the point of view of possible off-site risk is the loss of off-site power with failure of the diesel generators and simultaneous loss of high pressure core spray and reactor core isolation cooling systems. The probability for that event is approximately 4.5 x 10 -6 . This sequence has been analysed in detail and the release fractions of radioisotope groups are given in the full report. 18 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs

  12. Using Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling for Rapid Source Term Prediction. RASTEP Phase 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knochenhauer, M.; Swaling, V.H.; Alfheim, P.

    2012-09-01

    The project is connected to the development of RASTEP, a computerized source term prediction tool aimed at providing a basis for improving off-site emergency management. RASTEP uses Bayesian belief networks (BBN) to model severe accident progression in a nuclear power plant in combination with pre-calculated source terms (i.e., amount, timing, and pathway of released radio-nuclides). The output is a set of possible source terms with associated probabilities. In the NKS project, a number of complex issues associated with the integration of probabilistic and deterministic analyses are addressed. This includes issues related to the method for estimating source terms, signal validation, and sensitivity analysis. One major task within Phase 1 of the project addressed the problem of how to make the source term module flexible enough to give reliable and valid output throughout the accident scenario. Of the alternatives evaluated, it is recommended that RASTEP is connected to a fast running source term prediction code, e.g., MARS, with a possibility of updating source terms based on real-time observations. (Author)

  13. Using Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling for Rapid Source Term Prediction. RASTEP Phase 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knochenhauer, M.; Swaling, V.H.; Alfheim, P. [Scandpower AB, Sundbyberg (Sweden)

    2012-09-15

    The project is connected to the development of RASTEP, a computerized source term prediction tool aimed at providing a basis for improving off-site emergency management. RASTEP uses Bayesian belief networks (BBN) to model severe accident progression in a nuclear power plant in combination with pre-calculated source terms (i.e., amount, timing, and pathway of released radio-nuclides). The output is a set of possible source terms with associated probabilities. In the NKS project, a number of complex issues associated with the integration of probabilistic and deterministic analyses are addressed. This includes issues related to the method for estimating source terms, signal validation, and sensitivity analysis. One major task within Phase 1 of the project addressed the problem of how to make the source term module flexible enough to give reliable and valid output throughout the accident scenario. Of the alternatives evaluated, it is recommended that RASTEP is connected to a fast running source term prediction code, e.g., MARS, with a possibility of updating source terms based on real-time observations. (Author)

  14. An artificial neural network approach to reconstruct the source term of a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giles, J.; Palma, C. R.; Weller, P.

    1997-01-01

    This work makes use of one of the main features of artificial neural networks, which is their ability to 'learn' from sets of known input and output data. Indeed, a trained artificial neural network can be used to make predictions on the input data when the output is known, and this feedback process enables one to reconstruct the source term from field observations. With this aim, an artificial neural networks has been trained, using the projections of a segmented plume atmospheric dispersion model at fixed points, simulating a set of gamma detectors located outside the perimeter of a nuclear facility. The resulting set of artificial neural networks was used to determine the release fraction and rate for each of the noble gases, iodines and particulate fission products that could originate from a nuclear accident. Model projections were made using a large data set consisting of effective release height, release fraction of noble gases, iodines and particulate fission products, atmospheric stability, wind speed and wind direction. The model computed nuclide-specific gamma dose rates. The locations of the detectors were chosen taking into account both building shine and wake effects, and varied in distance between 800 and 1200 m from the reactor.The inputs to the artificial neural networks consisted of the measurements from the detector array, atmospheric stability, wind speed and wind direction; the outputs comprised a set of release fractions and heights. Once trained, the artificial neural networks was used to reconstruct the source term from the detector responses for data sets not used in training. The preliminary results are encouraging and show that the noble gases and particulate fission product release fractions are well determined

  15. Fission product source terms and engineered safety features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinauskas, A.P.

    1984-01-01

    The author states that new, technically defensible, methodologies to establish realistic source term values for nuclear reactor accidents will soon be available. Although these methodologies will undoubtedly find widespread use in the development of accident response procedures, the author states that it is less clear that the industry is preparing to employ the newer results to develop a more rational approach to strategies for the mitigation of fission product releases. Questions concerning the performance of existing engineered safety systems are reviewed

  16. Fission product source term research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinauskas, A.P.

    1985-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to describe some of the research being performed at ORNL in support of the effort to describe, as realistically as possible, fission product source terms for nuclear reactor accidents. In order to make this presentation manageable, only those studies directly concerned with fission product behavior, as opposed to thermal hydraulics, accident sequence progression, etc., will be discussed

  17. Selective application of revised source terms to operating nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moon, Joo Hyun; Song, Jae Hyuk; Lee, Young Wook; Ko, Hyun Seok; Kang, Chang Sun

    2001-01-01

    More than 30 years later since 1962 when TID-14844 was promulgated, there has been big change of the US NRC's regulatory position in using accident source terms for radiological assessment following a design basis accident (DBA). To replace the instantaneous source terms of TID-14844, the time-dependent source terms of NUREG-1465 was published in 1995. In the meantime, the radiological acceptance criteria for reactor site evaluation in 10 CFR Part 100 were also revised. In particular, the concept of total effective dose equivalent has been incorporated in accordance with the radiation protection standards set forth in revised 10 CFR Part 20. Subsequently, the publication of Regulatory Guide 1.183 and the revision of Standard Review Plan 15.0.1 followed in 2000, which provided the licensee of operating nuclear power reactor with the acceptable guidance of applying the revised source term. The guidance allowed the holder of an operating license issued prior to January 10, 1997 to voluntarily revise the accident source terms used in the radiological consequence analyses of DBA. Regarding to its type of application, there suggested full and selective applications, Whether it is full or selective, based upon the scope and nature of associated plant modifications being proposed, the actual application of the revised source terms to an operating plant is expected to give a large impact on its facility design basis. Considering scope and cost of the analyses required for licensing, selective application is seemed to be more appealing to an licensee of the operating plant rather than full application. In this paper, hence, the selective application methodology is reviewed and is actally applied to the assessment of offsite radiological consequence following a LOCA at Ulchin Unit 3 and 4, in order to identify and analyze the potential impacts due to application of revised source terms and to assess the considerations taken in each application prior to its actual

  18. Using Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling for rapid source term prediction. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knochenhauer, M.; Swaling, V.H.; Dedda, F.D.; Hansson, F.; Sjoekvist, S.; Sunnegaerd, K. [Lloyd' s Register Consulting AB, Sundbyberg (Sweden)

    2013-10-15

    The project presented in this report deals with a number of complex issues related to the development of a tool for rapid source term prediction (RASTEP), based on a plant model represented as a Bayesian belief network (BBN) and a source term module which is used for assigning relevant source terms to BBN end states. Thus, RASTEP uses a BBN to model severe accident progression in a nuclear power plant in combination with pre-calculated source terms (i.e., amount, composition, timing, and release path of released radio-nuclides). The output is a set of possible source terms with associated probabilities. One major issue has been associated with the integration of probabilistic and deterministic analyses are addressed, dealing with the challenge of making the source term determination flexible enough to give reliable and valid output throughout the accident scenario. The potential for connecting RASTEP to a fast running source term prediction code has been explored, as well as alternative ways of improving the deterministic connections of the tool. As part of the investigation, a comparison of two deterministic severe accident analysis codes has been performed. A second important task has been to develop a general method where experts' beliefs can be included in a systematic way when defining the conditional probability tables (CPTs) in the BBN. The proposed method includes expert judgement in a systematic way when defining the CPTs of a BBN. Using this iterative method results in a reliable BBN even though expert judgements, with their associated uncertainties, have been used. It also simplifies verification and validation of the considerable amounts of quantitative data included in a BBN. (Author)

  19. Using Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling for rapid source term prediction. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knochenhauer, M.; Swaling, V.H.; Dedda, F.D.; Hansson, F.; Sjoekvist, S.; Sunnegaerd, K.

    2013-10-01

    The project presented in this report deals with a number of complex issues related to the development of a tool for rapid source term prediction (RASTEP), based on a plant model represented as a Bayesian belief network (BBN) and a source term module which is used for assigning relevant source terms to BBN end states. Thus, RASTEP uses a BBN to model severe accident progression in a nuclear power plant in combination with pre-calculated source terms (i.e., amount, composition, timing, and release path of released radio-nuclides). The output is a set of possible source terms with associated probabilities. One major issue has been associated with the integration of probabilistic and deterministic analyses are addressed, dealing with the challenge of making the source term determination flexible enough to give reliable and valid output throughout the accident scenario. The potential for connecting RASTEP to a fast running source term prediction code has been explored, as well as alternative ways of improving the deterministic connections of the tool. As part of the investigation, a comparison of two deterministic severe accident analysis codes has been performed. A second important task has been to develop a general method where experts' beliefs can be included in a systematic way when defining the conditional probability tables (CPTs) in the BBN. The proposed method includes expert judgement in a systematic way when defining the CPTs of a BBN. Using this iterative method results in a reliable BBN even though expert judgements, with their associated uncertainties, have been used. It also simplifies verification and validation of the considerable amounts of quantitative data included in a BBN. (Author)

  20. Derivation of the source term, dose results and associated radiological consequences for the Greek Research Reactor – 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pappas, Charalampos, E-mail: chpappas@ipta.demokritos.gr; Ikonomopoulos, Andreas; Sfetsos, Athanasios; Andronopoulos, Spyros; Varvayanni, Melpomeni; Catsaros, Nicolas

    2014-07-01

    Highlights: • Source term derivation of postulated accident sequences in a research reactor. • Various containment ventilation scenarios considered for source term calculations. • Source term parametric analysis performed in case of lack of ventilation. • JRODOS employed for dose calculations under eighteen modeled scenarios. • Estimation of radiological consequences during typical and adverse weather scenarios. - Abstract: The estimated source term, dose results and radiological consequences of selected accident sequences in the Greek Research Reactor – 1 are presented and discussed. A systematic approach has been adopted to perform the necessary calculations in accordance with the latest computational developments and IAEA recommendations. Loss-of-coolant, reactivity insertion and fuel channel blockage accident sequences have been selected to derive the associated source terms under three distinct containment ventilation scenarios. Core damage has been conservatively assessed for each accident sequence while the ventilation has been assumed to function within the efficiency limits defined at the Safety Analysis Report. In case of lack of ventilation a parametric analysis is also performed to examine the dependency of the source term on the containment leakage rate. A typical as well as an adverse meteorological scenario have been defined in the JRODOS computational platform in order to predict the effective, lung and thyroid doses within a region defined by a 15 km radius downwind from the reactor building. The radiological consequences of the eighteen scenarios associated with the accident sequences are presented and discussed.

  1. Impact of short-term severe accident management actions in a long-term perspective. Final Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-03-01

    The present systems for severe accident management are focused on mitigating the consequences of special severe accident phenomena and to reach a safe plant state. However, in the development of strategies and procedures for severe accident management, it is also important to consider the long-term perspective of accident management and especially to secure the safe state of the plant. The main reason for this is that certain short-term actions have an impact on the long-term scenario. Both positive and negative effects from short-term actions on the accident management in the long-term perspective have been included in this paper. Short-term actions are accident management measures taken within about 24 hours after the initiating event. The purpose of short-term actions is to reach a stable status of the plant. The main goal in the long-term perspective is to maintain the reactor in a stable state and prevent uncontrolled releases of activity. The purpose of this short Technical Note, deliberately limited in scope, is to draw attention to potential long-term problems, important to utilities and regulatory authorities, arising from the way a severe accident would be managed during the first hours. Its objective is to encourage discussions on the safest - and maybe also most economical - way to manage a severe accident in the long term by not making the situation worse through inappropriate short-term actions, and on the identification of short-term actions likely to make long-term management easier and safer. The Note is intended as a contribution to the knowledge base put at the disposal of Member countries through international collaboration. The scope of the work has been limited to a literature search. Useful further activities have been identified. However, there is no proposal, at this stage, for more detailed work to be undertaken under the auspices of the CSNI. Plant-specific applications would need to be developed by utilities

  2. Advanced sodium fast reactor accident source terms :

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Powers, Dana Auburn; Clement, Bernard; Denning, Richard; Ohno, Shuji; Zeyen, Roland

    2010-09-01

    An expert opinion elicitation has been used to evaluate phenomena that could affect releases of radionuclides during accidents at sodium-cooled fast reactors. The intent was to identify research needed to develop a mechanistic model of radionuclide release for licensing and risk assessment purposes. Experts from the USA, France, the European Union, and Japan identified phenomena that could affect the release of radionuclides under hypothesized accident conditions. They qualitatively evaluated the importance of these phenomena and the need for additional experimental research. The experts identified seven phenomena that are of high importance and have a high need for additional experimental research: High temperature release of radionuclides from fuel during an energetic event Energetic interactions between molten reactor fuel and sodium coolant and associated transfer of radionuclides from the fuel to the coolant Entrainment of fuel and sodium bond material during the depressurization of a fuel rod with breached cladding Rates of radionuclide leaching from fuel by liquid sodium Surface enrichment of sodium pools by dissolved and suspended radionuclides Thermal decomposition of sodium iodide in the containment atmosphere Reactions of iodine species in the containment to form volatile organic iodides. Other issues of high importance were identified that might merit further research as development of the mechanistic model of radionuclide release progressed.

  3. Experience with first aid in radiation sources accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klener, V.

    1979-01-01

    More than 20 years of experience at the Radiation Hygiene Centre of the Prague Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology with prevention of accidents involving sources of radiation and the Centre's participation in providing medical aid in such accidents are described. A list is given of major types of accidents over the past decade. Prevalent were accidents involving sealed gamma sources, resulting in excessive local irradiation with serious skin damage or injury to some of the deeper structures of the hands, requiring plastic operation. Chromosomal picture investigation allows the estimation of the equivalent body dose which only reached higher values in a single case recorded (1.5 Gy = 150 rad). Organisational measures are described for emergencies and the task is shown by radiation hygiene departments attached to regional hygiene stations. The present system is capable of providing adequate, prompt and effective assistance. (author)

  4. Enhancing AP1000 reactor accident management capabilities for long term accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Pingting; Liu Mengying; Duan Chengjie; Liao Yehong

    2015-01-01

    Passive safety actions are considered as main measures under severe accident in AP1000 power plant. However, risk is still existed. According to PSA, several probable scenarios for AP1000 nuclear power plant are analyzed in this paper with MAAP the severe accident analysis code. According to the analysis results, several deficiencies of AP1000 severe accident management are found. The long term cooling and containment depressurization capability for AP1000 power plant appear to be most important factors under such accidents. Then, several temporary strategies for AP1000 power plant are suggested, including PCCWST temporary water supply strategy after 72h, temporary injection strategy for IRWST, hydrogen relief action in fuel building, which would improve the safety of AP1000 power plant. At last, assessments of effectiveness for these strategies are performed, and the results are compared with analysis without these strategies. The comparisons showed that correct actions of these strategies would effectively prevent the accident process of AP1000 power plant. (author)

  5. Release of radionuclides following severe accident in interim storage facility. Source term determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morandi, S.; Mariani, M.; Giacobbo, F.; Covini, R.

    2006-01-01

    Among the severe accidents that can cause the release of radionuclides from an interim storage facility, with a consequent relevant radiological impact on the population, there is the impact of an aircraft on the facility. In this work, a safety assessment analysis for the case of an aircraft crash into an interim storage facility is tackled. To this aim a methodology, based upon DOE, IAEA and NUREG standard procedures and upon conservative yet realistic hypothesis, has been developed in order to evaluate the total radioactivity, source term, released to the biosphere in consequence of the impact, without recurring to the use of complicated numerical codes. The procedure consists in the identification of the accidental scenarios, in the evaluation of the consequent damage to the building structures and to the waste packages and in the determination of the total release of radionuclides through the building-atmosphere interface. The methodology here developed has been applied to the case of an aircraft crash into an interim storage facility currently under design. Results show that in case of perforation followed by a fire incident the total released activity would be greater of some orders of magnitude with respect to the case of mere perforation. (author)

  6. Analysis of the primary source term for meltdown accidents using MELCOR 1.8.2; Analyse des primaeren Quellterms bei Kernschmelzunfaellen mit MELCOR 1.8.2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmuck, P.

    1995-08-01

    The MELCOR code describing accident phenomena in the core and primary systems was used for source term calculations and - in the context of the MELCOR Cooperative Assessment Programme - for studying two-phase flows through components such as valves and chokes. Results of the latter studies in comparison to experiments gave hints for an improved calculation of momentum transfer between the phases. (orig.)

  7. Considerations about source term now used aiming to emergency planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Austregesilo Filho, H.

    1987-01-01

    The applicability of source terms, in parametric studies for improving external emergengy plan for Angra-I reactor is presented. The source term is defined as, the quantity and radioactive material disposable for releasing to the environment in case of austere accident in a nuclear power plant. The following hypothesis: occuring accident, 100% of the noble gases, 50% of halogens and 1% of solid fission products contained into the reactor core, are released immediately toward the containment building; the radioactivity releasing to the environment is done at a constant rate of 0.1% in mass per day; the actuation of mitigated systems of radioactivity releasing, such as, spray of container or system of air recirculation by filters, is not considered; and the releasing is done at soil level. (M.C.K.) [pt

  8. Definition of loss-of-coolant accident radiation source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-02-01

    Meaningful qualification testing of nuclear reactor components requires a knowledge of the radiation fields expected in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The overall objective of this program is to define the LOCA source terms and compare these with the output of various simulators employed for radiation qualification testing. The basis for comparison will be the energy deposition in a model reactor component. The results of the calculations are presented and some interpretation of the results given. The energy release rates and spectra were validated by comparison with other calculations using different codes since experimental data appropriate to these calculations do not exist

  9. Development of in-vessel source term analysis code, tracer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyagi, K.; Miyahara, S.

    1996-01-01

    Analyses of radionuclide transport in fuel failure accidents (generally referred to source terms) are considered to be important especially in the severe accident evaluation. The TRACER code has been developed to realistically predict the time dependent behavior of FPs and aerosols within the primary cooling system for wide range of fuel failure events. This paper presents the model description, results of validation study, the recent model advancement status of the code, and results of check out calculations under reactor conditions. (author)

  10. SOURCE TERM ESTIMATION BASED on PLANT STATUS and on GAMMA DOSE RATES Measured by an ON-line environmental Monitoring Network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubna, M.; Bujan, A.; Duranova, T.

    1997-01-01

    A number of severe accident analyses for reactor unit with WWER-440 (213) has been performed in order to evaluate the source term and radiological consequences. As a tool for these analyses the WWER modified version of Source Term Code Package and Real Time Accident Release Consequences codes have been used. A set of emergency procedures - manuals for quick estimation of the source term and countermeasures introduction during early -pre-release phase of severe accident progression has been developed at Nuclear Power Plants Research Institute Trnava, Inc. These manuals are subdivided into three groups: 1.) evaluation of the barriers integrity, 2.) source term estimation and 3.) estimation of the distances for the countermeasures introduction. A methodology and computer module for interpretation of environmental data - source term assessment during post-release phase from on-line environmental network has been developed at Nuclear Power Plants Research Institute Trnava, Inc. The method is based on the conversion of measured dose rates to the source term,i.e. airborne radioactivity release rate, taking into account real meteorological data and location of the measure points. The bootstrap method for the estimation of the mean value of source term Q as integral value of the release and confidence interval of Q has been selected. The methodology of Q distribution into fission product groups according to code Real Time Accident Release Consequences needs is based on known plant status, i.e. on the results of pre calculated accident sequences. The paper describes the methodologies introduced above and the way of their application

  11. Light water reactor severe accident seminar. Seminar presentation manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The topics covered in this manual on LWR severe accidents were: Evolution of Source Term Definition and Analysis, Current Position on Severe Accident Phenomena, Current Position on Fission Product Behavior, Overview of Software Models Used in Severe Accident Analysis, Overview of Plant Specific Source Terms and Their Impact on Risk, Current Applications of Severe Accident Analysis, and Future plans

  12. Light water reactor severe accident seminar. Seminar presentation manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    The topics covered in this manual on LWR severe accidents were: Evolution of Source Term Definition and Analysis, Current Position on Severe Accident Phenomena, Current Position on Fission Product Behavior, Overview of Software Models Used in Severe Accident Analysis, Overview of Plant Specific Source Terms and Their Impact on Risk, Current Applications of Severe Accident Analysis, and Future plans.

  13. Nuclear fuel cycle facility accident analysis handbook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayer, J.E.; Clark, A.T.; Loysen, P.; Ballinger, M.Y.; Mishima, J.; Owczarski, P.C.; Gregory, W.S.; Nichols, B.D.

    1988-05-01

    The Accident Analysis Handbook (AAH) covers four generic facilities: fuel manufacturing, fuel reprocessing, waste storage/solidification, and spent fuel storage; and six accident types: fire, explosion, tornado, criticality, spill, and equipment failure. These are the accident types considered to make major contributions to the radiological risk from accidents in nuclear fuel cycle facility operations. The AAH will enable the user to calculate source term releases from accident scenarios manually or by computer. A major feature of the AAH is development of accident sample problems to provide input to source term analysis methods and transport computer codes. Sample problems and illustrative examples for different accident types are included in the AAH

  14. Evaluation of short- and long-term fission product sources at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchida, Shunsuke; Naitoh, Masanori; Suzuki, Hiroaki; Okada, Hidetoshi; Pellegrini, Marco; Achilli, Andrea; Hanamoto, Yukio; Sasaki, Hiroaki

    2014-01-01

    Research on fission product (FP) behaviors used to be one of the most important subjects in water chemistry but it is not done nowadays as a consequence of the increased integrity of nuclear fuels and the minimization of FP release into the environment. Evaluation of FP release into the environment is still one of the key issues for severe accident analysis, though. Although there have been a long quiet period in nuclear safety research, how to detect initiation of severe accidents, how to prevent them and how to mitigate them are still important subjects for nuclear engineering, and how to control the severe accidents after their occurrence, especially how to control FP release into the environment, has seldom been discussed in the water chemistry group recently. The paper is intended to address the issue of fewer activities for FP studies. FP sources are divided into two categories, short- and long-term FP sources. Short-term FP source can be evaluated based on the measured data obtained from monitoring posts (MPs), which give us clear evidence on the importance of radioactive iodine and cesium releases into the environment. It used to be considered that during primary containment vessel (PCV) venting, release of each element, e.g., iodine and cesium, was determined by the suppression pool scrubbing efficiency and most of the cesium would likely be removed in the pool due to its large scrubbing efficiency. But as a result of analyzing the MP data at early stage of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, it was confirmed that the releases of both elements were in proportion to their inventories in the reactors and their scrubbing efficiencies were almost the same. The scrubbing efficiency which increased with the pool water temperature became almost the same for iodine and cesium around the pool water boiling temperature. As a result of the mass balance analysis for FPs in the contaminated water accumulated in the Fukushima Daiichi plant site, it

  15. An accident diagnosis algorithm using long short-term memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaemin Yang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Accident diagnosis is one of the complex tasks for nuclear power plant (NPP operators. In abnormal or emergency situations, the diagnostic activity of the NPP states is burdensome though necessary. Numerous computer-based methods and operator support systems have been suggested to address this problem. Among them, the recurrent neural network (RNN has performed well at analyzing time series data. This study proposes an algorithm for accident diagnosis using long short-term memory (LSTM, which is a kind of RNN, which improves the limitation for time reflection. The algorithm consists of preprocessing, the LSTM network, and postprocessing. In the LSTM-based algorithm, preprocessed input variables are calculated to output the accident diagnosis results. The outputs are also postprocessed using softmax to determine the ranking of accident diagnosis results with probabilities. This algorithm was trained using a compact nuclear simulator for several accidents: a loss of coolant accident, a steam generator tube rupture, and a main steam line break. The trained algorithm was also tested to demonstrate the feasibility of diagnosing NPP accidents. Keywords: Accident Diagnosis, Long Short-term Memory, Recurrent Neural Network, Softmax

  16. Analysis of accident sequences and source terms at waste treatment and storage facilities for waste generated by U.S. Department of Energy Waste Management Operations, Volume 1: Sections 1-9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Nabelssi, B.; Roglans-Ribas, J.

    1995-04-01

    This report documents the methodology, computational framework, and results of facility accident analyses performed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS). The accident sequences potentially important to human health risk are specified, their frequencies are assessed, and the resultant radiological and chemical source terms are evaluated. A personal computer-based computational framework and database have been developed that provide these results as input to the WM PEIS for calculation of human health risk impacts. The methodology is in compliance with the most recent guidance from DOE. It considers the spectrum of accident sequences that could occur in activities covered by the WM PEIS and uses a graded approach emphasizing the risk-dominant scenarios to facilitate discrimination among the various WM PEIS alternatives. Although it allows reasonable estimates of the risk impacts associated with each alternative, the main goal of the accident analysis methodology is to allow reliable estimates of the relative risks among the alternatives. The WM PEIS addresses management of five waste streams in the DOE complex: low-level waste (LLW), hazardous waste (HW), high-level waste (HLW), low-level mixed waste (LLMW), and transuranic waste (TRUW). Currently projected waste generation rates, storage inventories, and treatment process throughputs have been calculated for each of the waste streams. This report summarizes the accident analyses and aggregates the key results for each of the waste streams. Source terms are estimated and results are presented for each of the major DOE sites and facilities by WM PEIS alternative for each waste stream. The appendices identify the potential atmospheric release of each toxic chemical or radionuclide for each accident scenario studied. They also provide discussion of specific accident analysis data and guidance used or consulted in this report

  17. NRC source term assessment for incident response dose projections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Easley, P.; Pasedag, W.

    1984-01-01

    The NRC provides advice and assistance to licensees and State and local authorities in responding to accidents. The TACT code supports this function by providing source term projections for two situations during early (15 to 60 minutes) accident response: (1) Core/containment damage is indicated, but there are no measured releases. Quantification of a predicted release permits emergency response before people are exposed. With TACT, response personnel can estimate releases based on fuel and cladding conditions, coolant boundary and containment integrity, and mitigative systems operability. For this type of estimate, TACT is intermediate between default assumptions and time-consuming mechanistic codes. (2) A combination of plant status and limited release data are available. For this situation, iterations between predictions based on known conditions which are compared to measured releases gives reasonable confidence in supplemental source term information otherwise unavailable: nuclide mix, releases not monitored, and trending or abrupt changes. The assumptions and models used in TACT, and examples of its use, are given in this paper

  18. Serious reactor accidents reconsidered

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-12-01

    The chance is determined for damage of the reactor core and that sequel events will cause excursion of radioactive materials into the environment. The gravity of such an accident is expressed by the source term. It appears that the chance for such an accident varies with the source term. In general it is valid that how larger the source term how smaller the chance is for it and vice versa. The chance for excursion is related to two complexes of events: serious damage (meltdown) of the reactor core, and the escape of the liberated radionuclides into the environment. The results are an order of magnitude consideration of the relation between the extent of the source term and the chance for it. From the spectrum of possible source terms three representative ones have been chosen: a large, a medium and a relative small source term. This choice is in accordance with international considerations. The hearth of this study is the estimation of the chance for occurrence of the three chosen source terms for new light-water reactors. refs.; figs.; tabs

  19. Risk assessment for long-term post-accident sequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellia-Hervy, A.; Ducamp, F.

    1987-11-01

    Probabilistic risk analysis, currently conducted by the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) for the French replicate series of 900 MWe power plants, has identified accident sequences requiring long-term operation of some systems after the initiating event. They have been named long-term sequences. Quantification of probabilities of such sequences cannot rely exclusively on equipment failure-on-demand data: it must also take into account operating failures, the probability of which increase with time. Specific studies have therefore been conducted for a number of plant systems actuated during these long-term sequences. This has required: - Definition of the most realistic equipment utilization strategies based on existing emergency procedures for 900 MWe French plants. - Evaluation of the potential to repair failed equipment, given accessibility, repair time, and specific radiation conditions for the given sequence. - Definition of the event bringing the long-term sequence to an end. - Establishment of an appropriate quantification method, capable of taking into account the evolution of assumptions concerning equipment utilization strategies or repair conditions over time. The accident sequence quantification method based on realistic scenarios has been used in the risk assessment of the initiating event loss of reactor coolant accident occurring at power and at shutdown. Compared with the results obtained from conventional methods, this method redistributes the relative weight of accident sequences and also demonstrates that the long term can be a significant contribution to the probability of core melt

  20. Analysis on Dangerous Source of Large Safety Accident in Storage Tank Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tong; Li, Ying; Xie, Tiansheng; Liu, Yu; Zhu, Xueyuan

    2018-01-01

    The difference between a large safety accident and a general accident is that the consequences of a large safety accident are particularly serious. To study the tank area which factors directly or indirectly lead to the occurrence of large-sized safety accidents. According to the three kinds of hazard source theory and the consequence cause analysis of the super safety accident, this paper analyzes the dangerous source of the super safety accident in the tank area from four aspects, such as energy source, large-sized safety accident reason, management missing, environmental impact Based on the analysis of three kinds of hazard sources and environmental analysis to derive the main risk factors and the AHP evaluation model is established, and after rigorous and scientific calculation, the weights of the related factors in four kinds of risk factors and each type of risk factors are obtained. The result of analytic hierarchy process shows that management reasons is the most important one, and then the environmental factors and the direct cause and Energy source. It should be noted that although the direct cause is relatively low overall importance, the direct cause of Failure of emergency measures and Failure of prevention and control facilities in greater weight.

  1. Source term estimation based on in-situ gamma spectrometry using a high purity germanium detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pauly, J.; Rojas-Palma, C.; Sohier, A.

    1997-06-01

    An alternative method to reconstruct the source term of a nuclear accident is proposed. The technique discussed here involves the use of in-situ gamma spectrometry. The validation of the applied methodology has been possible through the monitoring of routine releases of Ar-41 originating at a Belgian site from an air cooled graphite research reactor. This technique provides a quick nuclide specific decomposition of the source term and therefore will be have an enormous potential if implemented in nuclear emergency preparedness and radiological assessments of nuclear accidents during the early phase

  2. Fission product source from Ignalina NPP in case of loss-of-coolant accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ubonavicius, E.; Rimkevicius, S.

    2001-01-01

    The release of radioactive materials to the environment is of special importance in the case of any accident at Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). The integrated analysis of thermal-hydraulic parameters behavior and radioactive fission products (FP) transport and deposition in the compartments play an important role in the evaluation of FP release to the environment and determines the irradiation dozes of personnel and public. In this report the transport and the deposition of radioactive material in the Ignalina NPP unit 1 compartments as well as the FP source term to the environment in the case of design basis loss-of-coolant accidents are discussed. The calculation models for the evaluation of FP transport and deposition as well as the results of performed calculations of several accidents at Ignalina NPP are presented. (author)

  3. Modified ensemble Kalman filter for nuclear accident atmospheric dispersion: prediction improved and source estimated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X L; Su, G F; Yuan, H Y; Chen, J G; Huang, Q Y

    2014-09-15

    Atmospheric dispersion models play an important role in nuclear power plant accident management. A reliable estimation of radioactive material distribution in short range (about 50 km) is in urgent need for population sheltering and evacuation planning. However, the meteorological data and the source term which greatly influence the accuracy of the atmospheric dispersion models are usually poorly known at the early phase of the emergency. In this study, a modified ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation method in conjunction with a Lagrangian puff-model is proposed to simultaneously improve the model prediction and reconstruct the source terms for short range atmospheric dispersion using the off-site environmental monitoring data. Four main uncertainty parameters are considered: source release rate, plume rise height, wind speed and wind direction. Twin experiments show that the method effectively improves the predicted concentration distribution, and the temporal profiles of source release rate and plume rise height are also successfully reconstructed. Moreover, the time lag in the response of ensemble Kalman filter is shortened. The method proposed here can be a useful tool not only in the nuclear power plant accident emergency management but also in other similar situation where hazardous material is released into the atmosphere. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Data assimilation and source term estimation during the early phase of a nuclear accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golubenkov, A.; Borodin, R. [SPA Typhoon, Emergency Centre (Russian Federation); Sohier, A.; Rojas Palma, C. [Centre de l`Etude de l`Energie Nucleaire, Mol (Belgium)

    1996-02-01

    The mathematical/physical base of possible methods to model the source term during an accidental release of radionuclides is discussed. Knowledge of the source term is important in view of optimizing urgent countermeasures to the population. In most cases however, it will be impossible to assess directly the release dynamics. Therefore methods are under development in which the source term is modelled, based on the comparison of off-site monitoring data and model predictions using an atmospheric dispersion model. The degree of agreement between the measured and calculated characteristics of the radioactive contamination of the air and the ground surface is an important criterion in this process. Due to the inherent complexity, some geometrical transformations taking space-time discrepancies between observed and modelled contamination fields are defined before the source term is adapted. This work describes the developed algorithms which are also tested against data from some tracer experiments performed in the past. This method is also used to reconstruct the dynamics of the Chernobyl source term. Finally this report presents a concept of software to reconstruct a multi-isotopic source term in real-time.

  5. Data assimilation and source term estimation during the early phase of a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golubenkov, A.; Borodin, R.; Sohier, A.; Rojas Palma, C.

    1996-02-01

    The mathematical/physical base of possible methods to model the source term during an accidental release of radionuclides is discussed. Knowledge of the source term is important in view of optimizing urgent countermeasures to the population. In most cases however, it will be impossible to assess directly the release dynamics. Therefore methods are under development in which the source term is modelled, based on the comparison of off-site monitoring data and model predictions using an atmospheric dispersion model. The degree of agreement between the measured and calculated characteristics of the radioactive contamination of the air and the ground surface is an important criterion in this process. Due to the inherent complexity, some geometrical transformations taking space-time discrepancies between observed and modelled contamination fields are defined before the source term is adapted. This work describes the developed algorithms which are also tested against data from some tracer experiments performed in the past. This method is also used to reconstruct the dynamics of the Chernobyl source term. Finally this report presents a concept of software to reconstruct a multi-isotopic source term in real-time

  6. Scenarios catalog for the graphical console for analysis of severe accidents visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of source term of the NPP-LV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandoval V, S.; Mendoza R, M. E.; Tijerina S, F.; Garcia C, T.

    2016-09-01

    A nuclear power plant is operated at all times within the design criteria of structures, systems and components, and according to the operation technical specifications. For different areas of work of a nuclear power plant is necessary to carry out practices in which is useful to have the prediction of the thermo-hydraulic and radiological progression of scenarios that imply exceeding that design bases, even reaching the damage of the fuel in different degree. During the exercises and drills of the External Plan of Emergency Response, the projection of doses is done to exercise the different tasks of the plan. To make the projection of doses is required to have the radiological source term of the scenario on which is practiced. Because of this, was identified the convenience of having a catalog of scenarios for which the radiological source term was calculated. In 2004, a first version of the catalog was produced for a power of 2027 MW, and in 2011 the catalog was updated for extended power conditions, 2317 MW. Both versions were made using the severe accident simulator MAAP-3B. That catalog consists of a form and an optical storage device. The form contains tables and figures in which the characteristics of the scenario to be practiced are searched and the electronic files of the corresponding radiological source term are located in the storage device. Due to the recent development of the graphical console for analysis of severe accidents, visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-LV) CoGrAAS, the catalog printed was replaced by an electronic catalog for the CoGrAAS. The new catalog retains the philosophy of the previous catalog, constituted by a wide collection of scenarios that involve different circumstances and phenomena, that can be used to practice different tasks during training exercises or simulacrums, and combined with the following advantages: the scenario selection is made from an

  7. An appreciation of the events, models and data used for LMFBR radiological source term estimations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keir, D.; Clough, P.N.

    1989-01-01

    In this report, the events, models and data currently available for analysis of accident source terms in liquid metal cooled fast neutron reactors are reviewed. The types of hypothetical accidents considered are the low probability, more extreme types of severe accident, involving significant degradation of the core and which may lead to the release of radionuclides. The base case reactor design considered is a commercial scale sodium pool reactor of the CDFR type. The feasibility of an integrated calculational approach to radionuclide transport and speciation (such as is used for LWR accident analysis) is explored. It is concluded that there is no fundamental obstacle, in terms of scientific data or understanding of the phenomena involved, to such an approach. However this must be regarded as a long-term goal because of the large amount of effort still required to advance development to a stage comparable with LWR studies. Particular aspects of LMFBR severe accident phenomenology which require attention are the behaviour of radionuclides during core disruptive accident bubble formation and evolution, and during the less rapid sequences of core melt under sodium. The basic requirement for improved thermal hydraulic modelling of core, coolant and structural materials, in these and other scenarios, is highlighted as fundamental to the accuracy and realism of source term estimations. The coupling of such modelling to that of radionuclide behaviour is seen as the key to future development in this area

  8. Quantification of uncertainties in source term estimates for a BWR with Mark I containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khatib-Rahbar, M.; Cazzoli, E.; Davis, R.; Ishigami, T.; Lee, M.; Nourbakhsh, H.; Schmidt, E.; Unwin, S.

    1988-01-01

    A methodology for quantification and uncertainty analysis of source terms for severe accident in light water reactors (QUASAR) has been developed. The objectives of the QUASAR program are (1) to develop a framework for performing an uncertainty evaluation of the input parameters of the phenomenological models used in the Source Term Code Package (STCP), and (2) to quantify the uncertainties in certain phenomenological aspects of source terms (that are not modeled by STCP) using state-of-the-art methods. The QUASAR methodology consists of (1) screening sensitivity analysis, where the most sensitive input variables are selected for detailed uncertainty analysis, (2) uncertainty analysis, where probability density functions (PDFs) are established for the parameters identified by the screening stage and propagated through the codes to obtain PDFs for the outputs (i.e., release fractions to the environment), and (3) distribution sensitivity analysis, which is performed to determine the sensitivity of the output PDFs to the input PDFs. In this paper attention is limited to a single accident progression sequence, namely; a station blackout accident in a BWR with a Mark I containment buildings. Identified as an important accident in the draft NUREG-1150 a station blackout involves loss of both off-site power and DC power resulting in failure of the diesels to start and in the unavailability of the high pressure injection and core isolation coding systems

  9. Model description for calculating the source term of the Angra 1 environmental control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, L.F.S. de; Amaral Neto, J.D.; Salles, M.R.

    1988-01-01

    This work presents the model used for evaluation of source term released from Angra 1 Nuclear Power Plant in case of an accident. After that, an application of the model for the case of a Fuel Assembly Drop Accident Inside the Fuel Handling Building during reactor refueling is presented. (author) [pt

  10. Introduction of new terms and lessons for radiological protection after Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Vishwanath P.; Managanvi, S.S.; Bhat, H.R.

    2012-01-01

    The nuclear accidents in the world are very few among various types of operating facilities. However when an accident happened, we have learnt a lot to improve the philosophy, term, definitions, document preparation, equipment's requirement, supporting systems, awareness program and restriction etc. After Fukushima Dai-ichi we have learnt a lot, in this view this paper has been prepared to discuss for radiological protection aspects. Discussion: The probability of nuclear accidents is negligible but when happens, it opens new doors of lessons for radiological protection practices for occupational workers, emergency workers for damage control to prevent catastrophic situation/rescue to life saving actions and the member of the public. The Chernobyl and Three Mile Island accidents have provided a lot experiences for management of emergency situations, documentation, radiation emergency preparedness, emergency equipment's, concept of defense-in-depth, emergency planning zone (EPZ), accidental dose limits, estimation of source term and public dose, intervention levels, decision supporting system, remedial actions in public domain; decontamination of person, houses/building and land and etc. Recent Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in Japan was managed in appreciable manner but still new definitions and lessons for radiological protection have been emerged out. The present paper discusses difficulties w. r. t. the radiological aspects observed/faced by Japanese during nuclear crises. The accident introduced new terms as Natural Dose Rate Unit (NDRU), voluntary evacuation, deliberate evacuation area, restricted area and difference between evacuation zone and EPZ. The Fukushima accident has enforced worldwide regulators and operators to review the individual dose limit and amendment for raise in the dose limit during accident, availability of efficient/adequate quantities of personal dosimeter in public domain, collection arrangement of bulk amount of radioactive wastes

  11. Relation between source term and emergency planning for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi Zhongqi; Yang Ling

    1992-01-01

    Some background information of the severe accidents and source terms related to the nuclear power plant emergency planning are presented. The new source term information in NUREG-0956 and NUREG-1150, and possible changes in emergency planning requirements in U.S.A. are briefly provided. It is suggested that a principle is used in selecting source terms for establishing the emergency planning policy and a method is used in determining the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) size in China. Based on the research results of (1) EPZ size of PWR nuclear power plants being built in China, and (2) impact of reactor size and selected source terms on the EPZ size, it is concluded that the suggested principle and the method are suitable and feasible for PWR nuclear power plants in China

  12. Development of Coupled Interface System between the FADAS Code and a Source-term Evaluation Code XSOR for CANDU Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Son, Han Seong; Song, Deok Yong; Kim, Ma Woong; Shin, Hyeong Ki; Lee, Sang Kyu; Kim, Hyun Koon

    2006-01-01

    An accident prevention system is essential to the industrial security of nuclear industry. Thus, the more effective accident prevention system will be helpful to promote safety culture as well as to acquire public acceptance for nuclear power industry. The FADAS(Following Accident Dose Assessment System) which is a part of the Computerized Advisory System for a Radiological Emergency (CARE) system in KINS is used for the prevention against nuclear accident. In order to enhance the FADAS system more effective for CANDU reactors, it is necessary to develop the various accident scenarios and reliable database of source terms. This study introduces the construction of the coupled interface system between the FADAS and the source-term evaluation code aimed to improve the applicability of the CANDU Integrated Safety Analysis System (CISAS) for CANDU reactors

  13. Management of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, M.W.

    1987-01-01

    The definition and the multidimensionality aspects of accident management have been reviewed. The suggested elements in the development of a programme for severe accident management have been identified and discussed. The strategies concentrate on the two tiered approaches. Operative management utilizes the plant's equipment and operators capabilities. The recovery managment concevtrates on preserving the containment, or delaying its failure, inhibiting the release, and on strategies once there has been a release. The inspiration for this paper was an excellent overview report on perspectives on managing severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants and extending plant operating procedures into the severe accident regime; and by the most recent publication of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) considering the question of risk reduction and source term reduction through accident prevention, management and mitigation. The latter document concludes that 'active development of accident management measures by plant personnel can lead to very large reductions in source terms and risk', and goes further in considering and formulating the key issue: 'The most fruitful path to follow in reducing risk even further is through the planning of accident management.' (author)

  14. Management of severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jankowski, M.W.

    1988-01-01

    The definition and the multidimensionality aspects of accident management have been reviewed. The suggested elements in the development of a programme for severe accident management have been identified and discussed. The strategies concentrate on the two tiered approaches. Operative management utilizes the plant's equipment and operators capabilities. The recovery management concentrates on preserving the containment, or delaying its failure, inhibiting the release, and on strategies once there has been a release. The inspiration for this paper was an excellent overview report on perspectives on managing severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants and extending plant operating procedures into the severe accident regime; and by the most recent publication of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) considering the question of risk reduction and source term reduction through accident prevention, management and mitigation. The latter document concludes that active development of accident management measures by plant personnel can lead to very large reductions in source terms and risk, and goes further in considering and formulating the key issue: The most fruitful path to follow in reducing risk even further is through the planning of accident management

  15. Radiological Consequence Analyses Following a Hypothetical Severe Accident in Japan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Juyub; Kim, Juyoul [FNC Technology Co., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    In order to reflect the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, a simulator which is named NANAS (Northeast Asia Nuclear Accident Simulator) for overseas nuclear accident has been developed. It is composed of three modules: source-term estimation, atmospheric dispersion prediction and dose assessment. For the source-term estimation module, the representative reactor types were selected as CPR1000, BWR5 and BWR6 for China, Japan and Taiwan, respectively. Considering the design characteristics of each reactor type, the source-term estimation module simulates the transient of design basis accident and severe accident. The atmospheric dispersion prediction module analyzes the transport and dispersion of radioactive materials and prints out the air and ground concentration. Using the concentration result, the dose assessment module calculates effective dose and thyroid dose in the Korean Peninsula region. In this study, a hypothetical severe accident in Japan was simulated to demonstrate the function of NANAS. As a result, the radiological consequence to Korea was estimated from the accident. PC-based nuclear accident simulator, NANAS, has been developed. NANAS contains three modules: source-term estimation, atmospheric dispersion prediction and dose assessment. The source-term estimation module simulates a nuclear accident for the representative reactor types in China, Japan and Taiwan. Since the maximum calculation speed is 16 times than real time, it is possible to estimate the source-term release swiftly in case of the emergency. The atmospheric dispersion prediction module analyzes the transport and dispersion of radioactive materials in wide range including the Northeast Asia. Final results of the dose assessment module are a map projection and time chart of effective dose and thyroid dose. A hypothetical accident in Japan was simulated by NANAS. The radioactive materials were released during the first 24 hours and the source-term

  16. RBMK-1500 accident management for loss of long-term core cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uspuras, E.; Kaliatka, A.

    2001-01-01

    Results of the Level 1 probabilistic safety assessment of the Ignalina NPP has shown that in topography of the risk, transients dominate above the accidents with LOCAs and failure of the core long-term cooling are the main factors to frequency of the core damage. Previous analyses have shown, that after initial event, as a rule, the reactivity control, as well as short-term and intermediate cooling are provided. However, the acceptance criteria of the long-term cooling are not always carried out. It means that from this point of view the most dangerous accident scenarios are the scenarios related to loss of the core long-term cooling. On the other hand, the transition to the core condition due to loss of the long-term cooling specifies potential opportunities for the management of the accident consequences. Hence, accident management for the mitigation of the accident consequences should be considered and developed. The most likely initiating event, which probably leads to the loss of long term cooling accident, is station blackout. The station blackout is the loss of normal electrical power supply for local needs with an additional failure on start-up of all diesel generators. In the case of loss of electrical power supply MCPs, the circulating pumps of the service water system and MFWPs are switched-off. At the same time, TCV of both turbines are closed. Failure of diesel generators leads to the non-operability of the ECCS long-term cooling subsystem. It means the impossibility to feed MCC by water. The analysis of the station blackout for Ignalina NPP was performed using RELAP5 code. (author)

  17. Study of source term evaluation from fuel solution under simulated nuclear criticality accident in TRACY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Hitoshi; Tashiro, Shinsuke; Nagai, Hitoshi; Koike, Tadao; Okagawa, Seigo; Murata, Mikio

    1999-01-01

    In a accident at the dissolver in a reprocessing plant, various fission products and radiolysis gases will be produced in the fuel solution and volatile radioactive nuclides and radiolysis gases and nitrogen oxide will be released into vent-gas spontaneously. Moreover other on-volatile nuclide will be releases as radioactive aerosol (mist) with bursting bubbles at surface of the solution. Therefore quantitative estimation of release and transport behavior of the radioactive material from solution as source term is very important. TRACY is a transient criticality experimental facility for studying the transient criticality characteristics of low enriched uranium. In this paper, experiment methods and results about the release behavior of the hydrogen, radioactive aerosol and iodine species from the fuel solutions are reported. As the results of the experiments, release patterns of H 2 , 140 Ba and 131 I could be grasped. Concentrations of H 2 in the vent-gas and 140 Ba in the gas phase in the core tank attained to the peak just after the transient criticality and decreased exponentially with time. On the other hand, concentrations of 131 I in the gas phase of the tank began to increase with a time lag of several minutes from the transient criticality and attained approximately constant values. (J.P.N.)

  18. Definition of loss-of-coolant accident radiation source. [PWR; BWR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1978-02-01

    Meaningful qualification testing of nuclear reactor components requires a knowledge of the radiation fields expected in a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). The overall objective of this program is to define the LOCA source terms and compare these with the output of various simulators employed for radiation qualification testing. The basis for comparison will be the energy deposition in a model reactor component. The results of the calculations are presented and some interpretation of the results given. The energy release rates and spectra were validated by comparison with other calculations using different codes since experimental data appropriate to these calculations do not exist.

  19. Radiological and chemical source terms for Solid Waste Operations Complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boothe, G.F.

    1994-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to describe the radiological and chemical source terms for the major projects of the Solid Waste Operations Complex (SWOC), including Project W-112, Project W-133 and Project W-100 (WRAP 2A). For purposes of this document, the term ''source term'' means the design basis inventory. All of the SWOC source terms involve the estimation of the radiological and chemical contents of various waste packages from different waste streams, and the inventories of these packages within facilities or within a scope of operations. The composition of some of the waste is not known precisely; consequently, conservative assumptions were made to ensure that the source term represents a bounding case (i.e., it is expected that the source term would not be exceeded). As better information is obtained on the radiological and chemical contents of waste packages and more accurate facility specific models are developed, this document should be revised as appropriate. Radiological source terms are needed to perform shielding and external dose calculations, to estimate routine airborne releases, to perform release calculations and dose estimates for safety documentation, to calculate the maximum possible fire loss and specific source terms for individual fire areas, etc. Chemical source terms (i.e., inventories of combustible, flammable, explosive or hazardous chemicals) are used to determine combustible loading, fire protection requirements, personnel exposures to hazardous chemicals from routine and accident conditions, and a wide variety of other safety and environmental requirements

  20. Recent advances in the source term area within the SARNET European severe accident research network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz, L.E.; Haste, T.; Kärkelä, T.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Main achievements of source term research in SARNET are given. • Emphasis on the radiologically important iodine and ruthenium fission products. • Conclusions on FP release, transport in the RCS and containment behaviour. • Significance of large-scale integral experiments to validate the analyses used. • A thorough list of the most recent references on source term research results. - Abstract: Source Term has been one of the main research areas addressed within the SARNET network during the 7th EC Framework Programme of EURATOM. The entire source term domain was split into three major areas: oxidising impact on source term, iodine chemistry in the reactor coolant system and containment and data and code assessment. The present paper synthesises the main technical outcome stemming from the SARNET FWP7 project in the area of source term and includes an extensive list of references in which deeper insights on specific issues may be found. Besides, based on the analysis of the current state of the art, an outlook of future source term research is outlined, where major changes in research environment are discussed (i.e., the end of the Phébus FP project; the end of the SARNET projects; and the launch of HORIZON 2020). Most probably research projects will be streamlined towards: release and transport under oxidising conditions, containment chemistry, existing and innovative filtered venting systems and others. These will be in addition to a number of projects that have been completed or are ongoing under different national and international frameworks, like VERDON, CHIP and EPICUR started under the International Source Term Programme (ISTP), the OECD/CSNI programmes BIP, BIP2, STEM, THAI and THAI2, and the French national programme MIRE. The experimental PASSAM project under the 7th EC Framework programme, focused on source term mitigation systems, is highlighted as a good example of a project addressing potential enhancement of safety systems

  1. Recent advances in the source term area within the SARNET European severe accident research network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herranz, L.E., E-mail: luisen.herranz@ciemat.es [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas Medio Ambientales y Tecnologica, CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Haste, T. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, BP 3, F-13115 St Paul lez Durance Cedex (France); Kärkelä, T. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT Espoo (Finland)

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • Main achievements of source term research in SARNET are given. • Emphasis on the radiologically important iodine and ruthenium fission products. • Conclusions on FP release, transport in the RCS and containment behaviour. • Significance of large-scale integral experiments to validate the analyses used. • A thorough list of the most recent references on source term research results. - Abstract: Source Term has been one of the main research areas addressed within the SARNET network during the 7th EC Framework Programme of EURATOM. The entire source term domain was split into three major areas: oxidising impact on source term, iodine chemistry in the reactor coolant system and containment and data and code assessment. The present paper synthesises the main technical outcome stemming from the SARNET FWP7 project in the area of source term and includes an extensive list of references in which deeper insights on specific issues may be found. Besides, based on the analysis of the current state of the art, an outlook of future source term research is outlined, where major changes in research environment are discussed (i.e., the end of the Phébus FP project; the end of the SARNET projects; and the launch of HORIZON 2020). Most probably research projects will be streamlined towards: release and transport under oxidising conditions, containment chemistry, existing and innovative filtered venting systems and others. These will be in addition to a number of projects that have been completed or are ongoing under different national and international frameworks, like VERDON, CHIP and EPICUR started under the International Source Term Programme (ISTP), the OECD/CSNI programmes BIP, BIP2, STEM, THAI and THAI2, and the French national programme MIRE. The experimental PASSAM project under the 7th EC Framework programme, focused on source term mitigation systems, is highlighted as a good example of a project addressing potential enhancement of safety systems

  2. Influence of Chemistry on source term assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz Puebla, L.E.; Lopez Diez, I.; Rodriguez Maroto, J.J.; Martinez Lopez-Alcorocho, A.

    1991-01-01

    The major goal of a phenomenology analysis of containment during a severe accident situation can be splitedd into the following ones: to know the containment response to the different loads and to predict accurately the fission product and aerosol behavior. In this report, the main results coming from the study of a hypothetical accident scenario, based on LA-4 experiment of LACE project, are presented. In order to do it, several codes have been coupled: CONTEMPT4/MOD5 (thermalhydraulics), NAUA/MOD5 (aerosol physics) and IODE (iodine chemistry). 12 refs. It has been demonstrated the impossibility of assessing with confidence the Source Term if the chemical conduct of some radionuclides is not taken into account. In particular, the influence on the iodine retention efficiency of the sump of variables such as pH has been proven. (Author). 12 refs

  3. Review of SFR In-Vessel Radiological Source Term Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suk, Soo Dong; Lee, Yong Bum

    2008-10-01

    An effort has been made in this study to search for and review the literatures in public domain on the studies of the phenomena related to the release of radionuclides and aerosols to the reactor containment of the sodium fast reactor (SFR) plants (i.e., in-vessel source term), made in Japan and Europe including France, Germany and UK over the last few decades. Review work is focused on the experimental programs to investigate the phenomena related to determining the source terms, with a brief review on supporting analytical models and computer programs. In this report, the research programs conducted to investigate the CDA (core disruptive accident) bubble behavior in the sodium pool for determining 'primary' or 'instantaneous' source term are first introduced. The studies performed to determine 'delayed source term' are then described, including the various stages of phenomena and processes: fission product (FP) release from fuel , evaporation release from the surface of the pool, iodine mass transfer from fission gas bubble, FP deposition , and aerosol release from core-concrete interaction. The research programs to investigate the release and transport of FPs and aerosols in the reactor containment (i.e., in-containment source term) are not described in this report

  4. Development of Reference Source Terms for EU-APR1400

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, ByungIl; Lee, Chonghui; Lee, Dongsu; Ko, Heejin; Kang, Sangho [KEPCO Engineering and Construction Co. Inc., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    These source terms are developed for the typical U. S. NPP and do not reflect the design characteristics of EU-APR1400 (1,400 MWe PWR) which will be applied for the EUR certification in European countries. The process of developing the RST for EU-APR1400 is to undergo a similar process that NUREG-1465 had gone through when it came out with its proposed source terms. The purpose of this study is to develop the EU-APR1400 design-specific RST complied with the EUR. The Large LOCA is the reference equence used in the NUREG-1465 evaluation, whereas the EUAPR1400 risk-significant sequences are dominated by small LOCA and non-LOCA sequences. Moreover, when considering the EU-APR1400 has many design features to mitigate the consequences of severe accident phenomena, it is not surprising that the aspects of both release fractions and durations are distinctly different from NUREG-1465. This RST will be continuously updated to reflect to the design features of EU-APR1400, and then, be used as the reference for design purposes such as criteria satisfaction of radioactivity releases, equipment survivability, control room habitability for severe accident, and so on.

  5. A proposal for accident management optimization based on the study of accident sequence analysis for a BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobajima, M.

    1998-01-01

    The paper describes a proposal for accident management optimization based on the study of accident sequence and source term analyses for a BWR. In Japan, accident management measures are to be implemented in all LWRs by the year 2000 in accordance with the recommendation of the regulatory organization and based on the PSAs carried out by the utilities. Source terms were evaluated by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) with the THALES code for all BWR sequences in which loss of decay heat removal resulted in the largest release. Identification of the priority and importance of accident management measures was carried out for the sequences with larger risk contributions. Considerations for optimizing emergency operation guides are believed to be essential for risk reduction. (author)

  6. Application of RASCAL code for multiunit accident in domestic nuclear sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Sang Hyun; Jeong, Seung Young [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-10-15

    All of domestic nuclear power plant sites are multiunit site (at least 5 - 6 reactors are operating), so this capability has to be quickly secured for nuclear licensee and institutes responsible for nuclear emergency response. In this study, source term and offsite dose from multiunit event were assessed using a computer code, RASCAL. An emergency exercise scenario was chosen to verify applicability of the codes to domestic nuclear site accident. Employing tools and new features of the code, such as merging more than two individual source terms and source term estimate for long term progression accident, main parameters and information in the scenario, release estimates and dose projections were performed. Radiological releases and offsite doses from multiunit accident were calculated using RASCAL.. A scenario, in which three reactors were damaged coincidently by a great natural disaster, was considered. Surrogate plants were chosen for the code calculation. Source terms of each damaged unit were calculated individually first, and then total source term and integrated offsite dose assessment data was acquired using a source term merge function in the code. Also comparison between LTSBO and LOCA source term estimate options was performed. Differences in offsite doses were caused by release characteristics. From LTSBO option, iodines were released much higher than LOCA. Also LTSBO source term release was delayed and the duration was longer than LOCA. This option would be useful to accidents which progress with much longer time frame than LOCA. RASCAL can be useful tool for radiological consequence assessment in domestic nuclear site accidents.

  7. The severe accidents and source term problems approach in France

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bussac, J.; Cogne, F.; Pelce, J.

    1986-01-01

    The French methodology described in this report aims at providing operators with a comprehensive body which should enable them to tackle any situation or type of accident whose occurrence does not appear to be physically unconceivable. It is no longer considered that the early failure of the containment can result from a conceivable accidental sequence and is therefore no longer taken into consideration, except, however, when examining and selecting the site criteria. Prevention measures and relatively inexpensive remedies allow a substantial reduction in the probability of core melting and, if melting occurs, in the probability of loss of leaktightness and the level of possible releases out of the containment. This implies very special attention to accident management and operators' actions, to which great importance is attached. We must not stop research because of the lack of experimental data concerning problems which have not yet been completely settled and there is a real need for an integral check program for the code systems existing or in development

  8. Reassessment of the technical bases for estimating source terms. Draft report for comment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silberberg, M.; Mitchell, J.A.; Meyer, R.O.; Pasedag, W.F.; Ryder, C.P.; Peabody, C.A.; Jankowski, M.W.

    1985-07-01

    NUREG-0956 describes the NRC staff and contractor efforts to reassess and update the agency's analytical procedures for estimating accident source terms for nuclear power plants. The effort included development of a new source term analytical procedure - a set of computer codes - that is intended to replace the methodology of the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400) and to be used in reassessing the use of TID-14844 assumptions (10 CFR 100). NUREG-0956 describes the development of these codes, the demonstration of the codes to calculate source terms for specific cases, the peer review of this work, some perspectives on the overall impact of new source terms on plant risks, the plans for related research projects, and the conclusions and recommendations resulting from the effort

  9. Effect of Fuel Structure Materials on Radiation Source Term in Reactor Core Meltdown

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Hae Sun; Ha, Kwang Soon

    2014-01-01

    The fission product (Radiation Source) releases from the reactor core into the containment is obligatorily evaluated to guarantee the safety of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) under the hypothetical accident involving a core meltdown. The initial core inventory is used as a starting point of all radiological consequences and effects on the subsequent results of accident assessment. Hence, a proper evaluation for the inventory can be regarded as one of the most important part over the entire procedure of accident analysis. The inventory of fission products is typically evaluated on the basis of the uranium material (e.g., UO2 and USi2) loaded in nuclear fuel assembly, except for the structure materials such as the end fittings, grids, and some kinds of springs. However, the structure materials are continually activated by the neutrons generated from the nuclear fission, and some nuclides of them (e.g., 14 C and 60 Co) can significantly influence on accident assessment. During the severe core accident, the structure components can be also melted with the melting points of temperature relatively lower than uranium material. A series of the calculation were performed by using ORIGEN-S module in SCALE 6.1 package code system. The total activity in each part of structure materials was specifically analyzed from these calculations. The fission product inventory is generally evaluated based on the uranium materials of fuel only, even though the structure components of the assembly are continually activated by the neutrons generated from the nuclear fission. In this study, the activation calculation of the fuel structure materials was performed for the initial source term assessment in the accident of reactor core meltdown. As a result, the lower end fitting and the upper plenum greatly contribute to the total activity except for the cladding material. The nuclides of 56 Mn, '5 1 Cr, 55 Fe, 58 Co, 54 Mn, and 60 Co are analyzed to mainly effect on the activity. This result

  10. Comparative evaluations of surface contamination detectors calibration with radioactive sources - used in the Goiania accident, and standard sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, P.H.B.; Marecha, M.H.H.

    1997-01-01

    The construction of Cs-137 standard flat sources for calibration of surface contamination detectors, used in the Goiania accident in 1987, is described and the procedures adopted are reported. At that time, standard sources were not available. Nowadays the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria has standard sources acquired from Amersham which are used as calibration standards for surface contamination detectors. Comparative evaluations between the standard flat sources constructed for the accident and the calibrated ones are presented

  11. Thermal-hydraulic uncertainties affecting severe accident progression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haskin, F.E.; Behr, V.L.

    1984-01-01

    To provide the proper technical bases for decisions regarding severe accidents, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is sponsoring the following activities: (a) a variety of severe accident research programs, combined under the Severe Accident Research Plan; (b) nationwide task forces on containment loading, containment response, and fission product source terms; (c) a review by the American Physical Society of state-of-the-art methods for calculating radiological source terms; and (d) technical exchange meetings with the Industry Degraded Core (IDCOR) program. One of the means for integrating this developing array of technical information is the Severe Accident Risk Reduction Program (SARRP). One of the current SARRP objectives is to utilize insights gained from the activities listed above to characterize the relative likelihoods of competing containment failure modes for core-melt accidents

  12. An initial assessment of the Chernobyl-4 reactor accident release source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macdonald, H.F.; ApSimon, H.M.; Wilson, J.J.N.

    1986-07-01

    The long-range atmospheric dispersion model MESOS has been used to provide a preliminary evaluation of the effects over Western Europe of radioactivity released during the accident which occurred at the Chernobyl-4 reactor in the USSR in April 1986. The results of this analysis have been compared with observations during the first week or so following the accident of airborne contamination levels at a range of locations across Europe in order to obtain an estimate of accident release source. The work presented here was performed during the 6-8 weeks following the accident and the results obtained will be subject to refinement as more detailed data become available. However, at this early stage they indicate a release source for the Chernobyl accident, expressed as a fraction of the estimated reactor core inventory, of approx. 15-20% of the iodine and caesium isotopes, approx. 1% of the ruthenium and lesser amounts of the other fission products and actinides, together with an implied major fraction of the krypton and xenon noble gases. (author)

  13. A source term and risk calculations using level 2+PSA methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. I.; Jea, M. S.; Jeon, K. D.

    2002-01-01

    The scope of Level 2+ PSA includes the assessment of dose risk which is associated with the exposures of the radioactive nuclides escaping from nuclear power plants during severe accidents. The establishment of data base for the exposure dose in Korea nuclear power plants may contribute to preparing the accident management programs and periodic safety reviews. In this study the ORIGEN, MELCOR and MACCS code were employed to produce a integrated framework to assess the radiation source term risk. The framework was applied to a reference plant. Using IPE results, the dose rate for the reference plant was calculated quantitatively

  14. Influence of iodine chemistry on source term assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz Puebla, L. E.; Lopez Diez, I.; Rodriguez Maroto, J. J.; Martinez Lopez-Alcorocho, A.

    1991-01-01

    The major goal of a phenomenology analysis of containment during a severe accident situation can be spitted into the following ones: to know the containment response to the different loads and to predict accurately the fission product and aerosol behavior. In this report, the main results coming from the study of a hypothetical accident scenario, based on LA-4 experiment of LACE project, are presented. In order to do it, several codes have been coupled: CONTEMPT4/MOD5 (thermohydraulics), NAUA/MOD5 (aerosol physics) and IODE (iodine chemistry). It has been demonstrated the impossibility of assessing with confidence the Source Term if the chemical conduct of some radionuclides is not taken into account. In particular, the influence on the iodine retention efficiency of the sump of variables such as pH has been proven. (Author)12 refs

  15. A nuclear source term analysis for spacecraft power systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCulloch, W.H.

    1998-01-01

    All US space missions involving on board nuclear material must be approved by the Office of the President. To be approved the mission and the hardware systems must undergo evaluations of the associated nuclear health and safety risk. One part of these evaluations is the characterization of the source terms, i.e., the estimate of the amount, physical form, and location of nuclear material, which might be released into the environment in the event of credible accidents. This paper presents a brief overview of the source term analysis by the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel for the NASA Cassini Space Mission launched in October 1997. Included is a description of the Energy Interaction Model, an innovative approach to the analysis of potential releases from high velocity impacts resulting from launch aborts and reentries

  16. Radioiodine source term and its potential impact on the use of potassium iodide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinauskas, A.P.

    1982-01-01

    Information is presented concerning chemical forms of fission product iodine in the primary circuit; chemical forms of fission product iodine in the containment building; summary of iodine chemistry in light water reactor accidents; and impact of the radiodine source term on the potassium iodide issue

  17. Proposal for implementation of alternative source term in the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazan L, A.; Lopez L, M.; Vargas A, A.; Cardenas J, J. B.

    2009-10-01

    In 2010 the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde will implement the extended power upbeat in both units of the plant. Agree with methodology of NEDC-33004P-A, (constant pressure power up rate), and the source term of core, for accidents evaluations, were increased in proportion to the ratio of power level. This means that for the case of a design basis accident of loss of coolant an increase of power of 15% originated an increase of 15% in dose to main control room. Using the method of NEDC-33004P-A to extended power upbeat conditions was determined that the dose value to main control room is very near to regulatory limit established by SRP 6.4. By the above and in order to recover the margin, the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde will calculate an alternative source term following the criteria established in RG 1.183 (alternative radiological source term for evaluating DBA at nuclear power reactor). This approach also have a more realistic dose value using the criterion of 10-CFR-50.67, in addition is predicted to get the benefit of additional operational flexibilities. This paper present the proposal of implementing the alternative source term in Laguna Verde. (Author)

  18. Evaluation of applicability of alternative source terms to operating nuclear power plants in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, S. N.; Park, Y. S.; Nam, K. M.; Song, D. B.; Bae, Y. J.; Lee, Y. J.; Jung, C. Y.

    2002-01-01

    In 1995 and 2000, NRC issued NUREG-1465 and Regulatory Guide 1.183 with respect to Alternative Source Terms(AST) replacing the existing source terms of TID-14844 and Regulatory Guide 1.4, 1.25, and 1.77 for radiological Design Basis Accidents(DBA) analysis. In 1990, ICRP published ICRP Pub. 60 which represents new recommendations on dose criteria and concepts. In Korea, alternative source terms were used for evaluation of effective doses for design basis accidents of Advanced Power Reactor(APR1400) using the computer program developed by an overseas company. Recently, DBADOSE, new computer program for DBA analysis incorporating AST and effective dose concept was developed by KHNP and KOPEC, and reanalysis applying AST to operating nuclear power plants, Kori units 3 and 4 in Korea using DBADOSE has been performed. As the results of this analysis, it was concluded that some conservative variables or operation procedures of operating plants could be mitigated or simplified by virtue of increased safety margin and consequently, economical and operational benefits ensue. In this paper, methodologies and results of Kori 3 and 4 DBA reanalysis and sensitivity analysis for mitigation of main design variables are introduced

  19. Noticeable aspects of selecting intervention measures for nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Yong; Shi Yuanming

    1993-01-01

    Referring to the experience of intervention measures taken for protecting the public after Chernobyl accident and to recent knowledge of source terms of reactor accidents, the noticeable aspects of selecting of intervention measures for nuclear accidents is discussed

  20. Added Value of uncertainty Estimates of SOurce term and Meteorology (AVESOME)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Havskov; Schönfeldt, Fredrik; Sigg, Robert

    In the early phase of a nuclear accident, two large sources of uncertainty exist: one related to the source term and one associated with the meteorological data. Operational methods are being developed in AVESOME for quantitative estimation of uncertainties in atmospheric dispersion prediction.......g. at national meteorological services, the proposed methodology is feasible for real-time use, thereby adding value to decision support. In the recent NKS-B projects MUD, FAUNA and MESO, the implications of meteorological uncertainties for nuclear emergency preparedness and management have been studied...... uncertainty in atmospheric dispersion model forecasting stemming from both the source term and the meteorological data is examined. Ways to implement the uncertainties of forecasting in DSSs, and the impacts on real-time emergency management are described. The proposed methodology allows for efficient real...

  1. Release of fission products during controlled loss-of-coolant accidents and hypothetical core meltdown accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albrecht, H.; Malinauskas, A.P.

    1978-01-01

    A few years ago the Projekt Nukleare Sicherheit joined the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the development of a research program which was designed to investigate fission product release from light water reactor fuel under conditions ranging from spent fuel shipping cask accidents to core meltdown accidents. Three laboratories have been involved in this cooperative effort. At Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the research effort has focused on noble gas fission product release, whereas at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and at Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (KfK), the studies have emphasized the release of species other than the noble gases. In addition, the ORNL program has been directed toward the development of fission product source terms applicable to analyses of spent fuel shipping cask accidents and controlled loss-of-coolant accidents, and the KfK program has been aimed at providing similar source terms which are characteristic of core meltdown accidents. The ORNL results are presented for fission product release from defected fuel rods into a steam atmosphere over the temperature range 500 to 1200 0 C, and the KfK results for release during core meltdown sequences

  2. [Fatal occupational accidents: estimates based on more data sources].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldasseroni, A; Chellini, E; Zoppi, O; Giovannetti, L

    2001-01-01

    The data reported by INAIL (Istituto Nazionale Assicurazione Infortuni sul Lavoro) on fatal occupational injuries have always been considered complete and reliable. The authors of this article verified the completeness of this information source crossing it with data bases existing in different registration systems (Regional Mortality Registry of Tuscany--RMR; registers and data of the Operative Units of Prevention, Hygiene and Safety in the Workplace--UOPISLL) for the period between 1992 and 1996. In the five years concerned, a total of 458 cases were reported. These cases could be considered fatal injuries at work without taking into account traffic accidents, which were not included in the present study. The results show that the most complete information source was RMR, reporting 80% of the total data, while INAIL reports only 62.2% of the total cases. On the contrary, the UOPISLL source is the least reliable. Using the capture/recapture method, the estimate of events in the period concerned (1992-1996) amounts to nearly 500 (499.8 LC 475.9-523.7), while the three sources systematically explored for the whole period (INAIL, RMR, UOSPILL) report 458 cases. An additional information source, the daily press, which could be systematically tested only two months for each of the five years, reports 10 additional cases, which were ignored by the 3 other sources, indirectly confirming in this way how reliable the performed estimate was. The main cases among the 157 fatal accidents reported by RMR, but not by INAIL, occurred among farmers (70), most of them already retired, but there were several fatal accidents reported in the construction sector (30). Other categories were included only in the RMR data because, in the period concerned, they were not covered by INAIL insurance (18 cases in the Army and Police, 7 on the railways). The survey that was carried out confirms the essential importance of INAIL data for the surveillance system applied to this phenomenon. This

  3. Running the source term code package in Elebra MX-850

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guimaraes, A.C.F.; Goes, A.G.A.

    1988-01-01

    The source term package (STCP) is one of the main tools applied in calculations of behavior of fission products from nuclear power plants. It is a set of computer codes to assist the calculations of the radioactive materials leaving from the metallic containment of power reactors to the environment during a severe reactor accident. The original version of STCP runs in SDC computer systems, but as it has been written in FORTRAN 77, is possible run it in others systems such as IBM, Burroughs, Elebra, etc. The Elebra MX-8500 version of STCP contains 5 codes:March 3, Trapmelt, Tcca, Vanessa and Nava. The example presented in this report has taken into consideration a small LOCA accident into a PWR type reactor. (M.I.)

  4. The radiological accident in Cochabamba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-07-01

    In April 2002 an accident involving an industrial radiography source containing 192 Ir occurred in Cochabamba, Bolivia, some 400 km from the capital, La Paz. A faulty radiography source container had been sent back to the headquarters of the company concerned in La Paz together with other equipment as cargo on a passenger bus. This gave rise to a potential for serious exposure for the bus passengers as well as for the company employees who were using and transporting the source. The Government of Bolivia requested the assistance of the IAEA under the terms of the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. The IAEA in response assembled and sent to Bolivia a team composed of senior radiation safety experts and radiation pathology experts from Brazil, the United Kingdom and the IAEA to investigate the accident. The IAEA is grateful to the Government of Bolivia for the opportunity to report on this accident in order to disseminate the valuable lessons learned and help prevent similar accidents in the future

  5. Emergency preparedness source term development for the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards-Licensed Facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutter, S.L.; Mishima, J.; Ballinger, M.Y.; Lindsey, C.G.

    1984-08-01

    In order to establish requirements for emergency preparedness plans at facilities licensed by the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) needs to develop source terms (the amount of material made airborne) in accidents. These source terms are used to estimate the potential public doses from the events, which, in turn, will be used to judge whether emergency preparedness plans are needed for a particular type of facility. Pacific Northwest Laboratory is providing the NRC with source terms by developing several accident scenarios for eleven types of fuel cycle and by-product operations. Several scenarios are developed for each operation, leading to the identification of the maximum release considered for emergency preparedness planning (MREPP) scenario. The MREPP scenarios postulated were of three types: fire, tornado, and criticality. Fire was significant at oxide fuel fabrication, UF 6 production, radiopharmaceutical manufacturing, radiopharmacy, sealed source manufacturing, waste warehousing, and university research and development facilities. Tornadoes were MREPP events for uranium mills and plutonium contaminated facilities, and criticalities were significant at nonoxide fuel fabrication and nuclear research and development facilities. Techniques for adjusting the MREPP release to different facilities are also described

  6. Use of source term code package in the ELEBRA MX-850 system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guimaraes, A.C.F.; Goes, A.G.A.

    1988-12-01

    The implantation of source term code package in the ELEBRA-MX850 system is presented. The source term is formed when radioactive materials generated in nuclear fuel leakage toward containment and the external environment to reactor containment. The implantated version in the ELEBRA system are composed of five codes: MARCH 3, TRAPMELT 3, THCCA, VANESA and NAVA. The original example case was used. The example consists of a small loca accident in a PWR type reactor. A sensitivity study for the TRAPMELT 3 code was carried out, modifying the 'TIME STEP' to estimate the processing time of CPU for executing the original example case. (M.C.K.) [pt

  7. The Fukushima releases: an inverse modelling approach to assess the source term by using gamma dose rate observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunier, Olivier; Mathieu, Anne; Didier, Damien; Tombette, Marilyne; Quélo, Denis; Winiarek, Victor; Bocquet, Marc

    2013-04-01

    The Chernobyl nuclear accident and more recently the Fukushima accident highlighted that the largest source of error on consequences assessment is the source term estimation including the time evolution of the release rate and its distribution between radioisotopes. Inverse modelling methods have proved to be efficient to assess the source term due to accidental situation (Gudiksen, 1989, Krysta and Bocquet, 2007, Stohl et al 2011, Winiarek et al 2012). These methods combine environmental measurements and atmospheric dispersion models. They have been recently applied to the Fukushima accident. Most existing approaches are designed to use air sampling measurements (Winiarek et al, 2012) and some of them use also deposition measurements (Stohl et al, 2012, Winiarek et al, 2013). During the Fukushima accident, such measurements are far less numerous and not as well distributed within Japan than the dose rate measurements. To efficiently document the evolution of the contamination, gamma dose rate measurements were numerous, well distributed within Japan and they offered a high temporal frequency. However, dose rate data are not as easy to use as air sampling measurements and until now they were not used in inverse modelling approach. Indeed, dose rate data results from all the gamma emitters present in the ground and in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the receptor. They do not allow one to determine the isotopic composition or to distinguish the plume contribution from wet deposition. The presented approach proposes a way to use dose rate measurement in inverse modeling approach without the need of a-priori information on emissions. The method proved to be efficient and reliable when applied on the Fukushima accident. The emissions for the 8 main isotopes Xe-133, Cs-134, Cs-136, Cs-137, Ba-137m, I-131, I-132 and Te-132 have been assessed. The Daiichi power plant events (such as ventings, explosions…) known to have caused atmospheric releases are well identified in

  8. Management for the prevention of accidents from disused sealed radioactive sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-04-01

    The objective of this report is to provide advice to sealed radiation source (SRS) users, radioactive waste operators, and other concerned public sectors on the measures to be taken to reduce the risk of accidents associated with disused or spent SRS. The report also explains policies as well as technical and administrative procedures to minimize the risk of accidents and to mitigate the consequences should an accident occur. The report emphasizes areas of high risk in handling disused or spent SRS in any form and condition to help to save health, life and financial resources

  9. Analysis of the reasons of recently some radioactive source accidents and suggestions for management countermeasures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Yongjie; Feng Youcai; Song Chenxiu; Gao Huibin; Xing Jinsong; Pang Xinxin; Wang Xiaoqing; Wei Hong

    2007-01-01

    The article introduces recently some radioactive source accidents in China, and analyses the reasons of the accidents. Some important issues existed in the process of implementing new regulation were summarized, and some suggestions for managing radioactive sources are made. (authors)

  10. Severe accident considerations for modern KWU-PWR plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eyink, J.

    1987-01-01

    In assumption of severe accident on modern KWU-PWR plants the author discusses on the: selection of core meltdown sequences, course of the accident, containment behaviour and source terms for fission products release to the environment

  11. An analysis of LOCA sequences in the development of severe accident analysis DB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young; Park, Soo Yong; Ahn, Kwang-Il; Kim, D.H.

    2006-01-01

    Although a Level 2 PSA was performed for the Korean Standard Power Plants (KSNPs), and it considered the necessary sequences for an assessment of the containment integrity and source term analysis. In terms of an accident management, however, more cases causing severe core damage need to be analyzed and arranged systematically for an easy access to the results. At present, KAERI is calculating the severe accident sequences intensively for various initiating events and generating a database for the accident progression including thermal hydraulic and source term behaviours. The developed Database (DB) system includes a graphical display for a plant and equipment status, previous research results by knowledge-base technique, and the expected plant behaviour. The plant model used in this paper is oriented to the case of LOCAs related severe accident phenomena and thus can simulate the plant behaviours for a severe accident. Therefore the developed system may play a central role as an information source for decision-making for a severe accident management, and will be used as a training simulator for a severe accident management. (author)

  12. Severe accident sequences simulated at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carbajo, J.J.

    1999-01-01

    Different severe accident sequences employing the MELCOR code, version 1.8.4 QK, have been simulated at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (Grand Gulf). The postulated severe accidents simulated are two low-pressure, short-term, station blackouts; two unmitigated small-break (SB) loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) (SBLOCAs); and one unmitigated large LOCA (LLOCA). The purpose of this study was to calculate best-estimate timings of events and source terms for a wide range of severe accidents and to compare the plant response to these accidents

  13. New source terms: what do they tell us about engineered safety feature performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernero, R.M.

    1985-01-01

    The accident behavior models which are the basis of engineered safety feature design are generally simple, non-mechanistic and concentrated on volatile radioiodine. Now data from source term studies show that models should be more mechanistic and look at other species than volatile iodine. A complete reevaluation of engineered safety features is needed

  14. ITER safety task NID-5a: ITER tritium environmental source terms - safety analysis basis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Natalizio, A.; Kalyanam, K.M.

    1994-09-01

    The Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project's (CFFTP) is part of the contribution to ITER task NID-5a, Initial Tritium Source Term. This safety analysis basis constitutes the first part of the work for establishing tritium source terms and is intended to solicit comments and obtain agreement. The analysis objective is to provide an early estimate of tritium environmental source terms for the events to be analyzed. Events that would result in the loss of tritium are: a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), a vacuum vessel boundary breach. a torus exhaust line failure, a fuelling machine process boundary failure, a fuel processing system process boundary failure, a water detritiation system process boundary failure and an isotope separation system process boundary failure. 9 figs

  15. The development of a realistic source term for sodium-cooled fast reactors : assessment of current status and future needs.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LaChance, Jeffrey L.; Phillips, Jesse; Parma, Edward J., Jr.; Olivier, Tara Jean; Middleton, Bobby D.

    2011-06-01

    Sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) continue to be proposed and designed throughout the United States and the world. Although the number of SFRs actually operating has declined substantially since the 1980s, a significant interest in advancing these types of reactor systems remains. Of the many issues associated with the development and deployment of SFRs, one of high regulatory importance is the source term to be used in the siting of the reactor. A substantial amount of modeling and experimental work has been performed over the past four decades on accident analysis, sodium coolant behavior, and radionuclide release for SFRs. The objective of this report is to aid in determining the gaps and issues related to the development of a realistic, mechanistically derived source term for SFRs. This report will allow the reader to become familiar with the severe accident source term concept and gain a broad understanding of the current status of the models and experimental work. Further, this report will allow insight into future work, in terms of both model development and experimental validation, which is necessary in order to develop a realistic source term for SFRs.

  16. Evaluation to a long term remediation actions after Goiania radiological accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Rio, Monica A. Pires do; Coutinho, Celia M.C.; Acar, Maria E.D.; Romeiro, Carlos H.

    2000-01-01

    Ten years after the Goiania radiological accident, the results obtained by the IRD Environmental Monitoring Program are compared to the values adopted for establishing the intervention levels at the time of the accident occurrence (1987), and to the values of the parameters obtained by European countries, after the Chernobyl accident. Significant differences were observed in parameter values, particularly, those related to a long term prediction of the contamination behaviour in an urban area. This paper shows the importance of the survey for the environmental behaviour of pollutants in tropical climate conditions. (author)

  17. An novel identification method of the environmental risk sources for surface water pollution accidents in chemical industrial parks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Jianfeng; Song, Yonghui; Yuan, Peng; Xiao, Shuhu; Han, Lu

    2013-07-01

    The chemical industry is a major source of various pollution accidents. Improving the management level of risk sources for pollution accidents has become an urgent demand for most industrialized countries. In pollution accidents, the released chemicals harm the receptors to some extent depending on their sensitivity or susceptibility. Therefore, identifying the potential risk sources from such a large number of chemical enterprises has become pressingly urgent. Based on the simulation of the whole accident process, a novel and expandable identification method for risk sources causing water pollution accidents is presented. The newly developed approach, by analyzing and stimulating the whole process of a pollution accident between sources and receptors, can be applied to identify risk sources, especially on the nationwide scale. Three major types of losses, such as social, economic and ecological losses, were normalized, analyzed and used for overall consequence modeling. A specific case study area, located in a chemical industry park (CIP) along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, China, was selected to test the potential of the identification method. The results showed that there were four risk sources for pollution accidents in this CIP. Aniline leakage in the HS Chemical Plant would lead to the most serious impact on the surrounding water environment. This potential accident would severely damage the ecosystem up to 3.8 km downstream of Yangtze River, and lead to pollution over a distance stretching to 73.7 km downstream. The proposed method is easily extended to the nationwide identification of potential risk sources.

  18. Numerical simulation of radioisotope's dependency on containment performance for large dry PWR containment under severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehboob, Khurram; Xinrong, Cao; Ahmed, Raheel; Ali, Majid

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Calculation and comparison of activity of BURN-UP code with ORIGEN2 code. • Development of SASTC computer code. • Radioisotopes dependency on containment ESFs. • Mitigation in atmospheric release with ESFs operation. • Variation in radioisotopes source term with spray flow and pH value. -- Abstract: During the core melt accidents large amount of fission products can be released into the containment building. These fission products escape into the environment to contribute in accident source term. The mitigation in environmental release is demanded for such radiological consequences. Thus, countermeasures to source term, mitigations of release of radioactivity have been studied for 1000 MWe PWR reactor. The procedure of study is divided into five steps: (1) calculation and verification of core inventory, evaluated by BURN-UP code, (2) containment modeling based on radioactivity removal factors, (3) selection of potential accidents initiates the severe accident, (4) calculation of release of radioactivity, (5) study the dependency of release of radioactivity on containment engineering safety features (ESFs) inducing mitigation. Loss of coolant accident (LOCA), small break LOCA and flow blockage accidents (FBA) are selected as initiating accidents. The mitigation effect of ESFs on source term has been studied against ESFs performance. Parametric study of release of radioactivity has been carried out by modeling and simulating the containment parameters in MATLAB, which takes BURN-UP outcomes as input along with the probabilistic data. The dependency of iodine and aerosol source term on boric and caustic acid spray has been determined. The variation in source term mitigation with the variation of containment spray flow rate and pH values have been studied. The variation in containment retention factor (CRF) has also been studied with the ESF performance. A rapid decrease in source term is observed with the increase in pH value

  19. Agricultural production as a source of irradiation of populations in radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexakhin, R.M.

    2000-01-01

    Radioactive contamination of the agricultural production sphere in case of a radiation accident with radionuclide release is one of the most important sources of additional irradiation for population. As a result, realisation of the measures for mitigating the consequences of the accident in agro-industrial complex assumes the leading role in total system of measures providing radiation safety. The possibility to obtain agricultural production meeting the radiological standards is one of the main indications of effectiveness of liquidation of the accident consequences. First, obtaining of agricultural production meeting the radiological standards provides decreasing of the total radiation dose. The evidence is obtained in the 8-year experience of liquidation of the Chernobyl NPP accident that the 70% decrease of the internal dose for population became possible through a complex of protection measures in agriculture (during the first year after the accident, the contribution of internal dose into the total one amounted to 45%, and that of external irradiation - 52%; for the 70-year period these values are 39% and 60%, respectively). Second, the possibility to obtain 'pure' agricultural production is one of the most important factors of psychological stability for population. Third, obtaining of consumable (as to radionuclide content) agricultural production in private small holdings is one of the guarantees of stability of demographic sector in the accident-affected zone. From the point of view of organization of agricultural production in liquidation of the consequences of accidents with radioactive releases into environment, some periods can be distinguished: (i) the first (early) period takes 10-12 days after the accident. The main measures in the field of agricultural production are in operative assessment of the radiological situation, organization of radiation survey, express classification of agricultural products ready to consumption. If radionuclide content

  20. Perspectives on source terms based on early research and development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pressesky, A.J.

    1985-07-01

    This report presents an overview of the key documentation of the research and development programs relevant to the source term issue which were undertaken by the Atomic Energy Commission between 1950 and 1970. The source term is taken to be the amount, composition (physical and chemical), and timing of the projected release of radioactivity to the environment in the hypothetical event of a severe reactor accident in a light water reactor of the type currently being licensed, built and operated. The objective is to illuminate and provide perspectives on (a) the maturity of the technical data base and the analytical methodology, (b) the extent to which remaining conservatisms can be applied to compensate for uncertainties, (c) the purpose for which the technology and methodology will be used, and (d) the need to keep problems and uncertainties in proper perspective. Comments that can provide some context for the difficult programmatic choices to be made are included, and technical considerations that may be inadequately applied or neglected in some current source term calculations were studied. This review has not uncovered any significant technical considerations that have been omitted or are being inadequately treated in current source term analyses, except perhaps the contribution made to in-containment aerosols by coolant comminution upon escape at pressure from the reactor coolant system. 11 refs

  1. An improvement of estimation method of source term to the environment for interfacing system LOCA for typical PWR using MELCOR code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Seok Jung; Kim, Tae Woon; Ahn, Kwang Il [Risk and Environmental Safety Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-06-15

    Interfacing-system loss-of-coolant-accident (ISLOCA) has been identified as the most hazardous accident scenario in the typical PWR plants. The present study as an effort to improve the knowledge of the source term to the environment during ISLOCA focuses on an improvement of the estimation method. The improvement was performed to take into account an effect of broken pipeline and auxiliary building structures relevant to ISLOCA. An estimation of the source term to the environment was for the OPR-1000 plants by MELOCR code version 1.8.6. The key features of the source term showed that the massive amount of fission products departed from the beginning of core degradation to the vessel breach. The release amount of fission products may be affected by the broken pipeline and the auxiliary building structure associated with release pathway.

  2. Source Term Analysis for the Nuclear Power Station Goesgen-Daeniken; Quelltermanalysen fuer das Kernkraftwerk Goesgen-Daeniken

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosemann, J.P.; Megaritis, G.; Guentay, S.; Hirschmann, H.; Luebbesmeyer, D.; Lieber, K.; Jaeckel, B.; Birchley, J.; Duijvestijn, G

    2001-08-01

    Analyses are performed for three accident scenarios postulated to occur in the Goesgen Nuclear Power Plant, a 900 MWe Pressurised Water Reactor of Siemens design. The scenarios investigated comprise a Station Blackout and two separate cases of small break loss-of-coolant accident which lead, respectively, to high, intermediate and low pressure conditions in the reactor system. In each case the accident assumptions are highly pessimistic, so that the sequences span a large range of plant states and a damage phenomena. Thus the plant is evaluated for a diversity of potential safety challenges. A suite of analysis tools are used to examine the reactor coolant system response, the core heat-up, melting, fission product release from the reactor system, the transport and chemical behaviour of those fission products in the containment building, and the release of radioactivity (source term) to the environment. Comparison with reference values used by the licensing authority shows that the use of modern analysis tools and current knowledge can provide substantial reduction in the estimated source term. Of particular interest are insights gained from the analyses which indicate opportunities for operators to reduce or forestall the release. (author)

  3. Long term radiocesium contamination of fruit trees following the Chernobyl accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonopoulos-Domis, M; Clouvas, A; Gagianas, A

    1996-12-01

    Radiocesium contamination from the Chernobyl accident of fruits and leaves from various fruit trees was systematically studied from 1990 to 1995 on two agricultural experimentation farms in Northern Greece. The results are discussed in the framework of a previously published model describing the long-term radiocesium contamination mechanism of deciduous fruit trees after a nuclear accident. The results of the present work qualitatively verify the model predictions.

  4. The effect of gamma-ray transport on afterheat calculations for accident analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes, S.; Latkowski, J.F.; Sanz, J.

    2000-01-01

    Radioactive afterheat is an important source term for the release of radionuclides in fusion systems under accident conditions. Heat transfer calculations are used to determine time-temperature histories in regions of interest, but the true source term needs to be the effective afterheat, which considers the transport of penetrating gamma rays. Without consideration of photon transport, accident temperatures may be overestimated in others. The importance of this effect is demonstrated for a simple, one-dimensional problem. The significance of this effect depends strongly on the accident scenario being analyzed

  5. Radiological consequence evaluation of DBAs with alternative source term method for a Chinese PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, J.X.; Cao, X.W.; Tong, L.L.; Huang, G.F.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Radiological consequence evaluation of DBAs with alternative source term method for a Chinese 900 MWe PWR has been investigated. ► Six typical DBA sequences are analyzed. ► The doses of control room, EAB and outer boundary of LPZ are acceptable. ► The differences between AST method and TID-14844 method are investigated. - Abstract: Since a large amount of fission products may releases into the environment, during the accident progression in nuclear power plants (NPPs), which is a potential hazard to public risk, the radiological consequence should be evaluated for alleviating the hazard. In most Chinese NPPs the method of TID-14844, in which the whole body and thyroid dose criteria is employed as dose criteria, is currently adopted to evaluate the radiological consequences for design-basis accidents (DBAs), but, due to the total effective dose equivalent is employed as dose criteria in alternative radiological source terms (AST) method, it is necessary to evaluate the radiological consequences for DBAs with AST method and to discuss the difference between two methods. By using an integral safety analysis code, an analytical model of the 900 MWe pressurized water reactor (PWR) is built and the radiological consequences in DBAs at control room (CR), exclusion area boundary (EAB), low population zone (LPZ) are analyzed, which includes LOCA and non-LOCA DBAs, such as fuel handling accident (FHA), rod ejection accident (REA), main steam line break (MSLB), steam generator tube rupture (SGTR), locked rotor accident (LRA) by using the guidance of the RG 1.183. The results show that the doses in CR, EAB and LPZ are acceptable compared with dose criteria in RG 1.183 and the differences between AST method and TID-14844 method are also discussed.

  6. Consequence analysis of core damage states following severe accidents for the CANDU reactor design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahba, N.N.; Kim, Y.T.; Lie, S.G.

    1997-01-01

    The analytical methodology used to evaluate severe accident sequences is described. The relevant thermal-mechanical phenomena and the mathematical approach used in calculating the timing of the accident progression and source term estimate are summarized. The postulated sever accidents analyzed, in general, mainly differ in the timing to reach and progress through each defined c ore damage state . This paper presents the methodology and results of the timing and steam discharge calculations as well as source term estimate out of containment for accident sequences classified as potentially leading to core disassembly following a small break loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenario as a specific example. (author)

  7. Regulatory Technology Development Plan - Sodium Fast Reactor. Mechanistic Source Term - Metal Fuel Radionuclide Release

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grabaskas, David; Bucknor, Matthew; Jerden, James

    2016-01-01

    The development of an accurate and defensible mechanistic source term will be vital for the future licensing efforts of metal fuel, pool-type sodium fast reactors. To assist in the creation of a comprehensive mechanistic source term, the current effort sought to estimate the release fraction of radionuclides from metal fuel pins to the primary sodium coolant during fuel pin failures at a variety of temperature conditions. These release estimates were based on the findings of an extensive literature search, which reviewed past experimentation and reactor fuel damage accidents. Data sources for each radionuclide of interest were reviewed to establish release fractions, along with possible release dependencies, and the corresponding uncertainty levels. Although the current knowledge base is substantial, and radionuclide release fractions were established for the elements deemed important for the determination of offsite consequences following a reactor accident, gaps were found pertaining to several radionuclides. First, there is uncertainty regarding the transport behavior of several radionuclides (iodine, barium, strontium, tellurium, and europium) during metal fuel irradiation to high burnup levels. The migration of these radionuclides within the fuel matrix and bond sodium region can greatly affect their release during pin failure incidents. Post-irradiation examination of existing high burnup metal fuel can likely resolve this knowledge gap. Second, data regarding the radionuclide release from molten high burnup metal fuel in sodium is sparse, which makes the assessment of radionuclide release from fuel melting accidents at high fuel burnup levels difficult. This gap could be addressed through fuel melting experimentation with samples from the existing high burnup metal fuel inventory.

  8. Regulatory Technology Development Plan - Sodium Fast Reactor. Mechanistic Source Term - Metal Fuel Radionuclide Release

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grabaskas, David [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bucknor, Matthew [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Jerden, James [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2016-02-01

    The development of an accurate and defensible mechanistic source term will be vital for the future licensing efforts of metal fuel, pool-type sodium fast reactors. To assist in the creation of a comprehensive mechanistic source term, the current effort sought to estimate the release fraction of radionuclides from metal fuel pins to the primary sodium coolant during fuel pin failures at a variety of temperature conditions. These release estimates were based on the findings of an extensive literature search, which reviewed past experimentation and reactor fuel damage accidents. Data sources for each radionuclide of interest were reviewed to establish release fractions, along with possible release dependencies, and the corresponding uncertainty levels. Although the current knowledge base is substantial, and radionuclide release fractions were established for the elements deemed important for the determination of offsite consequences following a reactor accident, gaps were found pertaining to several radionuclides. First, there is uncertainty regarding the transport behavior of several radionuclides (iodine, barium, strontium, tellurium, and europium) during metal fuel irradiation to high burnup levels. The migration of these radionuclides within the fuel matrix and bond sodium region can greatly affect their release during pin failure incidents. Post-irradiation examination of existing high burnup metal fuel can likely resolve this knowledge gap. Second, data regarding the radionuclide release from molten high burnup metal fuel in sodium is sparse, which makes the assessment of radionuclide release from fuel melting accidents at high fuel burnup levels difficult. This gap could be addressed through fuel melting experimentation with samples from the existing high burnup metal fuel inventory.

  9. Review of specific radiological accident considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elder, J.

    1984-01-01

    Specific points of guidance provided in the forthcoming document A Guide to Radiological Accident Considerations for Siting and Design of Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities are discussed. Of these, the following are considered of particular interest to analysts of hypothetical accidents: onsite dose limits; population dose, public health effects, and environmental contamination as accident consequences which should be addressed; risk analysis; natural phenomena as accident initiators; recommended dose models; multiple organ equivalent dose; and recommended methods and parameters for source terms and release amount calculations. Comments are being invited on this document, which is undergoing rewrite after the first stage of peer review

  10. Source term analysis in severe accident induced by large break loss of coolant accident coincident with ship blackout for ship reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yanzhao; Zhang Fan; Zhao Xinwen; Zheng Yingfeng

    2013-01-01

    Using MELCOR code, the accident analysis model was established for a ship reactor. The behaviors of radioactive fission products were analyzed in the case of severe accident induced by large break loss of coolant accident coincident with ship blackout. The research mainly focused on the behaviors of release, transport, retention and the final distribution of inert gas and CsI. The results show that 83.12% of inert gas releases from the core, and the most of inert gas exists in the containment. About 83.08% of CsI release from the core, 72.66% of which is detained in the debris and the primary system, and 27.34% releases into the containment. The results can give a reference for the evaluation of cabin dose and nuclear emergency management. (authors)

  11. The radiological accident in Istanbul

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The use of radioactive materials offers a wide range of benefits throughout the world in medicine, research and industry. Precautions are, however, necessary in order to limit the exposure of persons to the radiation that is emitted. Where the amount of radioactive material is substantial, as in the case of radiotherapy sources or industrial radiography sources, extreme care is necessary to prevent accidents which may have severe consequences. Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, accidents with radiation sources continue to occur, albeit infrequently. As part of its subprogramme on the safety of radiation sources, the IAEA conducts follow-up reviews of such serious accidents to give an account of their circumstances and of the medical aspects, from which organizations with responsibilities for radiation protection and the safety of sources may learn. A serious radiological accident occurred in Istanbul, Turkey, in December 1998 and January 1999 when two packages used to transport 60 Co teletherapy sources were sold as scrap metal. The persons who purchased the two packages opened them and broke open the shielded containers, thereby unknowingly exposing themselves and several others to radiation from at least one unshielded 60 Co source. The persons who dismantled the containers suffered from acute radiation syndrome. The accident came to the attention of the relevant national authority when a doctor who had examined the victims reported that he suspected the possibility of radiation exposure. The national authorities identified other individuals who might have undergone acute radiation exposures, and a total of 18 persons (including seven children) were admitted to hospital. Of these, ten adults exhibited clinical signs and symptoms of acute radiation exposure. Under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, the Turkish authorities requested assistance from the IAEA in terms of advice on the medical

  12. The European source-term evaluation code ASTEC: status and applications, including CANDU plant applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Dorsselaere, J.P.; Giordano, P.; Kissane, M.P.; Montanelli, T.; Schwinges, B.; Ganju, S.; Dickson, L.

    2004-01-01

    Research on light-water reactor severe accidents (SA) is still required in a limited number of areas in order to confirm accident-management plans. Thus, 49 European organizations have linked their SA research in a durable way through SARNET (Severe Accident Research and management NETwork), part of the European 6th Framework Programme. One goal of SARNET is to consolidate the integral code ASTEC (Accident Source Term Evaluation Code, developed by IRSN and GRS) as the European reference tool for safety studies; SARNET efforts include extending the application scope to reactor types other than PWR (including VVER) such as BWR and CANDU. ASTEC is used in IRSN's Probabilistic Safety Analysis level 2 of 900 MWe French PWRs. An earlier version of ASTEC's SOPHAEROS module, including improvements by AECL, is being validated as the Canadian Industry Standard Toolset code for FP-transport analysis in the CANDU Heat Transport System. Work with ASTEC has also been performed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, on IPHWR containment thermal hydraulics. (author)

  13. Numerical simulation of radioisotope's dependency on containment performance for large dry PWR containment under severe accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehboob, Khurram, E-mail: khurramhrbeu@gmail.com [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Xinrong, Cao [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Ahmed, Raheel [College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China); Ali, Majid [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, 145-31 Nantong Street, Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001 (China)

    2013-09-15

    Highlights: • Calculation and comparison of activity of BURN-UP code with ORIGEN2 code. • Development of SASTC computer code. • Radioisotopes dependency on containment ESFs. • Mitigation in atmospheric release with ESFs operation. • Variation in radioisotopes source term with spray flow and pH value. -- Abstract: During the core melt accidents large amount of fission products can be released into the containment building. These fission products escape into the environment to contribute in accident source term. The mitigation in environmental release is demanded for such radiological consequences. Thus, countermeasures to source term, mitigations of release of radioactivity have been studied for 1000 MWe PWR reactor. The procedure of study is divided into five steps: (1) calculation and verification of core inventory, evaluated by BURN-UP code, (2) containment modeling based on radioactivity removal factors, (3) selection of potential accidents initiates the severe accident, (4) calculation of release of radioactivity, (5) study the dependency of release of radioactivity on containment engineering safety features (ESFs) inducing mitigation. Loss of coolant accident (LOCA), small break LOCA and flow blockage accidents (FBA) are selected as initiating accidents. The mitigation effect of ESFs on source term has been studied against ESFs performance. Parametric study of release of radioactivity has been carried out by modeling and simulating the containment parameters in MATLAB, which takes BURN-UP outcomes as input along with the probabilistic data. The dependency of iodine and aerosol source term on boric and caustic acid spray has been determined. The variation in source term mitigation with the variation of containment spray flow rate and pH values have been studied. The variation in containment retention factor (CRF) has also been studied with the ESF performance. A rapid decrease in source term is observed with the increase in pH value.

  14. Radionuclide release calculations for selected severe accident scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denning, R.S.; Leonard, M.T.; Cybulskis, P.; Lee, K.W.; Kelly, R.F.; Jordan, H.; Schumacher, P.M.; Curtis, L.A.

    1990-08-01

    This report provides the results of source term calculations that were performed in support of the NUREG-1150 study. ''Severe Accident Risks: An Assessment for Five US Nuclear Power Plants.'' This is the sixth volume of a series of reports. It supplements results presented in the earlier volumes. Analyses were performed for three of the NUREG-1150 plants: Peach Bottom, a Mark I, boiling water reactor; Surry, a subatmospheric containment, pressurized water reactor; and Sequoyah, an ice condenser containment, pressurized water reactor. Complete source term results are presented for the following sequences: short term station blackout with failure of the ADS system in the Peach Bottom plant; station blackout with a pump seal LOCA for the Surry plant; station blackout with a pump seal LOCA in the Sequoyah plant; and a very small break with loss of ECC and spray recirculation in the Sequoyah plant. In addition, some partial analyses were performed which did not require running all of the modules of the Source Term Code Package. A series of MARCH3 analyses were performed for the Surry and Sequoyah plants to evaluate the effects of alternative emergency operating procedures involving primary and secondary depressurization on the progress of the accident. Only thermal-hydraulic results are provided for these analyses. In addition, three accident sequences were analyzed for the Surry plant for accident-induced failure of steam generator tubes. In these analyses, only the transport of radionuclides within the primary system and failed steam generator were examined. The release of radionuclides to the environment is presented for the phase of the accident preceding vessel meltthrough. 17 refs., 176 figs., 113 tabs

  15. Long term radiocesium contamination of fruit trees following the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonopoulos-Domis, M.; Clouvas, A.; Gagianas, A.

    1996-01-01

    Radiocesium contamination form the Chernobyl accident of fruits and leaves from various fruit trees was systematically studied form 1990-1995 on two agricultural experimentation farms in Northern Greece. The results are discussed in the framework of a previously published model describing the long-term radiocesium contamination mechanism of deciduous fruit trees after a nuclear accident. The results of the present work qualitatively verify the model predictions. 11 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  16. SESAME: a software tool for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources and its application to the accident in Chile in December 2005.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huet, C; Lemosquet, A; Clairand, I; Rioual, J B; Franck, D; de Carlan, L; Aubineau-Lanièce, I; Bottollier-Depois, J F

    2009-01-01

    Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. This dose distribution can be assessed by physical dosimetric reconstruction methods. Physical dosimetric reconstruction can be achieved using experimental or numerical techniques. This article presents the laboratory-developed SESAME--Simulation of External Source Accident with MEdical images--tool specific to dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents through numerical simulations which combine voxel geometry and the radiation-material interaction MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code. The experimental validation of the tool using a photon field and its application to a radiological accident in Chile in December 2005 are also described.

  17. Source term and radiological consequence evaluation for nuclear accidents using a 'hand type' methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margeanu, Sorin; Tatiana, Angelescu

    2005-01-01

    In the last decades, hand type calculations have been replaced by computerized solutions, which are much more accurate, but the preparation of an input to run the code can be a time consuming process and can require a laborious work. This is why, a place for hand calculation based on nomograms still exist in some areas. An example is emergency response to an accidental release of radioactive contaminants when the health of persons close to the accident site might be at risk. In this case, results from computerized accident consequences assessment models may be delayed due to the equipment malfunction or the time required developing minimal input files and performing the calculations (typically more than five minutes). A simple nomogram (developed using computerized dispersion model calculations) can provide dispersion and dose estimates within a minute. The paper presents the methodology used for these 'hand type' calculation and the nomograms, figures and tables used to evaluate the dose to an individual close to the release point. In order to illustrate the use of methodology, a hypothetical severe accident scenario involving 14-MW INR-TRIGA research reactor was considered. (authors)

  18. The Phebus Fission Product and Source Term International Programmes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, B.; Zeyen, R.

    2005-01-01

    The international Phebus FP programme, initiated in 1988 is one of the major research programmes on light water reactors severe accidents. After a short description of the facility and of the test matrix, the main outcomes and results of the first four integral tests are provided and analysed. Several results were unexpected and some are of importance for safety analyses, particularly concerning fuel degradation, cladding oxidation, chemical form of some fission products, especially iodine, effect of control rod materials on degradation and chemistry, iodine behaviour in the containment. Prediction capabilities of calculation tools have largely been improved as a result of this research effort. However, significant uncertainties remain for a number of phenomena, requiring detailed physical analysis and implementation of improved models in codes, sustained by a number of separate-effect experiments. This is the subject of the new Source Term programme for a better understanding of the phenomenology on important safety issues, in accordance with priorities defined in the EURSAFE project of the 5 th European framework programme aiming at reducing the uncertainties on Source Term analyses. It covers iodine chemistry, impact of boron carbide control rods degradation and oxidation, air ingress situations and fission product release from fuel. Regarding the interpretation of Phebus, an international co-operation has been established since over ten years, particularly helpful for the improvement and common understanding of severe accident phenomena. Few months ago, the Phebus community was happy to welcome representatives of a large number of organisations from the following new European countries: the Czech republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and also from Bulgaria and Romania. (author)

  19. CONTAIN code calculations of the effects on the source term of CsI to I/sub 2/ conversion due to severe hydrogen burns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valdez, G.D.; Williams, D.C.

    1986-01-01

    In experiments conducted at Sandia National Laboratories large amounts of elemental iodine were produced when CsI-Al 2 O 3 aerosol was exposed to hydrogen/air combustion. To evaluate some of the implications of the iodide conversion (observed to occur with up to 75% efficiency) for the severe accident source term, computational simulations of representative accident sequences were conducted with the CONTAIN code. The following conclusions can be drawn from this preliminary source term assessment: (1) If the containment sprays are inoperative during the accident, or failed by the hydrogen burn, the late-time source term is almost tripled when the iodide is converted to I 2 . (2) With the sprays active, the amount released without conversion of the CsI aerosol is 63% higher than for the case when conversion occurs. (3) For the case where CsI is converted to I 2 continued operation of the sprays reduces the release by a factor of 40, relative to the case in which the sprays fail at the time of the hydrogen burn. When there is no conversion, the reduction factor for continued spray operation is about a factor of 9, relative to the failed spray case

  20. Accident-generated radioactive particle source term development for consequence assessment of nuclear fuel cycle facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutter, S.L.; Ballinger, M.Y.; Halverson, M.A.; Mishima, J.

    1983-04-01

    Consequences of nuclear fuel cycle facility accidents can be evaluated using aerosol release factors developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. These experimentally determined factors are compiled and consequence assessment methods are discussed. Release factors can be used to estimate the fraction of material initially made airborne by postulated accident scenarios. These release fractions in turn can be used in models to estimate downwind contamination levels as required for safety assessments of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. 20 references, 4 tables

  1. A novel integrated approach for the hazardous radioactive dust source terms estimation in future nuclear fusion power plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poggi, L A; Malizia, A; Ciparisse, J F; Gaudio, P

    2016-10-01

    An open issue still under investigation by several international entities working on the safety and security field for the foreseen nuclear fusion reactors is the estimation of source terms that are a hazard for the operators and public, and for the machine itself in terms of efficiency and integrity in case of severe accident scenarios. Source term estimation is a crucial key safety issue to be addressed in the future reactors safety assessments, and the estimates available at the time are not sufficiently satisfactory. The lack of neutronic data along with the insufficiently accurate methodologies used until now, calls for an integrated methodology for source term estimation that can provide predictions with an adequate accuracy. This work proposes a complete methodology to estimate dust source terms starting from a broad information gathering. The wide number of parameters that can influence dust source term production is reduced with statistical tools using a combination of screening, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty analysis. Finally, a preliminary and simplified methodology for dust source term production prediction for future devices is presented.

  2. Source term experiments project (STEP): aerosol characterization system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlenger, B.J.; Dunn, P.F.

    1985-01-01

    A series of four experiments has been conducted at Argonne National Laboratory's TREAT Reactor. These experiments, which are sponsored by an international consortium organized by the Electric Power Research Institute, are designed to investigate the source term, i.e., the type, quantity and timing of release of radioactive fission products from a light water reactor to the environment in the event of a severe accident in which the core is insufficiently cooled. The STEP tests have been designed to provide some of the necessary data regarding the magnitude and release rates of volatile fission products from degraded fuel pins, their physical and chemical characteristics, and aerosol formation and transport phenomena of those fission products that condense to form particles in the cooler regions of the reactor beyond the core. These are inpile experiments, whereby the test fuels are heated in a nuclear test reactor by neutron induced fission and subsequent cladding oxidation in steam environments that simulate as closely as practical predicted severe reactor accident conditions. The test sequences cover a range of pressure and fuel heatup rate, and include the effect of Ag/In/Cd control rod material. 1 ref., 8 figs., 1 tab

  3. Accident progression event tree analysis for postulated severe accidents at N Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyss, G.D.; Camp, A.L.; Miller, L.A.; Dingman, S.E.; Kunsman, D.M.; Medford, G.T.

    1990-06-01

    A Level II/III probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) has been performed for N Reactor, a Department of Energy (DOE) production reactor located on the Hanford reservation in Washington. The accident progression analysis documented in this report determines how core damage accidents identified in the Level I PRA progress from fuel damage to confinement response and potential releases the environment. The objectives of the study are to generate accident progression data for the Level II/III PRA source term model and to identify changes that could improve plant response under accident conditions. The scope of the analysis is comprehensive, excluding only sabotage and operator errors of commission. State-of-the-art methodology is employed based largely on the methods developed by Sandia for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of the NUREG-1150 study. The accident progression model allows complex interactions and dependencies between systems to be explicitly considered. Latin Hypecube sampling was used to assess the phenomenological and systemic uncertainties associated with the primary and confinement system responses to the core damage accident. The results of the analysis show that the N Reactor confinement concept provides significant radiological protection for most of the accident progression pathways studied

  4. Insights Gained from Forensic Analysis with MELCOR of the Fukushima-Daiichi Accidents.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andrews, Nathan C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gauntt, Randall O. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2017-10-01

    Since the accidents at Fukushima-Daiichi, Sandia National Laboratories has been modeling these accident scenarios using the severe accident analysis code, MELCOR. MELCOR is a widely used computer code developed at Sandia National Laboratories since ~1982 for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Insights from the modeling of these accidents is being used to better inform future code development and potentially improved accident management. To date, our necessity to better capture in-vessel thermal-hydraulic and ex-vessel melt coolability and concrete interactions has led to the implementation of new models. The most recent analyses, presented in this paper, have been in support of the of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency’s (OECD/NEA) Benchmark Study of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (BSAF) Project. The goal of this project is to accurately capture the source term from all three releases and then model the atmospheric dispersion. In order to do this, a forensic approach is being used in which available plant data and release timings is being used to inform the modeled MELCOR accident scenario. For example, containment failures, core slumping events and lower head failure timings are all enforced parameters in these analyses. This approach is fundamentally different from a blind code assessment analysis often used in standard problem exercises. The timings of these events are informed by representative spikes or decreases in plant data. The combination of improvements to the MELCOR source code resulting from analysis previous accident analysis and this forensic approach has allowed Sandia to generate representative and plausible source terms for all three accidents at Fukushima Daiichi out to three weeks after the accident to capture both early and late releases. In particular, using the source terms developed by MELCOR, the MACCS software code, which models atmospheric dispersion and

  5. Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of atmospheric dispersion model with improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katata, G.; Chino, M.; Kobayashi, T.; Terada, H.; Ota, M.; Nagai, H.; Kajino, M.; Draxler, R.; Hort, M. C.; Malo, A.; Torii, T.; Sanada, Y.

    2014-06-01

    Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate a detailed time trend of atmospheric releases during the accident by combining environmental monitoring data with atmospheric model simulations from WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information), and simulations from the oceanic dispersion model SEA-GEARN-FDM, both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fogwater depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I2 and CH3I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The fallout to the ocean surface calculated by WSPEEDI-II was used as input data for the SEA-GEARN-FDM calculations. Reverse and inverse source-term estimation methods based on coupling the simulations from both models was adopted using air dose rates and concentrations, and sea surface concentrations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, the morning of 13 March after the venting event at Unit 3, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (Safely Relief Valve) at Unit 2 was opened three times, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of

  6. Severe accidents in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valle Cepero, R.; Castillo Alvarez, J.; Ramon Fuente, J.

    1996-01-01

    For the assessment of the safety of nuclear power plants it is of great importance the analyses of severe accidents since they allow to estimate the possible failure models of the containment, and also permit knowing the magnitude and composition of the radioactive material that would be released to the environment in case of an accident upon population and the environment. This paper presents in general terms the basic principles for conducting the analysis of severe accidents, the fundamental sources in the generation of radionuclides and aerosols, the transportation and deposition processes, and also makes reference to de main codes used in the modulation of severe accidents. The final part of the paper contents information on how severe accidents are dialed with the regulatory point view in different countries

  7. Analysis of safety information for nuclear power plants and development of source term estimation program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Tae Woon; Choi, Seong Soo; Park, Jin Hee

    1999-12-01

    Current CARE(Computerized Advisory System for Radiological Emergency) in KINS(Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety) has no STES(Source Term Estimation System) which links between SIDS(Safety Information Display System) and FADAS(Following Accident Dose Assessment System). So in this study, STES is under development. STES system is the system that estimates the source term based on the safety information provided by SIDS. Estimated source term is given to FADAS as an input for estimation of environmental effect of radiation. Through this first year project STES for the Kori 3,4 and Younggwang 1,2 has been developed. Since there is no CARE for Wolsong(PHWR) plants yet, CARE for Wolsong is under construction. The safety parameters are selected and the safety information display screens and the alarm logic for plant status change are developed for Wolsong Unit 2 based on the design documents for CANDU plants

  8. Evaluation of severe accident risks: Quantification of major input parameters: MAACS [MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System] input

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprung, J.L.; Jow, H-N; Rollstin, J.A.; Helton, J.C.

    1990-12-01

    Estimation of offsite accident consequences is the customary final step in a probabilistic assessment of the risks of severe nuclear reactor accidents. Recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reassessed the risks of severe accidents at five US power reactors (NUREG-1150). Offsite accident consequences for NUREG-1150 source terms were estimated using the MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System (MACCS). Before these calculations were performed, most MACCS input parameters were reviewed, and for each parameter reviewed, a best-estimate value was recommended. This report presents the results of these reviews. Specifically, recommended values and the basis for their selection are presented for MACCS atmospheric and biospheric transport, emergency response, food pathway, and economic input parameters. Dose conversion factors and health effect parameters are not reviewed in this report. 134 refs., 15 figs., 110 tabs

  9. Fission-product source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorenz, R.A.

    1981-01-01

    This presentation consists of a review of fission-product source terms for light water reactor (LWR) fuel. A source term is the quantity of fission products released under specified conditions that can be used to calculate the consequences of the release. The source term usually defines release from breached fuel-rod cladding but could also describe release from the primary coolant system, the reactor containment shell, or the site boundary. The source term would be different for each locality, and the chemical and physical forms of the fission products could also differ

  10. EPRI nuclear fuel-cycle accident risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1981-01-01

    The present results of the nuclear fuel-cycle accident risk assessment conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute show that the total risk contribution of the nuclear fuel cycle is only approx. 1% of the accident risk of the power plant; hence, with little error, the accident risk of nuclear electric power is essentially that of the power plant itself. The power-plant risk, assuming a very large usage of nuclear power by the year 2005 is only approx. 0.5% of the radiological risk of natural background. The smallness of the fuel-cycle risk relative to the power-plant risk may be attributed to the lack of internal energy to drive an accident and the small amount of dispersible material. This work aims at a realistic assessment of the process hazards, the effectiveness of confinement and mitigation systems and procedures, and the associated likelihood of errors and the estimated size of errors. The primary probabilistic estimation tool is fault-tree analysis, with the release source terms calculated using physicochemical processes. Doses and health effects are calculated with CRAC (Consequences of Reactor Accident Code). No evacuation or mitigation is considered; source terms may be conservative through the assumption of high fuel burnup (40,000 MWd/t) and short cooling period (90 to 150 d); high-efficiency particulate air filter efficiencies are derived from experiments

  11. Atmospheric discharge and dispersion of radionuclides during the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Part I: Source term estimation and local-scale atmospheric dispersion in early phase of the accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katata, Genki; Ota, Masakazu; Terada, Hiroaki; Chino, Masamichi; Nagai, Haruyasu

    2012-01-01

    The atmospheric release of 131 I and 137 Cs in the early phase of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident from March 12 to 14, 2011 was estimated by combining environmental data with atmospheric dispersion simulations under the assumption of a unit release rate (1 Bq h −1 ). For the simulation, WSPEEDI-II computer-based nuclear emergency response system was used. Major releases of 131 I (>10 15 Bq h −1 ) were estimated when air dose rates increased in FNPP1 during the afternoon on March 12 after the hydrogen explosion of Unit 1 and late at night on March 14. The high-concentration plumes discharged during these periods flowed to the northwest and south–southwest directions of FNPP1, respectively. These plumes caused a large amount of dry deposition on the ground surface along their routes. Overall, the spatial pattern of 137 Cs and the increases in the air dose rates observed at the monitoring posts around FNPP1 were reproduced by WSPEEDI-II using estimated release rates. The simulation indicated that air dose rates significantly increased in the south–southwest region of FNPP1 by dry deposition of the high-concentration plume discharged from the night of March 14 to the morning of March 15. - Highlights: ► Source term during the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident was estimated. ► Atmospheric dispersion simulation was carried out for estimation. ► Major releases were estimated in the afternoon on March 12 and the night on March 14. ► Air dose rate increased due to dry deposition during the night of March 14.

  12. Tchernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-06-01

    First, R.M.B.K type reactors are described. Then, safety problems are dealt with reactor control, behavior during transients, normal loss of power and behavior of the reactor in case of leak. A possible scenario of the accident of Tchernobyl is proposed: events before the explosion, possible initiators, possible scenario and events subsequent to the core meltdown (corium-concrete interaction, interaction with the groundwater table). An estimation of the source term is proposed first from the installation characteristics and the supposed scenario of the accident, and from the measurements in Europe; radiological consequences are also estimated. Radioactivity measurements (Europe, Scandinavia, Western Europe, France) are given in tables (meteorological maps and fallouts in Europe). Finally, a description of the site is given [fr

  13. Diagnosis and prognosis of the source term by the French Safety Institut during an emergency on a PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauliac, C.; Janot, L.; Jouzier, A.; Rague, B.

    1992-01-01

    The French approach for the diagnosis and the prognosis of the source term during an accident on a PWR is presented and the tools which have been developed to implement this approach at the Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety (IPSN) are described. (author). 2 refs, 3 figs

  14. Fukushima Daiichi. Post accident countermeasures and mid-and-long-term action plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamashita, Kazuhiko

    2012-01-01

    Since accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, TEPCO had made strenuous efforts to maintain stable cooling of reactors and suppress discharge of radioactive materials under the cooperation of the government and others concerned. Various activities towards settlement of the accident had been done according to the roadmap proposed on April 17, 2011. This article described outlines of post accident countermeasures and current activities toward decommissioning based on mid-and-long-term action plan. Step 2 completion in roadmap towards settlement of the accident was confirmed on Dec. 16, 2011; (1) reactors: attainment of a condition equivalent to 'cold shutdown' with temperature of RPV bottom below 100degC, release of radioactive materials from PCV under control and public radiation exposure by additional release being significantly held down (evaluated as maximum 0.2 mSv/y at the site boundary), and mid-term safety of circulating water injection cooling system, (2) spent fuel pools: more stable cooling with circulating cooling system by installation of heat exchanger, (3) radioactive contaminated water: reduction of total amount with full-fledged processing facilities, desalination processing (reuse), storage and mitigation of contamination in the ocean, (4) commence construction of water shielding wall to prevent contamination of the ocean via the underground water, (5) installation of reactor building cover of unit 1 to restrain release of radioactive materials, and others. According to mid-to-long-term roadmap towards the decommissioning of Fukushima Nuclear Power Units 1-4, current activities were to (1) maintain stable reactor cooling and accumulated water processing and improve their credibility, (2) reduce the radiation impact due to additional emissions from the whole site and radioactive waste generated after the accident, (3) commence removal of fuel from the spent fuel pools (unit 4 within 2 years), (4) commence R and D and decontamination the

  15. A simplistic view of the iodine chemistry influence on source term assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herranz, L.E.; Rodriguez, J.J.

    1994-01-01

    The intrinsic characteristics of iodine make it a relevant concern as to its potential radiobiological impact in case of a hypothetical severe accident in nuclear power plants. This paper summarizes the major results drawn from a very simple but illustrative calculation exercise aimed at weighing how significant could be taking iodine chemistry in containment into account for source term assessments in case of a postulated severe reactor accident. The scenario chosen as representative of expected conditions in containment was LA-4 test of LACE programme. Several approximations and hypothesis concerning the scenario were necessary. Iodine chemistry analyses were performed with IODE code, as long as thermalhydraulic and aerosol behaviour analyses, providing initial and boundary conditions for iodine calculations, were carried out with CONTEMPT4/MOD5 and NAUA/MOD5 codes, respectively. In general, the results obtained agreed qualitatively with the current knowledge on the area; from a quantitative point of view, one of the major results was that iodine chemistry on acidic conditions could provide a substantial increase in the leaked mass from containment under the postulated circumstances. Hence, this study underlines the need of including iodine chemistry in source tenn assessments. (author)

  16. Source-Term and building-Wake Consequence Modeling for the Godiva IV Reactor at Los Alamos National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Letellier, B.C.; McClure, P.; Restrepo, L.

    1999-01-01

    The objectives of this work were to evaluate the consequences of a postulated accident to onsite security personnel stationed near the facility during operations of the Godiva IV critical assembly and to identify controls needed to protect these personnel in case of an extreme criticality excursion equivalent to the design-basis accident (DBA). This paper presents the methodology and results of the source-term calculations, building ventilation rates, air concentrations, and consequence calculations that were performed using a multidisciplinary approach with several phenomenology models. Identification of controls needed to mitigate the consequences to near-field receptors is discussed

  17. Revised Severe Accident Research Program plan, FY 1990--1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-08-01

    For the past 10 years, since the Three Mile Island accident, the NRC has sponsored an active research program on light-water-reactor severe accidents as part of a multi-faceted approach to reactor safety. This report describes the revised Severe Accident Research Program (SARP) and how the revisions are designed to provide confirmatory information and technical support to the NRC staff in implementing the staff's Integration Plan for Closure of Severe Accident Issues as described in SECY-88-147. The revised SARP addresses both the near-term research directed at providing a technical basis upon which decisions on important containment performance issues can be made and the long-term research needed to confirm and refine our understanding of severe accidents. In developing this plan, the staff recognized that the overall goal is to reduce the uncertainties in the source term sufficiently to enable the staff to make regulatory decisions on severe accident issues. However, the staff also recognized that for some issues it may not be practical to attempt to further reduce uncertainties, and some regulatory decisions or conclusions will have to be made with full awareness of existing uncertainties. 2 figs., 1 tab

  18. Severe Accident Research Program plan update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    In August 1989, the staff published NUREG-1365, ''Revised Severe Accident Research Program Plan.'' Since 1989, significant progress has been made in severe accident research to warrant an update to NUREG-1365. The staff has prepared this SARP Plan Update to: (1) Identify those issues that have been closed or are near completion, (2) Describe the progress in our understanding of important severe accident phenomena, (3) Define the long-term research that is directed at improving our understanding of severe accident phenomena and developing improved methods for assessing core melt progression, direct containment heating, and fuel-coolant interactions, and (4) Reflect the growing emphasis in two additional areas--advanced light water reactors, and support for the assessment of criteria for containment performance during severe accidents. The report describes recent major accomplishments in understanding the underlying phenomena that can occur during a severe accident. These include Mark I liner failure, severe accident scaling methodology, source term issues, core-concrete interactions, hydrogen transport and combustion, TMI-2 Vessel Investigation Project, and direct containment heating. The report also describes the major planned activities under the SARP over the next several years. These activities will focus on two phenomenological issues (core melt progression, and fuel-coolant interactions and debris coolability) that have significant uncertainties that impact our understanding and ability to predict severe accident phenomena and their effect on containment performance SARP will also focus on severe accident code development, assessment and validation. As the staff completes the research on severe accident issues that relate to current generation reactors, continued research will focus on efforts to independently evaluate the capability of new advanced light water reactor designs to withstand severe accidents

  19. Calculation of the source term for a S1B-sequence at a VVER-1000 type reactor. Part 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sdouz, G.

    1990-10-01

    The behaviour of the source term in a VVER-1000 type reactor is calculated using the 'Source Term Code Package' (STCP). The input data are based on the russian plant Zaporozhye-5. The selected accident sequence is a small break LOCA in the hot leg followed by loss offsite and onsite electric power (S 1 B-sequence). According to the course of the calculation the results are presented and analyzed for each program. Except for the noble gases all release fractions are lower than 10 -4 . 18 refs., 10 tabs. (Author)

  20. Modelling and simulation the radioactive source-term of fission products in PWR type reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porfirio, Rogilson Nazare da Silva

    1996-01-01

    The source-term was defined with the purpose the quantify all radioactive nuclides released the nuclear reactor in the case of accidents. Nowadays the source-term is limited to the coolant of the primary circuit of reactors and may be measured or modelled with computer coders such as the TFP developed in this work. The calculational process is based on the linear chain techniques used in the CINDER-2 code. The TFP code considers forms of fission products release from the fuel pellet: Recoil, Knockout and Migration. The release from the gap to the coolant fluid is determined from the ratio between activity measured in the coolant and calculated activity in the gap. Considered the operational data of SURRY-1 reactor, the TFP code was run to obtain the source=term of this reactor. From the measured activities it was verified the reliability level of the model and the employed computational logic. The accuracy of the calculated quantities were compared to the measured data was considered satisfactory. (author)

  1. A simple method for estimating potential source term bypass fractions from confinement structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalinich, D.A.; Paddleford, D.F.

    1997-01-01

    Confinement structures house many of the operating processes at the Savannah River Site (SRS). Under normal operating conditions, a confinement structure in conjunction with its associated ventilation systems prevents the release of radiological material to the environment. However, under potential accident conditions, the performance of the ventilation systems and integrity of the structure may be challenged. In order to calculate the radiological consequences associated with a potential accident (e.g. fires, explosion, spills, etc.), it is necessary to determine the fraction of the source term initially generated by the accident that escapes from the confinement structure to the environment. While it would be desirable to estimate the potential bypass fraction using sophisticated control-volume/flow path computer codes (e.g. CONTAIN, MELCOR, etc.) in order to take as much credit as possible for the mitigative effects of the confinement structure, there are many instances where using such codes is not tractable due to limits on the level-of-effort allotted to perform the analysis. Moreover, the current review environment, with its emphasis on deterministic/bounding-versus probabilistic/best-estimate-analysis discourages using analytical techniques that require the consideration of a large number of parameters. Discussed herein is a simplified control-volume/flow path approach for calculating source term bypass fraction that is amenable to solution in a spreadsheet or with a commercial mathematical solver (e.g. MathCad or Mathematica). It considers the effects of wind and fire pressure gradients on the structure, ventilation system operation, and Halon discharges. Simple models are used to characterize the engineered and non-engineered flow paths. By making judicious choices for the limited set of problem parameters, the results from this approach can be defended as bounding and conservative

  2. Accident management strategies for VVER-1000 reactors. Part 1: text

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sdouz, G.; Sonneck, G.; Pachole, M.

    1994-10-01

    This report describes the effect of different accident management strategies on the onset, development and end of the core-concrete-interaction as well as on the containment integrity for a TMLB'-type sequence in a Pressurized Water Reactor of the type VVER- 1000. Using the computer code MARCH3 the following strategies were investigated: (1) One or more Spray and LP ECC Systems available with and without coolers after 10 hours (2) Inclusion of the reactor pressure vessel testing facility room to the cavity (3) Containment venting (4) External water supply and (5) Different electric power restoration times. The results show that some of these accident management measures will maintain the containment integrity and reduce the source term drastically, others will reduce the source term rate. For some measures final conclusions can only be given after complete source term calculations have been performed. (authors)

  3. Transport accident frequency data, their sources and their application in risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appleton, P.R.

    1988-08-01

    Base transport accident frequency data and sources of these data are presented. Both generic information and rates specific to particular routes or packages are included. Strong packages, such as those containing significant quantities of radioactive materials, will survive most of the accidents represented by these base frequencies without a containment breach. The association of severity probability distributions with a base frequency, and package and contents response, leading to the quantification of release frequency and magnitude, are often more important in risk assessment than the base frequency itself. This paper therefore also includes brief comments on techniques adopted to utilize the base frequencies. This paper reports an accident frequency data survey undertaken at the end of 1986. It has not been updated to take account of work published between January 1987 and the Report publication date. (author)

  4. Use of reports on accidents with sealed sources to conceive scenarios of human intrusion into waste repositories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leite, Eliana Rodrigues; Oliveira, Rosana Lagua de; Vicente, Roberto

    2011-01-01

    The Radioactive Waste Management Department (GRR) at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) develops the concept of a repository for disposal of disused sealed radioactive sources (SRS) in a deep borehole. In this concept, the estimated few hundred thousand SRS of the Brazilian inventory will be packaged in lead containers stacked in an encased and cemented borehole, drilled to a depth of a few hundred meters, in a crystalline bedrock geological setting. A generic safety analysis for this concept of repository must achieve two goals: to be acceptable by regulatory bodies and be simple enough so that the engineering of licensing a facility has technical and economical feasibility. It must be kept in mind that the disposition of the SRS must be paid by the users of the sources, and thal the costs of applying the existing methods for the performance and safety assessment of a geological repository dedicated exclusively for sealed sources may be exceedingly high. In this respect, the disposal concept development work includes the search for methodologies that could be applied to the disposal facility for demonstrating safety without unduly increasing the project costs. One line of research is to identify and characterize human intrusion scenarios that could result in significant radiation exposures. Results of a survey on the published literature and on databases of reported accidents involving sealed sources are being used to construct a number of model accident scenarios with which the time evolution of the exposure risks can be assessed for each radioisotope inventory and each relevant disposed of source. Among the 252 accident descriptions recovered in the survey, the 1954 Russian accident report with Po-210 is the oldest, and that of the 2010 accident in Mayapuri, India, with a Co-60 source is the latest. The results of this assessment will be used as a safety indicator of the disposal concept. (author)

  5. Chernobyl source term, atmospheric dispersion, and dose estimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gudiksen, P.H.; Harvey, T.F.; Lange, R.

    1988-02-01

    The Chernobyl source term available for long-range transport was estimated by integration of radiological measurements with atmospheric dispersion modeling, and by reactor core radionuclide inventory estimation in conjunction with WASH-1400 release fractions associated with specific chemical groups. These analyses indicated that essentially all of the noble gases, 80% of the radioiodines, 40% of the radiocesium, 10% of the tellurium, and about 1% or less of the more refractory elements were released. Atmospheric dispersion modeling of the radioactive cloud over the Northern Hemisphere revealed that the cloud became segmented during the first day, with the lower section heading toward Scandinavia and the uppper part heading in a southeasterly direction with subsequent transport across Asia to Japan, the North Pacific, and the west coast of North America. The inhalation doses due to direct cloud exposure were estimated to exceed 10 mGy near the Chernobyl area, to range between 0.1 and 0.001 mGy within most of Europe, and to be generally less than 0.00001 mGy within the US. The Chernobyl source term was several orders of magnitude greater than those associated with the Windscale and TMI reactor accidents, while the 137 Cs from the Chernobyl event is about 6% of that released by the US and USSR atmospheric nuclear weapon tests. 9 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs

  6. System response of a DOE Defense Program package in a transportation accident environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, T.F.; Hovingh, J.; Kimura, C.Y.

    1992-01-01

    The system response in a transportation accident environment is an element to be considered in an overall Transportation System Risk Assessment (TSRA) framework. The system response analysis uses the accident conditions and the subsequent accident progression analysis to develop the accident source term, which in turn, is used in the consequence analysis. This paper proposes a methodology for the preparation of the system response aspect of the TSRA

  7. Uncertainties in source term estimates for a station blackout accident in a BWR with Mark I containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, M.; Cazzoli, E.; Liu, Y.; Davis, R.; Nourbakhsh, H.; Schmidt, E.; Unwin, S.; Khatib-Rahbar, M.

    1988-01-01

    In this paper, attention is limited to a single accident progression sequence, namly a station blackout accident in a BWR with a Mark I containment building. Identified as an important accident in the draft version of NUREG-1150 a station blackout involves loss of both off-site power and dc power resulting in failure of the diesels to start and in the unavailability of the high pressure injection and core isolation cooling systems. This paper illustrates the calculated uncertainties (Probability Density Functions) associated with the radiological releases into the environment for the nine fission product groups at 10 hours following the initiation of core-concrete interactions. Also shown are the results ofthe STCP base case simulation. 5 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

  8. Structure shielding from cloud and fallout gamma ray sources for assessing the consequences of reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burson, Z.G.; Profio, A.E.

    1975-12-01

    Radiation shielding provided by transportation vehicles and structures typical of where people live and work were estimated for cloud and fallout gamma-ray sources resulting from a hypothetical reactor accident. Dose reduction factors are recommended for a variety of situations for realistically assessing the consequences of reactor accidents

  9. Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents: a review of the environmental impacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhauser, Georg; Brandl, Alexander; Johnson, Thomas E

    2014-02-01

    The environmental impacts of the nuclear accidents of Chernobyl and Fukushima are compared. In almost every respect, the consequences of the Chernobyl accident clearly exceeded those of the Fukushima accident. In both accidents, most of the radioactivity released was due to volatile radionuclides (noble gases, iodine, cesium, tellurium). However, the amount of refractory elements (including actinides) emitted in the course of the Chernobyl accident was approximately four orders of magnitude higher than during the Fukushima accident. For Chernobyl, a total release of 5,300 PBq (excluding noble gases) has been established as the most cited source term. For Fukushima, we estimated a total source term of 520 (340-800) PBq. In the course of the Fukushima accident, the majority of the radionuclides (more than 80%) was transported offshore and deposited in the Pacific Ocean. Monitoring campaigns after both accidents reveal that the environmental impact of the Chernobyl accident was much greater than of the Fukushima accident. Both the highly contaminated areas and the evacuated areas are smaller around Fukushima and the projected health effects in Japan are significantly lower than after the Chernobyl accident. This is mainly due to the fact that food safety campaigns and evacuations worked quickly and efficiently after the Fukushima accident. In contrast to Chernobyl, no fatalities due to acute radiation effects occurred in Fukushima. © 2013.

  10. Cost per severe accident as an index for severe accident consequence assessment and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Kampanart; Ishiwatari, Yuki; Takahara, Shogo

    2014-01-01

    The Fukushima Accident emphasizes the need to integrate the assessments of health effects, economic impacts, social impacts and environmental impacts, in order to perform a comprehensive consequence assessment of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. “Cost per severe accident” is introduced as an index for that purpose. The calculation methodology, including the consequence analysis using level 3 probabilistic risk assessment code OSCAAR and the calculation method of the cost per severe accident, is proposed. This methodology was applied to a virtual 1,100 MWe boiling water reactor. The breakdown of the cost per severe accident was provided. The radiation effect cost, the relocation cost and the decontamination cost were the three largest components. Sensitivity analyses were carried out, and parameters sensitive to cost per severe accident were specified. The cost per severe accident was compared with the amount of source terms, to demonstrate the performance of the cost per severe accident as an index to evaluate severe accident consequences. The ways to use the cost per severe accident for optimization of radiation protection countermeasures and for estimation of the effects of accident management strategies are discussed as its applications. - Highlights: • Cost per severe accident is used for severe accident consequence assessment. • Assessments of health, economic, social and environmental impacts are included. • Radiation effect, relocation and decontamination costs are important cost components. • Cost per severe accident can be used to optimize radiation protection measures. • Effects of accident management can be estimated using the cost per severe accident

  11. Review and evaluation of the Millstone Unit 3 probabilistic safety study. Containment failure modes, radiological source - terms and offsite consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khatib-Rahbar, M.; Pratt, W.; Ludewig, H.

    1985-09-01

    A technical review and evaluation of the Millstone Unit 3 probabilistic safety study has been performed. It was determined that; (1) long-term damage indices (latent fatalities, person-rem, etc.) are dominated by late failure of the containment, (2) short-term damage indices (early fatalities, etc.) are dominated by bypass sequences for internally initiated events, while severe seismic sequences can also contribute significantly to early damage indices. These overall estimates of severe accident risk are extremely low compared with other societal sources of risk. Furthermore, the risks for Millstone-3 are comparable to risks from other nuclear plants at high population sites. Seismically induced accidents dominate the severe accident risks at Millstone-3. Potential mitigative features were shown not to be cost-effective for internal events. Value-impact analysis for seismic events showed that a manually actuated containment spray system might be cost-effective

  12. Evaluation of the LMFBR cover gas source term and synthesis of the associated R and D

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balard, F.; Carluec, B.

    1996-01-01

    At the end of the seventies and the beginning of the eighties, there appeared a pressing need of experimental results to assess the LMFBR's safety level. Because of the urgency, analytical studies were not systematically undertaken and maximum credible cover gas instantaneous source terms (radionuclides core release fraction) were got directly from crude out-of-pile experiment interpretations. Two types of studies and mock-ups were undertaken depending on the timescale of the phenomena: instantaneous source terms (corresponding to an unlikely energetic core disruptive accident CDA), and delayed ones (tens of minutes to some hours). The experiments performed in this frame are reviewed in this presentation: 1) instantaneous source term: - FAUST experiments: I, Cs, UO2 source terms (FzK, Germany), - FAST experiments : pool depth influence on non volatile source term (USA), - CARAVELLE experiments: nonvolatile source term in SPX1 geometry (CEA, France); 2) delayed source term: - NALA experiments: I, Cs, Sr, UO2 source term (FzK, Germany), - PAVE experiments: I source term (CEA, France), - NACOWA experiments: cover gas aerosols enrichment in I and Cs (FzK, Germany) - other French experiments in COPACABANA and GULLIVER facilities. The volatile fission products release is tightly bound to sodium evaporation and a large part of the fission products is dissolved in the liquid sodium aerosols present in the cover gas. Thus the knowledge of the amount of aerosol release to the cover gas is important for the evaluation of the source term. The maximum credible cover gas instantaneous source terms deduced from the experiments have led to conservative source terms to be taken into account in safety analysis. Nevertheless modelling attempts of the observed (in-pile or out-of-pile) physico-chemical phenomena have been undertaken for extrapolation to the reactor case. The main topics of this theoretical research are as follows: fission products evaporation in the cover gas (Fz

  13. WASTE-ACC: A computer model for analysis of waste management accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nabelssi, B.K.; Folga, S.; Kohout, E.J.; Mueller, C.J.; Roglans-Ribas, J.

    1996-12-01

    In support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Argonne National Laboratory has developed WASTE-ACC, a computational framework and integrated PC-based database system, to assess atmospheric releases from facility accidents. WASTE-ACC facilitates the many calculations for the accident analyses necessitated by the numerous combinations of waste types, waste management process technologies, facility locations, and site consolidation strategies in the waste management alternatives across the DOE complex. WASTE-ACC is a comprehensive tool that can effectively test future DOE waste management alternatives and assumptions. The computational framework can access several relational databases to calculate atmospheric releases. The databases contain throughput volumes, waste profiles, treatment process parameters, and accident data such as frequencies of initiators, conditional probabilities of subsequent events, and source term release parameters of the various waste forms under accident stresses. This report describes the computational framework and supporting databases used to conduct accident analyses and to develop source terms to assess potential health impacts that may affect on-site workers and off-site members of the public under various DOE waste management alternatives

  14. Design parameters and source terms: Volume 3, Source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-10-01

    The Design Parameters and Source Terms Document was prepared in accordance with DOE request and to provide data for the environmental impact study to be performed in the future for the Deaf Smith County, Texas site for a nuclear waste repository in salt. This document updates a previous unpublished report by Stearns Catalytic Corporation (SCC), entitled ''Design Parameters and Source Terms for a Two-Phase Repository in Salt,'' 1985, to the level of the Site Characterization Plan - Conceptual Design Report. The previous unpublished SCC Study identifies the data needs for the Environmental Assessment effort for seven possible Salt Repository sites. 11 refs., 9 tabs

  15. Domino effect in chemical accidents: main features and accident sequences

    OpenAIRE

    Casal Fàbrega, Joaquim; Darbra Roman, Rosa Maria

    2010-01-01

    The main features of domino accidents in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials were studied through an analysis of 225 accidents involving this effect. Data on these accidents, which occurred after 1961, were taken from several sources. Aspects analyzed included the accident scenario, the type of accident, the materials involved, the causes and consequences and the most common accident sequences. The analysis showed that the most frequent causes a...

  16. Regulatory Technology Development Plan Sodium Fast Reactor. Mechanistic Source Term Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grabaskas, David S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Brunett, Acacia Joann [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Bucknor, Matthew D. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sienicki, James J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sofu, Tanju [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2015-02-28

    Construction and operation of a nuclear power installation in the U.S. requires licensing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A vital part of this licensing process and integrated safety assessment entails the analysis of a source term (or source terms) that represents the release of radionuclides during normal operation and accident sequences. Historically, nuclear plant source term analyses have utilized deterministic, bounding assessments of the radionuclides released to the environment. Significant advancements in technical capabilities and the knowledge state have enabled the development of more realistic analyses such that a mechanistic source term (MST) assessment is now expected to be a requirement of advanced reactor licensing. This report focuses on the state of development of an MST for a sodium fast reactor (SFR), with the intent of aiding in the process of MST definition by qualitatively identifying and characterizing the major sources and transport processes of radionuclides. Due to common design characteristics among current U.S. SFR vendor designs, a metal-fuel, pool-type SFR has been selected as the reference design for this work, with all phenomenological discussions geared toward this specific reactor configuration. This works also aims to identify the key gaps and uncertainties in the current knowledge state that must be addressed for SFR MST development. It is anticipated that this knowledge state assessment can enable the coordination of technology and analysis tool development discussions such that any knowledge gaps may be addressed. Sources of radionuclides considered in this report include releases originating both in-vessel and ex-vessel, including in-core fuel, primary sodium and cover gas cleanup systems, and spent fuel movement and handling. Transport phenomena affecting various release groups are identified and qualitatively discussed, including fuel pin and primary coolant retention, and behavior in the cover gas and

  17. Long-Term Station Blackout Accident Analyses of a PWR with RELAP5/MOD3.3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrej Prošek

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Stress tests performed in Europe after accident at Fukushima Daiichi also required evaluation of the consequences of loss of safety functions due to station blackout (SBO. Long-term SBO in a pressurized water reactor (PWR leads to severe accident sequences, assuming that existing plant means (systems, equipment, and procedures are used for accident mitigation. Therefore the main objective was to study the accident management strategies for SBO scenarios (with different reactor coolant pumps (RCPs leaks assumed to delay the time before core uncovers and significantly heats up. The most important strategies assumed were primary side depressurization and additional makeup water to reactor coolant system (RCS. For simulations of long term SBO scenarios, including early stages of severe accident sequences, the best estimate RELAP5/MOD3.3 and the verified input model of Krško two-loop PWR were used. The results suggest that for the expected magnitude of RCPs seal leak, the core uncovery during the first seven days could be prevented by using the turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump and manually depressurizing the RCS through the secondary side. For larger RCPs seal leaks, in general this is not the case. Nevertheless, the core uncovery can be significantly delayed by increasing RCS depressurization.

  18. Evaluation of nuclear accidents consequences. Risk assessment methodologies, current status and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, J.M.

    1996-01-01

    General description of the structure and process of the probabilistic methods of assessment the external consequences in the event of nuclear accidents is presented. attention is paid in the interface with Probabilistic Safety Analysis level 3 results (source term evaluation) Also are described key issues in accident consequence evaluation as: effects evaluated (early and late health effects and economic effects due to countermeasures), presentation of accident consequences results, computer codes. Briefly are presented some relevant areas for the applications of Accident Consequence Evaluation

  19. Verification test calculations for the Source Term Code Package

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denning, R.S.; Wooton, R.O.; Alexander, C.A.; Curtis, L.A.; Cybulskis, P.; Gieseke, J.A.; Jordan, H.; Lee, K.W.; Nicolosi, S.L.

    1986-07-01

    The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the reasonableness of the Source Term Code Package (STCP) results. Hand calculations have been performed spanning a wide variety of phenomena within the context of a single accident sequence, a loss of all ac power with late containment failure, in the Peach Bottom (BWR) plant, and compared with STCP results. The report identifies some of the limitations of the hand calculation effort. The processes involved in a core meltdown accident are complex and coupled. Hand calculations by their nature must deal with gross simplifications of these processes. Their greatest strength is as an indicator that a computer code contains an error, for example that it doesn't satisfy basic conservation laws, rather than in showing the analysis accurately represents reality. Hand calculations are an important element of verification but they do not satisfy the need for code validation. The code validation program for the STCP is a separate effort. In general the hand calculation results show that models used in the STCP codes (e.g., MARCH, TRAP-MELT, VANESA) obey basic conservation laws and produce reasonable results. The degree of agreement and significance of the comparisons differ among the models evaluated. 20 figs., 26 tabs

  20. Chemical factors affecting fission product transport in severe LMFBR accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wichner, R.P.; Jolley, R.L.; Gat, U.; Rodgers, B.R.

    1984-10-01

    This study was performed as a part of a larger evaluation effort on LMFBR accident, source-term estimation. Purpose was to provide basic chemical information regarding fission product, sodium coolant, and structural material interactions required to perform estimation of fission product transport under LMFBR accident conditions. Emphasis was placed on conditions within the reactor vessel; containment vessel conditions are discussed only briefly

  1. Containment performance analyses for the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S.H.; Taleyarkhan, R.P.; Georgevich, V.

    1992-10-01

    This paper discusses salient aspects of methodology, assumptions, and modeling of various features related to estimation of source terms from two conservatively scoped severe accident scenarios in the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Various containment configurations are considered for steaming-pool-type accidents and an accident involving molten core-concrete interaction. Several design features (such as rupture disks) are examined to study containment response during postulated severe accidents. Also, thermal-hydraulic response of the containment and radionuclide transport and retention in the containment are studied. The results are described as transient variations of source terms for each scenario, which are to be used for studying off-site radiological consequences and health effects for these postulated severe accidents. Also highlighted will be a comparison of source terms estimated by two different versions of the MELCOR code

  2. Compartment model for long-term contamination prediction in deciduous fruit trees after a nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonopoulos-Domis, M.; Clouvas, A.; Gagianas, A.

    1990-01-01

    Radiocesium contamination from the Chernobyl accident of different parts (fruits, leaves, and shoots) of selected apricot trees in North Greece was systematically measured in 1987 and 1988. The results are presented and discussed in the framework of a simple compartment model describing the long-term contamination uptake mechanism of deciduous fruit trees after a nuclear accident

  3. Resuspension of fission products during severe accidents in light-water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borkowski, R.; Bunz, H.; Schoeck, W.

    1986-05-01

    This report investigates the influence of resuspension phenomena on the overall radiological source term of core melt accidents in a pressurized water reactor. A review of the existing literature is given and the literature data are applied to calculations of the source term. A large scatter in the existing data was found. Depending on the scenario and on the data set chosen for the calculations the relative influence of resuspended fission products on the source term ranges from dominant to negligible. (orig.) [de

  4. Radiological accidents balance in medicine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nenot, J.C.

    1995-01-01

    This work deals with the radiological accidents in medicine. In medicine, the radiation accidents on medical personnel and patients can be the result of over dosage and bad focusing of radiotherapy sealed sources. Sometimes, the accidents, if they are unknown during a time enough for the source to be spread and to expose a lot of persons (in the case of source dismantling for instance) can take considerable dimensions. Others accidents can come from bad handling of linear accelerators and from radionuclide kinetics in some therapies. Some examples of accidents are given. (O.L.). 11 refs

  5. Development on Dose Assessment Model of Northeast Asia Nuclear Accident Simulator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ju Yub; Kim, Ju Youl; Kim, Suk Hoon; Lee, Seung Hee; Yoon, Tae Bin [FNC Techology, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    In order to support the emergency response system, the simulator for overseas nuclear accident is under development including source-term estimation, atmospheric dispersion modeling and dose assessment. The simulator is named NANAS (Northeast Asia Nuclear Accident Simulator). For the source-term estimation, design characteristics of each reactor type should be reflected into the model. Since there are a lot of reactor types in neighboring countries, the representative reactors of China, Japan and Taiwan have been selected and the source-term estimation models for each reactor have been developed, respectively. For the atmospheric dispersion modeling, Lagrangian particle model will be integrated into the simulator for the long range dispersion modeling in Northeast Asia region. In this study, the dose assessment model has been developed considering external and internal exposure. The dose assessment model has been developed as a part of the overseas nuclear accidents simulator which is named NANAS. It addresses external and internal pathways including cloudshine, groundshine and inhalation. Also, it uses the output of atmospheric dispersion model (i.e. the average concentrations of radionuclides in air and ground) and various coefficients (e.g. dose conversion factor and breathing rate) as an input. Effective dose and thyroid dose for each grid in the Korean Peninsula region are printed out as a format of map projection and chart. Verification and validation on the dose assessment model will be conducted in further study by benchmarking with the measured data of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident.

  6. Critical analysis of accident scenario and consequences modelling applied to light-water reactor power plants for accident categories beyond the design basis accident (DBA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brofferio, C.; Cagnetti, P.; Ferrara, V.; Manilia, E.; Pietrangeli, G.; Sennis, C.

    1985-01-01

    A critical analysis and sensitivity study of the modelling of accident scenarios and environmental consequences are presented, for light-water reactor accident categories beyond the standard design-basis-accident category. The first chapter, on ''source term'' deals with the release of fission products from a damaged core inventory and their migration within the primary circuit and the reactor containment. Particular attention is given to the influence of engineering safeguards intervention and of the chemical forms of the released fission products. The second chapter deals with their release to the atmosphere, transport and wet or dry deposition, outlining relevant partial effects and confronting short-duration or prolonged releases. The third chapter presents a variability analysis, for environmental contamination levels, for two extreme hypothetical scenarios, evidencing the importance of plume rise. A numerical plume rise model is outlined

  7. The estimation economic impacts from severe accidents of a nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, J. T.; Jeong, W. D.

    2001-01-01

    The severe accidents of a nuclear power plant may cause health effects in the exposed population and societal economic impacts or costs. Techniques to assess the consequences of an accident in terms of cost may be applied in studies on the design of plant safety features and in examining countermeasure options as part of emergency planning or in decision making after an accident. In this study, the costs resulting from the severe accidents of a nuclear power plant were estimated for the different combinations of source term release parameters and meteorological data. Also, the costs were estimated for the different scenarios considering seasonal characteristics of Korea. The results can be used as essential inputs in costs/benefit analysis and in developing optimum risk reduction strategies

  8. Graphic console for analysis of severe accidents visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for the NPP-LV (CoGrAAS); Consola grafica para analisis de accidentes severos visualizacion de OEs, NAEs y calculo del termino fuente para la CLV (CoGrAAS)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sandoval V, S.; Mendoza E, P. R.; Gonzalez C, J. M.; Cecenas F, M. [Instituto Nacional de Electricidad y Energias Limpias, Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Tijerina S, F., E-mail: francisco.tijerina@cfe.gob.mx [CFE, Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde, Carretera Federal Cardel-Nautla Km 42.5, 91476 Municipio Alto Lucero, Veracruz (Mexico)

    2016-09-15

    In response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, the NRC conducted an analysis and issued recommendations to improve the safety of the nuclear reactors. These include strengthening and integrating emergency response capabilities and emphasizing periodic staff training, the performance of simulation exercises. As a tool to observe these recommendations, the Graphic Console was developed for Analysis of Severe Accidents, Visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-LV ; CoGrAAS). The CoGrAAS is a computer system that displays in an integrated, graphic and dynamic way the information of a catalog of previously simulated accident scenarios. Has core mimics, vessel, primary containment and safety systems, trend graph of thermodynamic and radiological variables and the emergency procedures (OEs), chronological list of events, windows with detailed information for the dry-well, among others. The use of CoGrAAS allows that staff to understand and become familiar with the thermo-hydraulic progression of actual scenarios that exceed the design basis including those with core damage as severe accidents. The system enables personnel to develop an integral vision of the scenarios during the exercises and drills by observing and analyzing the evolution of the main reactor, core and primary containment variables, the response of emergency systems and the influence of that progression on OEs and the emergency action levels (NAEs). The CoGrAAS allows o observe the radiological variables and obtain the source term, to make the projection of doses, at any time within the scenario evolution. Thus, not only can the phenomenology of severe accidents be analyzed and understood, it is also possible to exercise, verify and evaluate the performance of critical tasks in the application of procedures, guidelines and emergency management plans. (Author)

  9. Medical experience: Chernobyl and other accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Densow, D.; Kindler, H.; Fliedner, T.M.

    2000-01-01

    A radiation accident can be defined as an involuntary relevant exposure of man to ionising radiation or radioactive material. Provided one of the ensuing criteria is met with at least one person involved in an excursion of ionising radiation and or radioactive material, the respective incident can be considered a radiation accident in accordance with ICRP, NCRP (US), and WHO: ≥0.25 Sv total body irradiation with lesions of the rapidly dividing tissues; ≥6 Sv cutaneous and local irradiation; ≥0.4 Sv local irradiation of other organ systems through external sources; incorporation equal to or in excess of more than half of the maximum permissible organ burden; and medical accidents meeting one of the above criteria. Several actions have been taken to categorise radiation accidents in order to learn from previous accidents in terms of both managerial and medical experience. For this presentation three approaches will be discussed concerning their relevance to the individual treatment and risk management. This will be obtained by applying three classification schemes to all known radiation accidents: 1. classification with respect to the accident mechanism, 2. classification concerning the radiation injury, and 3. classification concerning the extent of the accident. In a fourth chapter the efficacy of bone marrow transplantation will briefly be commented on based on the accumulated experience of about 400 radiation accidents world-wide. (author)

  10. Dose calculations for severe LWR accident scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margulies, T.S.; Martin, J.A. Jr.

    1984-05-01

    This report presents a set of precalculated doses based on a set of postulated accident releases and intended for use in emergency planning and emergency response. Doses were calculated for the PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) accident categories of the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400) using the CRAC (Calculations of Reactor Accident Consequences) code. Whole body and thyroid doses are presented for a selected set of weather cases. For each weather case these calculations were performed for various times and distances including three different dose pathways - cloud (plume) shine, ground shine and inhalation. During an emergency this information can be useful since it is immediately available for projecting offsite radiological doses based on reactor accident sequence information in the absence of plant measurements of emission rates (source terms). It can be used for emergency drill scenario development as well

  11. An Am-Be neutron source Accident and its management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai Guang; Wang Xinyong; Wu Zhenghan

    1988-01-01

    An 241 Am-Be neutron source for inaustrial use was lost in a county of Guangdong Province in April, 1982. A school boy picked up and brought it to his home. The source was broken and 10 people were contaminated with radioactive substance. The boy (X) received the highest external irradiation, with chest dose of 0.12 Sv and hand dose of 0.32 Sv. His brother (Y) incurred the heaviest internal contamination by 241 Am, about 3.3 x 10 3 Bq. Decorporation was carried out in four persons including Y, and the excretion of 241 Am in stools and urine was increased significantly. With the medical examination performed upon these persons one and half years after the accident, no positive findings induced by radiation were found except the increase of chromosomal aberration rate in lymphocytes

  12. The post-accident protective measures in the region of the Chernobyl catastrophe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasechnikov, A.

    1993-01-01

    The strategy of protective measures and the system of intervention levels are considered. It makes it possible to limit the region where post-accident measures must be taken. The concept of 'safe living' for life and surface contamination concept are discussed. The measurement results of a surface contamination are pointed out in the maps for series settlements of the 30 km zone. The features of severe accidents to nuclear power plants are that damage is caused not only by destruction and downtime of power installations, but also by radioactive contamination of the environment. Therefore, the term 'severe accident' is accepted to mean an accident with an off-site impact, which requires to perform large-scale and expensive work on elimination of the consequences of the accident. The whole off-site damage due to the Chernobyl accident is caused exclusively by contamination, as no destruction was observed beyond the site. As a result of the Chernobyl accident the greatest short-term releases of radioactive materials to the atmosphere occurred from a single source. Four elements from all the materials released from the core have determined the short-term and long-term radiological situation in the affected areas. These are iodine, cesium, strontium and plutonium. Moreover, in the releases there were highly - radioactive fragments of fuel (hot particles). 7 figs

  13. Design parameters and source terms: Volume 2, Source terms: Revision 0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-09-01

    The Design Parameters and Source Terms Document was prepared in accordance with DOE request and to provide data for the environmental impact study to be performed in the future for the Deaf Smith County, Texas site for a nuclear waste repository in salt. This document updates a previous unpublished report to the level of the Site Characterization Plan---Conceptual Design Report SCP-CDR. The previous study identifies the data needs for the Environmental Assessment effort for seven possible salt repository sites. Volume 2 contains tables of source terms

  14. Immediate Dose Assessment for Radiation Accident in Laboratory Containing Gamma Source and/or Neutron Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, E.M.

    2012-01-01

    One of the most important safety requirements for any place containing radiation sources is an accurate and fast way to assess the dose rate in both normal and accidental case. In normal case, the source is completely protected inside its surrounded shields in case of non use. In some cases this source may stuck outside its shield. In this case the walls of the place act as a shield. Many studies were carried for obtaining the most appropriate materials that may be used as shielding depending on their efficiency and also their cost. As concrete- with different densities- is the most available constructive material, this study presented a theoretical model using MCNP-4B code, based on Monte Carlo method to estimate the dose rate distribution in a laboratory with concrete walls in case of source stuck accident. The study dealt with Cs-137 as gamma source and Am-Be-241 as neutron source. Two different densities of concrete and also different thicknesses of walls were studied. The used model was verified by comparing the results with a practical study concerning with the effect of adding carbon powder to the concrete. The results showed good agreement

  15. Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents: A review of the environmental impacts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinhauser, Georg, E-mail: georg.steinhauser@colostate.edu; Brandl, Alexander; Johnson, Thomas E.

    2014-02-01

    The environmental impacts of the nuclear accidents of Chernobyl and Fukushima are compared. In almost every respect, the consequences of the Chernobyl accident clearly exceeded those of the Fukushima accident. In both accidents, most of the radioactivity released was due to volatile radionuclides (noble gases, iodine, cesium, tellurium). However, the amount of refractory elements (including actinides) emitted in the course of the Chernobyl accident was approximately four orders of magnitude higher than during the Fukushima accident. For Chernobyl, a total release of 5300 PBq (excluding noble gases) has been established as the most cited source term. For Fukushima, we estimated a total source term of 520 (340–800) PBq. In the course of the Fukushima accident, the majority of the radionuclides (more than 80%) was transported offshore and deposited in the Pacific Ocean. Monitoring campaigns after both accidents reveal that the environmental impact of the Chernobyl accident was much greater than of the Fukushima accident. Both the highly contaminated areas and the evacuated areas are smaller around Fukushima and the projected health effects in Japan are significantly lower than after the Chernobyl accident. This is mainly due to the fact that food safety campaigns and evacuations worked quickly and efficiently after the Fukushima accident. In contrast to Chernobyl, no fatalities due to acute radiation effects occurred in Fukushima. - Highlights: • The environmental effects of Chernobyl and Fukushima are compared. • Releases of radionuclides from Chernobyl exceeded Fukushima by an order of magnitude. • Chernobyl caused more severe radiation-related health effects. • Overall, Chernobyl was a much more severe nuclear accident than Fukushima. • Psychological effects are neglected but important consequences of nuclear accidents.

  16. Inverse modeling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Hamburger, Thomas; Cozic, Anne; Balkanski, Yves; Stohl, Andreas

    2017-07-01

    This paper describes the results of an inverse modeling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modeling tools were further developed, inverse modeling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high-quality measurements, which are essential for inverse modeling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations but also deposition measurements from the most recent public data set. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to provide available measurements to anyone interested. In regards to our inverse modeling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30-50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, on the same order as previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km) than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km) in order to better match both concentration

  17. Inverse modeling of the Chernobyl source term using atmospheric concentration and deposition measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Evangeliou

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the results of an inverse modeling study for the determination of the source term of the radionuclides 134Cs, 137Cs and 131I released after the Chernobyl accident. The accident occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Former Soviet Union and released about 1019 Bq of radioactive materials that were transported as far away as the USA and Japan. Thereafter, several attempts to assess the magnitude of the emissions were made that were based on the knowledge of the core inventory and the levels of the spent fuel. More recently, when modeling tools were further developed, inverse modeling techniques were applied to the Chernobyl case for source term quantification. However, because radioactivity is a sensitive topic for the public and attracts a lot of attention, high-quality measurements, which are essential for inverse modeling, were not made available except for a few sparse activity concentration measurements far from the source and far from the main direction of the radioactive fallout. For the first time, we apply Bayesian inversion of the Chernobyl source term using not only activity concentrations but also deposition measurements from the most recent public data set. These observations refer to a data rescue attempt that started more than 10 years ago, with a final goal to provide available measurements to anyone interested. In regards to our inverse modeling results, emissions of 134Cs were estimated to be 80 PBq or 30–50 % higher than what was previously published. From the released amount of 134Cs, about 70 PBq were deposited all over Europe. Similar to 134Cs, emissions of 137Cs were estimated as 86 PBq, on the same order as previously reported results. Finally, 131I emissions of 1365 PBq were found, which are about 10 % less than the prior total releases. The inversion pushes the injection heights of the three radionuclides to higher altitudes (up to about 3 km than previously assumed (≈ 2.2 km in order

  18. Expert software for accident identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobnikar, M.; Nemec, T.; Muehleisen, A.

    2003-01-01

    Each type of an accident in a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) causes immediately after the start of the accident variations of physical parameters that are typical for that type of the accident thus enabling its identification. Examples of these parameter are: decrease of reactor coolant system pressure, increase of radiation level in the containment, increase of pressure in the containment. An expert software enabling a fast preliminary identification of the type of the accident in Krsko NPP has been developed. As input data selected typical parameters from Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) of the Krsko NPP are used. Based on these parameters the expert software identifies the type of the accident and also provides the user with appropriate references (past analyses and other documentation of such an accident). The expert software is to be used as a support tool by an expert team that forms in case of an emergency at Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) with the task to determine the cause of the accident, its most probable scenario and the source term. The expert software should provide initial identification of the event, while the final one is still to be made after appropriate assessment of the event by the expert group considering possibility of non-typical events, multiple causes, initial conditions, influences of operators' actions etc. The expert software can be also used as an educational/training tool and even as a simple database of available accident analyses. (author)

  19. Analysis of radionuclide behavior in a BWR Mark-II containment under severe accident management condition in low pressure sequence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Funayama, Kyoko; Kajimoto, Mitsuhiro; Nagayoshi, Takuji; Tanaka, Nobuo

    1999-01-01

    In the Level 2 PSA program at INS/NUPEC, MELCOR1.8.3 is extensively applied to analyze radionuclide behavior of dominant sequences. In addition, the revised source terms provided in the NUREG-1465 report have been also discussed to examine the potential of the radionuclides release to the environment in the conventional siting criteria. In the present study, characteristics of source terms to the environment were examined comparing with results by the Hypothetical Accident (LOCA), NUREG-1465 and MELCOR1.8.3. calculation for a typical BWR with a Mark-II containment in order to assure conservatives of the Hypothetical Accident in Japan. Release fractions of iodine to the environment for the Hypothetical Accident and NUREG-1465, which used engineering models for predicting radionuclide behaviors, were about 10 -4 and 10 -6 of core inventory, respectively, while the best estimate MELCOR1.8.3 code predicted 10 -9 of iodine to the environment. The present study showed that the engineering models in the Hypothetical Accident or NUREG-1465 have large conservatives to estimate source term of iodine to the environment. (author)

  20. Accident simulation in a chemical process facility at the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hope, E.P.

    1993-01-01

    The US Department of Energy requires Westinghouse Savannah River Company to safely operate the chemical separations facilities at the Savannah River Site (SRS). As part of the safety analysis program, simulation of a proposed frame waste recovery (FWR) system is needed to determine the possible accident consequences that may affect public safety. This paper details the simulation process for the proposed frame waste recovery process and describes the analytical tools used in order to make estimates of accident consequences. Since the process in question has been operated, historical data and statistics about its operation are available. Software tools have been developed to allow analysis of the frame waste recovery system, including the generation of system specific dose conversion factors for a number of unique situations. Accident scenarios involving spilled liquid material are analyzed and account for the specific floor geometry of the facility. Confinement and filtration systems are considered. Analysis of source terms is a limiting factor which affects the entire evaluation process. In the past, facility source terms were generally constant with occasional variations from established patterns. As new site missions unfold, significant variations in source terms can be expected. The impact of these variations on the safety analysis is discussed

  1. Estimate of radionuclide release characteristics into containment under severe accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nourbakhsh, H.P.

    1993-11-01

    A detailed review of the available light water reactor source term information is presented as a technical basis for development of updated source terms into the containment under severe accident conditions. Simplified estimates of radionuclide release and transport characteristics are specified for each unique combination of the reactor coolant and containment system combinations. A quantitative uncertainty analysis in the release to the containment using NUREG-1150 methodology is also presented

  2. Evaluation of JRC source term methodology using MAAP5 as a fast-running crisis tool for a BWR4 Mark I reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vela-García, M.; Simola, K.

    2016-01-01

    JRC participated in the OECD/NEA FASTRUN benchmark reviewing fast-running software tools to model fission product releases during accidents at nuclear power plants. The main goal of fast-running software tools is to foresee the accident progression, so that mitigating actions can be taken and the population can be adequately protected. Within the FASTRUN, JRC used the MAAP 4.0.8 code and developed a methodology to obtain the source term (as activity released per radioisotope) of PWR and BWR station black-out accident scenarios. The modifications made in the MAAP models were limited to a minimum number of important parameters. This aims at reproducing a crisis situation with a limited time to adapt a generic input deck. This paper presents further studies, where JRC analysed the FASTRUN BWR scenario using MAAP 5.0.2 that has the capability of calculating doses. A sensitivity study was performed with the MAAP 5.0.2 DOSE package deactivated, using the same methodology as in the case of MAAP 4.0.8 for source term calculation. The results were close to the reference LTSBO SOARCA case, independently of the methodology used. One of the benefits of using the MAAP code is the short runtime of the simulations.

  3. Design parameters and source terms: Volume 2, Source terms: Revision 0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-10-01

    The Design Parameters and Source Terms Document was prepared in accordance with DOE request and to provide data for the environmental impact study to be performed in the future for the Deaf Smith County, Texas site for a nuclear waste repository in salt. This document updates a previous unpublished report by Stearns Catalytic Corporation (SCC), entitled ''Design Parameters and Source Terms for a Two-Phase Repository Salt,'' 1985, to the level of the Site Characterization Plan - Conceptual Design Report. The previous unpublished SCC Study identifies the data needs for the Environmental Assessment effort for seven possible Salt Repository sites. 2 tabs

  4. Toward a Mechanistic Source Term in Advanced Reactors: Characterization of Radionuclide Transport and Retention in a Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brunett, Acacia J.; Bucknor, Matthew; Grabaskas, David

    2016-04-17

    A vital component of the U.S. reactor licensing process is an integrated safety analysis in which a source term representing the release of radionuclides during normal operation and accident sequences is analyzed. Historically, source term analyses have utilized bounding, deterministic assumptions regarding radionuclide release. However, advancements in technical capabilities and the knowledge state have enabled the development of more realistic and best-estimate retention and release models such that a mechanistic source term assessment can be expected to be a required component of future licensing of advanced reactors. Recently, as part of a Regulatory Technology Development Plan effort for sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs), Argonne National Laboratory has investigated the current state of knowledge of potential source terms in an SFR via an extensive review of previous domestic experiments, accidents, and operation. As part of this work, the significant sources and transport processes of radionuclides in an SFR have been identified and characterized. This effort examines all stages of release and source term evolution, beginning with release from the fuel pin and ending with retention in containment. Radionuclide sources considered in this effort include releases originating both in-vessel (e.g. in-core fuel, primary sodium, cover gas cleanup system, etc.) and ex-vessel (e.g. spent fuel storage, handling, and movement). Releases resulting from a primary sodium fire are also considered as a potential source. For each release group, dominant transport phenomena are identified and qualitatively discussed. The key product of this effort was the development of concise, inclusive diagrams that illustrate the release and retention mechanisms at a high level, where unique schematics have been developed for in-vessel, ex-vessel and sodium fire releases. This review effort has also found that despite the substantial range of phenomena affecting radionuclide release, the

  5. Benchmarking of fast-running software tools used to model releases during nuclear accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Devitt, P.; Viktorov, A., E-mail: Peter.Devitt@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca, E-mail: Alex.Viktorov@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    Fukushima highlighted the importance of effective nuclear accident response. However, its complexity greatly impacted the ability to provide timely and accurate information to national and international stakeholders. Safety recommendations provided by different national and international organizations varied notably. Such differences can partially be attributed to different methods used in the initial assessment of accident progression and the amount of radioactivity release.Therefore, a comparison of methodologies was undertaken by the NEA/CSNI and its highlights are presented here. For this project, the prediction tools used by various emergency response organizations for estimating the source terms and public doses were examined. Those organizations that have a capability to use such tools responded to a questionnaire describing each code's capabilities and main algorithms. Then the project's participants analyzed five accident scenarios to predict the source term, dispersion of releases and public doses. (author)

  6. Lesson from a 60Co source radiation accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Yong; Zhang Wenzhong

    2002-01-01

    A serious radiation accident happened an a 60 Co irradiation facility in Shanghai. 7 workers were uniformly exposed acutely. An investigation was done after the accident and a conclusion was achieved that the irregular operation was the direct reason for the accident. The operation of these workers did not comply with the requirements specified in the national standards-- 60 irradiation facility>> which demands that the examination should be done every day before operation, and the irradiation facility does not stop running when the auto-lock safety system on that facility has been removed. Some lessons should be drawn from the accident: popularizing the culture of safety, enhancing the law of safety, and ensuring the operation of radiation devices within the demands of safety

  7. Workshop on short-term health effects of reactor accidents: Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    The high-dose early-effects research that has been continued has been done in the context of infrequent accidents with large radiation sources and the use of bone marrow transfusions for treating malignancies, especially leukemia. It thus seemed appropriate to bring together those who have done research on and have had experience with massive whole-body radiation. The objectives were to review what is known about the acute effects of whole-body irradiation, to review the current knowledge of therapy, and particularly of the diagnostic and immunologic problems encountered in bone marrow therapy, and to compare this knowledge with observations made to date on the Chernobyl accident radiation casualties. Dr. Robert Gale, who had helped to care for these casualties, was present at the Workshop. It was hoped that such a review would help those making continuing clinical and pathological observations on the Chernobyl casualties, and that these observations would provide a basis for recommendations for additional research that might result in improved ability to manage successfully this type of severe injury

  8. Workshop on short-term health effects of reactor accidents: Chernobyl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1986-08-08

    The high-dose early-effects research that has been continued has been done in the context of infrequent accidents with large radiation sources and the use of bone marrow transfusions for treating malignancies, especially leukemia. It thus seemed appropriate to bring together those who have done research on and have had experience with massive whole-body radiation. The objectives were to review what is known about the acute effects of whole-body irradiation, to review the current knowledge of therapy, and particularly of the diagnostic and immunologic problems encountered in bone marrow therapy, and to compare this knowledge with observations made to date on the Chernobyl accident radiation casualties. Dr. Robert Gale, who had helped to care for these casualties, was present at the Workshop. It was hoped that such a review would help those making continuing clinical and pathological observations on the Chernobyl casualties, and that these observations would provide a basis for recommendations for additional research that might result in improved ability to manage successfully this type of severe injury.

  9. Accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutz, R.J.; Monty, B.S.; Liparulo, N.J.; Desaedeleer, G.

    1989-01-01

    The foundation of the framework for a Severe Accident Management Program is the contained in the Probabilistic Safety Study (PSS) or the Individual Plant Evaluations (IPE) for a specific plant. The development of a Severe Accident Management Program at a plant is based on the use of the information, in conjunction with other applicable information. A Severe Accident Management Program must address both accident prevention and accident mitigation. The overall Severe Accident Management framework must address these two facets, as a living program in terms of gathering the evaluating information, the readiness to respond to an event. Significant international experience in the development of severe accident management programs exist which should provide some direction for the development of Severe Accident Management in the U.S. This paper reports that the two most important elements of a Severe Accident Management Program are the Emergency Consultation process and the standards for measuring the effectiveness of individual Severe Accident Management Programs at utilities

  10. Estimating the costs of work-related accidents and ill-health: An analysis of European data sources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuvel, S. van den; Zwaan, L. van der; Dam, L. van; Oude Hengel, K.M.; Eekhout, I.; Emmerik, M.L. van; Oldenburg, C.; Brück, C.; Janowski, P.; Wilhelm, C.

    2017-01-01

    This report presents the results of a survey of national and international data sources on the costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths. The aim was to evaluate the quality and comparability of different sources as a first step towards estimating the costs of accidents and ill-health at

  11. The Radiological Accident in Lia, Georgia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2014-12-15

    The use of radioactive material offers a wide range of benefits to medicine, research and industry throughout the world. Precautions are necessary, however, to limit the exposure of people to the radiation emitted. Where the amount of radioactive material is substantial, as in the case of radiotherapy or industrial radiography sources, great care is required to prevent accidents which could have severe consequences. Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, serious accidents involving radiation sources continue to occur, albeit infrequently. The IAEA conducts follow-up reviews of such serious accidents to provide an account of their circumstances and consequences, from which organizations with responsibilities for radiation protection, safety of sources and emergency preparedness and response may learn. A serious radiological accident occurred in Georgia on 2 December 2001, when three inhabitants of the village of Lia found two metal objects in the forest while collecting firewood. These objects were {sup 90}Sr sources with an activity of 1295 TBq. The three inhabitants used the objects as heaters when spending the night in the forest. The major cause of the accident was the improper and unauthorized abandonment of radiation sources in Georgia and the absence of clear labels or radiation signs on the sources warning of the potential radiation hazard. Under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (Assistance Convention), the Georgian authorities requested assistance from the IAEA to advise on the dose assessment, source recovery and medical management of those involved in the accident. This publication describes the circumstances and events surrounding the accident, its management and the medical treatment of the people exposed. It also describes the dose reconstruction calculations and biodosimetry assessments conducted. A number of uncertainties remain relating to some details of the accident. However

  12. The Radiological Accident in Lia, Georgia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-12-01

    The use of radioactive material offers a wide range of benefits to medicine, research and industry throughout the world. Precautions are necessary, however, to limit the exposure of people to the radiation emitted. Where the amount of radioactive material is substantial, as in the case of radiotherapy or industrial radiography sources, great care is required to prevent accidents which could have severe consequences. Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, serious accidents involving radiation sources continue to occur, albeit infrequently. The IAEA conducts follow-up reviews of such serious accidents to provide an account of their circumstances and consequences, from which organizations with responsibilities for radiation protection, safety of sources and emergency preparedness and response may learn. A serious radiological accident occurred in Georgia on 2 December 2001, when three inhabitants of the village of Lia found two metal objects in the forest while collecting firewood. These objects were 90 Sr sources with an activity of 1295 TBq. The three inhabitants used the objects as heaters when spending the night in the forest. The major cause of the accident was the improper and unauthorized abandonment of radiation sources in Georgia and the absence of clear labels or radiation signs on the sources warning of the potential radiation hazard. Under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (Assistance Convention), the Georgian authorities requested assistance from the IAEA to advise on the dose assessment, source recovery and medical management of those involved in the accident. This publication describes the circumstances and events surrounding the accident, its management and the medical treatment of the people exposed. It also describes the dose reconstruction calculations and biodosimetry assessments conducted. A number of uncertainties remain relating to some details of the accident. However, sufficient

  13. Overview of severe accident research at JAERI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugimoto, Jun

    1999-01-01

    Severe accident research at JAERI aims at the confirmation of the safety margin, the quantification of the associated risk, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the accident management measures of the nuclear power reactors, in accordance with the government five-year nuclear safety research program. JAERI has been conducting a wide range of severe accident research activities both in experiment and analysis, such as melt coolant interactions, fission product behaviors in coolant system, containment integrity and assessment of accident management measures. Molten core/coolant interaction and in-vessel molten coolability have been investigated in ALPHA Program. MUSE experiments in ALPHA Program has been conducted for the precise energy measurement due to steam explosion in melt jet and stratified geometries. In VEGA Program, which aims at FP release from irradiated fuels at high temperature and high pressure under various atmospheric conditions, the facility construction is almost completed. In WIND Program the revaporization of aerosols due to decay heating and also the integrity of the piping from this heat source are being investigated. Code development activities are in progress for an integrated source term analysis with THALES, fission product behaviors with ART, steam explosion with JASMINE, and in-vessel debris behaviors with CAMP. The experimental analyses and reactor application have made progress by participating international standard problem and code comparison exercises, along with the use of introduced codes, such as SCDAP/RELAP5 and MELCOR. The outcome of the severe accident research will be utilized for the evaluation of more reliable severe accident scenarios, detailed implementation of the accident management measures, and also for the future reactor development, basically through the sophisticated use of verified analytical tools. (author)

  14. Health physics evaluation of an accident involving acute overexposure to a radiography source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basson, J.K.; Hanekom, A.P.; Coetzee, F.C.; Lloyd, D.C.

    1981-10-01

    An accident, involving the loss of an iridium-192 radiographic source and the subsequent serious overexposure of a third party, is described. Health physics aspects, particularly dosimetrical aspects are addressed and compared with results obtained by means of chromosome aberration dosimetry. Details are provided on the medical observations and treatment of the patient [af

  15. Nuclear accidents and epidemiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    A consultation on epidemiology related to the Chernobyl accident was held in Copenhagen in May 1987 as a basis for concerted action. This was followed by a joint IAEA/WHO workshop in Vienna, which reviewed appropriate methodologies for possible long-term effects of radiation following nuclear accidents. The reports of these two meetings are included in this volume, and cover the subjects: 1) Epidemiology related to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. 2) Appropriate methodologies for studying possible long-term effects of radiation on individuals exposed in a nuclear accident. Figs and tabs

  16. Accident sequences simulated at the Juragua nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carbajo, J.J.

    1998-01-01

    Different hypothetical accident sequences have been simulated at Unit 1 of the Juragua nuclear power plant in Cuba, a plant with two VVER-440 V213 units under construction. The computer code MELCOR was employed for these simulations. The sequences simulated are: (1) a design-basis accident (DBA) large loss of coolant accident (LOCA) with the emergency core coolant system (ECCS) on, (2) a station blackout (SBO), (3) a small LOCA (SLOCA) concurrent with SBO, (4) a large LOCA (LLOCA) concurrent with SBO, and (5) a LLOCA concurrent with SBO and with the containment breached at time zero. Timings of important events and source term releases have been calculated for the different sequences analyzed. Under certain weather conditions, the fission products released from the severe accident sequences may travel to southern Florida

  17. Proposal for implementation of alternative source term in the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde; Propuesta de implementacion del termino fuente alternativo en la central nuclear Laguna Verde

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bazan L, A.; Lopez L, M.; Vargas A, A.; Cardenas J, J. B. [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde, Km. 7.5 Carretera Veracruz-Medellin, Dos Bocas, Veracruz (Mexico)], e-mail: ariadna.bazan@cfe.gob.mx

    2009-10-15

    In 2010 the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde will implement the extended power upbeat in both units of the plant. Agree with methodology of NEDC-33004P-A, (constant pressure power up rate), and the source term of core, for accidents evaluations, were increased in proportion to the ratio of power level. This means that for the case of a design basis accident of loss of coolant an increase of power of 15% originated an increase of 15% in dose to main control room. Using the method of NEDC-33004P-A to extended power upbeat conditions was determined that the dose value to main control room is very near to regulatory limit established by SRP 6.4. By the above and in order to recover the margin, the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde will calculate an alternative source term following the criteria established in RG 1.183 (alternative radiological source term for evaluating DBA at nuclear power reactor). This approach also have a more realistic dose value using the criterion of 10-CFR-50.67, in addition is predicted to get the benefit of additional operational flexibilities. This paper present the proposal of implementing the alternative source term in Laguna Verde. (Author)

  18. Long term health effects in Sweden from the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falk, R.; Mellander, H.; Moberg, L.; Edvardson, K.; Nyblom, L.

    1997-01-01

    The morning of 28 April 1986 was the beginning of an intensive period of radiation protection work in Sweden. During that morning the Chernobyl accident became known in the western world through the detection of radioactive contamination in Sweden and at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in particular. The environmental consequences of the fallout have been studied in various research projects. The effects on agriculture in Sweden was mainly limited to the first year after the accident. The long term effects are instead seen in products from the semi-natural ecosystems: in moose, roedeer, reindeer, mushrooms and fish from lakes in areas with a high deposition of radioactive caesium. High concentrations of 137 Cs in reindeer meat in combination with an estimated effective ecological half-life of about 4 years, will cause problems for reindeer husbandry in the most contaminated parts for many years to come. In moose, roedeer and mushrooms, the ecological half-lives are very long and in some compartments seem to approach the physical half-life of 137 Cs. 22 refs, 3 figs

  19. Long term health effects in Sweden from the Chernobyl accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Falk, R; Mellander, H; Moberg, L; Edvardson, K; Nyblom, L [Swedish Radiation Protection Inst., Stockholm (Sweden)

    1997-09-01

    The morning of 28 April 1986 was the beginning of an intensive period of radiation protection work in Sweden. During that morning the Chernobyl accident became known in the western world through the detection of radioactive contamination in Sweden and at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in particular. The environmental consequences of the fallout have been studied in various research projects. The effects on agriculture in Sweden was mainly limited to the first year after the accident. The long term effects are instead seen in products from the semi-natural ecosystems: in moose, roedeer, reindeer, mushrooms and fish from lakes in areas with a high deposition of radioactive caesium. High concentrations of {sup 137}Cs in reindeer meat in combination with an estimated effective ecological half-life of about 4 years, will cause problems for reindeer husbandry in the most contaminated parts for many years to come. In moose, roedeer and mushrooms, the ecological half-lives are very long and in some compartments seem to approach the physical half-life of {sup 137}Cs. 22 refs, 3 figs.

  20. Loss-of-coolant accident analyses of the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, N.C.J.; Yoder, G.L.; Wendel, M.W.

    1991-01-01

    Currently in the conceptual design stage, the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR) will operate at a high heat flux, a high mass flux, an a high degree of coolant subcooling. Loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) analyses using RELAP5 have been performed as part of an early evaluation of ANSR safety issues. This paper discusses the RELAP5 ANSR conceptual design system model and preliminary LOCA simulation results. Some previous studies were conducted for the preconceptual design. 12 refs., 7 figs

  1. Fission product behaviour in severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jokiniemi, J.; Auvinen, A.; Maekynen, J.; Valmari, T.

    1998-01-01

    The understanding of fission product (FP) behaviour in severe accidents is important for source term assessment and accident mitigation measures. For example in accident management the operator needs to know the effect of different actions on the behaviour and release of fission products. At VTT fission product behaviour have been studied in different national and international projects. In this presentation the results of projects in EU funded 4th framework programme Nuclear Fission Safety 1994-1998 are reported. The projects are: fission product vapour/aerosol chemistry in the primary circuit (FI4SCT960020), aerosol physics in containment (FI4SCT950016), revaporisation of test samples from Phebus fission products (FI4SCT960019) and assessment of models for fission product revaporisation (FI4SCT960044). Also results from the national project 'aerosol experiments in the Victoria facility' funded by IVO PE and VTT Energy are reported

  2. Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Katata, G.; Chino, M.; Kobayashi, T. [Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Ibaraki (Japan); and others

    2015-07-01

    Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate the detailed atmospheric releases during the accident using a reverse estimation method which calculates the release rates of radionuclides by comparing measurements of air concentration of a radionuclide or its dose rate in the environment with the ones calculated by atmospheric and oceanic transport, dispersion and deposition models. The atmospheric and oceanic models used are WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) and SEA-GEARN-FDM (Finite difference oceanic dispersion model), both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fog-water depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation, and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I{sub 2} and CH{sub 3}I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to the FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (safety relief valve) was opened three times at Unit 2, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of release rates. The simulation by WSPEEDI-II using the new source term reproduced the local and regional patterns of

  3. Preliminary Assessment of ICRP Dose Conversion Factor Recommendations for Accident Analysis Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vincent, A.M.

    2002-01-01

    Accident analysis for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities is an integral part of the overall safety basis developed by the contractor to demonstrate facility operation can be conducted safely. An appropriate documented safety analysis for a facility discusses accident phenomenology, quantifies source terms arising from postulated process upset conditions, and applies a standardized, internationally-recognized database of dose conversion factors (DCFs) to evaluate radiological conditions to offsite receptors

  4. Accident tolerant clad material modeling by MELCOR: Benchmark for SURRY Short Term Station Black Out

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jun; Mccabe, Mckinleigh; Wu, Lei; Dong, Xiaomeng; Wang, Xianmao; Haskin, Troy Christopher; Corradini, Michael L.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermo-physical and oxidation kinetics properties calculation and analysis of FeCrAl. • Properties modelling of FeCrAl in MELCOR. • Benchmark calculation of Surry nuclear power plant. - Abstract: Accident tolerant fuel and cladding materials are being investigated to provide a greater resistance to fuel degradation, oxidation and melting if long-term cooling is lost in a Light Water Reactor (LWR) following an accident such as a Station Blackout (SBO) or Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). Researchers at UW-Madison are analyzing an SBO sequence and examining the effect of a loss of auxiliary feedwater (AFW) with the MELCOR systems code. Our research work considers accident tolerant cladding materials (e.g., FeCrAl alloy) and their effect on the accident behavior. We first gathered the physical properties of this alternative cladding material via literature review and compared it to the usual zirconium alloys used in LWRs. We then developed a model for the Surry reactor for a Short-term SBO sequence and examined the effect of replacing FeCrAl for Zircaloy cladding. The analysis uses MELCOR, Version 1.8.6 YR, which is developed by Idaho National Laboratory in collaboration with MELCOR developers at Sandia National Laboratories. This version allows the user to alter the cladding material considered, and our study examines the behavior of the FeCrAl alloy as a substitute for Zircaloy. Our benchmark comparisons with the Sandia National Laboratory’s analysis of Surry using MELCOR 1.8.6 and the more recent MELCOR 2.1 indicate good overall agreement through the early phases of the accident progression. When FeCrAl is substituted for Zircaloy to examine its performance, we confirmed that FeCrAl slows the accident progression and reduce the amount of hydrogen generated. Our analyses also show that this special version of MELCOR can be used to evaluate other potential ATF cladding materials, e.g., SiC as well as innovative coatings on zirconium cladding

  5. Accident tolerant clad material modeling by MELCOR: Benchmark for SURRY Short Term Station Black Out

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Jun, E-mail: jwang564@wisc.edu [College of Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53706 (United States); Mccabe, Mckinleigh [College of Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53706 (United States); Wu, Lei [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Dong, Xiaomeng [College of Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53706 (United States); Wang, Xianmao [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Haskin, Troy Christopher [College of Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53706 (United States); Corradini, Michael L., E-mail: corradini@engr.wisc.edu [College of Engineering, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53706 (United States)

    2017-03-15

    Highlights: • Thermo-physical and oxidation kinetics properties calculation and analysis of FeCrAl. • Properties modelling of FeCrAl in MELCOR. • Benchmark calculation of Surry nuclear power plant. - Abstract: Accident tolerant fuel and cladding materials are being investigated to provide a greater resistance to fuel degradation, oxidation and melting if long-term cooling is lost in a Light Water Reactor (LWR) following an accident such as a Station Blackout (SBO) or Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). Researchers at UW-Madison are analyzing an SBO sequence and examining the effect of a loss of auxiliary feedwater (AFW) with the MELCOR systems code. Our research work considers accident tolerant cladding materials (e.g., FeCrAl alloy) and their effect on the accident behavior. We first gathered the physical properties of this alternative cladding material via literature review and compared it to the usual zirconium alloys used in LWRs. We then developed a model for the Surry reactor for a Short-term SBO sequence and examined the effect of replacing FeCrAl for Zircaloy cladding. The analysis uses MELCOR, Version 1.8.6 YR, which is developed by Idaho National Laboratory in collaboration with MELCOR developers at Sandia National Laboratories. This version allows the user to alter the cladding material considered, and our study examines the behavior of the FeCrAl alloy as a substitute for Zircaloy. Our benchmark comparisons with the Sandia National Laboratory’s analysis of Surry using MELCOR 1.8.6 and the more recent MELCOR 2.1 indicate good overall agreement through the early phases of the accident progression. When FeCrAl is substituted for Zircaloy to examine its performance, we confirmed that FeCrAl slows the accident progression and reduce the amount of hydrogen generated. Our analyses also show that this special version of MELCOR can be used to evaluate other potential ATF cladding materials, e.g., SiC as well as innovative coatings on zirconium cladding

  6. The accident of Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-10-01

    RBMK reactors (reactor control, protection systems, containment) and the nuclear power plant of Chernobyl are first presented. The scenario of the accident is given with a detailed chronology. The actions and consequences on the site are reviewed. This report then give the results of the source term estimation (fision product release, core inventory, trajectories, meteorological data...), the radioactivity measurements obtained in France. Health consequences for the French population are evoked. The medical consequences for the population who have received a high level of doses are reviewed [fr

  7. Source term estimation for small sized HTRs: status and further needs - a german approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moormann, R.; Schenk, W.; Verfondern, K.

    2000-01-01

    The main results of German studies on source term estimation for small pebble-bed HTRs with their strict safety demands are outlined. Core heat-up events are no longer dominant for modern high quality fuel, but fission product transport during water ingress accidents (steam cycle plants) and depressurization is relevant, mainly due to remobilization of fission products which were plated-out in the course of normal operation or became dust borne. An important lack of knowledge was identified as concerns data on plate-out under normal operation, as well as on the behaviour of dust borne activity as a whole. Improved knowledge in this field is also important for maintenance/repair and design/shielding. For core heat-up events the influence of burn-up on temperature induced fission product release has to be measured for future high burn-up fuel. Also, transport mechanisms out of the He circuit into the environment require further examination. For water/steam ingress events mobilization of plated-out fission products by steam or water has to be considered in detail, along with steam interaction with kernels of particles with defective coatings. For source terms of depressurization, a more detailed knowledge of the flow pattern and shear forces on the various surfaces is necessary. In order to improve the knowledge on plate-out and dust in normal operation and to generate specimens for experimental remobilization studies, planning/design of plate-out/dust examination facilities which could be added to the next generation of HTRs (HTR10,HTTR) is proposed. For severe air ingress and reactivity accidents, behaviour of future advanced fuel elements has to be experimentally tested. (authors)

  8. Domino effect in chemical accidents: main features and accident sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darbra, R M; Palacios, Adriana; Casal, Joaquim

    2010-11-15

    The main features of domino accidents in process/storage plants and in the transportation of hazardous materials were studied through an analysis of 225 accidents involving this effect. Data on these accidents, which occurred after 1961, were taken from several sources. Aspects analyzed included the accident scenario, the type of accident, the materials involved, the causes and consequences and the most common accident sequences. The analysis showed that the most frequent causes are external events (31%) and mechanical failure (29%). Storage areas (35%) and process plants (28%) are by far the most common settings for domino accidents. Eighty-nine per cent of the accidents involved flammable materials, the most frequent of which was LPG. The domino effect sequences were analyzed using relative probability event trees. The most frequent sequences were explosion→fire (27.6%), fire→explosion (27.5%) and fire→fire (17.8%). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of Level-2 PSA Technology: A Development of the Database of the Parametric Source Term for Kori Unit 1 Using the MAAP4 Code

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Chang Soon; Mun, Ju Hyun; Yun, Jeong Ick; Cho, Young Hoo; Kim, Chong Uk [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-07-15

    To quantify the severe accident source term of the parametric model method, the uncertainty of the parameters should be analyzed. Generally, to analyze the uncertainties, the cumulative distribution functions(CDF`S) of the parameters are derived. This report introduces a method of derivation of the CDF`s of the basic parameters, FCOR, FVES and FDCH. The calculation tool of the source term is the MAAP version 4.0. In the MAAP code, there are model parameters to consider an uncertain physical and/or chemical phenomenon. In general, the parameters have not a point value but a range. In this paper, considering this point, the input values of model parameters influencing each parameter are sampled using LHS. Then, the calculation results are shown in the cumulative distribution form. For a case study, the CDF`s of FCOR, FVES and FDCH of KORI unit 1 are derived. The target scenarios for the calculation are the ones whose initial events are large LOCA, small LOCA and transient, respectively. It is found that the distributions of this study are consistent to those of NUREG-1150 and are proven to be adequate in assessing the uncertainties in the severe accident source term of KORI Unit 1. 15 refs., 27 tabs., 4 figs. (author)

  10. SOURCE TERMS FOR HLW GLASS CANISTERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    J.S. Tang

    2000-01-01

    This calculation is prepared by the Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) Waste Package Design Section. The objective of this calculation is to determine the source terms that include radionuclide inventory, decay heat, and radiation sources due to gamma rays and neutrons for the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from the, West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP), Savannah River Site (SRS), Hanford Site (HS), and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). This calculation also determines the source terms of the canister containing the SRS HLW glass and immobilized plutonium. The scope of this calculation is limited to source terms for a time period out to one million years. The results of this calculation may be used to carry out performance assessment of the potential repository and to evaluate radiation environments surrounding the waste packages (WPs). This calculation was performed in accordance with the Development Plan ''Source Terms for HLW Glass Canisters'' (Ref. 7.24)

  11. Injury Source and Correlation Analysis of Riders in Car-Electric Bicycle Accidents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiefang Zou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge about the injury source and correlation of riders in car-electric bicycle accident will be helpful in the cross validation of traces and vehicle safety design. In order to know more information about such kind of knowledge, 57 true car-electric bicycle accidents were reconstructed by PC-Crash and then data on injury information of riders were collected directly from the reconstructed cases. These collected data were validated by some existing research results firstly, and then 4 abnormal cases were deleted according to the statistical method. Finally, conclusions can be obtained according to the data obtained from the remaining 53 cases. Direct injuries of the head and right leg are from the road pavement upon low speed; the source laws of indirect head injuries are not obvious. Upon intermediate and high speed, the injuries of the above parts are from automobiles. Injuries of the left leg, femur, and right knee are from automobiles; left knee injuries are from automobiles, the road pavement and automobiles, respectively, upon low, intermediate, and high speed. The source laws of indirect torso injuries are not obvious upon intermediate and low speed, which are from automobiles upon high speed, while direct torso injuries are from the road pavement. And there is no high correlation between all parts of the injury of riders. The largest correlation coefficient was the head-left femur and left femur-right femur, which was 0.647, followed by the head-right femur (0.638 and head-torso which was 0.617.

  12. Injury Source and Correlation Analysis of Riders in Car-Electric Bicycle Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Tiefang; Yi, Liang; Cai, Ming; Hu, Lin; Li, Yuelin

    2018-01-01

    The knowledge about the injury source and correlation of riders in car-electric bicycle accident will be helpful in the cross validation of traces and vehicle safety design. In order to know more information about such kind of knowledge, 57 true car-electric bicycle accidents were reconstructed by PC-Crash and then data on injury information of riders were collected directly from the reconstructed cases. These collected data were validated by some existing research results firstly, and then 4 abnormal cases were deleted according to the statistical method. Finally, conclusions can be obtained according to the data obtained from the remaining 53 cases. Direct injuries of the head and right leg are from the road pavement upon low speed; the source laws of indirect head injuries are not obvious. Upon intermediate and high speed, the injuries of the above parts are from automobiles. Injuries of the left leg, femur, and right knee are from automobiles; left knee injuries are from automobiles, the road pavement and automobiles, respectively, upon low, intermediate, and high speed. The source laws of indirect torso injuries are not obvious upon intermediate and low speed, which are from automobiles upon high speed, while direct torso injuries are from the road pavement. And there is no high correlation between all parts of the injury of riders. The largest correlation coefficient was the head-left femur and left femur-right femur, which was 0.647, followed by the head-right femur (0.638) and head-torso which was 0.617.

  13. Consequences of tritium release to water pathways from postulated accidents in a DOE production reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Kula, K.R.; Olson, R.L.; Hamby, D.M.

    1991-01-01

    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 x 10 -3 person-rem/Ci). The general public drinking water dose to downstream water consumers is 6.5 x 10 -2 person-Sv/Pbq (2.4 x 10 -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 study suggests that application of regional models (1610 km radius) will indicate larger dose consequences from short-term tritium release to the atmosphere than from comparable tritium source terms to water pathways. However, the water pathways assessment is clearly site-specific, and the overall aqueous dose will be dependent on downstream receptor populations and uses of the river

  14. Reducing the risk from radioactive sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacKenzie, C.

    2006-01-01

    Each year the IAEA receives reports of serious injuries or deaths due to misuse or accidents involving sealed radioactive sources. Sealed radioactive sources are used widely in medicine, industry, and agriculture - by doctors to treat cancer, by radiographers to check welds in pipelines, or by specialists to irradiate food to prevent it from spoiling, for example. If these sources are lost or improperly discarded, a serious accident may result. In addition, the security of sealed sources has become a growing concern, particularly the potential that such a source could be used as a radioactive dispersal device or 'dirty bomb'. Preventing the loss or theft of sealed radioactive sources reduces both the risk of accidents and the risk that such sources could become an instrument of misuse. In most countries, radioactive materials and activities that produce radiation are regulated. Those working with sealed radioactive sources are required not just to have proper credentials, but also the needed training and support to deal with unexpected circumstances that may arise when a source is used. Despite these measures, accidents involving sealed sources continue to be reported to the IAEA. Among its many activities to improve the safety and security of sealed sources, the IAEA has been investigating the root causes of major accidents since the 1980s and publishing the findings so that others can learn from them. This information needs to be in the hands of those whose actions and decisions can reduce accidents by preventing a lost source from making it's way into scrap metal. The IAEA has also developed an international catalogue of sealed radioactive sources, and provides assistance to countries to safely contain sources no longer in use. To raise awareness, a Sealed Radioactive Sources Toolkit was issued that focuses on the long-term issues in safely and securely managing radioactive sealed sources. The target audiences are government agencies, radioactive sealed source

  15. Learning lessons from Natech accidents - the eNATECH accident database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krausmann, Elisabeth; Girgin, Serkan

    2016-04-01

    When natural hazards impact industrial facilities that house or process hazardous materials, fires, explosions and toxic releases can occur. This type of accident is commonly referred to as Natech accident. In order to prevent the recurrence of accidents or to better mitigate their consequences, lessons-learned type studies using available accident data are usually carried out. Through post-accident analysis, conclusions can be drawn on the most common damage and failure modes and hazmat release paths, particularly vulnerable storage and process equipment, and the hazardous materials most commonly involved in these types of accidents. These analyses also lend themselves to identifying technical and organisational risk-reduction measures that require improvement or are missing. Industrial accident databases are commonly used for retrieving sets of Natech accident case histories for further analysis. These databases contain accident data from the open literature, government authorities or in-company sources. The quality of reported information is not uniform and exhibits different levels of detail and accuracy. This is due to the difficulty of finding qualified information sources, especially in situations where accident reporting by the industry or by authorities is not compulsory, e.g. when spill quantities are below the reporting threshold. Data collection has then to rely on voluntary record keeping often by non-experts. The level of detail is particularly non-uniform for Natech accident data depending on whether the consequences of the Natech event were major or minor, and whether comprehensive information was available for reporting. In addition to the reporting bias towards high-consequence events, industrial accident databases frequently lack information on the severity of the triggering natural hazard, as well as on failure modes that led to the hazmat release. This makes it difficult to reconstruct the dynamics of the accident and renders the development of

  16. The rehabilitation strategies in agriculture in the long term after the Chernobyl NPP accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fesenko, S.V.

    2002-01-01

    The experience gained in the aftermath of the severe radiation accidents shows that in the case of large-scaled radionuclide contamination the limitation of internal radiation doses to people by means of restoration of agricultural lands is more realistic than reduction of levels of external irradiation. Therefore, the problems connected with the optimal restoration strategies of agricultural land subjected to radioactive contamination after the Chernobyl accident are of crucial importance. The justification of the approach for the estimation of the effectiveness of countermeasure strategies in the long term after the Chernobyl accident, based on the classification of farms by contamination density and risk of the exceeding of radiological standards, restricting the use of agricultural products, is presented. For each class of the farms the ranking of rehabilitation options and the time periods when their application would be of importance are given. Comparative analysis of the rehabilitation strategies, which are different in their effectiveness and cost, is provided. (author)

  17. Possible consequences of severe accidents at the Lubiatowo site, Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seibert, Petra; Philipp, Anne; Hofman, Radek; Gufler, Klaus; Sholly, Steven

    2014-05-01

    The construction of a nuclear power plant is under consideration in Poland. One of the sites under discussion is near Lubiatowo, located on the cost of the Baltic Sea northwest of Gdansk. An assessment of possible environmental consequences is carried out for 88 real meteorological cases with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART. Based on literature research, three reactor designs (ABWR, EPR, AP 1000) were identified as being under discussion in Poland. For each of the designs, a set of accident scenarios was evaluated and two source terms per reactor design were selected for analysis. One of the selected source terms was a relatively large release while the second one was a severe accident with an intact containment. Considered endpoints of the calculations are ground contamination with Cs-137 and time-integrated concentrations of I-131 in air as well as committed doses. They are evaluated on a grid of ca. 3 km mesh size covering eastern Central Europe.

  18. PARTITION: A program for defining the source term/consequence analysis interface in the NUREG--1150 probabilistic risk assessments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iman, R.L.; Helton, J.C.; Johnson, J.D.

    1990-05-01

    The individual plant analyses in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's reassessment of the risk from commercial nuclear power plants (NUREG-1150) consist of four parts: systems analysis, accident progression analysis, source term analysis, and consequence analysis. Careful definition of the interfaces between these parts is necessary for both information flow and computational efficiency. This document has been designed for users of the PARTITION computer program developed by the authors at Sandia National Laboratories for defining the interface between the source term analysis (performed with the XXSOR programs) and the consequence analysis (performed with the MACCS program). This report provides a tutorial that details how the interactive partitioning is performed, along with detailed information on the partitioning process. The PARTITION program was written in ANSI standard FORTRAN 77 to make the code as machine-independent (i.e., portable) as possible. 9 refs., 4 figs

  19. Atmospheric transport of radioactive debris to Norway in case of a hypothetical accident related to the recovery of the Russian submarine K-27

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartnicki, Jerzy; Amundsen, Ingar; Brown, Justin; Hosseini, Ali; Hov, Øystein; Haakenstad, Hilde; Klein, Heiko; Lind, Ole Christian; Salbu, Brit; Szacinski Wendel, Cato C.; Ytre-Eide, Martin Album

    2016-01-01

    The Russian nuclear submarine K-27 suffered a loss of coolant accident in 1968 and with nuclear fuel in both reactors it was scuttled in 1981 in the outer part of Stepovogo Bay located on the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya. The inventory of spent nuclear fuel on board the submarine is of concern because it represents a potential source of radioactive contamination of the Kara Sea and a criticality accident with potential for long-range atmospheric transport of radioactive particles cannot be ruled out. To address these concerns and to provide a better basis for evaluating possible radiological impacts of potential releases in case a salvage operation is initiated, we assessed the atmospheric transport of radionuclides and deposition in Norway from a hypothetical criticality accident on board the K-27. To achieve this, a long term (33 years) meteorological database has been prepared and used for selection of the worst case meteorological scenarios for each of three selected locations of the potential accident. Next, the dispersion model SNAP was run with the source term for the worst-case accident scenario and selected meteorological scenarios. The results showed predictions to be very sensitive to the estimation of the source term for the worst-case accident and especially to the sizes and densities of released radioactive particles. The results indicated that a large area of Norway could be affected, but that the deposition in Northern Norway would be considerably higher than in other areas of the country. The simulations showed that deposition from the worst-case scenario of a hypothetical K-27 accident would be at least two orders of magnitude lower than the deposition observed in Norway following the Chernobyl accident. - Highlights: • Long-term meteorological database has been developed for atmospheric dispersion. • Using this database, the worst case meteorological scenarios have been selected. • Mainly northern parts of Norwegian territory will be

  20. Fission Product Transport and Source Terms in HTRs: Experience from AVR Pebble Bed Reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rainer Moormann

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Fission products deposited in the coolant circuit outside of the active core play a dominant role in source term estimations for advanced small pebble bed HTRs, particularly in design basis accidents (DBA. The deposited fission products may be released in depressurization accidents because present pebble bed HTR concepts abstain from a gas tight containment. Contamination of the circuit also hinders maintenance work. Experiments, performed from 1972 to 88 on the AVR, an experimental pebble bed HTR, allow for a deeper insight into fission product transport behavior. The activity deposition per coolant pass was lower than expected and was influenced by fission product chemistry and by presence of carbonaceous dust. The latter lead also to inconsistencies between Cs plate out experiments in laboratory and in AVR. The deposition behavior of Ag was in line with present models. Dust as activity carrier is of safety relevance because of its mobility and of its sorption capability for fission products. All metal surfaces in pebble bed reactors were covered by a carbonaceous dust layer. Dust in AVR was produced by abrasion in amounts of about 5 kg/y. Additional dust sources in AVR were ours oil ingress and peeling of fuel element surfaces due to an air ingress. Dust has a size of about 1  m, consists mainly of graphite, is partly remobilized by flow perturbations, and deposits with time constants of 1 to 2 hours. In future reactors, an efficient filtering via a gas tight containment is required because accidents with fast depressurizations induce dust mobilization. Enhanced core temperatures in normal operation as in AVR and broken fuel pebbles have to be considered, as inflammable dust concentrations in the gas phase.

  1. Big nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, W.; Billingon, D.E.; Cameron, R.F.; Curl, S.J.

    1983-09-01

    Much of the debate on the safety of nuclear power focuses on the large number of fatalities that could, in theory, be caused by extremely unlikely but just imaginable reactor accidents. This, along with the nuclear industry's inappropriate use of vocabulary during public debate, has given the general public a distorted impression of the risks of nuclear power. The paper reviews the way in which the probability and consequences of big nuclear accidents have been presented in the past and makes recommendations for the future, including the presentation of the long-term consequences of such accidents in terms of 'loss of life expectancy', 'increased chance of fatal cancer' and 'equivalent pattern of compulsory cigarette smoking'. The paper presents mathematical arguments, which show the derivation and validity of the proposed methods of presenting the consequences of imaginable big nuclear accidents. (author)

  2. French policy for managing the post-accident phase of a nuclear accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallay, F; Godet, J L; Niel, J C

    2015-06-01

    In 2005, at the request of the French Government, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) established a Steering Committee for the Management of the Post-Accident Phase of a Nuclear Accident or a Radiological Emergency, with the objective of establishing a policy framework. Under the supervision of ASN, this Committee, involving several tens of experts from different backgrounds (e.g. relevant ministerial offices, expert agencies, local information commissions around nuclear installations, non-governmental organisations, elected officials, licensees, and international experts), developed a number of recommendations over a 7-year period. First published in November 2012, these recommendations cover the immediate post-emergency situation, and the transition and longer-term periods of the post-accident phase in the case of medium-scale nuclear accidents causing short-term radioactive release (less than 24 h) that might occur at French nuclear facilities. They also apply to actions to be undertaken in the event of accidents during the transportation of radioactive materials. These recommendations are an important first step in preparation for the management of a post-accident situation in France in the case of a nuclear accident. © The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers 2014.

  3. A review of source term and dose estimation for the TMI-2 reactor accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gudiksen, P.H.; Dickerson, M.H.

    1990-09-01

    The TMI-2 nuclear reactor accident, which occurred on March 28, 1979 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, produced environmental releases of noble gases and small quantities of radioiodine. The releases occurred over a roughly two week period with almost 90% of the noble gases being released during the first three days after the initiation of the accident. Meteorological conditions during the prolonged release period varied from strong synoptic driven flows that rapidly transported the radioactive gases out of the Harrisburg area to calm situations that allowed the radioactivity to accumulate within the low lying river area and to subsequently slowly disperse within the immediate vicinity of the reactor. The results reported by various analysts, revealed that approximately 2.4--10 million curies of noble gases (mainly Xe-133), and about 14 curies of I-131 were released. During the first two days, when most of the noble gas release occurred, the plume was transported in a northerly direction causing the most exposed area to lie within a northwesterly to northeasterly direction from TMI. Changing surface winds caused the plume to be subsequently transported in a southerly direction, followed by an easterly direction. The calculated maximum whole body dose due to plume passage exceeded 100 mrem over an area extending several kilometers north of the plant, although the highest measured dose was 75 mrem. The collective dose equivalent (within a radius of 80 km) due to the noble gas exposure ranged over several orders of magnitude with a central estimate of 3300 person-rem. The small I-131 release produced barely detectable levels of activity in air and milk samples. This may have produced thyroid doses of a few milirem to a small segment of the population. 7 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  4. Dose assessment in radiological accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donkor, S.

    2013-04-01

    The applications of ionizing radiation bring many benefits to humankind, ranging from power generation to uses in medicine, industry and agriculture. Facilities that use radiation source require special care in the design and operation of equipment to prevent radiation injury to workers or to the public. Despite considerable development of radiation safety, radiation accidents do happen. The purpose of this study is therefore to discuss how to assess doses to people who will be exposed to a range of internal and external radiation sources in the event of radiological accidents. This will go a long way to complement their medical assessment thereby helping to plan their treatment. Three radiological accidents were reviewed to learn about the causes of those accidents and the recommendations that were put in place to prevent recurrence of such accidents. Various types of dose assessment methods were discussed.(au)

  5. Big nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, W.

    1983-01-01

    Much of the debate on the safety of nuclear power focuses on the large number of fatalities that could, in theory, be caused by extremely unlikely but imaginable reactor accidents. This, along with the nuclear industry's inappropriate use of vocabulary during public debate, has given the general public a distorted impression of the safety of nuclear power. The way in which the probability and consequences of big nuclear accidents have been presented in the past is reviewed and recommendations for the future are made including the presentation of the long-term consequences of such accidents in terms of 'reduction in life expectancy', 'increased chance of fatal cancer' and the equivalent pattern of compulsory cigarette smoking. (author)

  6. Core loss during a severe accident (COLOSS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adroguer, B.; Bertrand, F.; Chatelard, P.; Cocuaud, N.; Van Dorsselaere, J.P.; Bellenfant, L.; Knocke, D.; Bottomley, D.; Vrtilkova, V.; Belovsky, L.; Mueller, K.; Hering, W.; Homann, C.; Krauss, W.; Miassoedov, A.; Schanz, G.; Steinbrueck, M.; Stuckert, J.; Hozer, Z.; Bandini, G.; Birchley, J.; Berlepsch, T. von; Kleinhietpass, I.; Buck, M.; Benitez, J.A.F.; Virtanen, E.; Marguet, S.; Azarian, G.; Caillaux, A.; Plank, H.; Boldyrev, A.; Veshchunov, M.; Kobzar, V.; Zvonarev, Y.; Goryachev, A.

    2005-01-01

    The COLOSS project was a 3-year shared-cost action, which started in February 2000. The work-programme performed by 19 partners was shaped around complementary activities aimed at improving severe accident codes. Unresolved risk-relevant issues regarding H 2 production, melt generation and the source term were studied through a large number of experiments such as (a) dissolution of fresh and high burn-up UO 2 and MOX by molten Zircaloy (b) simultaneous dissolution of UO 2 and ZrO 2 (c) oxidation of U-O-Zr mixtures (d) degradation-oxidation of B 4 C control rods. Corresponding models were developed and implemented in severe accident computer codes. Upgraded codes were then used to apply results in plant calculations and evaluate their consequences on key severe accident sequences in different plants involving B 4 C control rods and in the TMI-2 accident. Significant results have been produced from separate-effects, semi-global and large-scale tests on COLOSS topics enabling the development and validation of models and the improvement of some severe accident codes. Breakthroughs were achieved on some issues for which more data are needed for consolidation of the modelling in particular on burn-up effects on UO 2 and MOX dissolution and oxidation of U-O-Zr and B 4 C-metal mixtures. There was experimental evidence that the oxidation of these mixtures can contribute significantly to the large H 2 production observed during the reflooding of degraded cores under severe accident conditions. The plant calculation activity enabled (a) the assessment of codes to calculate core degradation with the identification of main uncertainties and needs for short-term developments and (b) the identification of safety implications of new results. Main results and recommendations for future R and D activities are summarized in this paper

  7. Analysis of core-concrete interaction event with flooding for the Advanced Neutron Source reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S.H.; Taleyarkhan, R.P.; Georgevich, V.; Navarro-Valenti, S.

    1993-01-01

    This paper discusses salient aspects of the methodology, assumptions, and modeling of various features related to estimation of source terms from an accident involving a molten core-concrete interaction event (with and without flooding) in the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Various containment configurations are considered for this postulated severe accident. Several design features (such as rupture disks) are examined to study containment response during this severe accident. Also, thermal-hydraulic response of the containment and radionuclide transport and retention in the containment are studied. The results are described as transient variations of source terms, which are then used for studying off-site radiological consequences and health effects for the support of the Conceptual Safety Analysis Report for ANS. The results are also to be used to examine the effectiveness of subpile room flooding during this type of severe accident

  8. Two decades of radiological accidents direct causes, roots causes and consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rozental Jose de Julio

    2002-01-01

    of Safety Performance and Safety Culture. Accident investigation is the first step toward avoiding future injures and financial losses, by prevention of recur recurrence. On the other hand, accident investigation is also essential for the establishment of the responsibilities and liability for the consequences. This document discuss the main accidents that have happened in the last two decades, in terms of causes, consequences, similarities and lessons learned when sealed sources have been damaged, lost, stolen and abandoned. In considerable majority death and serious injuries were resulted from failures in the safety system for radiation sources and for the security of radioactive materials.

  9. Subsurface Shielding Source Term Specification Calculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    S.Su

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this calculation is to establish appropriate and defensible waste-package radiation source terms for use in repository subsurface shielding design. This calculation supports the shielding design for the waste emplacement and retrieval system, and subsurface facility system. The objective is to identify the limiting waste package and specify its associated source terms including source strengths and energy spectra. Consistent with the Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY 01 Work Activities (CRWMS M and O 2001, p. 15), the scope of work includes the following: (1) Review source terms generated by the Waste Package Department (WPD) for various waste forms and waste package types, and compile them for shielding-specific applications. (2) Determine acceptable waste package specific source terms for use in subsurface shielding design, using a reasonable and defensible methodology that is not unduly conservative. This calculation is associated with the engineering and design activity for the waste emplacement and retrieval system, and subsurface facility system. The technical work plan for this calculation is provided in CRWMS M and O 2001. Development and performance of this calculation conforms to the procedure, AP-3.12Q, Calculations

  10. An uncertainty analysis of the hydrogen source term for a station blackout accident in Sequoyah using MELCOR 1.8.5

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gauntt, Randall O.; Bixler, Nathan E.; Wagner, Kenneth Charles.

    2014-03-01

    A methodology for using the MELCOR code with the Latin Hypercube Sampling method was developed to estimate uncertainty in various predicted quantities such as hydrogen generation or release of fission products under severe accident conditions. In this case, the emphasis was on estimating the range of hydrogen sources in station blackout conditions in the Sequoyah Ice Condenser plant, taking into account uncertainties in the modeled physics known to affect hydrogen generation. The method uses user-specified likelihood distributions for uncertain model parameters, which may include uncertainties of a stochastic nature, to produce a collection of code calculations, or realizations, characterizing the range of possible outcomes. Forty MELCOR code realizations of Sequoyah were conducted that included 10 uncertain parameters, producing a range of in-vessel hydrogen quantities. The range of total hydrogen produced was approximately 583kg 131kg. Sensitivity analyses revealed expected trends with respected to the parameters of greatest importance, however, considerable scatter in results when plotted against any of the uncertain parameters was observed, with no parameter manifesting dominant effects on hydrogen generation. It is concluded that, with respect to the physics parameters investigated, in order to further reduce predicted hydrogen uncertainty, it would be necessary to reduce all physics parameter uncertainties similarly, bearing in mind that some parameters are inherently uncertain within a range. It is suspected that some residual uncertainty associated with modeling complex, coupled and synergistic phenomena, is an inherent aspect of complex systems and cannot be reduced to point value estimates. The probabilistic analyses such as the one demonstrated in this work are important to properly characterize response of complex systems such as severe accident progression in nuclear power plants.

  11. Studies of severe accidents in light-water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    From 10 to 12 November 1986 some 80 delegates met under the auspices of the CEC working group on the safety of light-water reactors. The participants from EC Member States were joined by colleagues from Sweden, Finland and the USA and met to discuss the subject of severe accidents in LWRs. Although this seminar had been planned well before Chernobyl, the ''severe-accident-that-really-happened'' made its mark on the seminar. The four main seminar topics were: (i) high source-term accident sequences identified in PSAs, (ii) containment performance, (iii) mitigation of core melt consequences, (iv) severe accident management in LWRs. In addition to the final panel discussion there was also a separate panel discussion on lessons learned from the Chernobyl accident. These proceedings include the papers presented during the seminar and they are arranged following the seminar programme outline. The presentations and discussions of the two panels are not included in the proceedings. The general conclusions and directions following from these two panels were, however, considered in a seminar review paper which was published in the March 1987 issue of Nuclear Engineering International

  12. Radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nenot, J.C.

    1996-01-01

    Analysis of radiation accidents over a 50 year period shows that simple cases, where the initiating events were immediately recognised, the source identified and under control, the medical input confined to current handling, were exceptional. In many cases, the accidents were only diagnosed when some injuries presented by the victims suggested the radiological nature of the cause. After large-scale accidents, the situation becomes more complicated, either because of management or medical problems, or both. The review of selected accidents which resulted in severe consequences shows that most of them could have been avoided; lack of regulations, contempt for rules, human failure and insufficient training have been identified as frequent initiating parameters. In addition, the situation was worsened because of unpreparedness, insufficient planning, unadapted resources, and underestimation of psychosociological aspects. (author)

  13. ITER Safety Task NID-5A, Subtask 1-1: Source terms and energies - initial tritium source terms. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, C.; Kalyanam, K.M.; Tanaka, M.R.; Sood, S.; Natalizio, A.; Delisle, M.

    1995-02-01

    The overall objective of the Early Safety and Environmental Characterization Study (ESECS) is to assess the environmental impact of tritium using appropriate assumptions on a hypothetical site for ITER, having the r eference s ite characteristics as proposed by the JCT. The objective of this work under the above subtask 1-1, NID-5a, is to determine environmental source terms (i.e., process source term x containment release fraction) for the fuel cycle and cooling systems. The work is based on inventories and process source terms (i.e., inventory x mobilization fraction), provided by others (under Task NID 3b). The results of this work form the basis for the determination, by others, of the off-site dose (i.e., environmental source term x dose/release ratio). For the determination of the environmental source terms, the TMAP4 code has been utilized (ref 1). This code is approved by ITER for safety assessment. Volume 3 is a compilation of appendices giving detailed results of the study

  14. ITER Safety Task NID-5A, Subtask 1-1: Source terms and energies - initial tritium source terms. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, C.; Kalyanam, K.M.; Tanaka, M.R.; Sood, S.; Natalizio, A.; Delisle, M.

    1995-02-01

    The overall objective of the Early Safety and Environmental Characterization Study (ESECS) is to assess the environmental impact of tritium using appropriate assumptions on a hypothetical site for ITER, having the r eference s ite characteristics as proposed by the JCT. The objective of this work under the above subtask 1-1, NID-5a, is to determine environmental source terms (i.e., process source term x containment release fraction) for the fuel cycle and cooling systems. The work is based on inventories and process source terms (i.e., inventory x mobilization fraction), provided by others (under Task NID 3b). The results of this work form the basis for the determination, by others, of the off-site dose (i.e., environmental source term x dose/release ratio). For the determination of the environmental source terms, the TMAP4 code has been utilized (ref 1). This code is approved by ITER for safety assessment. 6 refs

  15. Planning for the Handling of Radiation Accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1969-01-01

    The developing atomic energy programmes and the widespread use of radiation sources in medicine, agriculture, industry and research have had admirable safety records. Throughout the world the number of known accidents in which persons have been exposed to harmful am ounts of ionizing radiation is relatively small, and only a few deaths have occurred. Meticulous precautions are being taken to maintain this good record in all work with radiation sources and to keep the exposure of persons as low as practicable. In spite of all the precautions that are taken, accidents may occur and they may be accompanied by the injury or death of persons and damage to property. It is only prudent to take those steps that are practicable to prevent accidents and to plan in advance the emergency action that would limit the injuries and damage caused by those accidents that do occur. Emergency plans should be sufficiently broad to cover unforeseen or very improbable accidents as well as those that are considered credible. Some accidents may involve only the workers in an establishment, those working directly with the source and possibly their colleagues. Other accidents may have consequences, notably in the form of radioactive contamination of the environment, that affect the general public, possibly far from the site of the accident. The preparation of plans for dealing with radiation accidents is therefore obligatory both for the various authorities that are responsible for protecting the health and the food and water supplies of the public, and for the operator of an installation containing radiation sources.

  16. Accident with radioactive substances in laboratory. An exercise during the education of persons in radiation protection, who are working with open radioactive sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stolze, B.

    2003-01-01

    In spite of carefulness it is possible,that contamination occur by handling unscaled radioactive sources or in case of an accident. It is demonstrated in an exercise managing an accident with unscaled radioactive sources. The persons, who are educated in radiation protection for handling unsealed radioactive sources, must have knowledge of theoretical regulations of the radiation protection law and of the limits in radiation protection. Also they have to know the handling to reduce possible contamination. They have to be able to calculate the dose of skin contamination. In my lecture I give some information on regulations of accidents with radioactive sources in Germany and a scenario of an accident and I explain, what is to do to manage this event. A person opened an ampoule. The activity splashed and contaminated the person's hand, arm and face. Also in the room there was a contamination. The desk and the floor were contaminated. There were 50 MBq P-32 as NaH 2 P''32O 3 in water solution, I give a report on practices in our courses, which the participants have to do. The radiological experts have to decontaminate the skin and they have to calculate the skin-dose and to give the information to the authorities. (Author) 4 refs

  17. Source term identification in atmospheric modelling via sparse optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adam, Lukas; Branda, Martin; Hamburger, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    Inverse modelling plays an important role in identifying the amount of harmful substances released into atmosphere during major incidents such as power plant accidents or volcano eruptions. Another possible application of inverse modelling lies in the monitoring the CO2 emission limits where only observations at certain places are available and the task is to estimate the total releases at given locations. This gives rise to minimizing the discrepancy between the observations and the model predictions. There are two standard ways of solving such problems. In the first one, this discrepancy is regularized by adding additional terms. Such terms may include Tikhonov regularization, distance from a priori information or a smoothing term. The resulting, usually quadratic, problem is then solved via standard optimization solvers. The second approach assumes that the error term has a (normal) distribution and makes use of Bayesian modelling to identify the source term. Instead of following the above-mentioned approaches, we utilize techniques from the field of compressive sensing. Such techniques look for a sparsest solution (solution with the smallest number of nonzeros) of a linear system, where a maximal allowed error term may be added to this system. Even though this field is a developed one with many possible solution techniques, most of them do not consider even the simplest constraints which are naturally present in atmospheric modelling. One of such examples is the nonnegativity of release amounts. We believe that the concept of a sparse solution is natural in both problems of identification of the source location and of the time process of the source release. In the first case, it is usually assumed that there are only few release points and the task is to find them. In the second case, the time window is usually much longer than the duration of the actual release. In both cases, the optimal solution should contain a large amount of zeros, giving rise to the

  18. Lessons learned from accidents investigations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zuniga-Bello, P. [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT), Mexico City (Mexico); Croft, J. [National Radiological Protection Board (United Kingdom); Glenn, J

    1997-12-31

    Accidents from three main practices: medical applications, industrial radiography and industrial irradiators are used to illustrate some common causes of accidents and the main lessons to be learned. A brief description of some of these accidents is given. Lessons learned from the described accidents are approached by subjects covering: safety culture, quality assurance, human factors, good engineering practice, defence in depth, security of sources, safety assessment and monitoring and verification compliance. (author)

  19. Lessons learned from accident investigations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zuniga-Bello, P.; Croft, J.R.; Glenn, J.

    1998-01-01

    Accidents in three main practices - medical applications, industrial radiography and industrial irradiators - are used to illustrate some common causes of accidents and the main lessons to be learned from them. A brief description of some of these accidents is given. Lessons learned from the accidents described are approached bearing in mind: safety culture, quality assurance, human factors, good engineering practice, defence in depth, security of sources, safety assessment and monitoring and verification compliance. (author)

  20. A simplified approach to estimating reference source terms for LWR designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-12-01

    systems. The publication of this IAEA technical document represents the conclusion of a task, initiated in 1996, devoted to the estimation of the radioactive source term in nuclear reactors. It focuses mainly on light water reactors (LWRs)

  1. Severe Accident Progression and Consequence Assessment Methodology Upgrades in ISAAC for Wolsong CANDU6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Y.M.; Kim, D.H.; Nijhawan, Sunil

    2015-01-01

    Amongst the applications of integrated severe accident analysis codes like ISAAC, the principal are to a) help develop an understanding of the severe accident progression and its consequences; b) support the design of mitigation measures by providing for them the state of the reactor following an accident; and c) to provide a training platform for accident management actions. After Fukushima accident there is an increased awareness of the need to implement effective and appropriate mitigation measures and empower the operators with training and understanding about severe accident progression and control opportunities. An updated code with reduced uncertainties can better serve these needs of the utility making decisions about mitigation measures and corrective actions. Optimal deployment of systems such as PARS and filtered containment venting require information on reactor transients for a number of critical parameters. Thus there is a greater consensus now for a demonstrated ability to perform accident progression and consequence assessment analyses with reduced uncertainties. Analyses must now provide source term transients that represent the best in available understanding and so meaningfully support mitigation measures. This requires removal of known simplifications and inclusion of all quantifiable and risk significant phenomena. Advances in understanding of CANDU6 severe accident progression reflected in the severe accident integrated code ROSHNI are being incorporated into ISAAC using CANDU specific component and system models developed and verified for Wolsong CANDU 6 reactors. A significant and comprehensive upgrade of core behavior models is being implemented in ISAAC to properly reflect the large variability amongst fuel channels in feeder geometry, fuel thermal powers and burnup. The paper summarizes the models that have been added and provides some results to illustrate code capabilities. ISAAC is being updated to meet the current requirements and

  2. Severe Accident Progression and Consequence Assessment Methodology Upgrades in ISAAC for Wolsong CANDU6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Y.M.; Kim, D.H. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Nijhawan, Sunil [Prolet Inc. 98 Burbank Drive, Toronto (Canada)

    2015-05-15

    Amongst the applications of integrated severe accident analysis codes like ISAAC, the principal are to a) help develop an understanding of the severe accident progression and its consequences; b) support the design of mitigation measures by providing for them the state of the reactor following an accident; and c) to provide a training platform for accident management actions. After Fukushima accident there is an increased awareness of the need to implement effective and appropriate mitigation measures and empower the operators with training and understanding about severe accident progression and control opportunities. An updated code with reduced uncertainties can better serve these needs of the utility making decisions about mitigation measures and corrective actions. Optimal deployment of systems such as PARS and filtered containment venting require information on reactor transients for a number of critical parameters. Thus there is a greater consensus now for a demonstrated ability to perform accident progression and consequence assessment analyses with reduced uncertainties. Analyses must now provide source term transients that represent the best in available understanding and so meaningfully support mitigation measures. This requires removal of known simplifications and inclusion of all quantifiable and risk significant phenomena. Advances in understanding of CANDU6 severe accident progression reflected in the severe accident integrated code ROSHNI are being incorporated into ISAAC using CANDU specific component and system models developed and verified for Wolsong CANDU 6 reactors. A significant and comprehensive upgrade of core behavior models is being implemented in ISAAC to properly reflect the large variability amongst fuel channels in feeder geometry, fuel thermal powers and burnup. The paper summarizes the models that have been added and provides some results to illustrate code capabilities. ISAAC is being updated to meet the current requirements and

  3. Generalities on nuclear accidents and their short-dated and middle-dated management; Generalites sur les accidents nucleaires et leur gestion a court terme et a long terme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-03-01

    All the nuclear activities present a radiation risk. The radiation exposure of the employees or the public, may occur during normal activity or during an accident. The IRSN realized a document on this radiation risk and the actions of protection. The sanitary and medical aspects of a radiation accident are detailed. The actions of the population protection during an accident and the post accident management are also discussed. (A.L.B.)

  4. Radiation dose evaluation for hypothetical accident with transport package containing Iridium-192 source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trontl, K.; Bace, M.; Pevec, D.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to evaluate dose rates for a hypothetical accident with transport package containing Iridium-192 source and to design additional shielding necessary for the safe unloading of the container, assuming that during the unloading process the whole contents of a radioactive source is unshielded and that the operation is going to take place at the site where a working area exists in the vicinity of the unloading location. Based on the calculated radiation dose rates, a single arrangement of the additional concrete shields necessary for reduction of the gamma dose rates to the permitted level is proposed. The proposed solution is optimal considering safety on one hand and costs on the other.(author)

  5. Radiation accidents and defence of population

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Memmedov, A.M.

    2002-01-01

    Full text: Development of nuclear physics, the fundamental and the applied researches in the field of radioactive insured wide possibility for application of radionuclides and ionizing radiation source in the different fields of national economy. Application of radionuclides in chemical, metallurgical, food industry, in agriculture and etc. Fields provide a large economic profit. It's hard to apprise significance of ionizing radiation source using in medicine for diagnostics and treatment of different disease. Nuclear power engineering and nuclear industry are developing intensively. At same time nuclear power, ionizing radiation sources incur potential treat for surroundings and health of population. As even that stage of protective measure development: there is no possibility of that happening of radiation accidents. A radiation accident qualifies as loss of ionizing radiation sources direction, which provoked by disrepair equipment, natural calamity or other causes which could bring to unplanned irradiation of population or radioactive pollution of surroundings. At present some following typical cases connected with radiation accident have been chosen: Contentious using or keeping of ionizing radiation source with breach of established requires; Loss, theft of ionizing radiation sources or radiation plants, instruments; Leaving the sources of ionizing radiation in the holes; Refusal radiation technic exploited in industry, medicine, SRI and etc; Disrepair in nuclear transport means of conveyance; Crashes and accidents at NPP and at other enterprises of nuclear industry. The radiation accidents according to character, degree and scales have been divided into two groups: Radiation accidents not connected with NPP; Accidents in the nuclear engineering and industry; The radiation accidents not connected with NPP according their consequence divide into 5 groups; accidents which do not come to irradiation of personal, persons from population (more PN-permissible norm

  6. A quantitative assessment method for the NPP operators' diagnosis of accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, M. C.; Seong, P. H.

    2003-01-01

    In this research, we developed a quantitative model for the operators' diagnosis of the accident situation when an accident occurs in a nuclear power plant. After identifying the occurrence probabilities of accidents, the unavailabilities of various information sources, and the causal relationship between accidents and information sources, Bayesian network is used for the analysis of the change in the occurrence probabilities of accidents as the operators receive the information related to the status of the plant. The developed method is applied to a simple example case and it turned out that the developed method is a systematic quantitative analysis method which can cope with complex relationship between the accidents and information sources and various variables such accident occurrence probabilities and unavailabilities of various information sources

  7. The radiological accident in Lilo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    The use of radioactive materials offers a wide range of benefits throughout the world in medicine, research and industry. Precautions are, however, necessary in order to limit the exposure of persons to the radiation that is emitted. Where the amount of radioactive material is substantial, such as with sources used in radiotherapy or industrial radiography, extreme care is necessary to prevent accidents that may result in severe consequences for the affected individuals. Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, accidents with radiation sources continue to occur, albeit infrequently. As part of its activities dealing with the safety of radiation sources, the IAEA follows up severe accidents with a view to providing an account of their circumstances and the medical aspects from which those organizations with responsibilities for radiation protection and the safety of sources may learn. A serious radiological accident occurred in Peru in February 1999 when a welder picked up an 192 Ir industrial radiography source and put it in his pocket for several hours. This resulted in his receiving a high radiation dose that necessitated the amputation of one leg. His wife and children were also exposed, but to a much lesser extent. The Peruvian authorities requested assistance from the IAEA in obtaining advice on medical treatment. They also agreed to assist the IAEA with the subsequent review of the circumstances surrounding the accident. The IAEA is grateful to the Instituto Peruano de Energia Nuclear for its willingness to assist in the reparation of this report and, thereby, share its experience with other Member States

  8. Development of computer-based function to estimate radioactive source term by coupling atmospheric model with monitoring data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akiko, Furuno; Hideyuki, Kitabata

    2003-01-01

    Full text: The importance of computer-based decision support systems for local and regional scale accidents has been recognized by many countries with the experiences of accidental atmospheric releases of radionuclides at Chernobyl in 1986 in the former Soviet Union. The recent increase of nuclear power plants in the Asian region also necessitates an emergency response system for Japan to predict the long-range atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides due to overseas accident. On the basis of these backgrounds, WSPEEDI (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute is developed to forecast long-range atmospheric dispersions of radionuclides during nuclear emergency. Although the source condition is critical parameter for accurate prediction, it is rarely that the condition can be acquired in the early stage of overseas accident. Thus, we have been developing a computer-based function to estimate radioactive source term, e.g. the release point, time and amount, as a part of WSPEEDI. This function consists of atmospheric transport simulations and statistical analysis for the prediction and monitoring of air dose rates. Atmospheric transport simulations are carried out for the matrix of possible release points in Eastern Asia and possible release times. The simulation results of air dose rates are compared with monitoring data and the best fitted release condition is defined as source term. This paper describes the source term estimation method and the application to Eastern Asia. The latest version of WSPEEDI accommodates following two models: an atmospheric meteorological model MM5 and a particle random walk model GEARN. MM5 is a non-hydrostatic meteorological model developed by the Pennsylvania State University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). MM5 physically calculates more than 40 meteorological parameters with high resolution in time and space based an

  9. ITER Safety Task NID-5A, Subtask 1-1: Source terms and energies - initial tritium source terms. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fong, C.; Kalyanam, K.M.; Tanaka, M.R.; Sood, S.; Natalizio, A.; Delisle, M.

    1995-02-01

    The overall objective of the Early Safety and Environmental Characterization Study (ESECS) is to assess the environmental impact of tritium using appropriate assumptions on a hypothetical site for ITER, having the r eference s ite characteristics as proposed by the JCT. The objective of this work under the above subtask 1-1, NID-5a, is to determine environmental source terms (i.e., process source term x containment release fraction) for the fuel cycle and cooling systems. The work is based on inventories and process source terms (i.e., inventory x mobilization fraction), provided by others (under Task NID 3b). The results of this work form the basis for the determination, by others, of the off-site dose (i.e., environmental source term x dose/release ratio). For the determination of the environmental source terms, the TMAP4 code has been utilized (ref 1). This code is approved by ITER for safety assessment. Volume 2 is a compilation of appendices giving detailed results of the study. 5 figs

  10. Light-water reactor accident classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Washburn, B.W.

    1980-02-01

    The evolution of existing classifications and definitions of light-water reactor accidents is considered. Licensing practice and licensing trends are examined with respect to terms of art such as Class 8 and Class 9 accidents. Interim definitions, consistent with current licensing practice and the regulations, are proposed for these terms of art

  11. Examination of some assumed severe reactor accidents at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pekkarinen, E.; Rossi, J.

    1989-02-01

    Knowledge and analysis methods of severe accidents at nuclear power plants and of subsequent response of primary system and containment have been developed in last few years to the extent that realistic source tems of the specified accident sequences can be calculated for the Finnish nuclear power plants. The objective of this investigation was to calculate the source terms of off-site consequences brought about by some selected severe accident sequences initiated by the total loss of on-site and off-site AC power at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The results describing the estimated off-site health risks are expressed as conditional assuming that the accident has taken place, because the probabilities of the occurence of the accident sequences considered have not been analysed in this study. The range and probabilities of occurence of health detriments are considered by calculating consequences in different weeather conditions and taking into account the annual frequency of each weather condition and statistical population distribution. The calculational results indicate that the reactor building provides and additional holdup and deposition of radioactive substance (except coble gases) released from the containment. Furthermore, the release fractions of the core inventory to the environment of volatile fission products such as iodine, cesium and tellurium remain under 0.03. No early health effects are predicted for the surrounding population in case the assumed short-tem countermeasures are performed effectively. Acute health effects are extremely improbable even without any active countermeasure. By reducing the long-term exposure from contaminated agricultural products, the collective dose from natural long-term background radiation, for instance in the sector of 30 degrees towards the southern Finland up to the distance of 300 kilometers, would be expected to increase with 2-20 percent depending on the release considered

  12. A study on the safety of spent fuel management. Radioactive source term modelling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chun, Kwan Sik; Lee, Hoo Keun; Park, Keun Il; Hwoang, Jung Ki; Chung, Choong Hwan [Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Daeduk (Korea, Republic of)

    1992-02-01

    The types and probabilities of events which may occur during the process of reception, transfer and storage of spent fuels in an away-from-reactor (AFR) spent fuel storage facility were analyzed in order to calculate the amount of radioactive material released to operation area and atmosphere, and the basic model for predicting the radioactive source-term under normal and abnormal operations were developed. Also, oxidation and dissolution of U0{sub 2} pellet was investigated to estimate the amount of radioactive materials released from spent fuel and the release characteristics of radionuclides from defected spent fuel rods was analyzed. Basic information using FIRAC code to analyze the ventilation system during fire accident was prepared and FIRIN was detached from FIRAC modified to simulate the compartment fire by personal computer. (Author).

  13. Development of modified voxel phantoms for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources: implementation in SESAME tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courageot, Estelle; Sayah, Rima; Huet, Christelle

    2010-05-07

    Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. When the dose distribution is evaluated with a numerical anthropomorphic model, the posture and morphology of the victim have to be reproduced as realistically as possible. Several years ago, IRSN developed a specific software application, called the simulation of external source accident with medical images (SESAME), for the dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents by numerical simulation. This tool combines voxel geometry and the MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code for radiation-material interaction. This note presents a new functionality in this software that enables the modelling of a victim's posture and morphology based on non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces. The procedure for constructing the modified voxel phantoms is described, along with a numerical validation of this new functionality using a voxel phantom of the RANDO tissue-equivalent physical model.

  14. Outline of Fukushima nuclear accident and future action. Lessons learned from accident and countermeasure plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukuda, Toshihiko

    2012-01-01

    Fukushima nuclear accident was caused by loss of all AC power sources (SBO) and loss of ultimate heat sink (LUHS) at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake. This article reviewed outline of Fukushima nuclear accident progression when on year had passed since and referred to lessons learned from accident and countermeasure plan to prevent severe accident in SBO and LUHS events by earthquake and tsunami as future action. This countermeasure would be taken to (1) prevent serious flooding in case a tsunami overwhelms the breakwater, with improving water tightness of rooms for emergency diesel generator, batteries and power centers, (2) enhance emergency power supply and cooling function with mobile electricity generator, high pressure fire pump car and alternate water supply source, (3) mitigate environmental effects caused by core damage with installing containment filtered venting, and (4) enforce emergency preparedness in case of severe accident. Definite countermeasure plan for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPPs was enumerated. (T. Tanaka)

  15. Evaluation of severe accident risks, Grand Gulf, Unit 1: Appendices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, T.D.; Breeding, R.J.; Jow, H.N.; Higgins, S.J.; Shiver, A.W.; Helton, J.C.; Amos, C.N.

    1990-12-01

    In support of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) assessment of the risk from severe accidents at commercial nuclear power plants in the US report in NUREG-1150, the Severe Accident Risk Reduction Program (SARRP) has completed a revised calculation of the risk to the general public from severe accidents at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1. This power plant, located in Port Gibson, Mississippi, is operated by the System Energy Resources, Inc. (SERI). The emphasis in this risk analysis was not on determining a ''so-called'' point estimate of risk. Rather, it was to determine the distribution of risk, and to discover the uncertainties that account for the breadth of this distribution. Off-site risk initiated by events internal to the power plant was assessed. This document provides Appendices A through E for this report. Topics included are, respectively: supporting information for the accident progression analysis; supporting information for the source term analysis; supporting information for the consequence analysis; risk results; and sampling information

  16. The European source term code ESTER - basic ideas and tools for coupling of ATHLET and ESTER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmidt, F.; Schuch, A.; Hinkelmann, M.

    1993-04-01

    The French software house CISI and IKE of the University of Stuttgart have developed during 1990 and 1991 in the frame of the Shared Cost Action Reactor Safety the informatic structure of the European Source TERm Evaluation System (ESTER). Due to this work tools became available which allow to unify on an European basis both code development and code application in the area of severe core accident research. The behaviour of reactor cores is determined by thermal hydraulic conditions. Therefore for the development of ESTER it was important to investigate how to integrate thermal hydraulic code systems with ESTER applications. This report describes the basic ideas of ESTER and improvements of ESTER tools in view of a possible coupling of the thermal hydraulic code system ATHLET and ESTER. Due to the work performed during this project the ESTER tools became the most modern informatic tools presently available in the area of severe accident research. A sample application is given which demonstrates the use of the new tools. (orig.) [de

  17. ESBWR long term containment response to loss of coolant accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alamgir, M. D.; Marquino, W.; Diaz-Quiroz, J.; Tucker, L.

    2010-01-01

    ESBWR is a 4500 MWt generation III+ natural circulation reactor with an array of robust passive safety systems to keep the reactor safe during postulated transients and accidents. With the submittal of the latest revision of the Design Control Document (DCD) to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ESBWR is nearing the completion of the US certification process. This paper focuses on the bounding licensing analysis of the long-term (30-day) response of the ESBWR containment to limiting Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) performed with the TRACG code. It is shown that using only passive systems available during the first 72 hours after the limiting Main Steam Line Break LOCA, the predicted peak containment pressure in the ESBWR containment remain well below the design limits with good margin. After 72 hours of LOCA initiation, PCCS Vent Fans (non-safety system) become available that remove non-condensable gases from, and further enhance the effectiveness of, PCCS heat exchangers to reduce the containment pressure and temperature to values substantially below the design limits. During the post- 72 hour period, the beneficial effects of the Vent Fan operation, combined with the available operator action to refill of PCCS pools, continue to maintain the containment pressure to about 30% below the design limit at 30 days after a limiting ESBWR LOCA. (authors)

  18. Information Sources as Explanatory Variables for the Belgian Health-Related Risk Perception of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vyncke, Bart; Perko, Tanja; Van Gorp, Baldwin

    2017-03-01

    The media play an important role in risk communication, providing information about accidents, both nearby and far away. Each media source has its own presentation style, which could influence how the audience perceives the presented risk. This study investigates the explanatory power of 12 information sources (traditional media, new media, social media, and interpersonal communication) for the perceived risk posed by radiation released from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant on respondents' own health and that of the population in general. The analysis controlled for attitude toward nuclear energy, gender, education, satisfaction with the media coverage, and duration of attention paid to the coverage. The study uses a large empirical data set from a public opinion survey, which is representative for the Belgian population with respect to six sociodemographic variables. Results show that three information sources are significant regressors of perceived health-related risk of the nuclear accident: television, interpersonal communication, and the category of miscellaneous online sources. More favorable attitudes toward nuclear power, longer attention to the coverage, and higher satisfaction with the provided information lead to lower risk perception. Taken together, the results suggest that the media can indeed have a modest influence on how the audience perceives a risk. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

  19. Radionuclide release calculations for selected severe accident scenarios. PWR, ice condenser design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Denning, R S; Gieseke, J A; Cybulskis, P; Lee, K W; Jordan, H; Curtis, L A; Kelly, R F; Kogan, V; Schumacher, P M

    1986-07-01

    This report presents results of analyses of the environmental releases of fission products (source terms) for severe accident scenarios in a pressurized water reactor with an ice-condenser containment. The analyses were performed to support the Severe Accident Risk Reduction/Risk Rebaselining Program (SARRP) which is being undertaken for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Sandia National Laboratories. In the SARRP program, risk estimates are being generated for a number of reference plant designs. The Sequoyah Plant has been used in this study as an example of a PWR ice-condenser plant. (author)

  20. Contribution of the Exposure Pathways After a Severe Accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Joeun; Hwang, Wontae; Han, Moonhee [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jae, Moosung [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    A radiological dose assessment calculates the amount of radiation energy absorbed by a potentially exposed individual as a result of a specific exposure. Public can be exposure from several exposure pathways. External doses occur when the body is exposed to radioactive material outside the body. When making the emergency preparedness for severe accident from NPPs, therefore, we need to have comprehension about those exposure pathways. Thus, in this study, an evaluation of external and internal dose from radioactive materials during severe accident was performed to find out exposure pathway from which the dose has the highest value for several radionuclides. The basic study to make out the relation between exposure pathways and dose from them was performed. In the emergency phase, the most affecting nuclide type on public was noble gas, especially {sup 133}Xe, and the dominant exposure pathway was could shine. Also, in the long term-phase, the most affecting nuclide type on public was fission product, especially {sup 90}Sr, and the dominant exposure pathway was water ingestion. The information of the dose composition from exposure pathway obtained in this study might be basic data for making emergency preparedness plan for severe accident. In the future, assessment of the source term is expected to enhance the reliability of dose assessment during severe accident.

  1. French practice for assessing the fission product releases from the containment during a PWR severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duco, J.; Dufresne, J.; L'homme, A.

    1988-10-01

    French safety philosophy as concerns severe PWR accidents has already been outlined by the Director of CEA/IPSN in an article published in ''Nuclear Safety''. Therefore the present paper will focus on: a) the French reference source terms, as used for elaborating ultimate emergency procedures on PWRs and for emergency planning; b) the methods currently developed for more realistic assessments of the release of fission products during a severe accident

  2. Scenarios catalog for the graphical console for analysis of severe accidents visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of source term of the NPP-LV; Catalogo de escenarios para la consola grafica para analisis de accidentes severos visualizacion de OEs, NAEs y calculo del termino fuente de la CLV

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sandoval V, S. [Instituto Nacional de Electricidad y Energias Limpias, Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Mendoza R, M. E.; Tijerina S, F.; Garcia C, T., E-mail: manuel.mendoza@cfe.gob.mx [CFE, Central Nucleoelectrica Laguna Verde, Carretera Federal Cardel-Nautla Km 42.5, 91476 Municipio Alto Lucero, Veracruz (Mexico)

    2016-09-15

    A nuclear power plant is operated at all times within the design criteria of structures, systems and components, and according to the operation technical specifications. For different areas of work of a nuclear power plant is necessary to carry out practices in which is useful to have the prediction of the thermo-hydraulic and radiological progression of scenarios that imply exceeding that design bases, even reaching the damage of the fuel in different degree. During the exercises and drills of the External Plan of Emergency Response, the projection of doses is done to exercise the different tasks of the plan. To make the projection of doses is required to have the radiological source term of the scenario on which is practiced. Because of this, was identified the convenience of having a catalog of scenarios for which the radiological source term was calculated. In 2004, a first version of the catalog was produced for a power of 2027 MW, and in 2011 the catalog was updated for extended power conditions, 2317 MW. Both versions were made using the severe accident simulator MAAP-3B. That catalog consists of a form and an optical storage device. The form contains tables and figures in which the characteristics of the scenario to be practiced are searched and the electronic files of the corresponding radiological source term are located in the storage device. Due to the recent development of the graphical console for analysis of severe accidents, visualization of OEs, NAEs and calculation of the source term for the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde (NPP-LV) CoGrAAS, the catalog printed was replaced by an electronic catalog for the CoGrAAS. The new catalog retains the philosophy of the previous catalog, constituted by a wide collection of scenarios that involve different circumstances and phenomena, that can be used to practice different tasks during training exercises or simulacrums, and combined with the following advantages: the scenario selection is made from an

  3. Influence of iodine chemistry on source term assessment; Influencia de la quimica del yodo en la estimacion del termino fuente

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herranz Puebla, L E; Lopez Diez, I; Rodriguez Maroto, J J; Martinez Lopez-Alcorocho, A

    1991-07-01

    The major goal of a phenomenology analysis of containment during a severe accident situation can be spitted into the following ones: to know the containment response to the different loads and to predict accurately the fission product and aerosol behavior. In this report, the main results coming from the study of a hypothetical accident scenario, based on LA-4 experiment of LACE project, are presented. In order to do it, several codes have been coupled: CONTEMPT4/MOD5 (thermohydraulics), NAUA/MOD5 (aerosol physics) and IODE (iodine chemistry). It has been demonstrated the impossibility of assessing with confidence the Source Term if the chemical conduct of some radionuclides is not taken into account. In particular, the influence on the iodine retention efficiency of the sump of variables such as pH has been proven. (Author)12 refs.

  4. Mechanistic facility safety and source term analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    PLYS, M.G.

    1999-01-01

    A PC-based computer program was created for facility safety and source term analysis at Hanford The program has been successfully applied to mechanistic prediction of source terms from chemical reactions in underground storage tanks, hydrogen combustion in double contained receiver tanks, and proccss evaluation including the potential for runaway reactions in spent nuclear fuel processing. Model features include user-defined facility room, flow path geometry, and heat conductors, user-defined non-ideal vapor and aerosol species, pressure- and density-driven gas flows, aerosol transport and deposition, and structure to accommodate facility-specific source terms. Example applications are presented here

  5. Applications of probabilistic accident consequence evaluation in Cuba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, J.M.

    1996-01-01

    Are presented the approaches and results of the application of Accident Consequence Evaluation methodologies in on emergency in the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant site and a population evaluation of a planned NPP site in the east of the country Findings on population sector weighing and assessment of effectiveness of primary countermeasures in the event of sever accidents (SST1 and PWR4 source terms) in Juragua NPP site are discussed Results on comparative risk-based evaluation of the population predicted evolution (in 3 temporal horizons: base year, 2005 year and 2050 year) for the planned site are described. Evaluation also included sector risk weighing, risk importance of small towns in the nearby of the effects on risk of population freezing and relocation of these villages

  6. Improvement of the following accident dose assessment system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Enn Han; Han, Moon Hee; Suh, Kyung Suk; Hwang, Won Tae; Choi, Young Gil [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-12-15

    The FADAS has been updates for calculating the real-time wind fields continuously at the nuclear sites in Korea. The system has been constructed to compute the wind fields using its own process for the dummy meteorological data, and dose not effect on the overall wind field module. If the radioactive materials are released into the atmosphere in real situation, the calculations of wind fields and exposure dose in the previous FADAS are performed in the case of the recognition of the above situation in the source term evaluation module. The current version of FADAS includes the program for evaluating the effect of the predicted accident and the assumed scenario together. The dose assessment module is separated into the real-time and the supposed accident respectively.

  7. Development of Northeast Asia Nuclear Power Plant Accident Simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Juyub; Kim, Juyoul; Po, Li-Chi Cliff

    2017-06-15

    A conclusion from the lessons learned after the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident was that Korea needs a tool to estimate consequences from a major accident that could occur at a nuclear power plant located in a neighboring country. This paper describes a suite of computer-based codes to be used by Korea's nuclear emergency response staff for training and potentially operational support in Korea's national emergency preparedness and response program. The systems of codes, Northeast Asia Nuclear Accident Simulator (NANAS), consist of three modules: source-term estimation, atmospheric dispersion prediction and dose assessment. To quickly assess potential doses to the public in Korea, NANAS includes specific reactor data from the nuclear power plants in China, Japan and Taiwan. The completed simulator is demonstrated using data for a hypothetical release. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Program of long term immunological monitoring of population groups exposed to risk factors due to Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, R.V.; Oradovskaya, I.V.; Pinegin, B.V.

    1991-01-01

    Program for long-term monitoring of health and immune status of people exposed to ionizing radiation during efforts to to eliminate effects of Chernobyl accident and those subjected to radiation factor effect linked with their living within the contanimated territories is considered. Program purpose consists in investigation into non-stochastic and stochastic immunological effects resulting from radiation factor effect under extreme conditions and under prolonged effect of low doses; in acquisition of new data on immune system state during early after the accident and delayed periods in people which took part in recovery efforts during the accident effect elimination and those who live within the controlled territories. Program is directed to early diagnostics of immune-depented pathologic states and other disfunctions of immunity during prenosologic period, and to development and conduction of combined preventive and treatment-and-sanitary measures using immunomodulation

  9. Source term derivation and radiological safety analysis for the TRICO II research reactor in Kinshasa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muswema, J.L.; Ekoko, G.B.; Lukanda, V.M.; Lobo, J.K.-K.; Darko, E.O.; Boafo, E.K.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Atmospheric dispersion modeling for two credible accidents of the TRIGA Mark II research reactor in Kinshasa (TRICO II) was performed. • Radiological safety analysis after the postulated initiating events (PIE) was also carried out. • The Karlsruhe KORIGEN and the HotSpot Health Physics codes were used to achieve the objectives of this study. • All the values of effective dose obtained following the accident scenarios were below the regulatory limits for reactor staff members and the public, respectively. - Abstract: The source term from the 1 MW TRIGA Mark II research reactor core of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was derived in this study. An atmospheric dispersion modeling followed by radiation dose calculation were performed based on two possible postulated accident scenarios. This derivation was made from an inventory of peak radioisotope activities released in the core by using the Karlsruhe version of isotope generation code KORIGEN. The atmospheric dispersion modeling was performed with HotSpot code, and its application yielded to radiation dose profile around the site using meteorological parameters specific to the area under study. The two accident scenarios were picked from possible accident analyses for TRIGA and TRIGA-fueled reactors, involving the case of destruction of the fuel element with highest activity release and a plane crash on the reactor building as the worst case scenario. Deterministic effects of these scenarios are used to update the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) of the reactor, and for its current version, these scenarios are not yet incorporated. Site-specific meteorological conditions were collected from two meteorological stations: one installed within the Atomic Energy Commission and another at the National Meteorological Agency (METTELSAT), which is not far from the site. Results show that in both accident scenarios, radiation doses remain within the limits, far below the recommended maximum effective

  10. Source term derivation and radiological safety analysis for the TRICO II research reactor in Kinshasa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muswema, J.L., E-mail: jeremie.muswem@unikin.ac.cd [Faculty of Science, University of Kinshasa, P.O. Box 190, KIN XI (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the); Ekoko, G.B. [Faculty of Science, University of Kinshasa, P.O. Box 190, KIN XI (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the); Lukanda, V.M. [Faculty of Science, University of Kinshasa, P.O. Box 190, KIN XI (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the); Democratic Republic of the Congo' s General Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box AE1 (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the); Lobo, J.K.-K. [Faculty of Science, University of Kinshasa, P.O. Box 190, KIN XI (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the); Darko, E.O. [Radiation Protection Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P.O. Box LG 80, Legon, Accra (Ghana); Boafo, E.K. [University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe St. North, Oshawa, ONL1 H7K4 (Canada)

    2015-01-15

    Highlights: • Atmospheric dispersion modeling for two credible accidents of the TRIGA Mark II research reactor in Kinshasa (TRICO II) was performed. • Radiological safety analysis after the postulated initiating events (PIE) was also carried out. • The Karlsruhe KORIGEN and the HotSpot Health Physics codes were used to achieve the objectives of this study. • All the values of effective dose obtained following the accident scenarios were below the regulatory limits for reactor staff members and the public, respectively. - Abstract: The source term from the 1 MW TRIGA Mark II research reactor core of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was derived in this study. An atmospheric dispersion modeling followed by radiation dose calculation were performed based on two possible postulated accident scenarios. This derivation was made from an inventory of peak radioisotope activities released in the core by using the Karlsruhe version of isotope generation code KORIGEN. The atmospheric dispersion modeling was performed with HotSpot code, and its application yielded to radiation dose profile around the site using meteorological parameters specific to the area under study. The two accident scenarios were picked from possible accident analyses for TRIGA and TRIGA-fueled reactors, involving the case of destruction of the fuel element with highest activity release and a plane crash on the reactor building as the worst case scenario. Deterministic effects of these scenarios are used to update the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) of the reactor, and for its current version, these scenarios are not yet incorporated. Site-specific meteorological conditions were collected from two meteorological stations: one installed within the Atomic Energy Commission and another at the National Meteorological Agency (METTELSAT), which is not far from the site. Results show that in both accident scenarios, radiation doses remain within the limits, far below the recommended maximum effective

  11. Evaluation on In-vessel Source Term in PGSFR (2015 Results)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Seung Won; Chang, Won-Pyo; Ha, Kwi-Seok; Ahn, Sang June; Kang, Seok Hun; Choi, Chi-Woong; Lee, Kwi Lim; Jeong, Jae-Ho; Kim, Jin Su; Jeong, Taekyeong [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    This strategy requires nuclear plants to have features that prevent radionuclide release and multiple barriers to the escape from the plants of any radionuclides that are released despite preventive measures. Considerations of the ability to prevent and mitigate release of radionuclides arise at numerous places in the safety regulations of nuclear plants. The effectiveness of mitigative capabilities in nuclear plants is subject to quantitative analysis. The radionuclide input to these quantitative analyses of effectiveness is the Source Term (ST). All features of the composition, magnitude, timing, chemical form and physical form of accidental radionuclide release constitute the ST. Also, ST is defined as the release of radionuclides from the fuel and coolant into the containment, and subsequently to the environment. Since the TMI accident in 1979, extensive experimental and analytical information has been accumulated on the accident ST for LWRs. Such mechanistic models and computer codes as the MELCOR and MAAP have been developed. The results of extensive calculations and experiments have been used to formulate an alternative to the simple TID-14844 ST for regulatory purpose. The in-vessel STs are calculated through several phases: The inventory of each radionuclide is calculated by ORIGEN-2 code using the peak burnup conditions. The nominal value of the radiological inventory is multiplied by a factor of 1.1 as an uncertainty margin to give the radiological inventory. ST in the release from the core to primary sodium is calculated by using the assumption of 4S methodology. Lastly, ST in the release from the primary sodium to cover gas space is calculated by using the assumption of 4S methodology.

  12. Prediction of fission product and aerosol behaviour during a postulated severe accident in a LWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guentay, S.; Aeby, F.; Raguin, M.; Passalacqua, R.

    1990-02-01

    Lack of appropriate energy removal causes fuel elements in a reactor core to overheat and may eventually cause core to degrade. Fission products will be emitted from a degraded reactor core. Aerosols are generated when the vapours of various fuel and structural materials reach a cold environment and nucleate. In addition to the fission products release and aerosol generation taking place in the reactor vessel, some more fission products release and aerosol generation will occur when the molten core debris leaves the pressure vessel bottom head and comes in contact with the pedestal concrete floor. Fission products, if they are released to environment from the containment boundary, exert a great danger to public health. A source term is defined as the quantity, timing, and characteristics of the release of radionuclide material to the environment following a postulated severe accident. At PSI a considerable effort hase been spent in investigating and establishing a source term assessment methodology in order to predict the source term for a given Light Water Reactor (LWR) accident scenario. This report introduces the computer programs and the methods associated with the release of the fission products, generation of the aerosols and behaviour of the aerosols in LWR compartments used for a source term assessment analysis at PSI. (author) 4 figs., 5 tabs., 28 refs

  13. Sisifo-gas a computerised system to support severe accident training and management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castro, A.; Buedo, J.L.; Borondo, L.; Lopez, N.

    2001-01-01

    Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) will have to be prepared to face the management of severe accidents, through the development of Severe Accident Guides and sophisticated systems of calculation, as a supporting to the decision-making. SISIFO-GAS is a flexible computerized tool, both for the supporting to accident management and for education and training in severe accident. It is an interactive system, a visual and an easily handle one, and needs no specific knowledge in MAAP code to make complicate simulations in conditions of severe accident. The system is configured and adjusted to work in a BWR/6 technology plant with Mark III Containment, as it is Cofrentes NPP. But it is easily portable to every other kind of reactor, having the level 2 PSA (probabilistic safety analysis) of the plant to be able to establish the categories of the source term and the most important sequences in the progression of the accident. The graphic interface allows following in a very intuitive and formative way the evolution and the most relevant events in the accident, in the both system's way of work, training and management. (authors)

  14. Assessing the consequences in a nuclear accident scenario at Cernavoda NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margeanu, Sorin; Angelescu, Tatiana

    2004-01-01

    Having in view a possible nuclear incident, considerable planning is necessary to reduce at manageable levels the types of decisions leading to effective responses concerning the public protection. One of the most important parts of an emergency response plan is the computerized system which allows to predict the radiological impact of the accident and to provide information in a manageable and effective form for evaluating alternative countermeasure strategies in the various stages of the accident. In this paper the PC-COSYMA results for early containment failure of a CANDU reactor are presented. The deterministic health effects arising in nuclear accident situation are also presented. As source term we have used the core inventory obtained with ORIGEN computer code. The essential input parameters for PC-COSYMA computer code are also done. (authors)

  15. NOTE: Development of modified voxel phantoms for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources: implementation in SESAME tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courageot, Estelle; Sayah, Rima; Huet, Christelle

    2010-05-01

    Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. When the dose distribution is evaluated with a numerical anthropomorphic model, the posture and morphology of the victim have to be reproduced as realistically as possible. Several years ago, IRSN developed a specific software application, called the simulation of external source accident with medical images (SESAME), for the dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents by numerical simulation. This tool combines voxel geometry and the MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code for radiation-material interaction. This note presents a new functionality in this software that enables the modelling of a victim's posture and morphology based on non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces. The procedure for constructing the modified voxel phantoms is described, along with a numerical validation of this new functionality using a voxel phantom of the RANDO tissue-equivalent physical model.

  16. Radionuclide release rate inversion of nuclear accidents in nuclear facility based on Kalman filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Xiuhuan; Bao Lihong; Li Hua; Wan Junsheng

    2014-01-01

    The rapidly and continually back-calculating source term is important for nuclear emergency response. The Gaussian multi-puff atmospheric dispersion model was used to produce regional environment monitoring data virtually, and then a Kalman filter was designed to inverse radionuclide release rate of nuclear accidents in nuclear facility and the release rate tracking in real time was achieved. The results show that the Kalman filter combined with Gaussian multi-puff atmospheric dispersion model can successfully track the virtually stable, linear or nonlinear release rate after being iterated about 10 times. The standard error of inversion results increases with the true value. Meanwhile extended Kalman filter cannot inverse the height parameter of accident release as interceptive error is too large to converge. Kalman filter constructed from environment monitoring data and Gaussian multi-puff atmospheric dispersion model can be applied to source inversion in nuclear accident which is characterized by static height and position, short and continual release in nuclear facility. Hence it turns out to be an alternative source inversion method in nuclear emergency response. (authors)

  17. To improve nuclear plant safety by learning from accident's experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Hidezo; Kida, Masanori; Kato, Hiroyuki; Hara, Shin-ichi

    1994-01-01

    The ultimate goal of this study is to produce an expert system that enables the experience (records and information) gained from accidents to be put to use towards improving nuclear plant safety. A number of examples have been investigated, both domestic and overseas, in which experience gained from accidents was utilized by utilities in managing and operating their nuclear power stations to improve safety. The result of investigation has been used to create a general 'basic flow' to make the best use of experience. The ultimate goal is achieved by carrying out this 'basic flow' with artificial intelligence (AI). To do this, it is necessary (1) to apply language analysis to process the source information (primary data base; domestic and overseas accident's reports) into the secondary data base, and (2) to establish an expert system for selecting (screening) significant events from the secondary data base. In the processing described in item (1), a multi-lingual thesaurus for nuclear-related terms become necessary because the source information (primary data bases) itself is multi-lingual. In the work described in item (2), the utilization of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), for example, is a candidate method for judging the significance of events. Achieving the goal thus requires developing various new techniques. As the first step of the above long-term study project, this report proposes the 'basic flow' and presents the concept of how the nuclear-related AI can be used to carry out this 'basic flow'. (author)

  18. [Accidents and injuries at work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Standke, W

    2014-06-01

    In the case of an accident at work, the person concerned is insured by law according to the guidelines of the Sozialgesetzbuch VII as far as the injuries have been caused by this accident. The most important source of information on the incident in question is the accident report that has to be sent to the responsible institution for statutory accident insurance and prevention by the employer, if the accident of the injured person is fatal or leads to an incapacity to work for more than 3 days (= reportable accident). Data concerning accidents like these are sent to the Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV) as part of a random sample survey by the institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention and are analyzed statistically. Thus the key issues of accidents can be established and used for effective prevention. Although the success of effective accident prevention is undisputed, there were still 919,025 occupational accidents in 2011, with clear gender-related differences. Most occupational accidents involve the upper and lower extremities. Accidents are analyzed comprehensively and the results are published and made available to all interested parties in an effort to improve public awareness of possible accidents. Apart from reportable accidents, data on the new occupational accident pensions are also gathered and analyzed statistically. Thus, additional information is gained on accidents with extremely serious consequences and partly permanent injuries for the accident victims.

  19. School Bus Accidents and Driver Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMichael, Judith

    The study examines the rates and types of school bus accidents according to the age of the school bus driver. Accident rates in North Carolina for the school year 1971-72 were analyzed using three sources of data: accident reports, driver and mileage data, and questionnaires administered to a sample of school bus drivers. Data were obtained on…

  20. Potential health risks from postulated accidents involving the Pu-238 RTG on the Ulysses solar exploration mission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldman, M.; Nelson, R.C.; Bollinger, L.; Hoover, M.D.; Templeton, W.; Anspaugh, L.

    1991-01-01

    Potential radiation impacts from launch of the Ulysses solar exploration experiment were evaluated using eight postulated accident scenarios. Lifetime individual dose estimates rarely exceeded 1 mrem. Most of the potential health effects would come from inhalation exposures immediately after an accident, rather than from ingestion of contaminated food or water, or from inhalation of resuspended plutonium from contaminated ground. For local Florida accidents (that is, during the first minute after launch), an average source term accident was estimated to cause a total added cancer risk of up to 0.2 deaths. For accidents at later times after launch, a worldwide cancer risk of up to three cases was calculated (with a four in a million probability). Upper bound estimates were calculated to be about 10 times higher

  1. Recent severe accident research synthesis of the major outcomes from the SARNET network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Dorsselaere, J.-P., E-mail: jean-pierre.van-dorsselaere@irsn.fr [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Auvinen, A. [VTT Technical Research Centre, Espoo (Finland); Beraha, D. [Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Köln (Germany); Chatelard, P. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Herranz, L.E. [Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas MedioAmbientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid (Spain); Journeau, C. [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), Paris (France); Klein-Hessling, W. [Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Köln (Germany); Kljenak, I. [Jozef Stefan Institute (JSI), Ljubljana (Slovenia); Miassoedov, A. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany); Paci, S. [University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Zeyen, R. [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy (JRC/IET), Petten (Netherlands)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • SARNET network of excellence integration mid-2013 in the NUGENIA Association. • Progress of knowledge on corium behaviour, hydrogen explosion and source term. • Further development of ASTEC integral code to capitalize knowledge. • Ranking of next R&D high priority issues accounting for international research. • Dissemination of knowledge through education courses and ERMSAR conferences. - Abstract: The SARNET network (Severe Accident Research NETwork of excellence), co-funded by the European Commission from 2004 to 2013, has allowed to significantly improve the knowledge on severe accidents and to disseminate it through courses and ERMSAR conferences. The major investigated topics, involving more than 250 researchers from 22 countries, were in- and ex-vessel corium/debris coolability, molten-core–concrete-interaction, steam explosion, hydrogen combustion and mitigation in containment, impact of oxidising conditions on source term, and iodine chemistry. The ranking of the high priority issues was updated to account for the results of recent international research and for the impact of Fukushima nuclear accidents in Japan. In addition, the ASTEC integral code was further developed to capitalize the new knowledge. The network has reached self-sustainability by integration in mid-2013 into the NUGENIA Association. The main activities and outcomes of the network are presented.

  2. Recent severe accident research synthesis of the major outcomes from the SARNET network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Dorsselaere, J.-P.; Auvinen, A.; Beraha, D.; Chatelard, P.; Herranz, L.E.; Journeau, C.; Klein-Hessling, W.; Kljenak, I.; Miassoedov, A.; Paci, S.; Zeyen, R.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • SARNET network of excellence integration mid-2013 in the NUGENIA Association. • Progress of knowledge on corium behaviour, hydrogen explosion and source term. • Further development of ASTEC integral code to capitalize knowledge. • Ranking of next R&D high priority issues accounting for international research. • Dissemination of knowledge through education courses and ERMSAR conferences. - Abstract: The SARNET network (Severe Accident Research NETwork of excellence), co-funded by the European Commission from 2004 to 2013, has allowed to significantly improve the knowledge on severe accidents and to disseminate it through courses and ERMSAR conferences. The major investigated topics, involving more than 250 researchers from 22 countries, were in- and ex-vessel corium/debris coolability, molten-core–concrete-interaction, steam explosion, hydrogen combustion and mitigation in containment, impact of oxidising conditions on source term, and iodine chemistry. The ranking of the high priority issues was updated to account for the results of recent international research and for the impact of Fukushima nuclear accidents in Japan. In addition, the ASTEC integral code was further developed to capitalize the new knowledge. The network has reached self-sustainability by integration in mid-2013 into the NUGENIA Association. The main activities and outcomes of the network are presented

  3. Some problems in the categorization of source terms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbey, F.; Dunbar, I.H.; Hayns, M.R.; Nixon, W.

    1985-01-01

    In recent years techniques for calculating source terms have been considerably improved. It would be unfortunate if the new information were to be blurred by the use of old schemes for the categorization of source terms. In the past categorization schemes have been devised without the question of the general principles of categorization and the available options being addressed explicitly. In this paper these principles are set out, providing a framework within which categorization schemes used in past probabilistic risk assessments and possible future improvements are discussed. In particular the use of input from scoping consequence calculations in deciding how to group source terms, and the question of how modelling uncertainties may be expressed as uncertainties in a final category source terms are considered

  4. Nuclear Powerplant Safety: Source Terms. Nuclear Energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Nuclear Energy Office.

    There has been increased public interest in the potential effects of nuclear powerplant accidents since the Soviet reactor accident at Chernobyl. People have begun to look for more information about the amount of radioactivity that might be released into the environment as a result of such an accident. When this issue is discussed by people…

  5. Computer code TRANS-ACE predicting for fire and explosion accidents in nuclear fuel reprocessing plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Hitoshi; Nishio; Gunji; Naito, Yoshitaka

    1993-11-01

    The accident analysis code TRANS-ACE was developed to evaluate the safety of a ventilation system in a reprocessing plant in the event of fire and explosion accidents. TRANS-ACE can evaluate not only the integrity of a ventilation system containing HEPA filters but also the source term of radioactive materials for release out of a plant. It calculates the temperature, pressure, flow rate, transport of combustion materials and confinement of radioactive materials in the network of a ventilation system that might experience a fire or explosion accident. TRANS-ACE is based on the one-dimensional compressible thermo-fluid analysis code EVENT developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Calculational functions are added for the radioactive source term, heat transfer and radiation to cell and duct walls and HEPA filter integrity. For the second edition in the report, TRANS-ACE has been improved incorporating functions for the initial steady-state calculation to determine the flow rates, pressure drops and temperature in the network before an accident mode analysis. It is also improved to include flow resistance calculations of the filters and blowers in the network and to have an easy to use code by simplifying the input formats. This report is to prepare an explanation of the mathematical model for TRANS-ACE code and to be the user's manual. (author)

  6. A Mechanistic Source Term Calculation for a Metal Fuel Sodium Fast Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grabaskas, David; Bucknor, Matthew; Jerden, James

    2017-06-26

    A mechanistic source term (MST) calculation attempts to realistically assess the transport and release of radionuclides from a reactor system to the environment during a specific accident sequence. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has repeatedly stated its expectation that advanced reactor vendors will utilize an MST during the U.S. reactor licensing process. As part of a project to examine possible impediments to sodium fast reactor (SFR) licensing in the U.S., an analysis was conducted regarding the current capabilities to perform an MST for a metal fuel SFR. The purpose of the project was to identify and prioritize any gaps in current computational tools, and the associated database, for the accurate assessment of an MST. The results of the study demonstrate that an SFR MST is possible with current tools and data, but several gaps exist that may lead to possibly unacceptable levels of uncertainty, depending on the goals of the MST analysis.

  7. Underreporting of maritime accidents to vessel accident databases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassel, Martin; Asbjørnslett, Bjørn Egil; Hole, Lars Petter

    2011-11-01

    Underreporting of maritime accidents is a problem not only for authorities trying to improve maritime safety through legislation, but also to risk management companies and other entities using maritime casualty statistics in risk and accident analysis. This study collected and compared casualty data from 01.01.2005 to 31.12.2009, from IHS Fairplay and the maritime authorities from a set of nations. The data was compared to find common records, and estimation of the true number of occurred accidents was performed using conditional probability given positive dependency between data sources, several variations of the capture-recapture method, calculation of best case scenario assuming perfect reporting, and scaling up a subset of casualty information from a marine insurance statistics database. The estimated upper limit reporting performance for the selected flag states ranged from 14% to 74%, while the corresponding estimated coverage of IHS Fairplay ranges from 4% to 62%. On average the study results document that the number of unreported accidents makes up roughly 50% of all occurred accidents. Even in a best case scenario, only a few flag states come close to perfect reporting (94%). The considerable scope of underreporting uncovered in the study, indicates that users of statistical vessel accident data should assume a certain degree of underreporting, and adjust their analyses accordingly. Whether to use correction factors, a safety margin, or rely on expert judgment, should be decided on a case by case basis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Daily impaired detachment and short-term effects of impaired sleep quality on next-day commuting near-accidents - an ambulatory diary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Diana; Bucher, Sarah; Elfering, Achim

    2016-08-01

    This study investigated the short-term effects of daily recovery, that is, impaired psychological detachment from work and various actigraphical indicators of sleep quality, on near-accidents when commuting to work the next morning. Furthermore, the mediating effect of actigraphically assessed sleep quality on the relationship between impaired psychological detachment from work and near-accidents when commuting to work was analysed. Fifty-six full-time employees of a Swiss assurance company participated in the one-week study. Multilevel analyses revealed that impaired detachment was highly related to a decrease in sleep duration. Furthermore, impaired daily recovery processes, such as impaired psychological detachment from work and disturbed sleep quality, were related to commuting near-accidents. Impaired sleep quality mediated the effect of impaired psychological detachment from work on these near-accidents. Our results show that occupational safety interventions should address both impaired psychological detachment from work and sleep quality in order to prevent near accidents when commuting to work. Practitioner Summary: Commuting accidents occur frequently and have detrimental effects on employees, organisations and society. This study shows that daily lack of recovery, that is, impaired psychological detachment and impaired sleep quality, is related to near-accidents when commuting to work the next morning. Primary prevention of commuting accidents should therefore address daily lack of recovery.

  9. Nuclear industry after the Fukushima accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Branche, Thomas; Billes-Garabedian, Laurent; Salha, Bernard; Behar, Christophe; Dupuis, Marie-Claude; Labalette, Thibaud; Lagarde, Dominique; Planchais, Bernard; West, Jean-Pierre; Stubler, Jerome; Lancia, Bruno; Machenaud, Herve; Einaudi, Andre; Anglaret, Philippe; Brachet, Yves; Bonnave, Philippe; Knoche, Philippe; Gasquet, Denis

    2013-01-01

    This special dossier about the situation of nuclear industry two years after the Fukushima accident comprises 15 contributions dealing with: the nuclear industry two years after the Fukushima accident (Bernard Salha); a low-carbon electricity at a reasonable cost (Christophe Behar); nuclear engineering has to gain even more efficiency (Thomas Branche); how to dispose off the most radioactive wastes (Marie-Claude Dupuis, Thibaud Labalette); ensuring the continuation for more than 40 years onward (Denis Gasquet); developing and investing in the future (Philippe Knoche); more than just signing contracts (Dominique Lagarde); immersed power plants, an innovative concept (Bernard Planchais); R and D as a source of innovation for safety and performances (Jean-Pierre West); dismantlement, a very long term market (Jerome Stubler, Bruno Lancia); a reference industrial model (Herve Machenaud); recruiting and training (Andre Einaudi); a diversity of modern reactors and a world market in rebirth (Philippe Anglaret); an industrial revolution is necessary (Yves Brachet); contracts adapted to sensible works (Philippe Bonnave)

  10. Comparative evaluations of surface contamination detectors calibration with radioactive sources - used in the Goiania accident, and standard sources; Estudo comparativo da calibracao dos monitores de contaminacao superficial com as fontes radiativas utilizadas durante o acidente de Goiania e com fontes padrao

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, P.H.B.; Marecha, M.H.H. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    1997-12-31

    The construction of Cs-137 standard flat sources for calibration of surface contamination detectors, used in the Goiania accident in 1987, is described and the procedures adopted are reported. At that time, standard sources were not available. Nowadays the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria has standard sources acquired from Amersham which are used as calibration standards for surface contamination detectors. Comparative evaluations between the standard flat sources constructed for the accident and the calibrated ones are presented 6 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.; e-mail: pbecker at ird.gov.br; mhelena at ird. gov.br

  11. Radionuclide release calculations for selected severe accident scenarios. Volume 3. PWR, subatmospheric containment design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Denning, R.S.; Gieseke, J.A.; Cybulskis, P.; Lee, K.W.; Jordan, H.; Curtis, L.A.; Kelly, R.F.; Kogan, V.; Schumacher, P.M.

    1986-07-01

    This report presents results of analyses of the enviromental releases of fission products (source terms) for severe accident scenarios in a pressurized water reactor with a subatmospheric containment design. The analyses were performed to support the Severe Accident Risk Reduction/Risk Rebaselining Program (SARRP) which is being undertaken for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission by Sandia National Laboratories. In the SARRP program, risk estimates are being generated for a number of reference plant designs. the Surry plant has been used in this study as the reference plant for a subatmospheric design

  12. Peculiarities of the clinical course of radiation sickness and organizational decisions for radiation accidents with beta-gamma sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guskova, A.K.; Gusev, I.A.

    1998-01-01

    The analysis of a number of recent large scale accidents involving beta-gamma sources in the last 40 years, such as those of the Marshall Islands (1954); Windscale, UK (1957); Chernobyl, USSR (1986) and Goiania, Brazil (1987) demonstrates the predominance and importance of health and social impacts. (author)

  13. Approaches to accident analysis in recent US Department of Energy environmental impact statements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Folga, S.; Nabelssi, B.

    1996-01-01

    A review of accident analyses in recent US Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) was conducted to evaluate the consistency among approaches and to compare these approaches with existing DOE guidance. The review considered several components of an accident analysis: the overall scope, which in turn should reflect the scope of the EIS; the spectrum of accidents considered; the methods and assumptions used to determine frequencies or frequency ranges for the accident sequences; and the assumption and technical bases for developing radiological and chemical atmospheric source terms and for calculating the consequences of airborne releases. The review also considered the range of results generated with respect to impacts on various worker and general populations. In this paper, the findings of these reviews are presented and methods recommended for improving consistency among EISs and bringing them more into line with existing DOE guidance

  14. The Role of Countermeasures in Mitigating the Radiological Consequences of Nuclear Power Plant Accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tawfik, F. S.; Abdel-Aal, M.M., E-mail: basant572000@yahoo.com [Siting & Environmental Department, Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

    2014-10-15

    During the Fukushima accident the mitigation actions played an important role to decrease the consequences of the accident. The countermeasures are the actions that should be taken after the occurrence of a nuclear accident to protect the public against the associated risk. The actions may be represented by sheltering, evacuation, distribution of stable iodine tablets and/or relocation. This study represents a comprehensive probabilistic study to investigate the role of the adoption of the countermeasures in case of a hypothetical accident of type LOCA for a nuclear power plant of PWR (1000 Mw) type. This work was achieved through running of the PC COSYMA{sup (1)} code. The effective doses in different organs, short and long term health effects, and the associated risks were calculated with and without countermeasures. In addition, the overall costs of the accident and the costs of countermeasures are estimated which represent our first trials to know how much the postulated accident costs. The source term of a hypothetical accident is determined by knowing the activity of the core inventory. The meteorological conditions around the site in addition to the population distribution were utilized as input parameters. The stability conditions and the height of atmospheric boundary layers ABL of the concerned site were determined by developing a computer program utilizing Pasquill-Gifford atmospheric stability conditions. The results showed that, the area around the site requires early and late countermeasures actions after the accident especially in the downwind sectors. For late countermeasures, the duration of relocation ranged from about two to 10 years. The adoption of the countermeasures increases the costs of emergency planning by 40% but reduces the risk associated with the accident. (author)

  15. The Fukushima nuclear accident and its effect on global energy security

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, Masatsugu; Hughes, Larry

    2013-01-01

    The March 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station affected both short- and long-term energy-security in Japan, resulting in crisis-driven, ad hoc energy policy and, because of the decision to shutter all nuclear reactors, increased the country’s demand for fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. However, the effects of the accident on energy security were not restricted to Japan; for example, the worldwide availability and affordability of liquefied natural gas were affected by Japan’s increased demand; while the accident itself resulted in the loss of public acceptability of nuclear power and led countries, such as Germany and Italy, to immediately shut down some of the nuclear reactors or abandon plans to build new ones. This paper examines some of the short-term effects on global energy security following the accident at Fukushima, focusing on the main replacement fuel, liquefied natural gas. It shows, amongst other things, that the accident increased investment in liquefied natural gas projects around the world. The paper shows that despite Fukushima contributing to nuclear power’s loss of acceptability in most developed countries, it is still seen as an essential way of improving energy security in many countries and, despite what its critics may say, will probably continue to be used as a significant source of low-carbon electricity. - Highlights: ► Japan’s demands for fossil fuels raised the price of LNG and low-sulfur crudes. ► The accident affected the global price of uranium and producer share prices. ► The accident accelerated foreign-direct investment in LNG projects worldwide. ► The change in public perception toward nuclear power was relatively limited. ► A radical shift in global nuclear policy seems to be unrealistic after Fukushima

  16. Zircaloy-oxidation and hydrogen-generation rates in degraded-core accident situations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, H.M.; Thomas, G.R.

    1983-02-01

    Oxidation of Zircaloy cladding is the primary source of hydrogen generated during a degraded-core accident. In this paper, reported Zircaloy oxidation rates, either measured at 1500 to 1850 0 C or extrapolated from the low-temperature data obtained at 0 C, are critically reviewed with respect to their applicability to a degraded-core accident situation in which the high-temperature fuel cladding is likely to be exposed to and oxidized in mixtures of hydrogen and depleted steam, rather than in an unlimited flux of pure steam. New results of Zircaloy oxidation measurements in various mixtures of hydrogen and steam are reported for >1500 0 C. The results show significantly smaller oxidation and, hence, hydrogen-generation rates in the mixture, compared with those obtained in pure steam. It is also shown that a significant fraction of hydrogen, generated as a result of Zircaloy oxidation, is dissolved in the cladding material itself, which prevents that portion of hydrogen from reaching the containment building space. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to a more realistic method of quantifying the hydrogen source term for a degraded-core accident analysis

  17. Radiological accident of Goiania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palacios, Elias; Gimenez, J.C.

    1988-01-01

    The accident of Goiania that took place in September, 1987, was the consequence of the dismantlement of the teletherapy equipment containing a Cs 137 source. The activity of the source was of about 5,2.10 13 Bq(1.400 Ci) and was made up by 1.10 -1 Kg of ClCs. This is one of the worst accidents, involving medical or industrial source, which happened up to the moment. The accident and the criteria adopted to face the emergency are described. The characteristics of the irradiation and superficial and internal contamination of the persons affected caused any dosimetric evaluation to be particularly difficult. The emergency control managed by capable persons was carried out with the expected difficulties in some areas within the Goiania city. About 90 % of the material could be recovered, in the removal works, in order to be treated as radioactive waste. Conclusions that should be taken into account in Argentina are reached. The authors of the article took part in the emergency by helping the brazilian Authorities within the Mutual Assistance Agreement between Argentina and Braxil. (M.E.L.) [es

  18. Seminar on Comparative assessment of the environmental impact of radionuclides released during three major nuclear accidents: Kyshtym, Windscale, Chernobyl. Vol. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    These proceedings of seminar on comparative assessment of the environmental impact of radionuclides released during three major nuclear accidents (Kyshtym, Windscale, Chernobyl) are divided into 5 parts bearing on: part 1: accident source terms; part 2: atmospheric dispersion, resuspension, chemical and physical forms of contamination; part 3: environmental contamination and transfer; part 4: radiological implications for man and his environment; part 5: countermeasures

  19. Persistence of airline accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barros, Carlos Pestana; Faria, Joao Ricardo; Gil-Alana, Luis Alberiko

    2010-10-01

    This paper expands on air travel accident research by examining the relationship between air travel accidents and airline traffic or volume in the period from 1927-2006. The theoretical model is based on a representative airline company that aims to maximise its profits, and it utilises a fractional integration approach in order to determine whether there is a persistent pattern over time with respect to air accidents and air traffic. Furthermore, the paper analyses how airline accidents are related to traffic using a fractional cointegration approach. It finds that airline accidents are persistent and that a (non-stationary) fractional cointegration relationship exists between total airline accidents and airline passengers, airline miles and airline revenues, with shocks that affect the long-run equilibrium disappearing in the very long term. Moreover, this relation is negative, which might be due to the fact that air travel is becoming safer and there is greater competition in the airline industry. Policy implications are derived for countering accident events, based on competition and regulation. © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2010.

  20. Accident management insights after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Degueldre, Didier; Viktorov, Alexandre; Tuomainen, Minna; Ducamp, Francois; Chevalier, Sophie; Guigueno, Yves; Tasset, Daniel; Heinrich, Marcus; Schneider, Matthias; Funahashi, Toshihiro; Hotta, Akitoshi; Kajimoto, Mitsuhiro; Chung, Dae-Wook; Kuriene, Laima; Kozlova, Nadezhda; Zivko, Tomi; Aleza, Santiago; Jones, John; McHale, Jack; Nieh, Ho; Pascal, Ghislain; ); Nakoski, John; Neretin, Victor; Nezuka, Takayoshi; )

    2014-01-01

    The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, that took place on 11 March 2011, initiated a significant number of activities at the national and international levels to reassess the safety of existing NPPs, evaluate the sufficiency of technical means and administrative measures available for emergency response, and develop recommendations for increasing the robustness of NPPs to withstand extreme external events and beyond design basis accidents. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is working closely with its member and partner countries to examine the causes of the accident and to identify lessons learnt with a view to the appropriate follow-up actions to be taken by the nuclear safety community. Accident management is a priority area of work for the NEA to address lessons being learnt from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP following the recommendations of Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA), Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), and Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH). Considering the importance of these issues, the CNRA authorised the formation of a task group on accident management (TGAM) in June 2012 to review the regulatory framework for accident management following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. The task group was requested to assess the NEA member countries needs and challenges in light of the accident from a regulatory point of view. The general objectives of the TGAM review were to consider: - enhancements of on-site accident management procedures and guidelines based on lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident; - decision-making and guiding principles in emergency situations; - guidance for instrumentation, equipment and supplies for addressing long-term aspects of accident management; - guidance and implementation when taking extreme measures for accident management. The report is built on the existing bases for capabilities to respond to design basis

  1. Framatome-ANP France UO2 fuel fabrication. Criticality safety analysis in the light of the JCO accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doucet, M.; Zheng, S.; Mouton, J.; Porte, R.

    2003-01-01

    In France the 1999' Tokai Mura criticality accident in Japan had a big impact on the nuclear fuel manufacturing facility community. Moreover this accident led to a large public discussion about all the nuclear facilities. The French Safety Authorities made strong requirements to the industrials to revisit completely their safety analysis files mainly those concerning nuclear fuels treatments. The FRAMATOME-ANP production of its French low enriched (5 w/o) UO2 fuel fabrication plant (FBFC/Romans) exceeds 1000 metric tons a year. Special attention was given to the emergency evacuation plan that should be followed in case of a criticality accident. If a criticality accident happens, site internal and external radioprotection requirements need to have an emergency evacuation plan showing the different routes where the absorbed doses will be as low as possible for people. The French Safety Authorities require also an update of the old based neutron source term accounting for state of the art methodology. UO2 blenders units contain a large amount of dry powder strictly controlled by moderation; a hypothetical water leakage inside one of these apparatus is simulated by increasing the water content of the powder. The resulted reactivity insertion is performed by several static calculations. The French IRSN/CEA CRISTAL codes are used to perform these static calculations. The kinetic criticality code POWDER simulates the power excursion versus time and determines the consequent total energy source term. MNCP4B performs the source term propagation (including neutrons and gamma) used to determine the isodose curves needed to define the emergency evacuation plant. This paper deals with the approach FRAMATOME-ANP has taken to assess Safety Authorities demands using the more up to date calculation tools and methodology. (author)

  2. MELCOR assessment of sequential severe accident mitigation actions under SGTR accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Wonjun; Jeon, Joongoo; Kim, Nam Kyung; Kim, Sung Joong

    2017-01-01

    The representative example of the severe accident studies using the severe accident code is investigation of effectiveness of developed severe accident management (SAM) strategy considering the positive and adverse effects. In Korea, some numerical studies were performed to investigate the SAM strategy using various severe accident codes. Seo et.al performed validation of RCS depressurization strategy and investigated the effect of severe accident management guidance (SAMG) entry condition under small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) without safety injection (SI), station blackout (SBO), and total loss of feed water (TLOFW) scenarios. The SGTR accident with the sequential mitigation actions according to the flow chart of SAMG was simulated by the MELCOR 1.8.6 code. Three scenariospreventing the RPV failure were investigated in terms of fission product release, hydrogen risk, and the containment pressure. Major conclusions can be summarized as follows: (1) According to the flow chart of SAMG, RPV failure can be prevented depending on the method of RCS depressurization. (2) To reduce the release of fission product during the injecting into SGs, a temporary opening of SDS before the injecting into SGs was suggested. These modified sequences of mitigation actions can reduce the release of fission product and the adverse effect of SDS.

  3. The Host-Agent-Environment Concept of Accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Don

    Background information is presented to indicate that accidents are an environmental health problem. While accidents are seldom thought to be a disease process, in many ways there are remarkable similarities--not only in terms of causal relationships, but also in preventive aspects. These parallels are described in terms of host-agent-environment…

  4. Evaluation of selected ex-reactor accidents related to the tritium and medical isotope production mission at the FFTF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Himes, D.A.

    1997-11-17

    The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) has been proposed as a production facility for tritium and medical isotopes. A range of postulated accidents related to ex-reactor irradiated fuel and target handling were identified and evaluated using new source terms for the higher fuel enrichment and for the tritium and medical isotope targets. In addition, two in-containment sodium spill accidents were re-evaluated to estimate effects of increased fuel enrichment and the presence of the Rapid Retrieval System. Radiological and toxicological consequences of the analyzed accidents were found to be well within applicable risk guidelines.

  5. Accidents - Chernobyl accident; Accidents - accident de Tchernobyl

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    This file is devoted to the Chernobyl accident. It is divided in four parts. The first part concerns the accident itself and its technical management. The second part is relative to the radiation doses and the different contaminations. The third part reports the sanitary effects, the determinists ones and the stochastic ones. The fourth and last part relates the consequences for the other European countries with the case of France. Through the different parts a point is tackled with the measures taken after the accident by the other countries to manage an accident, the cooperation between the different countries and the groups of research and studies about the reactors safety, and also with the international medical cooperation, specially for the children, everything in relation with the Chernobyl accident. (N.C.)

  6. Off-site protective action selection for nuclear reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weerakkody, S.D.

    1986-01-01

    A computer program based upon a model using a rational theoretical basis was developed to select appropriate off-site protective actions during nuclear reactor accidents. The special features of this program include (a) introduction of a precursor concept that uses the history of the accident progression to determine the spectrum of potential accident scenarios and estimates of the likelihoods of each accident scenario; (b) use of statistical decision theory and the concept of entropy of a spectrum to select the appropriate protective actions using either the minimax principle or the Bayes action method; and (c) introduction of methods to quantify evacuation travel risks. In order to illustrate the usefulness of the computer program, it was applied at three stages of the Three Mile Island accident scenario. Quantified non-radiological risks of evaluation have been used to establish dose thresholds below which evacuations are not justified. Using the Poisson analysis for evacuation risks and the absolute L-L BEIR model for radiation risk suggests 330 mrems as a reasonable value for this threshold. The usefulness of the program in developing a technical basis to select the size of the plume exposure pathway emergency planning zone (EPZ) is discussed. Quantified evacuation risks, cost, and the current rationale upon which the EPZ is based, justify an EPZ between 5-10 miles for WASH-1400 source-terms

  7. Status report on the EPRI fuel cycle accident risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erdmann, R.C.; Fullwood, R.R.; Garcia, A.A.; Mendoza, Z.T.; Ritzman, R.L.; Stevens, C.A.

    1979-07-01

    This report summarizes and extends the work reported in five unpublished draft reports: the accidental radiological risk of reprocessing spent fuel, mixed oxide fuel fabrication, the transportation of materials within the fuel cycle, and the disposal of nuclear wastes, and the routine atmospheric radiological risk of mining and milling uranium-bearing ore. Results show that the total risk contribution of the fuel cycle is only about 1% of the accident risk of the power plant and hence, with little error, the accident risk of nuclear electric power is that of the power plant itself. The power plant risk, assuming a very large usage of nuclear power by the year 2005, is only about 0.5% of the radiological risk of natural background. This work aims at a realistic assessment of the process hazards, the effectiveness of confinement and mitigation systems and procedures, and the associated likelihoods and estimated errors. The primary probabilistic estimation tool is fault tree analysis with the release source terms calculated using physical--chemical processes. Doses and health effects are calculated with the CRAC code. No evacuation or mitigation is considered: source terms may be conservative through the assumption of high fuel burnup (40,000 MWd/T) and short cooling (90 to 150 d); HEPA filter efficiencies are derived from experiments

  8. Accident analysis for transuranic waste management alternatives in the U.S. Department of Energy waste management program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nabelssi, B.; Mueller, C.; Roglans-Ribas, J.; Folga, S.; Tompkins, M.; Jackson, R.

    1995-01-01

    Preliminary accident analyses and radiological source term evaluations have been conducted for transuranic waste (TRUW) as part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) effort to manage storage, treatment, and disposal of radioactive wastes at its various sites. The approach to assessing radiological releases from facility accidents was developed in support of the Office of Environmental Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EM PEIS). The methodology developed in this work is in accordance with the latest DOE guidelines, which consider the spectrum of possible accident scenarios in the implementation of various actions evaluated in an EIS. The radiological releases from potential risk-dominant accidents in storage and treatment facilities considered in the EM PEIS TRUW alternatives are described in this paper. The results show that significant releases can be predicted for only the most severe and extremely improbable accidents sequences

  9. Facilitating relative comparisons of health impacts from postulated accidents in environmental impact statements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.J.

    1996-01-01

    Current US Department of Energy (DOE) guidance on the performance of accident analyses supported an environmental impact statement (EIS) stresses a graded approach that emphasizes the most important risks, calls for the evaluation of frequencies as well as consequences for severe accident scenarios, and discourages the use of bounding analyses that confound risk comparisons among EIS alternatives. This paper discusses methods in probabilistic risk analysis that were developed and applied in defining accidents and generating radiological source terms for the DOE Draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS); publication of the Final WM PEIS is due in late summer 1996. The strengths and shortcomings of the cited probabilistic risk analysis methods used to evaluate facility accidents are addressed, both as they relate to the WM PEIS and as they relate to more general EIS applications. Key guidance is discussed that was developed by DOE and used in shaping the techniques cited herein for application in an EIS. Related perceptions on accidents observed from the public comment process for the WM PEIS are cited. Finally, recommendations are made on the basis of needs as well as lessons learned in implementing the accident analysis for the WM PEIS

  10. Mitigation of Hydrogen Hazards in Severe Accidents in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-07-01

    Consideration of severe accidents in nuclear power plants is an essential component of the defence in depth approach in nuclear safety. Severe accidents have very low probabilities of occurring, but may have significant consequences resulting from the degradation of nuclear fuel. The generation of hydrogen and the risk of hydrogen combustion, as well as other phenomena leading to overpressurization of the reactor containment in case of severe accidents, represent complex safety issues in relation to accident management. The combustion of hydrogen, produced primarily as a result of heated zirconium metal reacting with steam, can create short term overpressure or detonation forces that may exceed the strength of the containment structure. An understanding of these phenomena is crucial for planning and implementing effective accident management measures. Analysis of all the issues relating to hydrogen risk is an important step for any measure that is aimed at the prevention or mitigation of hydrogen combustion in reactor containments. The main objective of this publication is to contribute to the implementation of IAEA Safety Standards, in particular, two IAEA Safety Requirements: Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design and Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Operation. These Requirements publications discuss computational analysis of severe accidents and accident management programmes in nuclear power plants. Specifically with regard to the risk posed by hydrogen in nuclear power reactors, computational analysis of severe accidents considers hydrogen sources, hydrogen distribution, hydrogen combustion and control and mitigation measures for hydrogen, while accident management programmes are aimed at mitigating hydrogen hazards in reactor containments.

  11. Colloquium / Preparation for nuclear post-accident. Citizens and local authorities involvement in major risks governance - proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pascal, Michel; Villers, Anita; Sene, Monique; Godin, Francois; Quilichini, Jean-Michel; Rollinger, Francois; Delalonde, Jean-Claude; Mehl-Auget, Isabelle; Autret, Jean-Claude; Heriard Dubreuil, Gilles; Petitfrere, Michael; Lochard, Jacques; Demet, Michel; Boucherie, Jean-Claude; Calafat, Alexis; Sommade, Christian; Villain, Alain; Ragazzo, Romeo; Rengot, Marielle; Sename, Jean; Thellier, Yvette; Tremelet, David; Olszewski, Richard; Fournier, Nicolas

    2009-12-01

    During 40 years, France has chosen nuclear energy as main energy source for power generation. Today, nuclear energy covers 80% of the French electricity needs. For this reason, in France, each inhabitant lives at less than 200 km of a nuclear power plant. The September 11, 2001 terror attack has led to reconsider the nuclear risk in terms of security. In 2005, the French nuclear safety authority (ASN) has been entrusted with the preparation of a nuclear post-accident management study. This study has been mainly based on the experience feedback of the Chernobyl accident and on the dialogue with different actors of the French territory: the local authorities, the habitants, the associations and the health, environment and education actors. This colloquium represents the opening act of the joint elaboration of the management of a potential nuclear accident at the region scale. The colloquium was organized around 5 round tables: 1 - Did the nuclear safety transparency law change the situation?; 2 - Examples of pluralistic dialogues: the long-term management of a nuclear accident; 3 - How to encourage the necessary skills development of citizens? 4 - Regional development strategies in terms of nuclear risks management (incidents, effluents, wastes, transports..); 5 - New territory liabilities and citizens' legitimate aspiration in terms of health/environment: building something together. This document is the proceedings of this colloquium. It reports the exchanges between the participants

  12. Design parameters and source terms: Volume 3, Source terms: Revision 0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-09-01

    The Design Parameters and Source Terms Document was prepared in accordance with DOE request and to provide data for the environmental impact study to be performed in the future for the Deaf Smith County, Texas site for a nuclear waste repository in salt. This document updates a previous unpublished report to the level of the Site Characterization Plan /endash/ Conceptual Design Report, SCP-CDR. The previous unpublished SCC Study identifies the data needs for the Environmental Assessment effort for seven possible salt repository sites

  13. Estimated long term health effects of the Chernobyl accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cardis, E. [International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon (France)

    1996-07-01

    Apart from the dramatic increase in thyroid cancer in those exposed as children, there is no evidence to date of a major public health impact as a result of radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl accident in the three most affected countries (Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine). Although some increases in the frequency of cancer in exposed populations have been reported ,these results are difficult to interpret, mainly because of differences in the intensity and method of follow-up between exposed populations and the general population with which they are compared. If the experience of the survivors of the atomic bombing of Japan and of other exposed populations is applicable, the major radiological impact of the accident will be cases of cancer. The total lifetime numbers of excess cancers will be greatest among the `liquidators` (emergency and recovery workers) and among the residents of `contaminated` territories, of the order of 2000 to 2500 among each group (the size of the exposed populations is 200,000 liquidators and 3,700,000 residents of `contaminated` areas). These increases would be difficult to detect epidemiologically against an expected background number of 41500 and 433000 cases of cancer respectively among the two groups. The exposures for populations due to the Chernobyl accident are different in type and pattern from those of the survivors of the atomic bombing of Japan. Thus predictions derived from studies of these populations are uncertain. The extent of the incidence of thyroid cancer was not envisaged. Since only ten years have lapsed since the accident, continued monitoring of the health of the population is essential to assess the public health impact.

  14. Bayesian source term determination with unknown covariance of measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belal, Alkomiet; Tichý, Ondřej; Šmídl, Václav

    2017-04-01

    Determination of a source term of release of a hazardous material into the atmosphere is a very important task for emergency response. We are concerned with the problem of estimation of the source term in the conventional linear inverse problem, y = Mx, where the relationship between the vector of observations y is described using the source-receptor-sensitivity (SRS) matrix M and the unknown source term x. Since the system is typically ill-conditioned, the problem is recast as an optimization problem minR,B(y - Mx)TR-1(y - Mx) + xTB-1x. The first term minimizes the error of the measurements with covariance matrix R, and the second term is a regularization of the source term. There are different types of regularization arising for different choices of matrices R and B, for example, Tikhonov regularization assumes covariance matrix B as the identity matrix multiplied by scalar parameter. In this contribution, we adopt a Bayesian approach to make inference on the unknown source term x as well as unknown R and B. We assume prior on x to be a Gaussian with zero mean and unknown diagonal covariance matrix B. The covariance matrix of the likelihood R is also unknown. We consider two potential choices of the structure of the matrix R. First is the diagonal matrix and the second is a locally correlated structure using information on topology of the measuring network. Since the inference of the model is intractable, iterative variational Bayes algorithm is used for simultaneous estimation of all model parameters. The practical usefulness of our contribution is demonstrated on an application of the resulting algorithm to real data from the European Tracer Experiment (ETEX). This research is supported by EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanism under project MSMT-28477/2014 Source-Term Determination of Radionuclide Releases by Inverse Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling (STRADI).

  15. Probabilistic Assessment of Severe Accident Consequence in West Bangka

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunarko; Su'ud, Zaki

    2017-07-01

    Probabilistic dose assessment for severe accident condition is performed for West Bangka area. Source-term from WASH-1400 reactor analysis is used as a conservative release scenario for 1000 MWe PWR. Seven groups of isotopes are used in the simulation based on core inventory and release fraction. Population distribution for Muntok district and the area within a 100 km radius is obtained from 2014 data. Meteorological data is provided through cyclic sampling from a database containing two-year site-specific hourly records in 2014-2015 periods. PC-COSYMA segmented plume dispersion code is used to investigate the assumed the consequence of the accident scenario. The result indicates that early or deterministic effect is important for areas close the release point while long-term or stochastic effect is related to population distribution and covers area of up to 100 km from the release point. The mean annual expected values for early mortality and late mortality for the population within 100 km radius from Muntok site are 2.38×10-4 yr -1 and 1.33×10-3 yr -1 respectively.

  16. Report on a radiotherapy underdose accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christodoulides, G; Christofides, S [Medical Physics Department, Nicosia General Hospital, 1450 Nicosia (Cyprus)

    1999-12-31

    Reporting information on accidents and incidents involving radiation sources provides a body of knowledge which can help to prevent accidents of a similar nature. Accident information has to be made available to users, manufacturers and regulators; An international effort to pool and analyse incident and accident information will provide more complete and reliable indicators of root causes and trends and recommendations for future accident avoidance. An accident due to human error involving a superficial x-ray therapy machine and patients treated for postoperative breast cancer is reported here. 43 women receiving radiotherapy treatment have received significantly less radiation dose than the prescribed dose. The worst dose percentage within the radiation field was 20% of the prescribed dose. The worst dose percentage on the operation scar of the breast was 52% of the prescribed radiation dose. The response to accidents/incidents in radiotherapy is discussed. (authors) 4 refs., 5 figs., 1 tabs.

  17. Radiological accidents/incidents with caesium-137 in Estonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinisoo, M.

    1998-01-01

    A report is provided of an accident and an incident involving radioactive sources in Estonia. In the 1994 occurrence, looters of a depository of radioactive waste manipulated a source containing 137 Cs and received dangerous doses of radiation. One of the persons involved died, others suffered minor burns. Another event, which occurred in early 1995, did not have a tragic outcome: an abandoned 137 Cs source was found in the vicinity of the highway linking Tallinn and Narva and was disposed of safely. Both these accidents draw attention to the potential dangers caused by the insufficient survey of the territory, radiation protection structures not yet fully operable, and the lack of equipment and know-how. The lessons to be drawn from these events are considered on the basis of the chronologies and factual data. The report contains concise descriptions of the accidents, a medical overview of the fate of the injured persons and the lessons learned from these accidents. (author)

  18. Development of severe accident management guidance for Younggwang units 5 and 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, K. W.; Beon, C. S.; Kim, M. K.; Hong, S. Y.; Park, K. S.

    2001-01-01

    Severe Accident Management Guidance (SAMG) has been developed for Younggwang Units 5 and 6. It is consisted of Severe Accident Control Room Guideline, Diagnostic Flow Chart, Severe Accident Guideline, Severe Challenge Guideline, TSC Long Term Monitoring, SAMG Termination. Severe Accident Control Room Guideline, which deals with severe accident after finishing Emergency Operation Procedure, consists of acitions before and after TSC actuation. Seven servere accident management strategies are developed. Diagnostic Flow Chart, Severe Accident Guideline, and Severe Challenge Guideline are developed for each strategy, which enables the users to the implementation of strategy easily and systematically. TSC Long Term Monitoring is also developed to monitor long term activities after a particular strategy. Total of 45 set points are developed for decision making during the implementation of the SAMG

  19. Accidents on ships in the Danish International Ship register

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ádám, Balázs; Rasmussen, Hanna Barbara

    to report accidents causing at least one day off work beyond the day of accident but the first source contains several accidents not fulfilling this criterion, too. Radio Medical is an independent service where all Danish ships may seek medical advice. The data sets were merged by identification number...... of our study is to describe trend of accidents and their contributing factors, with special focus on nationality, occurring in ships under Danish flag in the period 2010-2012. The study used two independent data sources, the Danish Maritime Authority and the Danish Radio Medical. It is mandatory...... to create a single database that has been studied by descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Findings show a stabilised number of accidents in the analysed period. The occurrence of accidents is influenced by nationality. There is a higher frequency of reported injuries found among Danish and other...

  20. An assessment of the radiological consequences of accidents in research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferreira, N.L.D.

    1992-01-01

    This work analyses the radiological consequences of accidents in two types of research reactors: a 5 MWt open pool reactor and a 50 MWt PWR reactor. Two siting cases have been considered: the reactor located near to a large population center and sited in a rural area. The influence of several factors such as source term, meteorological conditions and population distribution have been considered in the present analysis. (author)

  1. Domestic bioethanol-fireplaces--a new source of severe burn accidents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neubrech, Florian; Kiefer, Jurij; Schmidt, Volker J; Bigdeli, Amir K; Hernekamp, J Frederick; Kremer, Thomas; Kneser, Ulrich; Radu, Christian Andreas

    2016-02-01

    Bioethanol-fueled fireplaces are popular interior home decoration accessories. Although their safety is promoted frequently, actual presentations of severe burn injuries in our burn intensive care unit (ICU) have focused the authors on safety problems with these devices. In this article we want to explore the mechanisms for these accidents and state our experiences with this increasingly relevant risk for severe burn injuries. The computerized medical records of all burn intensive care patients in our burn unit between 2000 and 2014 were studied. Since 2010, 12 patients with bioethanol associated burn injuries were identified. Their data was compared to the values of all patients, except the ones injured by bioethanol fireplaces that presented themselves to our burn ICU between the years 2010 and 2014. At time of admission the bioethanol patients had a mean ABSI-score of 4.8 (+/- 2.2 standard deviation (SD)). A mean of 17 percent (+/- 9.1 SD) body surface area was burned. Involvement of face and hands was very common. An operative treatment was needed in 8 cases. A median of 20 days of hospitalization (range 3-121) and a median of 4.5 days on the ICU (range 1-64) were necessary. No patient died. In most cases the injuries happened while refilling or while starting the fire, even though safety instructions were followed. In the control group, consisting of 748 patients, the mean ABSI-score was 5.6 (+/- 2.7 SD). A mean of 16.5 percent (+/- 10.1 SD) body surface area was burned. Treatment required a median of 3 days on the burn ICU (range 1-120). Regarding these parameters, the burden of disease was comparable in both groups. Bioethanol-fueled fireplaces for interior home decoration are a potential source for severe burn accidents even by intended use. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

  2. Severe accident research and management in Nordic Countries - A status report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frid, W.

    2002-01-01

    have been mainly concentrated on further development of accident management strategies and aids for source term predictions whereas in Finland in addition to further development of accident management strategies some important plant modifications have been carried out. (au)

  3. Evaluation of an accident management strategy of emergency water injection using fire engines in a typical pressurized water reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soo-Yong Park

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Following the Fukushima accident, a special safety inspection was conducted in Korea. The inspection results show that Korean nuclear power plants have no imminent risk for expected maximum potential earthquake or coastal flooding. However long- and short-term safety improvements do need to be implemented. One of the measures to increase the mitigation capability during a prolonged station blackout (SBO accident is installing injection flow paths to provide emergency cooling water of external sources using fire engines to the steam generators or reactor cooling systems. This paper illustrates an evaluation of the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire trucks during a potential extended SBO accident in a 1,000 MWe pressurized water reactor. With regard to the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire engines, the strategies are judged to be very feasible for a long-term SBO, but are not likely to be effective for a short-term SBO.

  4. Evaluation of an accident management strategy of emergency water injection using fire engines in a typical pressurized water reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soo Yong; Ahn, Kwang Il

    2015-01-01

    Following the Fukushima accident, a special safety inspection was conducted in Korea. The inspection results show that Korean nuclear power plants have no imminent risk for expected maximum potential earthquake or coastal flooding. However long- and short-term safety improvements do need to be implemented. One of the measures to increase the mitigation capability during a prolonged station blackout (SBO) accident is installing injection flow paths to provide emergency cooling water of external sources using fire engines to the steam generators or reactor cooling systems. This paper illustrates an evaluation of the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire trucks during a potential extended SBO accident in a 1,000 MWe pressurized water reactor. With regard to the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire engines, the strategies are judged to be very feasible for a long-term SBO, but are not likely to be effective for a short-term SBO

  5. Evaluation of an accident management strategy of emergency water injection using fire engines in a typical pressurized water reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Soo Yong; Ahn, Kwang Il [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    Following the Fukushima accident, a special safety inspection was conducted in Korea. The inspection results show that Korean nuclear power plants have no imminent risk for expected maximum potential earthquake or coastal flooding. However long- and short-term safety improvements do need to be implemented. One of the measures to increase the mitigation capability during a prolonged station blackout (SBO) accident is installing injection flow paths to provide emergency cooling water of external sources using fire engines to the steam generators or reactor cooling systems. This paper illustrates an evaluation of the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire trucks during a potential extended SBO accident in a 1,000 MWe pressurized water reactor. With regard to the effectiveness of external cooling water injection strategies using fire engines, the strategies are judged to be very feasible for a long-term SBO, but are not likely to be effective for a short-term SBO.

  6. Degraded core accidents: review of aerosol behaviour in the containment of a PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nichols, A.L.; Walker, B.C.

    1981-09-01

    Low probability-high consequence accidents have become an important issue in reactor safety studies. Such accidents would involve damage to the core and the subsequent release of radioactive fission products into the environment. Aerosols play a major role in the transport and removal of these fission products in the reactor building containment. The aerosol mechanisms, computer modelling codes and experimental studies used to predict aerosol behaviour in the containment of a PWR are reviewed. There are significant uncertainties in the aerosol source terms and specific recommendations have been made for further studies, particularly with respect to code development and high density aerosol-fission product transport within closed systems. (author)

  7. On-line measurement of gaseous iodine species during a PWR severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haykal, I.; Doizi, D. [CEA, DEN, Departement de Physico-chimie, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex, (France); Perrin, A. [CNRS-University of Paris Est and Paris 7, Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systemes Atmospheriques, 94010 Creteil, (France); Vincent, B. [University of Burgundy, Laboratoire de physique, CNRS UMR 5027, 9, Avenue Alain Savary, BP 47870, F-21078 Dijon Cedex, (France); Manceron, L. [Synchrotron SOLEIL, L' Orme des Merisiers, St-Aubin BP48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, (France); Mejean, G. [University of Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, Laboratoire de Spectrometrie Physique-CNRS UMR 5588, 38402 Saint Martin d' Heres, (France); Ducros, G. [CEA Cadarache, CEA, DEN, Departement d' Etudes des Combustibles, 13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance cedex, (France)

    2015-07-01

    A long-range remote sensing of severe accidents in nuclear power plants can be obtained by monitoring the online emission of volatile fission products such as xenon, krypton, caesium and iodine. The nuclear accident in Fukushima was ranked at level 7 of the International Nuclear Event Scale by the NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) according to the importance of the radionuclide release and the off-site impact. Among volatile fission products, iodine species are of high concern, since they can be released under aerosols as well as gaseous forms. Four years after the Fukushima accident, the aerosol/gaseous partition is still not clear. Since the iodine gaseous forms are less efficiently trapped by the Filtered Containment Venting Systems than aerosol forms, it is of crucial importance to monitor them on-line during a nuclear accident, in order to improve the source term assessment in such a situation. Therefore, we propose to detect and quantify these iodine gaseous forms by the use of highly sensitive optical methods. (authors)

  8. Accident analysis for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    calculation results. This safety report also discusses various factors that need to be considered to ensure that the accident analysis is of an acceptable quality. The report is intended for use primarily by analyses coordinating, performing or reviewing accident analyses for NPPs, on both the utility and regulatory sides. The report will also be of use as a background document for relevant IAEA activities, such as training courses and workshops. While the main body of the report does not focus exclusively on a single reactor type, the examples provided in the annexes are related mostly to the accident analysis of NPPs with pressurized water reactors. The report: Applies to both NPPs being built and operating plants; deals with internal events in reactors or in their associated process systems; thus the emphasis is on the physical transient behaviour of reactors and their systems, including reactor containment; discusses both best estimate and conservative accident analyses; covers design basis accidents as well as beyond design basis accidents, although the design basis accidents are covered in greater detail; focuses on thermohydraulic aspects of safety analysis; neutronic, structural and radiological aspects are also covered to some extent; covers the course of an accident from the initiating event up to source term estimation. The main body of the report is intended to be as generally applicable as possible to all reactor types

  9. Modelling of HTR Confinement Behaviour during Accidents Involving Breach of the Helium Pressure Boundary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Fontanet

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of HTRs requires the performance of a thorough safety study, which includes accident analyses. Confinement building performance is a key element of the system since the behaviour of aerosol and attached fission products within the building is of an utmost relevance in terms of the potential source term to the environment. This paper explores the available simulation capabilities (ASTEC and CONTAIN codes and illustrates the performance of a postulated HTR vented confinement under prototypical accident conditions by a scoping study based on two accident sequences characterized by Helium Pressure Boundary breaches, a small and a large break. The results obtained indicate that both codes predict very similar thermal-hydraulic responses of the confinement both in magnitude and timing. As for the aerosol behaviour, both codes predict that most of the inventory coming into the confinement is eventually depleted on the walls and only about 1% of the aerosol dust is released to the environment. The crosscomparison of codes states that largest differences are in the intercompartmental flows and the in-compartment gas composition.

  10. A study on the estimation of economic consequence of severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Dae Seok; Lee, Kun Jai; Jeong, Jong Tae

    1996-01-01

    A model to estimate economic consequence of severe accident provides some measure of the impact on the accident and enables to know the different effects of the accident described as same terms of cost and combined as necessary. Techniques to assess the consequences of accidents in terms of cost have many applications, for instance in examining countermeasure options, as part of either emergency planning or decision making after an accident. In this study, a model to estimate the accident economic consequence is developed appropriate to our country focused on PWR accident costs from a societal viewpoint. Societal costs are estimated by accounting for losses that directly affect the plant licensee, the public, the nuclear industry, or the electric utility industry after PWR accident

  11. Study on confinement function of reactor containment during late phase severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    During a severe accident reactor containment integrity is maintained by accident management. However, gas leakage from containment is inevitable after the severe accident. A large amount of hydrogen and rare gases are produced due to core damage or melting. These non-condensable gases cause the containment pressure much higher than atmospheric pressure even after residual heat removal system recovery especially for BWR with smaller containment volume. Besides, iodine confined in water pool is re-evaporated under radiation field. The present study consists of realistic evaluation of fission products source term inside containment, quantitative evaluation of iodine re-evaporation effect and the experimental study of hydrogen treatment in BWR using ammonia production method by catalyst. Activities in fiscal year 2012 are that modification of MELCOR fission product chemical model was done and verified by experimental data, and that effects of CsI on ammonia production rate for Ru catalyst were conducted. (author)

  12. Dose calculation for accident situations at WWR-S type spent nuclear fuel repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Margeanu, S.; Florescu, G.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: The Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository at IFIN-HH Bucharest (SNFR IFIN-HH) consists in four pools, repository hall, radiological monitoring system, ventilation system and auxiliary systems. At the moment the remaining activity in the repository is about 3500 Ci. Despite of the small activity, for emergency preparedness purposes, several accident scenarios, with a non zero probability of occurrence during the repository lifetime, have been postulated. Evaluations of radiological consequences to personnel, general public and environment, for each accident scenario have been performed. The radioactive inventory was evaluated with ORIGEN code from SCALE computer code system and radiological consequences were evaluated with COSYMA computer code. Assumptions for the source term determination, meteorological conditions and release, are presented. The calculated values of doses and risk are also presented. The impact of these accident scenarios on population and environment is also discussed. (authors)

  13. Japanese Nuclear Accident and U.S. Response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douet, Randy

    2011-01-01

    U.S. Government response to the Fukushima accident: • Multi-agency task force (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Defense) supporting Japan recovery efforts; • President Obama directed the NRC to perform a comprehensive review of U.S. reactors; • NRC established agency task force to develop lessons learned from Fukushima Daiichi accident to provide short-term and long-term analysis of the events

  14. Safety against releases in severe accidents. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindholm, I.; Berg, Oe.; Nonboel, E.

    1997-12-01

    The work scope of the RAK-2 project has involved research on quantification of the effects of selected severe accident phenomena for Nordic nuclear power plants, development and testing of a computerised accident management support system and data collection and description of various mobile reactors and of different reactor types existing in the UK. The investigations of severe accident phenomena focused mainly on in-vessel melt progression, covering a numerical assessment of coolability of a degraded BWR core, the possibility and consequences of a BWR reactor to become critical during reflooding and the core melt behavior in the reactor vessel lower plenum. Simulant experiments were carried out to investigate lower head hole ablation induced by debris discharge. In addition to the in-vessel phenomena, a limited study on containment response to high pressure melt ejection in a BWR and a comparative study on fission product source term behaviour in a Swedish PWR were performed. An existing computerised accident management support system (CAMS) was further developed in the area of tracking and predictive simulation, signal validation, state identification and user interface. The first version of a probabilistic safety analysis module was developed and implemented in the system. CAMS was tested in practice with Barsebaeck data in a safety exercise with the Swedish nuclear authority. The descriptions of the key features of British reactor types, AGR, Magnox, FBR and PWR were published as data reports. Separate reports were issued also on accidents in nuclear ships and on description of key features of satellite reactors. The collected data were implemented in a common Nordic database. (au)

  15. MELCOR Severe Accident Analysis on the SMART Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Tae Woon; Jin, Young Ho; Kim, Young In; Kim, Keung Koo; Wang, Ziao; Revankar, Shripad

    2014-01-01

    A severe accident is analyzed for Korea SMR reactor, SMART. Core melt down sequences are analyzed for SMART reactor core using MELCOR version 1.8.5. MELCOR is developed by Sandia National Laboratory for US NRC for the simulation of severe accidents in nuclear power plants. Two cases are simulated here and compared between them; one is the case for core having 3 concentric rings and the other is the case for core having 5 concentric rings. One inch break LOCA scenario is simulated and compared between these two core models. Time sequences for the thermal hydraulic behaviors of RPV and thermal heatup behaviors of reactor core are explained in graphically. Thermal hydraulic behavior such as the change of pressure, level, mass, and temperature of RPV is explained. Thermal heatup behavior of reactor core such as oxidation of cladding, hydrogen generation, core slumping down to lower plenum, and finally creep rupture of PRV lower head is explained. Engineered safety features such as safety injection systems (SIS), and Passive residual heat removal systems (PHRS), etc. are assumed to be not working. One inch break of severe accident is simulated on Korean SMR (SMART) Integral PWR with MELCOR code version 1.8.5. Core melt progression and lower head failure time is very slow compared to other commercial reactors. Simulation on 3 and 5 radial rings core models gives very similar pattern in core cell failure timings. Other various accident scenarios (for example, SBO in Fukushima) will be tried further. Containment behaviors and source term behaviors in severe accident conditions will be analyzed in future

  16. Loss-of-coolant accident mitigation for the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, N.C.J.; Wendel, M.W.; Yoder, G.L. Jr.

    1994-01-01

    A RELAP5 Advanced Neutron Source Reactor system model has been developed for the conceptual design safety analysis. Three major regions modeled are the core, the heat exchanger loops, and letdown/pressurizing system. The model has been used to examine design alternatives for mitigation of loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) transients. The safety margins to the flow excursion limit and critical heat flux are presented. The results show that the core can survive an instantaneous double-ended guillotine of the core outlet piping break (610 mm-diameter) provided a cavitating venturi is employed. RELAP5 calculations were also used to determine the effects of using a non-instantaneous break opening times. Both break opening time and break formation characteristics were included in these parametric calculations. Accumulator optimization studies were also performed which suggest that an optimum accumulator bubble size exists which improves system performance under some break scenarios

  17. Impact of the accident at TMI-2 on new safety regulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collins, J.T.

    1981-01-01

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been very busy, since the accident, looking into the causes surrounding the events that occurred on the morning of March 28, 1979. To date, the Commission has implemented the Short-Term Lessons Learned and has provided a schedule for implementing the Long-Term Lessons Learned. Some of these requirements have resulted in delays in licensing of new plants and the temporary shutdown of some operating plants. However, the NRC believes these new requirements are essential to increase the safety of nuclear power plants and to protect the health and safety of the public. Although the accident occurred almost 19 months ago, the cleanup of TMI-2 continues and will continue for the next 5 to 7 years. As the cleanup progresses and ultimately the fuel removed, the Commission will continue to learn from the information generated by this program. This information will be factored into the licensing process. If nuclear power is to remain a viable option as a source of electrical power in the United States, then NRC must continue to assure the general public that these plants can be operated safely from the lessons learned at TMI and that systems required to mitigate the consequences of accidents will indeed perform their intended functions

  18. Accident for natural gas well with hydrogen sulfide in relation to nuclear power plant siting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan Chengjun; Shangguang Zhihong; Sha Xiangdong

    2010-01-01

    In order to make assessment to the potential impact from accident of natural gas wells with hydrogen sulfide on the habitability of main control room of nuclear power plant (NPP), several assumptions such as source terms of maximum credible accident, conservative atmospheric conditions and release characteristics were proposed in the paper, and the impact on the habitability of main control room was evaluated using toxicity thresholds recommended by foreign authority. Case results indicate that the method can provide the reference for the preliminary assessment to external human-induced events during the siting phrase of NPP. (authors)

  19. Profiling high-frequency accident locations using association rules

    OpenAIRE

    GEURTS, Karolien; WETS, Geert; BRIJS, Tom; VANHOOF, Koen

    2003-01-01

    In Belgium, traffic safety is currently one of the government's highest priorities. Identifying and profiling black spots and black zones in terms of accident related data and location characteristics must provide new insights into the complexity and causes of road accidents, which, in ram, provide valuable input for government actions. In this paper, association rules are used to identify accident circumstances that frequently occur together at high frequency accident locations. Furthermore...

  20. Selection of models to calculate the LLW source term

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sullivan, T.M.

    1991-10-01

    Performance assessment of a LLW disposal facility begins with an estimation of the rate at which radionuclides migrate out of the facility (i.e., the source term). The focus of this work is to develop a methodology for calculating the source term. In general, the source term is influenced by the radionuclide inventory, the wasteforms and containers used to dispose of the inventory, and the physical processes that lead to release from the facility (fluid flow, container degradation, wasteform leaching, and radionuclide transport). In turn, many of these physical processes are influenced by the design of the disposal facility (e.g., infiltration of water). The complexity of the problem and the absence of appropriate data prevent development of an entirely mechanistic representation of radionuclide release from a disposal facility. Typically, a number of assumptions, based on knowledge of the disposal system, are used to simplify the problem. This document provides a brief overview of disposal practices and reviews existing source term models as background for selecting appropriate models for estimating the source term. The selection rationale and the mathematical details of the models are presented. Finally, guidance is presented for combining the inventory data with appropriate mechanisms describing release from the disposal facility. 44 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  1. Advanced Neutron Source Reactor (ANSR) phenomena identification and ranking (PIR) for large break loss of coolant accidents (LBLOCA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruggles, A.E.; Cheng, L.Y.; Dimenna, R.A.; Griffith, P.; Wilson, G.E.

    1994-06-01

    A team of experts in reactor analysis conducted a phenomena identification and ranking (PIR) exercise for a large break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) in the Advanced Neutron source Reactor (ANSR). The LBLOCA transient is broken into two separate parts for the PIR exercise. The first part considers the initial depressurization of the system that follows the opening of the break. The second part of the transient includes long-term decay heat removal after the reactor is shut down and the system is depressurized. A PIR is developed for each part of the LBLOCA. The ranking results are reviewed to establish if models in the RELAP5-MOD3 thermalhydraulic code are adequate for use in ANSR LBLOCA simulations. Deficiencies in the RELAP5-MOD3 code are identified and existing data or models are recommended to improve the code for this application. Experiments were also suggested to establish models for situations judged to be beyond current knowledge. The applicability of the ANSR PIR results is reviewed for the entire set of transients important to the ANSR safety analysis

  2. Transport and release of fission products during nuclear reactor accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, K.W.; Kuhlman, M.R.; Gieseke, J.A.

    1984-01-01

    This study represents the identification and formulation of a systematic, mechanistic approach to estimating source terms and the implementation of this approach through calculations of fission products release to the environment for a large PWR reactor under a selected set of accident conditions. The development and improvement of calculational procedures is an evolutionary process and in the long term must be verified through experimental studies. It is anticipated that as additional information is obtained the accuracy of predictions can be improved and uncertainties reduced. Transport and deposition of radionuclides were found to be quite dependent on the accident sequences and the corresponding thremal hydraulic conditions. Reduced temperatures led to increased deposition of vapor species, and reduced flow rates to increased aerosol deposition. It is to be recognized that the estimates of release fractions are subject to uncertainties in the data and computer models employed in the calculations and are expected to have been influenced by assumptions regarding plant geometry, thermal hydraulics, deposition mechanisms, and sequence events. The effects of these assumptions will be investigated as this study continues. (Author)

  3. Radiological accidents potentially important to human health risk in the U.S. Department of Energy waste management program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Roglans-Ribas, J.; Folga, S.; Nabelssi, B.; Jackson, R.

    1995-01-01

    Human health risks as a consequence of potential radiological releases resulting from plausible accident scenarios constitute an important consideration in the US Department of Energy (DOE) national program to manage the treatment, storage, and disposal of wastes. As part of this program, the Office of Environmental Management (EM) is currently preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that evaluates the risks that could result from managing five different waste types. This paper (1) briefly reviews the overall approach used to assess process and facility accidents for the EM PEIS; (2) summarizes the key inventory, storage, and treatment characteristics of the various DOE waste types important to the selection of accidents; (3) discusses in detail the key assumptions in modeling risk-dominant accidents; and (4) relates comparative source term results and sensitivities

  4. Impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident on Nuclear Development Policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vance, Robert; Henderson, David; ); Moore, Laurie

    2017-01-01

    The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident has had an impact on the development of nuclear power around the world. While the accident was followed by thorough technical assessments of the safety of all operating nuclear power plants, and a general increase in safety requirements has been observed worldwide, national policy responses have been more varied. These responses have ranged from countries phasing out or accelerating decisions to phase out nuclear energy to countries reducing their reliance on nuclear power or on the contrary continuing to pursue or expand their nuclear power programs. This study examines changes to policies, and plans and attempts to distinguish the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi accident from other factors that have affected policy-making in relation to nuclear energy, in particular electricity market economics, financing challenges and competition from other sources (gas, coal and renewables). It also examines changes over time to long-term, quantitative country projections, which reveal interesting trends on the possible role of nuclear energy in future energy systems. (authors)

  5. Fission product releases at severe LWR accident conditions: ORNL/CEA measurements versus calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andre, B.; Ducros, G.; Leveque, J.P. [CEA Centre d`Etudes de Grenoble, 38 (France). Dept. de Thermohydraulique et de Physique; Osborne, M.F.; Lorenz, R.A. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Maro, D. [CEA Centre d`Etudes de Fontenay-aux-Roses, 92 (France). Dept. de Protection de l`Environnement et des Installations

    1995-12-31

    Experimental programs in the United States and France have followed similar paths in supplying much of the data needed to analyze severe accidents. Both the HI/VI program, conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under the sponsorship of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the HEVA/VERCORS program, supported by IPSN-Commissariat a l`Energie Atomique (CEA) and carried out at the Centre d`Etudes Nucleaires de Grenoble, have studied fission product release from light water reactor (LWR) fuel samples during test sequences representative of severe accidents. Recognizing that more accurate data, i.e., a better defined source term, could reduce the safety margins included in the rather conservative source terms originating from WASH-1400, the primary objective of these programs has been to improve the data base concerning fission product release and behavior at high temperatures. To facilitate the comparison, a model based on fission product diffusion mechanisms that was developed at ORNL and adapted with CEA experimental data is proposed. This CEA model is compared with the ORNL experimental data in a blind test. The two experimental programs used similar techniques in out-of-pile studies. Highly irradiated fuel samples were heated in radiofrequency induction furnaces to very high temperatures (up to 2700 K at ORNL and 2750 K at CEA) in oxidizing (H{sub 2}O), reducing (H{sub 2}) or mixed (H{sub 2}O+H{sub 2}) environments. The experimental parameters, which were chosen from calculated accident scenarios, did not duplicate specific accidents, but rather emphasized careful control of test conditions to facilitate extrapolation of the results to a wide variety of accident situations. This paper presents a broad and consistent database from ORNL and CEA release results obtained independently since the early 1980`S. A comparison of CORSOR and CORSOR Booth calculations, currently used in safety analysis, and the experimental results is presented and

  6. Predicting Consequences of Technological Disasters from Natural Hazard Events: Challenges and Opportunities Associated with Industrial Accident Data Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, M.

    2009-04-01

    The increased focus on the possibility of technological accidents caused by natural events (Natech) is foreseen to continue for years to come. In this case, experts in prevention, mitigation and preparation activities associated with natural events will increasingly need to borrow data and expertise traditionally associated with the technological fields to carry out the work. An important question is how useful is the data for understanding consequences from such natech events. Data and case studies provided on major industrial accidents tend to focus on lessons learned for re-engineering the process. While consequence data are reported at least nominally in most reports, their precision, quality and completeness is often lacking. Consequences that are often or sometimes available but not provided can include severity and type of injuries, distance of victims from the source, exposure measurements, volume of the release, population in potentially affected zones, and weather conditions. Yet these are precisely the type of data that will aid natural hazard experts in land-use planning and emergency response activities when a Natech event may be foreseen. This work discusses the results of a study of consequence data from accidents involving toxic releases reported in the EU's MARS accident database. The study analysed the precision, quality and completeness of three categories of consequence data reported: the description of health effects, consequence assessment and chemical risk assessment factors, and emergency response information. This work reports on the findings from this study and discusses how natural hazards experts might interact with industrial accident experts to promote more consistent and accurate reporting of the data that will be useful in consequence-based activities.

  7. A reactivity accidents simulation of the Fort Saint Vrain HTGR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fainer, Gerson

    1980-01-01

    A reactivity accidents analysis of the Fort Saint Vrain HTGR was made. The following accidents were analysed 1) A rod pair withdrawal accident during normal operation, 2) A rod pair ejection accident, 3) A rod pair withdrawal accident during startup operations at source levels and 4) Multiple rod pair withdrawal accident. All the simulations were performed by using the BLOOST-6 nuclear code The steady state reactor operation results obtained with the code were consistent with the design reactor data. The numerical analysis showed that all accidents - except the first one - cause particle failure. (author)

  8. Utility view of the source term and air cleaning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Littlefield, P.S.

    1985-01-01

    The utility view of the source term and air cleaning is discussed. The source term is made up of: (1) noble gases, which there has been a tendency to ignore in the past because it was thought there was nothing that could be done with them anyway, (2) the halogens, which have been dealt with in Air Cleaning Conferences in the past in terms of charcoal and other systems for removing them, and (3) the solid components of the source term which particulate filters are designed to handle. Air cleaning systems consist of filters, adsorbers, containment sprays, suppression pools in boiling water reactors and ice beds in ice condenser-equipped plants. The feasibility and cost of air cleaning systems are discussed

  9. The accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station - occurrence of the accident, current situation and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirose, K.

    2013-01-01

    In this presentation author analyse course of accident on Fukushima Dai-chi NPPs as well as consequences of this disaster. The following parts are presented: (1) Occurrence of the accident; (2) Evacuation of the residential people; (3) Deterioration and protraction of the accident; (4) Impact on society; (5) Situation of decontamination; (6) Long-term steps towards decommissioning; (7) Situation of other nuclear power stations; (8) Conclusions and lessons learned.

  10. Emergency response plan for accidents in Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Solaiman, K.M.; Al-Arfaj, A.M.; Farouk, M.A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper presents a brief description of the general emergency plan for accidents involving radioactive materials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Uses of radioactive materials and radiation sources and their associated potential accident are specified. Most general accident scenarios of various levels have been determined. Protective measures have been specified to reduce individual and collective doses arising during accident situations. Intervention levels for temporary exposure situations, as established in the IAEA's basic safety standards for protection against ionising radiation and for the safety of radiation sources, are adopted as national intervention levels. General procedures for implementation of the response plan, including notification and radiological monitoring instrumentation and equipment, are described and radiation monitoring teams are nominated. Training programs for the different parties which may be called upon to respond are studied and will be started. (author)

  11. Methodology and computational framework used for the US Department of Energy Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement accident analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.; Roglans-Ribas, J.; Folga, S.; Huttenga, A.; Jackson, R.; TenBrook, W.; Russell, J.

    1994-01-01

    A methodology, computational framework, and integrated PC-based database have been developed to assess the risks of facility accidents in support of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. The methodology includes the following interrelated elements: (1) screening of storage and treatment processes and related waste inventories to determine risk-dominant facilities across the DOE complex, (2) development and frequency estimation of the risk-dominant sequences of accidents, and (3) determination of the evolution of and final compositions of radiological or chemically hazardous source terms predicted to be released as a function of the storage inventory or treatment process throughput. The computational framework automates these elements to provide source term input for the second part of the analysis which includes (1) development or integration of existing site-specific demographics and meteorological data and calculation of attendant unit-risk factors and (2) assessment of the radiological or toxicological consequences of accident releases to the general public and to the occupational work force

  12. Economic development, mobility and traffic accidents in Algeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bougueroua, M; Carnis, L

    2016-07-01

    The aim of this contribution is to estimate the impact of road economic conditions and mobility on traffic accidents for the case of Algeria. Using the cointegration approach and vector error correction model (VECM), we will examine simultaneously short term and long-term impacts between the number of traffic accidents, fuel consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) per capital, over the period 1970-2013. The main results of the estimation show that the number of traffic accidents in Algeria is positively influenced by the GDP per capita in the short and long term. It implies that a higher economic development worsens the road safety situation. However, the new traffic rules adopted in 2009 have an impact on the forecast trend of traffic accidents, meaning efficient public policy could improve the situation. This result calls for a strong political commitment with effective countermeasures for avoiding the further deterioration of road safety record in Algeria. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Low-level radioactive waste performance assessments: Source term modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Icenhour, A.S.; Godbee, H.W.; Miller, L.F.

    1995-01-01

    Low-level radioactive wastes (LLW) generated by government and commercial operations need to be isolated from the environment for at least 300 to 500 yr. Most existing sites for the storage or disposal of LLW employ the shallow-land burial approach. However, the U.S. Department of Energy currently emphasizes the use of engineered systems (e.g., packaging, concrete and metal barriers, and water collection systems). Future commercial LLW disposal sites may include such systems to mitigate radionuclide transport through the biosphere. Performance assessments must be conducted for LUW disposal facilities. These studies include comprehensive evaluations of radionuclide migration from the waste package, through the vadose zone, and within the water table. Atmospheric transport mechanisms are also studied. Figure I illustrates the performance assessment process. Estimates of the release of radionuclides from the waste packages (i.e., source terms) are used for subsequent hydrogeologic calculations required by a performance assessment. Computer models are typically used to describe the complex interactions of water with LLW and to determine the transport of radionuclides. Several commonly used computer programs for evaluating source terms include GWSCREEN, BLT (Breach-Leach-Transport), DUST (Disposal Unit Source Term), BARRIER (Ref. 5), as well as SOURCE1 and SOURCE2 (which are used in this study). The SOURCE1 and SOURCE2 codes were prepared by Rogers and Associates Engineering Corporation for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). SOURCE1 is designed for tumulus-type facilities, and SOURCE2 is tailored for silo, well-in-silo, and trench-type disposal facilities. This paper focuses on the source term for ORNL disposal facilities, and it describes improved computational methods for determining radionuclide transport from waste packages

  14. Facility accident considerations in the US Department of Energy Waste Management Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.

    1994-01-01

    A principal consideration in developing waste management strategies is the relative importance of Potential radiological and hazardous releases to the environment during postulated facility accidents with respect to protection of human health and the environment. The Office of Environmental Management (EM) within the US Department of Energy (DOE) is currently formulating an integrated national program to manage the treatment, storage, and disposal of existing and future wastes at DOE sites. As part of this process, a Programmatic Environmental impact Statement (PEIS) is being prepared to evaluate different waste management alternatives. This paper reviews analyses that have been Performed to characterize, screen, and develop source terms for accidents that may occur in facilities used to store and treat the waste streams considered in these alternatives. Preliminary results of these analyses are discussed with respect to the comparative potential for significant releases due to accidents affecting various treatment processes and facility configurations. Key assumptions and sensitivities are described

  15. Profiling high frequency accident locations using associations rules

    OpenAIRE

    GEURTS, Karolien; WETS, Geert; BRIJS, Tom; VANHOOF, Koen

    2002-01-01

    In Belgium, traffic safety is currently one of the government’s highest priorities. Identifying and profiling black spots and black zones in terms of accident related data and location characteristics must provide new insights into the complexity and causes of road accidents which, in turn, provide valuable input for government actions. In this paper, association rules are used to identify accident circumstances that frequently occur together at high frequency accident locations. Furthermore,...

  16. Post-accident cooling capacity analysis of the AP1000 passive spent fuel pool cooling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su Xia

    2013-01-01

    The passive design is used in AP1000 spent fuel pool cooling system. The decay heat of the spent fuel is removed by heating-boiling method, and makeup water is provided passively and continuously to ensure the safety of the spent fuel. Based on the analysis of the post-accident cooling capacity of the spent fuel cooling system, it is found that post-accident first 72-hour cooling under normal refueling condition and emergency full-core offload condition can be maintained by passive makeup from safety water source; 56 hours have to be waited under full core refueling condition to ensure the safety of the core and the spent fuel pool. Long-term cooling could be conducted through reserved safety interface. Makeup measure is available after accident and limited operation is needed. Makeup under control could maintain the spent fuel at sub-critical condition. Compared with traditional spent fuel pool cooling system design, the AP1000 design respond more effectively to LOCA accidents. (authors)

  17. KINS Research Activities on the iodine behavior in containment during a severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hanchul; Kim, Dosam [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Oh, Jaeyong; Yun, Jongil [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Songwon [Korea Radiation Technology Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-03-15

    Iodine is a major contributor to the potential health risk for the public following a severe accident from a nuclear power plant. Volatile iodine and organic iodides can be generated from the containment sump through various kinds of reactions and be released to the environment. This iodine behavior has been an important topic for the international research programs run by the OECD/NEA and EU-SARNET2. Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) also has joined ISTP-EPICUR (Experimental Program on Iodine Chemistry under Radiation) and OECD-BIP (Behavior of Iodine Project). In the course of researching this issue with these experimental programs, a simple iodine model, RAIM, has been developed and coupled with the MELCOR code for radiological consequence analysis. This methodology is likely to provide a technical basis for developing the regulatory requirements concerning a severe accident including accident source term, which is one of urgent domestic needs.

  18. Evaluation to a long term remediation actions after Goiania radiological accident; Avaliacao a longo prazo das acoes de remediacao apos o acidente radiologico de Goiania

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rochedo, Elaine R.R.; Rio, Monica A. Pires do; Coutinho, Celia M.C.; Acar, Maria E.D.; Romeiro, Carlos H. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2000-07-01

    Ten years after the Goiania radiological accident, the results obtained by the IRD Environmental Monitoring Program are compared to the values adopted for establishing the intervention levels at the time of the accident occurrence (1987), and to the values of the parameters obtained by European countries, after the Chernobyl accident. Significant differences were observed in parameter values, particularly, those related to a long term prediction of the contamination behaviour in an urban area. This paper shows the importance of the survey for the environmental behaviour of pollutants in tropical climate conditions. (author)

  19. REAC/TS radiation accident registry. Update of accidents in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ricks, R.C.; Berger, M.E.; Holloway, E.C.; Goans, R.E.

    2000-01-01

    Serious injury due to ionizing radiation is a rare occurrence. From 1944 to the present, 243 US accidents meeting dose criteria for classification as serious are documented in the REAC/TS Registry. Thirty individuals have lost their lives in radiation accidents in the United States. The Registry is part of the overall REAC/TS program providing 24-hour direct or consultative assistance regarding medical and heath physics problems associated with radiation accidents in local, national, and international incidents. The REAC/TS Registry serves as a repository of medically important information documenting the consequences of these accidents. Registry data are gathered from various sources. These include reports from the World Heath Organization (WHO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC), state radiological health departments, medical/health physics literature, personal communication, the Internet, and most frequently, from calls for medical assistance to REAC/TS, as part of our 24-hour medical assistance program. The REAC/TS Registry for documentation of radiation accidents serves several useful purposes: 1) weaknesses in design, safety practices, training or control can be identified, and trends noted; 2) information regarding the medical consequences of injuries and the efficacy of treatment protocols is available to the treating physician; and 3) Registry case studies serve as valuable teaching tools. This presentation will review and summarize data on the US radiation accidents including their classification by device, accident circumstances, and frequency by respective states. Data regarding accidents with fatal outcomes will be reviewed. The inclusion of Registry data in the IAEA's International Reporting System of Radiation Events (RADEV) will also be discussed. (author)

  20. Effects of the Chernobyl accident on public perceptions of nuclear plant accident risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindell, M.K.; Perry, R.W.

    1990-01-01

    Assessments of public perceptions of the characteristics of a nuclear power plant accident and affective responses to its likelihood were conducted 5 months before and 1 month after the Chernobyl accident. Analyses of data from 69 residents of southwestern Washington showed significant test-retest correlations for only 10 of 18 variables--accident likelihood, three measures of impact characteristics, three measures of affective reactions, and hazard knowledge by governmental sources. Of these variables, only two had significant changes in mean ratings; frequency of thought and frequency of discussion about a nearby nuclear power plant both increased. While there were significant changes only for two personal consequences (expectations of cancer and genetic effects), both of these decreased. The results of this study indicate that more attention should be given to assessing the stability of risk perceptions over time. Moreover, the data demonstrate that experience with a major accident can actually decrease rather than increase perceptions of threat

  1. Policy elements for post-accident management in the event of nuclear accident. Document drawn up by the Steering Committee for the Management of the Post-Accident Phase of a Nuclear Accident (CODIRPA). Final version - 5 October 2012

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-01-01

    Pursuant to the Inter-ministerial Directive on the Action of the Public Authorities, dated 7 April 2005, in the face of an event triggering a radiological emergency, the National directorate on nuclear safety and radiation protection (DGSNR), which became the Nuclear safety authority (ASN) in 2006, was tasked with working the relevant Ministerial offices in order to set out the framework and outline, prepare and implement the provisions needed to address post-accident situations arising from a nuclear accident. In June 2005, the ASN set up a Steering committee for the management of the post-accident phase in the event of nuclear accident or a radiological emergency situation (CODIRPA), put in charge of drafting the related policy elements. To carry out its work, CODIRPA set up a number of thematic working groups from 2005 on, involving in total several hundred experts from different backgrounds (local information commissions, associations, elected officials, health agencies, expertise agencies, authorities, etc.). The working groups reports have been published by the ASN. Experiments on the policy elements under construction were carried out at the local level in 2010 across three nuclear sites and several of the neighbouring municipalities, as well as during national crisis drills conducted since 2008. These works gave rise to two international conferences organised by ASN in 2007 and 2011. The policy elements prepared by CODIRPA were drafted in regard to nuclear accidents of medium scale causing short-term radioactive release (less than 24 hours) that might occur at French nuclear facilities equipped with a special intervention plan (PPI). They also apply to actions to be carried out in the event of accidents during the transport of radioactive materials. Following definitions of each stage of a nuclear accident, this document lists the principles selected by CODIRPA to support management efforts subsequent to a nuclear accident. Then, it presents the main

  2. ASTEC V2 severe accident integral code main features, current V2.0 modelling status, perspectives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatelard, P.; Reinke, N.; Arndt, S.; Belon, S.; Cantrel, L.; Carenini, L.; Chevalier-Jabet, K.; Cousin, F.; Eckel, J.; Jacq, F.; Marchetto, C.; Mun, C.; Piar, L.

    2014-01-01

    The severe accident integral code ASTEC, jointly developed since almost 20 years by IRSN and GRS, simulates the behaviour of a whole nuclear power plant under severe accident conditions, including severe accident management by engineering systems and procedures. Since 2004, the ASTEC code is progressively becoming the reference European severe accident integral code through in particular the intensification of research activities carried out in the frame of the SARNET European network of excellence. The first version of the new series ASTEC V2 was released in 2009 to about 30 organizations worldwide and in particular to SARNET partners. With respect to the previous V1 series, this new V2 series includes advanced core degradation models (issued from the ICARE2 IRSN mechanistic code) and necessary extensions to be applicable to Gen. III reactor designs, notably a description of the core catcher component to simulate severe accidents transients applied to the EPR reactor. Besides these two key-evolutions, most of the other physical modules have also been improved and ASTEC V2 is now coupled to the SUNSET statistical tool to make easier the uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. The ASTEC models are today at the state of the art (in particular fission product models with respect to source term evaluation), except for quenching of a severely damage core. Beyond the need to develop an adequate model for the reflooding of a degraded core, the main other mean-term objectives are to further progress on the on-going extension of the scope of application to BWR and CANDU reactors, to spent fuel pool accidents as well as to accidents in both the ITER Fusion facility and Gen. IV reactors (in priority on sodium-cooled fast reactors) while making ASTEC evolving towards a severe accident simulator constitutes the main long-term objective. This paper presents the status of the ASTEC V2 versions, focussing on the description of V2.0 models for water-cooled nuclear plants

  3. Comparative assessment of severe accident risks in the energy sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirschberg, S.; Spiekerman, G.; Dones, R.

    1997-01-01

    This paper addresses one of the major limitations of the current comparative studies of environmental and health impacts of energy systems, i.e. the treatment of severe accidents. The work covers technical aspects of severe accidents and thus primarily reflects an engineering perspective on the energy-related risk issues. The assessments concern full energy chains associated with fossil sources (coal, oil and gas), nuclear power and hydro power. A comprehensive severe accidents database has been established. Thanks to the variety of information sources used, it exhibits in comparison with other corresponding databases a far more extensive coverage of the energy-related accidents. For hypothetical nuclear accidents the probabilistic approach has been employed and extended to cover the economic consequences of power reactor accidents. Results of comparisons between the various energy chains are shown and discussed along with a number of current issues in comparative assessment of severe accidents. As opposed to the previous studies, the aim of the present work has been, to cover whenever possible, a relatively broad spectrum of damage categories of interest. (author) 5 figs., 1 tab., 18 refs

  4. Sealed radioactive source management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    Sealed radioactive sources have been used in a wide range of application in medicine, agriculture, geology, industry and other fields. Since its utilization many sources have become out of use and became waste but no proper management. This has lead to many accidents causing deaths and serious radiation injuries worldwide. Spent sources application is expanding but their management has seen little improvements. Sealed radioactive sources have become a security risk calling for prompt action. Source management helps to maintain sources in a good physical status and provide means of source tracking and control. It also provides a well documented process of the sources making any future management options safe, secure and cost effective. Last but not least good source management substantially reduces the risk of accidents and eliminates the risk of malicious use. The International Atomic Energy Agency assists Member States to build the infrastructure to properly manage sealed radioactive sources. The assistance includes training of national experts to handle, condition and properly store the sources. For Member States that do not have proper facilities, we provide the technical assistance to design a proper facility to properly manage the radioactive sources and provide for their proper storage. For Member States that need to condition their sources properly but don't have the required infrastructure we provide direct assistance to physically help them with source recovery and provide an international expert team to properly condition their sources and render them safe and secure. We offer software (Radioactive Waste Management Registry) to properly keep a complete record on the sources and provide for efficient tracking. This also helps with proper planning and decision making for long term management

  5. Accidents in radiotherapy: Lack of quality assurance?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novotny, J.

    1997-01-01

    About 150 radiological accidents, involving more than 3000 patients with adverse effects, 15 patient's fatalities and about 5000 staff and public exposures have been collected and analysed. Out of 67 analysed accidents in external beam therapy 22% has been caused by wrong calculation of the exposure time or monitor units, 13% by inadequate review of patient's chart, 12% by mistakes in the anatomical area to be treated. The remaining 35% can be attributed to 17 different causes. The most common mistakes in brachytherapy were wrong activities of sources used for treatment (20%), inadequate procedures for placement of sources applicators (14%), mistakes in calculating the treatment time (12%), etc. The direct and contributing causes of radiological accidents have been deduced from each event, when it was possible and categorized into 9 categories: mistakes in procedures (30%), professional mistakes (17%), communication mistakes (15%), lack of training (8.5%), interpretation mistakes (7%), lack of supervision (6%), mistakes in judgement (6%), hardware failures (5%), software and other mistakes (5.5%). Three types of direct and contributing causes responsible for almost 62% of all accidents are directly connected to the quality assurance of treatment. The lessons learnt from the accidents are related to frequencies of direct and contributing factors and show that most of the accident are caused by lack, non-application of quality assurance (QA) procedures or by underestimating of QA procedures. The international system for collection of accidents and dissemination of lessons learnt from the different accidents, proposed by IAEA, can contribute to better practice in many radiotherapy departments. Most of the accidents could have been avoided, had a comprehensive QA programme been established and properly applied in all radiotherapy departments, whatever the size. (author)

  6. Accidents in industrial radiography in Brazil from 2005 to 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu

    2011-01-01

    Analysis of accidents occurring in industrial radiography in Brazil from 2005 until 2010 led to the study of the main characteristics of the events, their risks and dangers. This study outlines the main doubts on the subject, through a simplified analysis of the contents of high dose reports sent to CNEN by the companies that provide services for industrial radiography and from examining the growing number of radioactive sources for industrial radiography in Brazil, over this period. We classified the recorded events, as incidents, accidents, negligence, sabotage, and others, and studied their main consequences. We concluded that from 76 accidents that occurred during that period - 25 were real accidents, 13 minor accidents and 22 were inadvertent incidents. We found that the rate of growth in the number of sources is much greater than the rate of growth of accidents, with a ratio of 7.57 between them. The continuation of this study over some years, will allow the construction of a pyramid of accidents like the one developed by the Insurance Company of North America, specifically for industrial radiography to forecast the number of incidents and accidents that lead to serious or fatal injury. (author)

  7. CARNSORE: Hypothetical reactor accident study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walmod-Larsen, O.; Jensen, N.O.; Kristensen, L.; Meide, A.; Nedergaard, K.L.; Nielsen, F.; Lundtang Petersen, E.; Petersen, T.; Thykier-Nielsen, S.

    1984-06-01

    Two types of design-basis accident and a series of hypothetical core-melt accidents to a 600 MWe reactor are described and their consequences assessed. The PLUCON 2 model was used to calculate the consequences which are presented in terms of individual and collective doses, as well as early and late health consequences. The site proposed for the nucelar power station is Carnsore Point, County Wexford, south-east Ireland. The release fractions for the accidents described are those given in WASH-1400. The analyses are based on the resident population as given in the 1979 census and on 20 years of data from the meteorological stations at Rosslare Harbour, 8.5 km north of the site. The consequences of one of the hypothetical core-melt accidents are described in detail in a meteorological parametric study. Likewise the consequences of the worst conceivable combination of situations are described. Finally, the release fraction in one accident is varied and the consequences of a proposed, more probable ''Class 9 accident'' are presented. (author)

  8. Insights into the control of the release of iodine, cesium, strontium and other fission products in the containment by severe accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-03-01

    This document is intended to provide a management-level overview of the technical bases for accident management activities to attenuate releases of radioactive materials in the very unlikely event of a severe nuclear power reactor accident - activities known commonly as management of severe accident source terms. Such activities are natural complements to accident management activities directed at arresting or slowing accident progression. Abbreviated, qualitative discussions are presented in the document on the more important severe nuclear reactor accidents, the nature of radioactive material releases during accidents, natural processes that act to attenuate the amount of radioactive material that can escape a power plant, and the physical and chemical principles used in engineered systems to further attenuate radioactive releases during accidents. At the end of each section of the report, an annotated bibliography is provided. These bibliographies are intended to serve as introductions to the vast literature pertinent to all aspects of accident management including the management of radioactive source terms. Finally, it must be noted that much of the presentation has been made from the perspective of conventional pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors. Many important details will be different for other types of reactors or for reactors with special features. Readers are asked to do the mental manipulations necessary to apply the ideas discussed here to the particular circumstances and features of their own reactors. The report is based on the following outline: - a brief discussion of fission product sources; fission product characteristics; chemical compounds; - transport and deposition of fission products; brief description of different deposition and agglomeration processes; - retention of fission products; re-evaporation, resuspension, etc.; - discussion of various possibilities to enhance the removal of fission products from the containment

  9. Hazardous constituent source term. Revision 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has several facilities that either generate and/or store transuranic (TRU)-waste from weapons program research and production. Much of this waste also contains hazardous waste constituents as regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Toxicity characteristic metals in the waste principally include lead, occurring in leaded rubber gloves and shielding. Other RCRA metals may occur as contaminants in pyrochemical salt, soil, debris, and sludge and solidified liquids, as well as in equipment resulting from decontamination and decommissioning activities. Volatile organic compounds (VOCS) contaminate many waste forms as a residue adsorbed on surfaces or occur in sludge and solidified liquids. Due to the presence of these hazardous constituents, applicable disposal regulations include land disposal restrictions established by Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA). The DOE plans to dispose of TRU-mixed waste from the weapons program in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) by demonstrating no-migration of hazardous constituents. This paper documents the current technical basis for methodologies proposed to develop a post-closure RCRA hazardous constituent source term. For the purposes of demonstrating no-migration, the hazardous constituent source term is defined as the quantities of hazardous constituents that are available for transport after repository closure. Development of the source term is only one of several activities that will be involved in the no-migration demonstration. The demonstration will also include uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of contaminant transport

  10. Accidents in making fireworks. Tapaturmat polttopuun teossa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solmio, H

    1991-01-01

    The accidents and the trends in the number of accidents and their causes were analyzed in a study conducted by the Forestry Department of the Work Efficiency Institute. The study was funded by the Finnish Agricultural Enterpreneurs' Pension Fund (MELA). The study material was selected from MELA's accident stage work and cause code. Altogether, the material comprised the following accidents that occurred while making and using firewood: 671 accidents in 1987 and 596 accidents in 1988. The amount of accidents caused by the working environment and hand tools was clearly higher in 1987 than in 1988. The number of accidents occurred while chopping wood was 20 % higher in 1987 than in 1988. April was the most accident-prone month both in 1987 and in 1988. Chopping of firewood was the most dangerous work stage in terms of the number of accidents. In 1988, the number of accidents in chopping firewood was 336, in sawing using circular saw 97 cases and other mechanized chopping led to 93 accidents. Heating with wood caused 33 accidents. In 1988 there were 10 (2 %) accidents involving loss of limbs and 9 of them occurred in the mechanized chopping of firewood. Nine accidents of these involved the loss of one or more fingers. Serious accidents, leading to inability to work for more than 3 months, were most frequent in chopping and in storing firewood.

  11. Silver-indium-cadmium control rod behavior and aerosol formation in severe reactor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petti, D.A.

    1987-04-01

    Silver-indium-cadmium (Ag-In-Cd) control rod behavior and aerosol formation in severe reactor accidents are examined in an attempt to improve the methodology used to estimate reactor accident source terms. Control rod behavior in both in-pile and out-of-pile experiments is reviewed. A mechanistic model named VAPOR is developed that calculates the downward relocation and simultaneous vaporization behavior of the Ag-In-Cd alloy expected after control rod failure in a severe reactor accident. VAPOR is used to predict the release of silver, indium, and cadmium vapors expected in the Power Burst Facility (PBF) Severe Fuel Damage (SFD) 1-4 experiment. In addition, a sensitivity study is performed. Although cadmium is found to be the most volatile constituent of the alloy, all of the calculations predict that the rapid relocation of the alloy down to cooler portions of the core results in a small release for all three control rod alloy vapors. Potential aerosol formation mechanisms in a severe reactor accident are reviewed. Specifically, models for homogeneous, ion-induced, and heterogeneous nucleation are investigated. These models are applied to silver, cadmium, and CsI to examine the nucleation behavior of these three potential aerosol sources in a severe reactor accident and to illustrate the competition among these mechanisms for vapor depletion. The results indicate that aerosol formation in a severe reactor accident occurs in three stages. In the first stage, ion-induced nucleation causes aerosol generation. During the second stage, ion-induced and heterogeneous nucleation operates as competing pathways for gas-to-particle conversion until sufficient aerosol surface area is generated. In the third stage, ion-induced nucleation ceases; and heterogeneous nucleation becomes the dominant mechanism of gas-to-particle conversion until equilibrium is reached

  12. RASCAL [Radiological Assessment System for Consequence AnaLysis]: A screening model for estimating doses from radiological accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sjoreen, A.L.; Athey, G.F.; Sakenas, C.A.; McKenna, T.J.

    1988-01-01

    The Radiological Assessment System for Consequence AnaLysis (RASCAL) is a new MS-DOS-based dose assessment model which has been written for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for use during response to radiological emergencies. RASCAL is designed to provide crude estimates of the effects of an accident while the accident is in progress and only limited information is available. It has been designed to be very simple to use and to run quickly. RASCAL is unique in that it estimates the source term based on fundamental plant conditions and does not rely solely on release rate estimation (e.g., Ci/sec of I-131). Therefore, it can estimate consequences of accidents involving unmonitored pathways or projected failures. RASCAL will replace the older model, IRDAM. 6 refs

  13. Maximal design basis accident of fusion neutron source DEMO-TIN

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolbasov, B. N., E-mail: Kolbasov-BN@nrcki.ru [National Research Center Kurchatov Institute (Russian Federation)

    2015-12-15

    When analyzing the safety of nuclear (including fusion) facilities, the maximal design basis accident at which the largest release of activity is expected must certainly be considered. Such an accident is usually the failure of cooling systems of the most thermally stressed components of a reactor (for a fusion facility, it is the divertor or the first wall). The analysis of safety of the ITER reactor and fusion power facilities (including hybrid fission–fusion facilities) shows that the initial event of such a design basis accident is a large-scale break of a pipe in the cooling system of divertor or the first wall outside the vacuum vessel of the facility. The greatest concern is caused by the possibility of hydrogen formation and the inrush of air into the vacuum chamber (VC) with the formation of a detonating mixture and a subsequent detonation explosion. To prevent such an explosion, the emergency forced termination of the fusion reaction, the mounting of shutoff valves in the cooling systems of the divertor and the first wall or blanket for reducing to a minimum the amount of water and air rushing into the VC, the injection of nitrogen or inert gas into the VC for decreasing the hydrogen and oxygen concentration, and other measures are recommended. Owing to a continuous feed-out of the molten-salt fuel mixture from the DEMO-TIN blanket with the removal period of 10 days, the radioactivity release at the accident will mainly be determined by tritium (up to 360 PBq). The activity of fission products in the facility will be up to 50 PBq.

  14. Atmospheric dispersion modeling and radiological safety analysis for a hypothetical accident of Ghana Research Reactor -1 (GHARR-1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lunguya, J. M.

    2013-06-01

    This work presents the environmental impact analysis of some selected radionuclides released from the Ghana Research Reactor- 1 (GHARR-1) after a hypothetical postulated accidents scenario. The source term was identified and generated from an inventory of radioisotopes released during the accident. Atmospheric transport model was then applied to calculate the total effective dose and how it would be distributed to different organs of the human body as a function of distance downwind. All accident scenarios were selected from GHARR-1 Safety Analysis Report. After the source term was identified the MCNPX code was used to perform the core burnup/depletion analysis. The assumption was made that the activities were released to the atmosphere under a horse design basis accident scenario. The gaussian dose calculation method was applied, coded in Hotspot, a Healthy Physics computer code. This served as the computational tool to perform the atmospheric dispersion modeling and was used to calculate radionuclide concentration at downwind location. Based upon predominant meteorological conditions at the site, the adopted strategy was to use site-specific meteorological data and dispersion modeling to analyze the hypothetical release to the environment of radionuclides and evaluate to what extent such a release may have radiological effects on the public. Final data were processed and presented as Total Effective Dose Equivalent as a function of time and distance of deposition. The results indicate that all the values of Effective dose obtained are far below the regulatory limits, making the use of the reactor safe, even in the case of worst accident scenario where all the fission products were released into the atmosphere. (au)

  15. Safety against releases in severe accidents. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lindholm, I.; Berg, Oe.; Nonboel, E. [eds.

    1997-12-01

    The work scope of the RAK-2 project has involved research on quantification of the effects of selected severe accident phenomena for Nordic nuclear power plants, development and testing of a computerised accident management support system and data collection and description of various mobile reactors and of different reactor types existing in the UK. The investigations of severe accident phenomena focused mainly on in-vessel melt progression, covering a numerical assessment of coolability of a degraded BWR core, the possibility and consequences of a BWR reactor to become critical during reflooding and the core melt behavior in the reactor vessel lower plenum. Simulant experiments were carried out to investigate lower head hole ablation induced by debris discharge. In addition to the in-vessel phenomena, a limited study on containment response to high pressure melt ejection in a BWR and a comparative study on fission product source term behaviour in a Swedish PWR were performed. An existing computerised accident management support system (CAMS) was further developed in the area of tracking and predictive simulation, signal validation, state identification and user interface. The first version of a probabilistic safety analysis module was developed and implemented in the system. CAMS was tested in practice with Barsebaeck data in a safety exercise with the Swedish nuclear authority. The descriptions of the key features of British reactor types, AGR, Magnox, FBR and PWR were published as data reports. Separate reports were issued also on accidents in nuclear ships and on description of key features of satellite reactors. The collected data were implemented in a common Nordic database. (au) 39 refs.

  16. Major Differences in Rates of Occupational Accidents between Different nationalities of Seafarers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henrik Lyngbeck; Laursen, Lise Hedegaard; Frydberg, Morten

    2008-01-01

    . Differences in approach to safety and risk taking between South East Asian and European seafarers should be identified and positives attitudes included in accident preventing programmes. Main messages Seafarers from South East Asia, mainly the Philippines, seem to have a genuine lower risk of occupational...... sources on occurrence of accidents were used and to identify specific causes of excess accident rates among certain nationalities. METHODS: Occupational accidents aboard Danish merchant ships during one year were identified from four different sources. These included accidents reported to the maritime...... including only more serious accidents, IRR for South East Asians rose to 0.36 (0.26-0.48). DISCUSSION: This study indicates that seafarers from South East Asia, mainly the Philippines, may have a genuine lower risk of occupational accidents in comparison with seafarers from Western and Eastern Europe...

  17. The radiological accident in Tammiku

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    On 21 October 1994, three brothers entered a waste repository at Tammiku, Estonia, without authorization and removed a metal container enclosing a caesium-137 source. During the removal the source was dislodged and fell to the ground. One of the men picked up the source, placed it in his pocket and took it to his home in the nearby village of Kiisa. Very soon after entry into the repository he began to feel ill, and few hours later he began to vomit. The man was subsequently admitted to hospital with severe injuries to his leg and hip and died on 2 November 1994. The injury and subsequent death were not attributed to radiation exposure, and the source remained in the man's house with his wife and stepson and the boy's great-grandmother. The boy was hospitalized on 17 November with severe burns on his hands, and these were identified by a doctor as radiation induced. The authorities were alerted, and the Estonian Rescue Board recovered the source from the house. The source was returned to the Tammiku repository on 18 November. The occupants of the house and one of the two surviving brothers were hospitalized and diagnosed as suffering from radiation induced injuries of varying severity. All were subsequently released from hospital, but, at the time of writing this report the treatment to the most exposed individuals is still continuing. The objective of this report is to provide information to national authorities and regulatory organizations so that they can take steps to minimize the risks of similar accidents in the future, and also put in place arrangements to deal with such accidents if they do occur. It is hoped that this report will be of general interest in the radiation protection community, although it si aimed primarily at managers of waste disposal facilities, and legislators and regulators, both in developing countries and in all countries reviewing their radiation protection legislation. This report describes the events leading up to the accident, the

  18. Source Term Model for Fine Particle Resuspension from Indoor Surfaces

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kim, Yoojeong; Gidwani, Ashok; Sippola, Mark; Sohn, Chang W

    2008-01-01

    This Phase I effort developed a source term model for particle resuspension from indoor surfaces to be used as a source term boundary condition for CFD simulation of particle transport and dispersion in a building...

  19. Inventory of accidents and losses at sea involving radioactive material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-09-01

    The present report describes the content of the inventory of accidents and losses at sea involving radioactive material. It covers accidents and losses resulting in the actual release of radioactive materials into the marine environment and also those which have the potential for release. For completeness, records of radioactive materials involved in accidents but which were recovered intact from the sea are also reported. Information on losses of sealed sources resulting in actual or potential release of activity to the marine environment nad of sealed sources that were recovered intact is also presented

  20. Risk analysis of releases from accidents during mid-loop operation at Surry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, J.; Lin, C.C.; Nimnual, S.; Mubayi, V.; Neymotin, L.

    1992-11-01

    Studies and operating experience suggest that the risk of severe accidents during low power operation and/or shutdown (LP/S) conditions could be a significant fraction of the risk at full power operation. Two studies have begun at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to evaluate the severe accident progression from a risk perspective during these conditions: One at the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the Surry plant, a pressurized water reactor (PWR), and the other at the Sandia National Laboratories for the Grand Gulf plant, a boiling water reactor (BWR). Each of the studies consists of three linked, but distinct, components: a Level I probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) of the initiating events, systems analysis, and accident sequences leading to core damage; a Level 2/3 analysis of accident progression, fuel damage, releases, containment performance, source term and consequences-off-site and on-site; and a detailed Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) of actions relevant to plant conditions during LP/S operations. This paper summarizes the approach taken for the Level 2/3 analysis at Surry and provides preliminary results on the risk of releases and consequences for one plant operating state, mid-loop operation, during shutdown

  1. Accidents - Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    This file is devoted to the Chernobyl accident. It is divided in four parts. The first part concerns the accident itself and its technical management. The second part is relative to the radiation doses and the different contaminations. The third part reports the sanitary effects, the determinists ones and the stochastic ones. The fourth and last part relates the consequences for the other European countries with the case of France. Through the different parts a point is tackled with the measures taken after the accident by the other countries to manage an accident, the cooperation between the different countries and the groups of research and studies about the reactors safety, and also with the international medical cooperation, specially for the children, everything in relation with the Chernobyl accident. (N.C.)

  2. Dust resuspension and transport modeling for loss of vacuum accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humrickhouse, P.W.; Corradini, M.L.; Sharpe, J.P.

    2007-01-01

    Plasma surface interactions in tokamaks are known to create significant quantities of dust, which settles onto surfaces and accumulates in the vacuum vessel. In ITER, a loss of vacuum accident may result in the release of dust which will be radioactive and/or toxic, and provides increased surface area for chemical reactions or dust explosion. A new method of analysis has been developed for modeling dust resuspension and transport in loss of vacuum accidents. The aerosol dynamic equation is solved via the user defined scalar (UDS) capability in the commercial CFD code Fluent. Fluent solves up to 50 generic transport equations for user defined scalars, and allows customization of terms in these equations through user defined functions (UDF). This allows calculation of diffusion coefficients based on local flow properties, inclusion of body forces such as gravity and thermophoresis in the convection term, and user defined source terms. The code accurately reproduces analytical solutions for aerosol deposition in simple laminar flows with diffusion and gravitational settling. Models for dust resuspension are evaluated, and code results are compared to available resuspension data, including data from the Toroidal Dust Mobilization Experiment (TDMX) at the Idaho National Laboratory. Extension to polydisperse aerosols and inclusion of coagulation effects is also discussed. (orig.)

  3. Fission products transport in CANDU Primary Heat Transport System in a severe accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constantin, M.; Rizoiu, A.; Turcu, I.; Negut, Gh.

    2005-01-01

    Full text: The paper is intended to analyse the distribution of the fission products (FPs) in CANDU Primary Heat Transport (PHT) System by using the ASTEC code (Accident Source Term Evaluation Code). The complexity of the data required by ASTEC and the complexity of CANDU PHT were strong motivation to begin with a simplified geometry in order to avoid the introducing of unmanageable errors at the level of input deck. Thus only 1/4 of the PHT circuit was simulated, an simplified FPs inventory and some simplifications in the feeders geometry were also used. The circuit consists of 95 horizontal fuel channels connected to 95 horizontal out-feeders, then through vertical feeders to the outlet-header (a big pipe that collects the water from feeders); the circuit continues from the outlet-header with a riser and then with the steam generator and a pump. After this pump, the circuit was broken; in this point the FPs are transferred to the containment. The data related to the nodes' definitions, temperatures and pressure conditions were chosen as possible as real data from CANDU NPP loss of coolant accident sequence. Temperature and pressure conditions in the time of the accident were calculated by CATHENA code and the source term of FPs introduced into the PHT was estimated by ORIGEN code. The results consist of mass distributions in the nodes of the circuit and the mass transfer to the containment through the break for different species (FPs and chemical species). The study is completed by sensitivity analysis for the parameters with important uncertainties. (authors)

  4. Scoping Analysis of Source Term and Functional Containment Attenuation Factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pete Lowry

    2012-10-01

    In order to meet future regulatory requirements, the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project must fully establish and validate the mechanistic modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) source term. This is not possible at this stage in the project, as significant uncertainties in the final design remain unresolved. In the interim, however, there is a need to establish an approximate characterization of the source term. The NGNP team developed a simplified parametric model to establish mechanistic source term estimates for a set of proposed HTGR configurations.

  5. Scoping Analysis of Source Term and Functional Containment Attenuation Factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pete Lowry

    2012-02-01

    In order to meet future regulatory requirements, the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project must fully establish and validate the mechanistic modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) source term. This is not possible at this stage in the project, as significant uncertainties in the final design remain unresolved. In the interim, however, there is a need to establish an approximate characterization of the source term. The NGNP team developed a simplified parametric model to establish mechanistic source term estimates for a set of proposed HTGR configurations.

  6. Scoping Analysis of Source Term and Functional Containment Attenuation Factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pete Lowry

    2012-01-01

    In order to meet future regulatory requirements, the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project must fully establish and validate the mechanistic modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) source term. This is not possible at this stage in the project, as significant uncertainties in the final design remain unresolved. In the interim, however, there is a need to establish an approximate characterization of the source term. The NGNP team developed a simplified parametric model to establish mechanistic source term estimates for a set of proposed HTGR configurations.

  7. Keynote on lessons from major radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortiz, P.; Oresegun, M.; Wheatley, J.

    2000-01-01

    Generic lessons have been learned from a relatively large number of accidents in the most relevant practices (a set of analysis have been made on about 90 radiotherapy events, 43 industrial radiography and nine from industrial irradiations); more specific lessons have been drawn from in-depth investigations of individual accidents. The body of knowledge is grouped as follows: a) radiotherapy is very unique in that humans (patients) are purposely given very high radiation doses (20-75 Gy) by placing them in the radiation beam or by placing radioactive sources in contact with tissues. Intended deterministic effects are the essence of the normal radiotherapy practice and relatively small deviation from the intended doses, i.e,, slightly higher or lower than intended may cause increased rate of severe complication or reduce probability of cure. Consequences of major accidents have been devastating, affecting tens, even hundreds of patients and causing death (directly or indirectly) to a large number of them; b) accidents involving industrial radiography are the most frequent cause of overexposure to workers (radiographers); c) accidents with industrial irradiators have lower probability of occurrence, however, they are deemed to be fatal, especially when whole body exposure to panoramic gamma irradiators occur; partial body irradiation from industrial or research accelerator beams has led to amputation of hands and legs; d) when control of sources was relinquished ('orphan' sources) this has resulted in severe injuries, in some cases death and widespread contamination of the environment. A tool for further dissemination of lessons will be an international reporting system of unusual radiation events (RADEV), being introduced world-wide. Accidents were rarely due to a single human error or isolated equipment failure. In most cases there was a combination of elements such as: a) unawareness of the potential for an accident, b) poor education, which usually did not

  8. The lessons from the radiation accidents in China over the past 40 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Y.; Ma, J.; Yang, J.

    1998-01-01

    A brief introduction and analysis of the radiological accidents in China during the past 40 years have been made in this paper. Statistical data provided by the competent authority show that a number of cases of radiological accidents and events happened in China from 1954 to 1994. Quite a few persons received abnormal exposure. Some serious accidents resulted in death of 8 victims. The reasons of these accidents are analyzed and some recommendations for reduction of potential exposure and accidents involving radiation sources and equipment generating ionization radiation have been given, such as perfecting and improving radiation safety infrastructure and system for the control of radiation sources. It is suggested that safety culture shall be fostered, each individual must be suitably trained and qualified and the management of spent sources should be strengthened. (author)

  9. A description of nuclear reactor accidents and their consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murray, A.

    1989-01-01

    Nuclear reactor accidents which have caused core damage, released a significant amount of radioactivity, or caused death or serious injury are described. The reactor accidents discussed in detail include Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, SL-1 and Windscale, although information on other less consequential accidents is also provided. The consequences of these accidents are examined in terms of the amounts of radioactivity released, the radiation doses received, and remedial actions and interventions taken following the accident. 10 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

  10. Operator aids for prediction of source term attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Powers, D.A.

    2004-01-01

    Simplified expressions for the attenuation of radionuclide releases by sprays and by water pools are devised. These expressions are obtained by correlation of the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles of uncertainty distributions for the water pool decontamination factor and the spray decontamination coefficient. These uncertainty distributions were obtained by Monte Carlo uncertainty analyses using detailed, mechanistic models of the pools and sprays. Uncertainties considered in the analyses include uncertainties in the phenomena and uncertainties in the initial and boundary conditions dictated by the progression of severe accidents. Final results are graphically displayed in terms of the decontamination factor achieved at selected levels of conservatism versus pool depth and water subcooling or, in the case of sprays, versus time. (author)

  11. Review of radionuclide source terms used for performance-assessment analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnard, R.W.

    1993-06-01

    Two aspects of the radionuclide source terms used for total-system performance assessment (TSPA) analyses have been reviewed. First, a detailed radionuclide inventory (i.e., one in which the reactor type, decay, and burnup are specified) is compared with the standard source-term inventory used in prior analyses. The latter assumes a fixed ratio of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) to boiling-water reactor (BWR) spent fuel, at specific amounts of burnup and at 10-year decay. TSPA analyses have been used to compare the simplified source term with the detailed one. The TSPA-91 analyses did not show a significant difference between the source terms. Second, the radionuclides used in source terms for TSPA aqueous-transport analyses have been reviewed to select ones that are representative of the entire inventory. It is recommended that two actinide decay chains be included (the 4n+2 ''uranium'' and 4n+3 ''actinium'' decay series), since these include several radionuclides that have potentially important release and dose characteristics. In addition, several fission products are recommended for the same reason. The choice of radionuclides should be influenced by other parameter assumptions, such as the solubility and retardation of the radionuclides

  12. Actinide Source Term Program, position paper. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, C.F.; Papenguth, H.W.; Crafts, C.C.; Dhooge, N.J.

    1994-01-01

    The Actinide Source Term represents the quantity of actinides that could be mobilized within WIPP brines and could migrate with the brines away from the disposal room vicinity. This document presents the various proposed methods for estimating this source term, with a particular focus on defining these methods and evaluating the defensibility of the models for mobile actinide concentrations. The conclusions reached in this document are: the 92 PA open-quotes expert panelclose quotes model for mobile actinide concentrations is not defensible; and, although it is extremely conservative, the open-quotes inventory limitsclose quotes model is the only existing defensible model for the actinide source term. The model effort in progress, open-quotes chemical modeling of mobile actinide concentrationsclose quotes, supported by a laboratory effort that is also in progress, is designed to provide a reasonable description of the system and be scientifically realistic and supplant the open-quotes Inventory limitsclose quotes model

  13. Lessons from Chernobyl post-accident management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, T.

    2012-01-01

    The Chernobyl accident has shown that the long-term management of its consequences is not straightforward. The management of the consequences has revealed the complexity of the situation to deal with. The long-term contamination of the environment has affected all the dimensions of the daily life of the inhabitants living in affected territories: health, environment, social life, education, work, distribution of foodstuffs and commodities... The experience from the Chernobyl accident shows 4 key issues that may be beneficial for the populations living in territories affected by the Fukushima accident: 1) the direct involvement of the inhabitants in their own protection, 2) the radiation monitoring system and health surveillance at the local level, 3) to develop a practical radiation protection culture among the population, and 4) the setting up of economic measures to favour the local development. (A.C.)

  14. On high-temperature reactor accident topology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fassbender, J.; Kroeger, W.; Wolters, J.

    1981-01-01

    American and German risk studies for an HTGR and independent investigations of hypothetical accident sequences led to a fundamental understanding of the topology of HTGR accident sequences. The dominating importance of core heat-up accidents was confirmed and the initiating events were identified. Complications of core heat-up accidents by air or water ingress are of minor importance for the risk, whereas the long-term development of accidents during days and weeks plays an important role for the environmental impact. The risk caused by an HTGR at a German site cannot yet be determined exactly, because no modern German HTGR design has passed a licensing procedure. Cautious estimates show that risk will appear to be substantially smaller than the LWR risk. The main reasons are the considerably reduced release of fission procucts and the slow development of core heat-up accidents leaving much time for measures which reduce the risk. (orig.) [de

  15. Historical analysis of US pipeline accidents triggered by natural hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Girgin, Serkan; Krausmann, Elisabeth

    2015-04-01

    Natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, or lightning, can initiate accidents in oil and gas pipelines with potentially major consequences on the population or the environment due to toxic releases, fires and explosions. Accidents of this type are also referred to as Natech events. Many major accidents highlight the risk associated with natural-hazard impact on pipelines transporting dangerous substances. For instance, in the USA in 1994, flooding of the San Jacinto River caused the rupture of 8 and the undermining of 29 pipelines by the floodwaters. About 5.5 million litres of petroleum and related products were spilled into the river and ignited. As a results, 547 people were injured and significant environmental damage occurred. Post-incident analysis is a valuable tool for better understanding the causes, dynamics and impacts of pipeline Natech accidents in support of future accident prevention and mitigation. Therefore, data on onshore hazardous-liquid pipeline accidents collected by the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) was analysed. For this purpose, a database-driven incident data analysis system was developed to aid the rapid review and categorization of PHMSA incident reports. Using an automated data-mining process followed by a peer review of the incident records and supported by natural hazard databases and external information sources, the pipeline Natechs were identified. As a by-product of the data-collection process, the database now includes over 800,000 incidents from all causes in industrial and transportation activities, which are automatically classified in the same way as the PHMSA record. This presentation describes the data collection and reviewing steps conducted during the study, provides information on the developed database and data analysis tools, and reports the findings of a statistical analysis of the identified hazardous liquid pipeline incidents in terms of accident dynamics and

  16. Guide to radiological accident considerations for siting and design of DOE nonreactor nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elder, J.C.; Graf, J.M.; Dewart, J.M.; Buhl, T.E.; Wenzel, W.J.; Walker, L.J.; Stoker, A.K.

    1986-01-01

    This guide was prepared to provide the experienced safety analyst with accident analysis guidance in greater detail than is possible in Department of Energy (DOE) Orders. The guide addresses analysis of postulated serious accidents considered in the siting and selection of major design features of DOE nuclear facilities. Its scope has been limited to radiological accidents at nonreactor nuclear facilities. The analysis steps addressed in the guide lead to evaluation of radiological dose to exposed persons for comparison with siting guideline doses. Other possible consequences considered are environmental contamination, population dose, and public health effects. Choices of models and parameters leading to estimation of source terms, release fractions, reduction and removal factors, dispersion and dose factors are discussed. Although requirements for risk analysis have not been established, risk estimates are finding increased use in siting of major nuclear facilities, and are discussed in the guide. 3 figs., 9 tabs

  17. Spent fuel assembly source term parameters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrett, P.R.; Foadian, H.; Rashid, Y.R.; Seager, K.D.; Gianoulakis, S.E.

    1993-01-01

    Containment of cask contents by a transport cask is a function of the cask body, one or more closure lids, and various bolting hardware, and seals associated with the cavity closure and other containment penetrations. In addition, characteristics of cask contents that impede the ability of radionuclides to move from an origin to the external environment also provide containment. In essence, multiple release barriers exist in series in transport casks, and the magnitude of the releasable activity in the cask is considerably lower than the total activity of its contents. A source term approach accounts for the magnitude of the releasable activity available in the cask by assessing the degree of barrier resistance to release provided by material characteristics and inherent barriers that impede the release of radioactive contents. Standardized methodologies for defining the spent-fuel transport packages with specified regulations have recently been developed. An essential part of applying the source term methodology involves characterizing the response of the spent fuel under regulatory conditions of transport. Thermal and structural models of the cask and fuel are analyzed and used to predict fuel rod failure probabilities. Input to these analyses and failure evaluations cover a wide range of geometrical and material properties. An important issue in the development of these models is the sensitivity of the radioactive source term generated during transport to individual parameters such as temperature and fluence level. This paper provides a summary of sensitivity analyses concentrating on the structural response and failure predictions of the spent fuel assemblies

  18. Airborne concentrations of radioactive materials in severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, D.F. Jr.; Denning, R.S.

    1989-01-01

    Radioactive materials would be released to the containment building of a commercial nuclear reactor during each of the stages of a severe accident. Results of analyses of two accident sequences are used to illustrate the magnitudes of these sources of radioactive materials, the resulting airborne mass concentrations, the characteristics of the airborne aerosols, the potential for vapor forms of radioactive materials, the effectiveness of engineered safety features in reducing airborne concentrations, and the release of radioactive materials to the environment. Ability to predict transport and deposition of radioactive materials is important to assessing the performance of containment safety features in severe accidents and in the development of accident management procedures to reduce the consequences of severe accidents

  19. Review of U.S. Army Unmanned Aerial Systems Accident Reports: Analysis of Human Error Contributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-03-20

    within report documents. The information presented was obtained through a request to use the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center’s Risk Management ...controlled flight into terrain (13 accidents), fueling errors by improper techniques (7 accidents), and a variety of maintenance errors (10 accidents). The...and 9 of the 10 maintenance accidents. Table 4. Frequencies Based on Source of Human Error Human error source Presence Poor Planning

  20. The Assesment Of Radioactive Accident Management On The RSG-GAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soejoedi, Agoes; Karmana, Endang

    2000-01-01

    In the operational reactor facilities include RSG-GAS, safety factor for radioactive accident very important to be prioritized. Till now the anticipate happening radioactive accident on the RSG-GAS threat only by the RSG-GAS Operation Manual. For increasing the working function need to create radioactive accident management by facility level. From studying result which source IAEA guidebook, can be composed the assessment accident management of radioactive the RSG-GAS.The sketching this accident management of radioactive to be hoped can helping P2TRR organization by handling radioactive accident if this moment happen on the RSG-GAS

  1. Convective behaviour in severe accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, C.F.

    1988-01-01

    The nature and magnitude of the hazard from radioactivity posed by a possible nuclear accident depend strongly on convective behaviour within and immediately adjacent to the plant in question. This behaviour depends upon the nature of the vapour-gas-aerosol mixture concerned, and can show unusual properties such as 'upside-down' convection in which hot mixtures fall and cold mixtures rise. Predictions and criteria as to the types of behaviour which could possibly occur are summarised. Possible applications to present reactors are considered, and ways in which presently expected convection could be drastically modified are described. In some circumstances these could be used to suppress the radioactive source term or to switch its effect between distant dilute contamination and severe local contamination. (author). 8 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

  2. Radiation accidents and dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagstuen, E.; Theisen, H.; Henriksten, T.

    1982-12-01

    On September 2nd 1982 one of the employees of the gamma-irradiation facility at Institute for Energy Technology, Kjeller, Norway entered the irradiation cell with a 65.7 kCi *sp60*Co- source in unshielded position. The victim received an unknown radiation dose and died after 13 days. Using electron spin resonance spectroscopy, the radiation dose in this accident was subsequently determined based on the production of longlived free radicals in nitroglycerol tablets borne by the operator during the accident. He used nitroglycerol for heart problems and free radical are easily formed and trapped in sugar which is the main component of the tablets. Calibration experiments were carried out and the dose given to the tablets during the accident was determined to 37.2 +- 0.5 Gy. The general use of free radicals for dose determinations is discussed. (Auth.)

  3. Short term and long term radiation protection aspects of a nuclear accident: a Cd-Rom for a better stake holders' involvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oudiz, A.; Badie, M.; Brenot, J.

    2002-01-01

    Many players are involved in managing a nuclear accident apart from radiation protection and nuclear safety experts. In an emergency response situation, the decision making process involves many non-technical players who nonetheless have a major role to play: in France these may include the Prefet, the emergency and civil defence services, the health services, the police, the gendarmerie and local councillors, with advice from the safety and radiological protection authorities and expert evaluation organisations. Within the post-accident response, other players will be involved alongside those already described: professional bodies, particularly farming organisations, residents' associations, those responsible for environmental decontamination, agencies responsible for compensating victims, etc., etc. In both the short and the long-term phases of the crisis management process, it is essential to enable participants who may have very different backgrounds and professional experience to work together with co-operation and mutual understanding. If non-technical players are to contribute effectively, there needs to be a minimum level of mutual understanding between them and the technical players on what the nuclear risk really is and what is the rationale of the short and long term counter-measures aimed at protecting the public and restoring the contaminated environment. Local communities also need to share this basic understanding because their cooperation is required in order to implement the counter-measures properly. Conversely, if the experts are to advise the local authorities properly, they need to understand the criteria on which these local authorities and communities base their decisions: what psycho-sociological factors apply, what logistical support is needed, what are the concerns of the local communities?

  4. Reactor accidents and the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beattie, J.R.; Griffiths, R.F.; Kaiser, G.D.; Kinchin, G.H.

    1978-01-01

    This is a condensed version of a paper, entitled 'The Environmental Impact of Radioactive Releases from Accidents in Nuclear Power Reactors', by the authors, presented to the Nuclear Energy Panel of the International Atomic Energy Agency/United Nations Environmental Programme. Headings include - Effects of ionising radiation on man; number of deaths expected from leukaemia and other cancers; risk estimates for incidence of benign nodules and thyroid cancer; maximum permissible levels and emergency levels of radiation and radioactivity; ICRP recommended dose limits for members of the general public; atmospheric dispersion and modelling; ICRP emergency reference levels for 1 131 , Cs 137 , Ru 106 and Sr 90 ; environmental consequences of accidental releases from nuclear power reactors; environmental impact of accidents to Magnox gas-cooled reactors; environmental impact of accidents to advanced gas-cooled reactors; environmental impact of accidents to fast reactors; and nature of risks. consequences are examined in terms of early and late biological effects on man, and contamination of land areas. Serious accidents are of low probability of occurrence, and the risk of accidents to nuclear power reactors is estimated to be very small. 43 references. (U.K.)

  5. Severe accident management at the Loviisa NPP - Application of integrated ROAAM and PSA level 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siltanen, S.; Routamo, T.; Tuomisto, H.; Lundstrom, P.

    2007-01-01

    ROAAM also explicitly includes the definition and application of safety goals and acceptance criteria for the entire SAM approach. PSA studies, on the other hand, give essential information about equipment availability, reliability of hardware, operator actions and connections between operators and equipment. PSA allows us to analyze large, complex reliability models and with PSA (including level 2) also fission product behaviour and radioactive releases to the environment are to be assessed and analyzed when calculating the source term. Both approaches, PSA and ROAAM, can be used for analyzing severe accidents and Fortum has used them both when ensuring that both the preventive and mitigative parts of SAM strategy for the Loviisa NPP are well balanced and the reliability of equipment used for severe accident management is on an adequate level. PSA level 2 analyses are also used to ensure that radioactive release limits, set by the Finnish safety authority, are not being exceeded. This paper will be focused on describing how Integrated ROAAM has been the key element when constructing well balanced SAM strategy and how the use of Integrated ROAAM analysis has affected level 2 PSA studies. The ROAAM approach will also be briefly described in the issue resolution context for treatment of phenomenological uncertainties. ROAAM has significant advantages in dealing with phenomenological uncertainties, especially in the mitigation regime, when a high level of remaining uncertainty cannot be tolerated. ROAAM provides a framework for modelling and quantifying complex physical phenomena that may cause containment failure in a severe accident situation. Furthermore, only with application of ROAAM we have obtained a sufficient and sound basis for determination of the plant modifications needed for successful SAM strategy. PSA on the other hand, is the obvious choice in the preventive regime, where the unavailability of large and complicated systems if often the key issue. Standard

  6. STEPS: source term estimation based on plant status phase 0 - the technical specifications of the containment module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vamanu, D.V.

    1998-01-01

    In the framework of Project RODOS (Real-Time On-Line Decision Support System for Nuclear Emergencies in Europe), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) of the Commission of the European Communities has commissioned the development of a unified concept, body of knowledge, models and software package meant to assist the evaluation of the source term of severe nuclear accidents in light water reactors of the types prevailing on the Continent. Code-named STEPS, for 'Source Term Estimation based on Plant Status', the project has evolved as Contract RODOS D (FI4P-CT96-0048), between EAEC and consortium of expert European centres including Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Institut de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, (CEA-DPI-SEAC) as Coordinator and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK-INR), the Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, (STUK-NSD), the Technical Research Centre of Finland, Energy, Nuclear Energy (VTT-ET-NE), and Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule - ETH Zurich, Centre of Excellence (ETH-CERS) as Contractors. For the Phase 0 of the project, an IFIN-HH expert has been assigned by ETH-CERS to develop the Technical Specifications of the delivery component of the intended STEPS package, the CONTAINMENT Module. Sponsored by ETH-CERS headquarters in Zurich, the work was done on the premises and with the logistic support of CEA D PI-SEAC at Fontenay-aux-Roses, with the feedback processing and computer code development subsequently performed in Bucharest. The Technical Specifications of the STEPS CONTAINMENT Module were guided by specific terms of reference, including: (i) the capability of the software to function as a source term interface between targeted nuclear power plants and the RODOS System; (ii) the comparable capability of the system to be operated as a stand-alone assessment and decision support tool for a comprehensive variety of plants, nuclear emergency classes. On the technical side, the specifications had to focus on the possible

  7. Millstone Unit 1 plant vulnerabilities during postulated severe nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalil, Y.F.

    1993-01-01

    Generic Letter 88-20, Supplement No. 1 (Ref. 1), issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requested all licensees holding operating licenses and construction permits for nuclear power reactor facilities to perform Individual Plant Examinations (IPE) of their plant(s) for severe accident vulnerabilities and to submit the results to the Commission. This paper summarizes the major Front-End (Level-1 PRA) and Back-End (Level-2 PRA) insights gained from the Millstone Unit 1 (MP-1) IPE study. No major plant vulnerabilities have been identified from a Front-End perspective. The Back-End analysis, however, has identified two potential containment vulnerabilities during postulated events that progress beyond the Design Basis Accidents (DBAs), namely, (1) MP-1 is dominated by early source term releases that would occur within a six-hour time frame from time of accident initiation, or reactor trip, and (2) MP-1 containment is somewhat vulnerable to leak-type failure through the drywell head. As a result of the second finding, a recommendation currently under evaluation, has been made to increase the drywell head bolt's preload from 54 Kips to resist the containment design pressure value (62 psig)

  8. Radiologic accidents in industrial gamma radiography - Brazilian cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Francisco Cesar Augusto da

    1997-01-01

    Three severe radiological accidents in industrial gamma radiography happened in Brazil during the period of 1985 to 1988. Five operators and nineteen public people were involved. These accidents caused some injuries in parts of the body, mainly hands and fingers. The main causes were faults in source monitoring, inadequate routine procedures and unknowing of radiation warning symbol by public people. The present paper shows the Brazilian cases of radiological accidents and makes some analysis of them. (author)

  9. Integrated computer codes for nuclear power plant severe accident analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordanov, I; Khristov, Y [Bylgarska Akademiya na Naukite, Sofia (Bulgaria). Inst. za Yadrena Izsledvaniya i Yadrena Energetika

    1996-12-31

    This overview contains a description of the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP), ICARE computer code and Source Term Code Package (STCP). STCP is used to model TMLB sample problems for Zion Unit 1 and WWER-440/V-213 reactors. Comparison is made of STCP implementation on VAX and IBM systems. In order to improve accuracy, a double precision version of MARCH-3 component of STCP is created and the overall thermal hydraulics is modelled. Results of modelling the containment pressure, debris temperature, hydrogen mass are presented. 5 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

  10. Integrated computer codes for nuclear power plant severe accident analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordanov, I.; Khristov, Y.

    1995-01-01

    This overview contains a description of the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP), ICARE computer code and Source Term Code Package (STCP). STCP is used to model TMLB sample problems for Zion Unit 1 and WWER-440/V-213 reactors. Comparison is made of STCP implementation on VAX and IBM systems. In order to improve accuracy, a double precision version of MARCH-3 component of STCP is created and the overall thermal hydraulics is modelled. Results of modelling the containment pressure, debris temperature, hydrogen mass are presented. 5 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs

  11. Severe accident tests and development of domestic severe accident system codes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    According to lessons learned from Fukushima-Daiichi NPS accidents, the safety evaluation will be started based on the NRA's New Safety Standards. In parallel with this movement, reinforcement of Severe Accident (SA) Measures and Accident Managements (AMs) has been undertaken and establishments of relevant regulations and standards are recognized as urgent subjects. Strengthening responses against nuclear plant hazards, as well as realistic protection measures and their standardization is also recognized as urgent subjects. Furthermore, decommissioning of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit1 through Unit4 is promoted diligently. Taking into account JNES's mission with regard to these SA Measures, AMs and decommissioning, movement of improving SA evaluation methodologies inside and outside Japan, and prioritization of subjects based on analyses of sequences of Fukushima-Daiichi NPS accidents, three viewpoints was extracted. These viewpoints were substantiated as the following three groups of R and D subjects: (1) Obtaining near term experimental subjects: Containment venting, Seawater injection, Iodine behaviors. (2) Obtaining mid and long experimental subjects: Fuel damage behavior at early phase of core degradation, Core melting and debris formation. (3) Development of a macroscopic level SA code for plant system behaviors and a mechanistic level code for core melting and debris formation. (author)

  12. Severe accident tests and development of domestic severe accident system codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    According to lessons learned from Fukushima-Daiichi NPS accidents, the safety evaluation will be started based on the NRA's New Safety Standards. In parallel with this movement, reinforcement of Severe Accident (SA) Measures and Accident Managements (AMs) has been undertaken and establishments of relevant regulations and standards are recognized as urgent subjects. Strengthening responses against nuclear plant hazards, as well as realistic protection measures and their standardization is also recognized as urgent subjects. Furthermore, decommissioning of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit1 through Unit4 is promoted diligently. Taking into account JNES's mission with regard to these SA Measures, AMs and decommissioning, movement of improving SA evaluation methodologies inside and outside Japan, and prioritization of subjects based on analyses of sequences of Fukushima-Daiichi NPS accidents, three viewpoints was extracted. These viewpoints were substantiated as the following three groups of R and D subjects: (1) Obtaining near term experimental subjects: Containment venting, Seawater injection, Iodine behaviors. (2) Obtaining mid and long experimental subjects: Fuel damage behavior at early phase of core degradation, Core melting and debris formation. (3) Development of a macroscopic level SA code for plant system behaviors and a mechanistic level code for core melting and debris formation. (author)

  13. Review of specific effects in atmospheric dispersion calculations. The impact of source-term characteristics -and the processes that modify them post release- on dry and wet deposition rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooper, P.J.; Underwood, B.Y.; Brearley, I.

    1985-01-01

    In the first half of the work the source-term characteristics potentially influencing behaviour were identified and examined. It was concluded that a number of source characteristics, in addition to those conventionally provided for consequence assessment, could significantly influence deposition behaviour. Linking with this, a review was undertaken of past reactor-accident risk assessment and more recent source-term studies to pick out information, if any, on the parameters of interest. The second half of the study resulted in a list of processes capable of transforming the released material vis-a-vis deposition characteristics, including processes occurring in the near field associated with the initial release transient and also those occurring over a longer time span as the plume travels downwind. Scoping calculations were performed for some of the processes in the context of idealized accident scenarios, leading to the conclusions that in some circumstances post-release mechanisms could have an important impact on the deposition behaviour of released material. Statistical theory was used to describe the behaviour of a plume both before and after detachment, and the limitations of the theory were discussed. A review of the lateral wind velocity spectra was undertaken so that simplified spectra could be constructed and used to predict the plume behaviour as a function of travel time, stability category and release duration. It was found that commonly used methods of allowing for release duration overpredicted the dependence, in general, upon release duration. For example the adoption of a stability-independent meandering term would lead to the underprediction of threshold effects such as early death and land/crop interdiction. In addition, theory indicated that the 'Y' curves for different stability categories would converge gradually with increasing travel time

  14. Manual on the medical management of individuals involved in radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swindon, T.N.

    1991-09-01

    This manual is concerned with accidents or emergencies which involve sources of ionizing radiation. It does not cover other forms of radiation such as non-ionizing radiation (ultra-violet, light, radiofrequency radiations), heat, etc. Most radiation accidents have involved individuals either at the workplace or with medical misadministrations; they have received external exposure from X-ray or gamma-ray sources or have been contaminated with radioactive material. A few members of the public have also been involved through misadventures with radioactive sources although these may not be thought of as accidents; more commonly, they are referred to as 'incidents'. For the purpose of this manual, there is not differentiation between an accident and an incident, as the medical care required is the same in both situations. Some of the reference papers are reprinted at the back of the manual. 17 refs., 12 tabs., 9 figs

  15. Comparative study on aerosol removal by natural processes in containment in severe accident for AP1000 reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Xiaohui; Cao, Xinrong; Shi, Xingwei; Yan, Jin

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Characteristics of aerosol distribution in containment are obtained. • Aerosol removal by natural processes is comparative studied by two methods. • Traditional rapid assessment method is conservative and can be applied in AP1000 reactor. - Abstract: Focusing on aerosol removal by naturally occurring processes in containment in severe accident for AP1000, integral severe accident code MELCOR and rapid assessment method mentioned in NUREG/CR-6189 are utilized to study aerosol removal by natural processes, respectively. Three typical severe accidents, induced by large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA), small break loss of coolant accident (SBLOCA) and steam generator tube rupture (SGTR), respectively, are selected for the study. The results obtained by two methods were further compared in the following several aspects: efficiency of aerosol removal by natural processes, peak time of aerosol suspended in containment atmosphere, peak amount of aerosol suspended in containment atmosphere, time when aerosol removal efficiency by natural processes is up to 99.9%. It was further concluded that results obtained by rapid assessment with shorter calculation process are more conservative. The analysis results provide reference to assessment method selection of severe accident source term for AP1000 nuclear emergency.

  16. National emergency plan for nuclear accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-10-01

    The national emergency plan for nuclear accidents is a plan of action designed to provide a response to accidents involving the release or potential release of radioactive substances into the environment, which could give rise to radiation exposure to the public. The plan outlines the measures which are in place to assess and mitigate the effects of nuclear accidents which might pose a radiological hazard in ireland. It shows how accident management will operate, how technical information and monitoring data will be collected, how public information will be provided and what measures may be taken for the protection of the public in the short and long term. The plan can be integrated with the Department of Defence arrangements for wartime emergencies

  17. Transportation accidents/incidents involving radioactive materials (1971-1991)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cashwell, C.E.; McClure, J.D.

    1993-01-01

    In 1981, Sandia National Laboratories developed the Radioactive Materials Incident Report (RMIR) database to support its research and development activities for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The RMIR database contains information on transportation accidents/incidents with radioactive materials that have occurred since 1971. The RMIR classifies a transportation accident/incident in one of six ways: as a transportation accident, a handling accident, a reported incident, missing or stolen, cask weeping, or other. This paper will define these terms and provide detailed examples of each. (J.P.N.)

  18. Review of severe accidents and the results of accident consequence assessment in different energy systems (Contract research)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuki, Yoshio; Muramatsu, Ken

    2008-05-01

    The cases of severe accidents and the consequence assessments in different energy systems, Coal, Oil, Gas, Hydro and Nuclear, were collected, and then they were further analyzed. In this report, the information on the accidents in various energy systems were collected from the sources of the Paul Scherrer Institute (hereinafter, 'PSI') and the International Atomic Energy Agency (hereinafter, 'IAEA'). The information on the severe accidents of nuclear power plants were collected from the report of the US Presidential Commission on Catastrophic Nuclear Accidents and several relevant reports issued in the countries of the European Union, together with the reports of the PSI and the IAEA. To analyze the collected information, several parameters, which are numbers of fatalities, injuries, evacuees and the costs of the damages, were chosen to characterize those accidents in different energy systems. And then, upon the comparison of these characteristics of different accidents, the impacts of the accidents in nuclear and other energy systems were compared. Upon the results of the analysis, it is pointed out that the cost caused by the Chernobyl Accident, the severe accident in nuclear energy, tends to be higher than in the other energy systems. On the other hand, from the aspects of fatalities and injuries, it is not confirmed that the damages of the Chernobyl Accident are larger than in the other energy systems. However, it is also recognized, as the specific characteristics of the severe nuclear accident, that the impacts of the accident spread in a wider area, and stay for a longer period, in comparison with the ones in the other energy systems. (author)

  19. Proceedings of the first part of a joint OECD(NEA)/CEC workshop on recent advances in reactor accident consequence assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1988-02-15

    The first part of the Joint Workshop, organised by the NEA, is focused on the progress achieved in the work of CSNI's GRECA (Group of Experts on Accident Consequences). The program is composed of the following papers. Session 1: characteristics of the Chernobyl release and fallout that affect transport and behaviour of radioactive substances in the environment; Chernobyl accident and hot particles in the fallout; radionuclides associated with colloids and particles in the Chernobyl fallout; source term in the Chernobyl accident; long range transport of radionuclides; parameters in consequence calculations for an urban area. Session 2: review of evaluations concerning radionuclide transfer to foodstuffs via plants in view of the data available after the Chernobyl accident; GRECA review of Chernobyl data on transfer to animal products; Chernobyl accident radiometric data (Cs-137 in fresh water fishes of north Italy lakes); distribution of Cs-137 in water sediment and fish in the Ijsselmeer (Netherlands); uptake in the human body resulting from the Chernobyl accident; radioactivity of people in the nordic countries following the Chernobyl accident; preparations for an international study to evaluate long-range transport models against the Chernobyl accident

  20. Assessment of Radiological and Economic Consequences of a Hypothetical Accident for ETRR-2, Egypt Utilizing COSYMA Code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tawfik, F.S.; Abdel-Aal, M.M.

    2008-01-01

    A comprehensive probabilistic study of an accident consequence assessment (ACA) for loss of coolant accident (LOCA) has accomplished to the second research reactor ETRR-2, located at Inshas Nuclear Research Center, Cairo, Egypt. PC-COSYMA, developed with the support of European Commission, has adopted to assess the radiological and economic consequences of a proposed accident. The consequences of the accident evaluated in case of early and late effects. The effective doses and doses in different organs carried out with and without countermeasures. The force mentioned calculations were required the following studies: the core inventory due to the hypothetical accident, the physical parameters of the source term, the hourly basis meteorological parameters for one complete year, and the population distribution around the plant. The hourly stability conditions and height of atmospheric boundary layers (ABL) of the concerned site were calculated. The results showed that, the nuclides that have short half-lives (few days) give the highest air and ground concentrations after the accident than the others. The area around the reactor requires the early and late countermeasures action after the accident especially in the downwind sectors. Economically, the costs of emergency plan are effectively high in case of applying countermeasures but countermeasures reduce the risk effects