14C Measurements at PWR-Type Nuclear Power Plants in Three Middle European Countries

Abstract

Regular 14C sampling of discharged air began in 1988 at Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Hungary, and in 1991 at NPPs in Krsko, Slovenia and Bohunice, Slovakia. Monitoring of 14C discharges is carried out at all NPPs with similar differential samplers continuously collecting 14C in the form of 14CO2 and 14CnHm. The main results of airborne discharge monitoring are as follows: 14C activity concentration varied roughly within a factor of two around their mean values, 125 Bq m-3 and 90 Bq m-3 for Paks and for Krsko NPP, respectively. The pattern of discharge for Bohunice NPP is slightly different from that at the other two stations. At Bohunice, there has been a continuous increase in the discharge rate at power unit V1, starting with 70 Bq m-3 in 1991 and reaching a value of 190 Bq m-3 in 1995. The values for power unit V2 are 50 Bq m-3 and 82 Bq m-3. The average normalized yearly discharge rates are 0.887 (TBqGWe-1yr-1) for Paks, 0.815 (V1) and 0.500 (V2) for Bohunice, and 0.219 for Krsko. Most of the discharged 14C is in hydrocarbon form, 95% for Paks and Bohunice V2, but the CO2 fraction may reach 25% or 43% at Bohunice V1 and Krsko, respectively. At Bohunice V1, not only the discharge rate increased but the 14CO2 ratio to the total changed from 30% to 13%. The local radiological impact is estimated to be 1.5 μSv a-1 for Paks, 1.7 μSv a-1 for Bohunice, and 0.12 μSv a-1 for Krsko. The 14C excess in the environment has been measured at Paks NPP since 1989. Based on the monitoring data, the long-term average 14C excess from the Paks NPP was D14C=50% for hydrocarbons. Tree-ring analysis has shown a slight excess around Krsko NPP: D14C is equal to 199.9% for a tree at 1 km from the NPP compared with a “reference” one for which D14C was equal to 111.6% (in 1994).