Site-specific transfer parameters for the tritium transport model at a tropical site, Tarapur, west coast of India

Abstract

The study of the fate of atmospheric release and transport of Tritium requires an understanding of the exchange/transfer of Tritium (HTO) from within the compartments; air, soil, and plant systems. The Tritium transfer parameters within these compartments are used in specific activity models to compute TFWT and OBT in terrestrial plants and are highly dependent on the site-specific conditions. Hence a study was carried out to generate site-specific Tritium transport model parameters in the tropical environment of Tarapur which receives the atmospheric releases of Tritium from nuclear facilities operating at this site, on the West coast of India. The paper presents the details of the study carried out in Tarapur, India. The transfer parameters generated through this study are soil water to air moisture HTO transfer ratio: CRs, plant water to air moisture HTO transfer ratio: Rpa, and plant water to soil water HTO transfer ratio: Rpw. The geometric mean and geometric standard deviation (GSD) of the transfer ratios, CRs, Rpa and Rpw determined were found to be 0.50 (GSD: 3.52), 0.53 (GSD: 2.51) and 1.12 (GSD: 2.58), respectively. In addition, the Tritium scavenging ratio, surface loading, and wet deposition velocity were also derived and were found to be 1.59 ± 1.32, 1.21 × 10−2 Bq m−2 s−1, and 7.91 × 10−2 m s−1, respectively. The study has generated a set of site-specific model input parameters for a tropical coastal site of Tarapur, India, and details are discussed in the manuscript.