Nuclear Emergency Research Articles

CBRN Disaster Hospital Response and Preparedness. An Italian Civilian Military Cooperation Teaching Model

Introduction:Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies need specific hospital preparedness and resource availability.Preparing to evaluate and manage victims from CBRN exposure events in one aspect of hospital preparedness, is often underestimated. Specific skills and capabilities are required to manage these events. Emergency department (ED) and hospital staff need adequate training to provide safe and effective care.Method:The Hospital Complex of Valtellina and Alto Lario (with three hospitals), in consideration of the geographic location amid mountains, far from urban hospital centers, decided to develop an intensive training program for the hospital emergency staff. Firstly, it was based on an eight-hour initial training program, using a combined civilian military approach that included hazard recognition, substance identification, site safety, response roles, PPE use, and decontamination procedures. The CBRN Operational Unit (for prevention of chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear risks) of the 1st Territorial Unit of the Auxiliary Military Corps of the Order of Malta Italy led such training session showing that a military approach to CBRN threats can be used with civilian and military competencies and tools in managing specific hazardous events hospital first responders may face.Results:A drill exercise was performed on a radiological fall-out incident to test the hospital’s emergency response staff preparedness. Hospital management and decontamination procedures were analyzed to treat victims as well as first responders and to train hospital staff with few resources available.Conclusion:Hospitals need a specific level of preparedness to enable an effective response to CBRN emergencies. Skills and competencies of military personnel can be a resource in these kinds of events to train civilian personnel who are not normally acquainted to or confident to manage this kind of CBRN events, and can represent a new model and challenge of interagency cooperation in the disaster management of complex emergencies involving hazardous materials.

Reduction of thyroid radioactive iodine exposure by oral administration of cyclic oligosaccharides

Alpha-cyclodextrin, a six d-glucose cyclic oligosaccharide, has several applications in food and pharmaceuticals, but has also been reported to retain iodine in a stable manner for 16 months. Radioactive iodine, which may cause thyroid cancer and hypofunction, must be properly managed. If the absorption of radioactive iodine is suppressed, it can be expected to lead to a reduction in thyroid exposure. This study clarified the inhibition of radioactive iodine absorption by the oral administration of α-cyclodextrin in a murine model using direct measurement of single photon emission computed tomography. The uptake of radioactive iodine into the thyroid gland in mice administered with radioactive iodine and an α-cyclodextrin solution was approximately 40% lower after 24 h. The finding that oral uptake of α-cyclodextrin has an inhibitory effect on the transfer of radioactive iodine to the thyroid gland has potential for application in many fields such as food, pharmaceuticals, nuclear emergency preparedness, and medicine.

Euler–Maruyama algorithm in estimating UGV path and location in nuclear emergency and security applications

Abstract Mobile Robots (MR) are currently used across a variety of different sectors and have military, nuclear and industrial applications among others. In unmanned systems, teleoperation sensors, navigation instruments, control systems and radiation sensors can be fixed on the MR to perform required tasks such as radiological scanning, identifying, and surveying the contaminated environment that has been exposed to radiation. In this work, an estimation of the mobile robot location and the optimum path for time-delay compensation for MR teleoperation are investigated. As the MR teleoperation has a stochastic nature, the kinematics equations are modeled using stochastic differential equations (SDEs). Afterwards, these SDEs are solved using Numerical algorithms such as Euler–Maruyama algorithm which is used to approximate SDEs solution with the aid of MATLAB. Additionally, the results are discussed and depicted in tables and figures. Finally, the simulated results for the solution are performed and are found to highly agree with the ideal path of the simulated MR. This result is of great importance to be used in the case of nuclear emergency response and mitigation.

Comprehensive study on uncertainties in 131I activity measurements in the thyroid gland

Activity measurements of 131I in the thyroid gland are influenced by a series of geometrical and individual anatomical factors, represented by the overlying tissue thickness (OTT), the thyroid volume, the neck-detector distance (NDD) and the detector displacement. The comprehensive evaluation of measurement uncertainty was performed by using the simulations of particle passage and the Monte Carlo method. Additionally, the measurement uncertainties in three typical 131I measurement scenarios (the measurement of nuclear accident emergency workers, nuclear medicine practitioners and patients treated with radioactive 131I) were also discussed. The results showed that the contribution of different sources to the overall measurement uncertainty varied across different scenarios. The uncertainty of counts will dominate measurement uncertainty with low activity and large NDD, while the uncertainty of efficiency will replace it under the rest conditions. Several strategies also emerged from the results, including correcting individual OTT, extending counting time appropriately and optimizing NDD. For instance, the correction of OTT would reduce the uncertainty from 25% to 7.7% (k = 1) in a presumptive measurement of nuclear accident. In summary, this study provides deeper insight into the measurement of 131I using a portable detector and has significant implications for the selection of optimal measurement parameters.

Analysing the performance of radiological monitoring network during nuclear accidents

JRODOS was used to simulate the dispersion of airborne radioactive material from a point source over the period 2012–2015. In total, 1331 radioactive plumes were simulated with the objective to investigate the influence of changes in meteorological conditions in the performance of the monitoring network. For this purpose, the existing set of 84 monitoring stations included in the EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform (EURDEP) system in an area of 200 km around the source point is taken as reference. A methodology is presented for quantitative evaluation of the variability of the number of stations affected, the time of the first detection, the maximum registered and differences between the maximum values match in the network and in the simulated plumes. The results show seasonal differences in all of these parameters according to changes in the size and shape of the affected area due to meteorological conditions. There are large differences in the number of monitoring stations affected by the plumes, from 2 to 74; in the timing and location of the first alert given by the network, from 1 to more than 5 h and faster along the west-east axis from the source; and in level of maximum gamma dose rate detected by the monitoring stations, from 0.17 nSv/h in summer to 0.22 nSv/h in autumn. These results show the need to consider this type of analysis over the years in the design of monitoring networks and in the development of nuclear emergency preparedness and response (EP&R) plans.

An improved [formula omitted] path-planning algorithm for nuclear spill evacuation and radioactive source retrieval in complex terrain

Path-planning technology is an essential radiation protection measure to reduce radiation exposure to workers in nuclear emergencies. The terrain in the actual radiation environment is often diverse and also impact personnel movement speed differently. It is a multi-objective optimization problem for distance, dose, and terrain. However, there are only path-planning methods considering some of these factors. We creatively quantify the difference in terrain to movement speed and propose a path-planning method for Complex Terrain based on the A∗ algorithm (CTA) in the radiational environments. The CTA algorithm divides the influence of terrain on movement into accessible and inaccessible, and the reachable part quantifies the influence of terrain as velocity, which can give the minimum dose path in complex nuclear environments. Three simulation experiments confirm the method’s superiority. The simulation experiments show that the CTA algorithm works better in complex terrain than the traditional algorithm.

Quantitative visualization of a radioactive plume with harmonizing gamma-ray imaging spectrometry and real-time atmospheric dispersion simulation based on 3D wind observation

ABSTRACT To propose a novel monitoring method for the quantitative visualization of 3D distribution of a radioactive plume in the vicinity of release point and source term estimation of released radionuclides, the feasibility of its analysis method is demonstrated by preliminary test. The proposed method is the combination of gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy with the electron tracking Compton camera (ETCC) and real-time high-resolution atmospheric dispersion simulation based on 3D wind observation with Doppler lidar. ETCC can acquire the angle distribution images of direct gamma-ray from a specific radionuclide in a target radioactive plume by quantitatively capturing gamma-ray incidence angles and spectrum distributions. The 3D distribution of each radionuclide in the radioactive plume is inversely reconstructed from direct gamma-ray images of each radionuclide by several ETCCs located around the target by harmonizing with the air concentration distribution pattern of the plume predicted by real-time atmospheric dispersion simulation. A prototype of the analysis method was developed, showing a sufficient performance in several test cases using hypothetical data generated by numerical simulations of atmospheric dispersion and radiation transport. The proposed method is expected to become an innovative monitoring framework for nuclear emergency.

Decision-making during urgent phase of a nuclear accident under extreme conditions

Disasters when occurs result in a disruption of the normal life of society or community and have a severe impact on human life, health, environment, and social and economic activities. Ionizing radiations are a concern associated with nuclear accidents by their very nature, and managing a nuclear catastrophe adds additional pressure on decision-makers to address the immediate and long-term effects of ionizing radiations. Decision-making is more difficult during the early stages of a nuclear disaster because of the high level of uncertainty in the situation and the unavailability of detailed information. We introduce a systematic methodology named ROSYNA, a real-time decision support system for a nuclear accident to be considered for such an uncertain situation. The core of this decision support system is use of a decision table specific to various situations by assessing the decision problem attributes. The prototype applicability of the method was implemented to the Fukushima situation and a comparison was made with HERCA-WENRA and the IAEA approaches. With due consideration of uncertainties regarding the situation during the early phase of a nuclear emergency, we recommend considering the implementation of protective measures by utilizing the ROSYNA philosophy in the decision-making process. The decision problem attributes, which are the key element of this methodology need to be assessed using professional judgment based on the nature of the accident, the information that can be gleaned from the nuclear facility, radiation monitoring, prior understanding of such occurrences and pre-established response arrangements.

The multistability of predictive technology in nuclear disasters.

Postphenomenological studies have explored technological mediation between the human body and the world by analysing the bodily experience of the world. Applying this analytical perspective to predictive technology requires some expansions because humans cannot directly experience the future world. I conceptualize pre-spectival focus, which refers to how human attention is directed to the making-future-present process, and which features or aspects of its process are foregrounded or backgrounded. Through the concept of pre-spectival focus and actor-network theory (ANT), this article examines the case of System for the Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI), a Japanese technology used to simulate the atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides released from nuclear reactors. SPEEDI provides prediction maps representing radiological consequences and was expected to support evacuation decisions during nuclear emergencies. However, this was not the case with the Fukushima disaster, which led to a socio-technical controversy regarding SPEEDI's usage. Based on bibliographic surveys and several interviews, I encapsulate four multistable uses of SPEEDI: prediction as supporting advice, prediction as a tool for evacuation drills, prediction as self-protection, and prediction as a source of misunderstanding. Relevant actors perceive the predictions of a nuclear disaster in each stability depending on the diversity of their pre-spectival foci, which is also related to the forms of life nourished through their professional and daily lives. A distinct rivalry can be observed between the two actor-networks around nuclear emergency management in which SPEEDI is differently enrolled: the social control network and self-determination network. In the former, the residents are constituted as passive selves who obediently follow governmental instructions; in the latter, residents are included as autonomous subjects who can actively decide protective actions. Moreover, I discuss future postphenomenology-ANT studies on predictive technologies based on these analyses.

466 Development of a novel tocotrienol analogue, tocoflexol, as a radiomitigator

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We have designed an analogue of the Vitamin E tocotrienols called tocoflexol, which improves their pharmacokinetic limitations to make it an effective radiation medical countermeasure. Our goal is to demonstrate that tocoflexol is an effective radiomitigator in vivo when administered after exposure to lethal doses of total body irradiation. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Tocoflexol was designed using computational techniques to improve binding to ATTP, the key transporter that reduces the rate of elimination of tocols. In vitro studies compared the antioxidant and cell uptake properties to conventional tocotrienols. Next, we used a mouse model of lethal total body irradiation to evaluate its radioprotection efficacy (treating before radiation). To determine the optimal administration route for radiomitigation (treating after radiation), we will test oral and subcutaneous dosing. Mouse survival will be monitored for 30 days after irradiation. Sample tissues will be taken to evaluate the ability of tocoflexol to protect key organs from acute radiation syndrome. The bioavailability of tocoflexol will be evaluated in a rodent model. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Known Results: Results show that tocoflexol has potent antioxidant properties and high cell uptake. When tocoflexol was administered 24 hours before exposure to lethal doses of radiation, tocoflexol-treated mice showed 100% survival. Anticipated Results: Because of its improved bioavailability and pharmacokinetic properties, we expect that tocoflexol will show radiomitigation efficacy when administered 24 hours after radiation, improving survival and protecting key organ systems from acute radiation syndrome. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: There is an unmet need for safe and effective radiomitigators that can offer multi-organ protection and be rapidly administered in the event of nuclear emergencies. Demonstration of radiomitigation efficacy will position tocoflexol as a prime candidate to be developed into a nuclear medical countermeasure and stockpiled for emergencies.

Application of the hydrological model chain of the RODOS decision support system for nuclear emergencies to the analysis of possible consequences of severe accident

The paper deals with the implementation of the full hydrological model chain for the area where the first Polish nuclear power plant is to be constructed. One of the tasks to be performed is to estimate possible concentration of radioisotopes and doses, both during normal operation of the nuclear power plant and in case of accidental releases to the environment, in particular, including severe accidents. In the case of surface waters, the contamination can result from the release into the atmosphere, deposition, transport in the whole catchment system, and finally into the sea. Therefore an integrated approach has been applied for the implementation of the hydrological model chain in the RODOS system, starting from atmospheric dispersion, through the transport and dispersion of contamination in the catchment basin, which includes rivers and big lake, up to the sea and in coastal waters. Finally dose calculations have been performed.

Analysis of nuclear accident scenarios and emergency planning zones for a proposed Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400)

Radiological scenario analysis considering potential accidents and the corresponding emergency planning arrangements are based on the estimations of radioactive releases following such accidents. This involves investigating the possible effects on the surrounding population and environment. The current paper hypothesized three accident scenarios in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) proposed to be located in Khor Duweihin on the Western Coast of the Arabian Gulf. HotSpot tool was used to estimate the total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) due to certain released radionuclides of different chemical groups. Initial emergency planning arrangements were defined based on the estimated doses triggered by the hypothetical scenarios considered: loss of coolant accident (LOCA), station blackout (SBO) and steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) in an Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400). This study established a baseline for an emergency plan that assures the mitigation of radiological consequences due to probable nuclear accidents, involving preparedness based on forecasting the atmospheric dispersion of radionuclides released during potential scenarios in different meteorological conditions.

Ultrafast elimination of uranium from aqueous solution by convenient synthesis of phosphonic acid functionalized mesoporous carbon: A combined experimental and density functional theory study

With the speedy advancement of nuclear power, it is strongly desirable to synthesize highly efficacious materials for eliminating uranium from abundant nuclear wastewater under nuclear leakage emergency conditions. Herein, a novel sorbent CMK-3/P (VPA) bearing phosphonic acid was successfully developed by in-situ polymerization of vinylphosphonic acid (VPA) in the presence of mesoporous carbon (CMK-3). Since abundant accessible phosphonic acid ligand had been led into the surface of the CMK-3, the sorbent showed an ultrafast adsorption rate for uranium. The kinetic process demonstrated that uranium adsorption equilibrium on CMK-3/P (VPA) was achieved even within 30 s, suggesting the adsorption rate of the prepared adsorbent far exceeded that of all other sorbents covered formerly. The prepared adsorbent also demonstrated high uranium sorption capacities, and the maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) under 4 M of HNO3 and pH of 4.5 reached 330.1 and 617.2 mg g−1 within 30 s, respectively. Besides, CMK-3/P (VPA) also presented an excellent uranium selectivity, environmental tolerance for uranium immobilization and good structural stability. The preeminent uranium adsorption behavior of CMK-3/P (VPA) was chiefly ascribed to the interplay of the phosphine acid with uranium, and the uranium sorption mechanism of the sorbent at pH of 4.5 was different from that at 4 M of HNO3, which was authenticated by X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) analysis and density function theory (DFT) method. As a result, CMK-3/P (VPA) developed by this work might be seen as a prospective sorbent for eliminating uranium from various kinds of contaminated water under emergency situations.

Nerds, ninjas, and neutrons: The story of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team

ABSTRACT Recently declassified material and other information that has never before appeared in the public domain allow the authors to explain some of the workings of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST)—often one of the first units to respond whenever there is a nuclear incident, whether it involves a nuclear reactor or a nuclear weapon. Long the subject of mystique, NEST is often depicted on screen as a secretive government unit with highly specialized capabilities and harrowing missions. The reality is at once more mundane and more remarkable. Formed in the 1970s in response to a spate of nuclear blackmail attempts, NEST has been at the center of every major nuclear event from the accident at Three Mile Island to the disaster at Fukushima. Other operations, unknown to the public, are described here for perhaps the first time. Historical accounts provide a glimpse into the breadth of the organization’s missions, from neutralizing terrorist nuclear devices to responding to nuclear reactor accidents. The diversity of NEST’s missions and the uniqueness of its scientific capabilities set the unit apart as a national asset.

Research on non-LWRs operational intervention level based on HTR

Nuclear emergency is the final line of defense for humanity and the environment, and operational intervention level (OIL) becomes a key technical element pre-specified in emergency preparedness and guides emergency response actions. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a new version of OIL system based on light water reactors (LWRs) in 2017. To explore its applicability for non-LWRs, this paper presents a set of specified OIL determination procedures for high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs). Considering a representative OIL based on ground monitoring (OIL1) as the case study, it concludes that the default OIL1 is 500 μSv/h for HTR-PM, half of the IAEA recommended value. In addition, through sensitivity analysis, we find that the slow release of radionuclides does not affect the determination of the default OIL1 value. From the perspective of OIL, this research further confirms that HTR reactor types can technically simplify off-site emergency requirements.

Hähmäinen ja historiaton?

Obscure and rootless? Fourth sector as a phenomenon and concept in the context of safety and security work This article explores the concept and pheno­ menon of the fourth sector as an element of safety and security work. The article is based on interviews with 18 public authorities and NGO actors working in expert or managerial positions associated with nuclear emergencies. The article’s findings and previous literature indicate that the concept of the fourth sector remains somewhat unclear, rootless, and confusing. The use of the term differs in different contexts and different research streams remain rather separate and siloed. Nevertheless, the phenomenon itself is more self­evident: The fourth sector in safety and security work refers, in general, to spontaneous, temporary, and self­organizing actions appearing in informal, unstructured settings, on both the group and individual levels of civil society.

JRODOS customization for Pakistan and assessment of the consequences of a hypothetical nuclear accident

Since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, decision support systems and modelling tools have been utilized in response to nuclear and radiological emergencies. The java-based real-time online decision support system (JRODOS) is a decision support tool that can be utilised in response to an emergency in managing off-site radiological consequences. This article documents the customization and use of JRODOS for Pakistan. JRODOS was tailored to the local Pakistan conditions, and a case study of a theoretical nuclear power plant accident was used to assess JRODOS’s feasibility as a decision support tool. A worst-case probabilistic accident scenario was used to identify zones and areas where urgent protective actions, early protective actions and food restriction and other response actions could be required. The areas and distances identified for the implementation of protective and response actions for such a hypothetical accident were found to be in agreement with the emergency planning zones and distances suggested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Additionally, the implications of meteorological and source term input parameters on predicting the radiation doses to members of the public were investigated. It was identified that the output of such tools strongly depends on the availability and accuracy of the input parameters, such as radioactive release and meteorological data. Limitations and uncertainties associated with these tools need to be considered in deciding on protective and other response actions in response to a nuclear accident. As established by the IAEA, protective and other response actions need to be applied on a graded approach, taking into account the protection strategy and uncertainties and limitations in the available information and criteria, based on the conditions at the facility and off-site.

후쿠시마 원전사고 이후의 문학에 나타난 방사능과 경계

More than 10 years have passed since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. However, the “nuclear emergency declaration” that came out immediately after the accident has not been lifted as of January 2023. Due to the nuclear accident, many people are still evacuating, and it is uncertain when and how the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be decommissioned.
 In this paper, we analyzed through specific works how literature is facing problems such as nuclear accidents and radioactive contamination in this situation. Hitomi Kanehara's The One Who Doesn't Have deals with the issue of fear of radiation exposure and depicts specific aspects of life after Fukushima. Hideo Furukawa's Or a Billion Years of Surah imagines an island=forest isolated from the outside world due to a nuclear accident in the near future, and questions the border of radioactive contamination. Erika Kobayashi's Breakfast with Madame Curie recognizes the invisibility of radiation as a trace of an invisible existence, and connects various time and space related to radioactivity and nuclear power.

Development of human-in-the-loop experiment system to extract evacuation behavioral features: A case of evacuees in nuclear emergencies

Evacuation time estimation (ETE) is crucial for the effective implementation of resident protection measures as well as planning, owing to its applicability to nuclear emergencies. However, as confirmed in the Fukushima case, the ETE performed by nuclear operators does not reflect behavioral features, exposing thus, gaps that are likely to appear in real-world situations. Existing research methods including surveys and interviews have limitations in extracting highly feasible behavioral features. To overcome these limitations, we propose a VR-based immersive experiment system. The VR system realistically simulates nuclear emergencies by structuring existing disasters and human decision processes in response to the disasters. Evacuation behavioral features were quantitatively extracted through the proposed experiment system, and this system was systematically verified by statistical analysis and a comparative study of experimental results based on previous research. In addition, as part of future work, an application method that can simulate multi-level evacuation dynamics was proposed. The proposed experiment system is significant in presenting an innovative methodology for quantitatively extracting human behavioral features that have not been comprehensively studied in evacuation. It is expected that more realistic evacuation behavioral features can be collected through additional experiments and studies of various evacuation factors in the future.

Analysis of RELAP5 prediction of countercurrent flow limitation in downcomer at upper plenum test facility

The relevance of the countercurrent flow limitation phenomenon is known in nuclear (emergency core cooling and accident situations) industries, such as a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The occurrence of countercurrent flow limitation (CCFL), which can exist in a host of places around the nuclear reactor system, will prevent the emergency cooling water, which is necessary to cool the core successfully flowing into the core from the downcomer of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) in the LOCA. Accurate prediction of the downcomer CCFL phenomenon is significant for the design and analysis of reactor safety. Among the experiments at Upper Plenum Test Facility (UPTF), various tests, test 6 and test 7 are studied in this research. Those tests are conservatively evaluated to predict the CCFL phenomenon at the downcomer. Above all, the methodology of node partition used in the RELAP5 model for the channels with cross-connections to represent the circumferential downcomer annulus was also studied. In particular, the nodes along the circumferential direction had a vital effect on the prediction of the steam velocity profile of downcomers. The influence of the CCFL model, including the most widely used Wallis-type and Kutateladze-type correlations, and the cooling-limited liquid-downflow behavior were analyzed. In addition, the pressure on the downcomer and steam flow rate of the break were monitored, and the predicted results were also analyzed.