Development of Training System for Radiation Exposure Reduction and Protection of Local Residents against Radioactivity Release Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

After the Fukushima accident in March 2011, radiological emergency preparedness became a source of concern for the local government and residents near nuclear power plants, and the level of preparedness was strengthened. To maximize the level of radiological emergency preparedness, efficient countermeasures for different virtual accidents are required. In particular, the training method to reduce radiation exposure and increase protection for local residents near nuclear power plants is extremely important. Since radiation exposure of local residents is related to the disperse of radiation sources and natural environmental conditions such as atmospheric stability and wind direction, an optimized virtual radiological emergency preparedness training system using virtual reality (VR) was developed taking the related factors into account. This paper reports the developed cases of the training system based on VR for local residents to reduce radiation exposure efficiently in cases of radioactivity release accidents. Keywords: Radioactivity Release Accident, Radiological Preparedness Training, Virtual Reality (VR), Radiation Exposure, Atmospheric Stability