An Estimate of Carbon-14 Inventory at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

In this paper, carbon-14 inventory of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) which has CANDU type reactors was estimated for 1984–2002. The carbon-14 inventory can be estimated based on a simple relation: [carbon-14 inventory]=[carbon-14 production]—[carbon-14 emission]. The second term can be calculated whereas the third term should be measured. However, all the measured data for carbon-14 emissions at Wolsong NPP are not available. So an empirical relation is employed: [98.283%]=[100%]—[1.717%]. From this relation, the theoretical values for the total production, emission and inventory of carbon-14 at Wolsong NPP for 1984–2002 are estimated to be 694.2 TBq, 11.9 TBq and 682.3 TBq, respectively. Comparison of carbon-14 emission levels at Wolsong NPP and Pickering A NPP in terms of rates for theoretical productions and measured emissions of carbon-14 per unit power generated shows that although more carbon-14 is produced, less carbon-14 is released at Wolsong NPP except for 1999. Furthermore, comparison of the extend of carbon-14 emissions at both NPPs in terms of ratios of measured to theoretical carbon-14 emissions indicates that the control and regulation of carbon-14 emission are more effectively performed at Wolsong NPP.