Process-oriented dose assessment model for 14C due to releases during normal operation of a nuclear power plant

Abstract

Swedish nuclear utility companies are required to assess doses due to releases of radionuclides during normal operation. In 2001, calculation methods used earlier were updated due to new authority regulations. The isotope 14C is of special interest in dose assessments due to the role of carbon in the metabolism of all life forms. Earlier, factors expressing the ratio between concentration of 14C in air and in various plants were used. In order to extend the possibility to take local conditions into account, a process-oriented assessment model for uptake of carbon and doses from releases of 14C to air was developed (POM 14C). The model uses part of DAISY which has been developed to model the turnover of carbon in crops. [Hansen, S., Jensen, H.E., Nielsen, N.E., Svendsen, H., 1993. Description of the Soil Plant System Model DAISY, Basic Principles and Modelling Approach. Simulation Model for Transformation and Transport of Energy and Matter in the Soil Plant Atmosphere System. Jordbruksförlaget, The Royal Veterianary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark]. The main objectives were to test model performance of the former method, and to investigate if taking site specific parameters into account to a greater degree would lead to major differences in the results. Several exposure pathways were considered: direct consumption of locally grown cereals, vegetables, and root vegetables, as well as consumption of milk and meat from cows having eaten fodder cereals and green fodder from the area around the nuclear plant. The total dose of the earlier model was compared with that of POM 14C. The result of the former was shown to be slightly higher than the latter, but POM 14C confirmed that the earlier results were of a reasonable magnitude. When full account of local conditions was taken, e.g. as regards solar radiation, temperature, and concentration of 14C in air at various places in the surroundings of each nuclear plant, a difference in dose between sites of approximately one order of magnitude was found.