Radiological safety assessment for transportation of reactor pressure vessel during decommissioning of a nuclear power plant in Korea

Abstract

In Korea, decommissioning of nuclear power plants and transportation of the decommissioning waste are expected to expand in the near future. It is necessary to confirm that radiological risks to the public and workers are not significant through radiological safety assessment. The objective of this study is to assess the radiological safety for transportation of RPV waste, which is a major decommissioning waste with relatively high level of radioactivity. It was assumed that the waste would be transported to the Gyeongju disposal facility by land transportation. First, the source term and transportation method of the RPV waste were determined, and the external dose rates from the waste were calculated using MCNP. Then, transportation scenarios were assumed under both normal and accident conditions. Under the scenarios, radiation doses were calculated using the RADTRAN. Under normal operation scenarios without a transportation accident, assuming 40 shipments per year, the average individual doses for the public ranged from 6.56 × 10−6 to 2.18 × 10−2 mSv yr−1. The maximum individual doses for only a single shipment ranged from 2.43 × 10−6 to 3.14 × 10−1 mSv. For cargo handlers and vehicle crew members, the average doses were 2.26 × 101 mSv yr−1 and 2.95 mSv yr−1, respectively. Under transportation accident scenarios, average individual radiological risks which are product of the radiation doses and the annual accident rates ranged from 1.14 × 10−11 to 1.61 × 10−10 mSv yr−1 by transportation route segment when considering the transportation accident rate. Average individual doses assuming transportation accident occurrence ranged from 2.62 × 10−4 to 1.42 × 10−3 mSv. The maximum individual dose under accident conditions was 7.99 × 10−2 mSv. The calculated doses were below the regulatory limits in Korea. However, relatively high doses were observed for cargo handlers and vehicle crew members because of conservative assumptions. This study results can be used as basic data for the radiological safety assessment for the decommissioning waste transportation in the future.