Numerical simulation of tritium migration in groundwater at Wolsong Plant 1 site

Abstract

On-site groundwater has been reported to be contaminated by the unplanned release of liquid radioactive material at some nuclear power plants. Thus, it is of utmost importance to implement a timely and effective groundwater protection program at a site based on a good understanding of groundwater flow and a reasonable prediction for the potential impact of the unplanned release. In this study, the tritium migration has been simulated based on the modeling result of groundwater at Wolsong Plant 1 site to assess the potential impact of an unplanned release in the form of a leak. The results indicate that the groundwater eventually flowed into the sea, leaving marine activities as the only possible exposure pathway for receptors. Furthermore, the tritium concentrations in groundwater were simulated to be lowered very quickly with groundwater approaching the sea. Therefore, an additional radiation dose contribution due to the discharge of the contaminated groundwater was estimated to be negligible. Particularly, the draining effect of the dewatering sumps was shown to have a strong influence on the groundwater flow characteristics and the simulation of tritium migration, mainly decreasing the spread rate of the contaminated groundwater, which is advantageous to the protection of groundwater.