A regional atmospheric dispersion model for Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-kam, Eric Ching
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 14725-14832 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Katata ◽  
M. Chino ◽  
T. Kobayashi ◽  
H. Terada ◽  
M. Ota ◽  
...  

Abstract. Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate a detailed time trend of atmospheric releases during the accident by combining environmental monitoring data with atmospheric model simulations from WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information), and simulations from the oceanic dispersion model SEA-GEARN-FDM, both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fogwater depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I2 and CH3I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The fallout to the ocean surface calculated by WSPEEDI-II was used as input data for the SEA-GEARN-FDM calculations. Reverse and inverse source-term estimation methods based on coupling the simulations from both models was adopted using air dose rates and concentrations, and sea surface concentrations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, the morning of 13 March after the venting event at Unit 3, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (Safely Relief Valve) at Unit 2 was opened three times, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of release rates associated with reactor pressure changes in Units 2 and 3. The modified WSPEEDI-II simulation using the new source term reproduced local and regional patterns of cumulative surface deposition of total 131I and 137Cs and air dose rate obtained by airborne surveys. The new source term was also tested using three atmospheric dispersion models (MLDP0, HYSPLIT, and NAME) for regional and global calculations and showed good agreement between calculated and observed air concentration and surface deposition of 137Cs in East Japan. Moreover, HYSPLIT model using the new source term also reproduced the plume arrivals at several countries abroad showing a good correlation with measured air concentration data. A large part of deposition pattern of total 131I and 137Cs in East Japan was explained by in-cloud particulate scavenging. However, for the regional scale contaminated areas, there were large uncertainties due to the overestimation of rainfall amounts and the underestimation of fogwater and drizzle depositions. The computations showed that approximately 27% of 137Cs discharged from FNPS1 deposited to the land in East Japan, mostly in forest areas.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1029-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Katata ◽  
M. Chino ◽  
T. Kobayashi ◽  
H. Terada ◽  
M. Ota ◽  
...  

Abstract. Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate the detailed atmospheric releases during the accident using a reverse estimation method which calculates the release rates of radionuclides by comparing measurements of air concentration of a radionuclide or its dose rate in the environment with the ones calculated by atmospheric and oceanic transport, dispersion and deposition models. The atmospheric and oceanic models used are WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) and SEA-GEARN-FDM (Finite difference oceanic dispersion model), both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fog-water depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation, and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I2 and CH3I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to the FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (safety relief valve) was opened three times at Unit 2, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of release rates. The simulation by WSPEEDI-II using the new source term reproduced the local and regional patterns of cumulative surface deposition of total 131I and 137Cs and air dose rate obtained by airborne surveys. The new source term was also tested using three atmospheric dispersion models (Modèle Lagrangien de Dispersion de Particules d'ordre zéro: MLDP0, Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model: HYSPLIT, and Met Office's Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment: NAME) for regional and global calculations, and the calculated results showed good agreement with observed air concentration and surface deposition of 137Cs in eastern Japan.


2020 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 106104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Terada ◽  
Haruyasu Nagai ◽  
Katsunori Tsuduki ◽  
Akiko Furuno ◽  
Masanao Kadowaki ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 627
Author(s):  
Mengdi Liu ◽  
Xiaobin Yin ◽  
Qing Xu ◽  
Yuxiang Chen ◽  
Bowen Wang

Monitoring the drain-off water from nuclear power stations by high-resolution remote sensing satellites is of great significance for ensuring the safe operation of nuclear power stations and monitoring environmental changes. In order to select the optimal algorithm for Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data to monitor warm drain-off water from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (DNPS) and the Ling Ao Nuclear Power Station (LNPS) located on the southern coast of China, this study applies the edge detection method to remove stripes and produces estimates of four Sea Surface Temperature (SST) inversion methods, the Radiation Transfer Equation Method (RTM), the Single Channel algorithm (SC), the Mono Window algorithm (MW) and the Split Window algorithm (SW), using the buoy and Minimum Orbit Intersection Distances (MOIDS) SST data. Among the four algorithms, the SST from the SW algorithm is the most consistent with the buoy, the MODIS SST, the ERA-Interim and the Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST). Based on the SST retrieved from the SW algorithm, the tidal currents calculated by the Finite-Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM) and winds from ERA-Interim, the distribution of the warm drain-off from the two nuclear power stations is analyzed. First, warm drain-off water is mainly distributed in a fan-shaped area from the two nuclear power stations to the center of the Daya Bay. The SST of the warm drain-off is about 1–4 °C higher than the surrounding water and exceeds 6 °C at the drain-off outfall. Second, the tide determines the shape and distribution characteristics of the warm drain-off area. The warm drain-off water flows to the northeast during the flood tide. During the ebb tide, the warm drain-off water flows toward the southwest direction as the tide flows toward the bay mouth, forming a fan-shaped area. Moreover, the temperature increase intensity in the combined discharge channel during the flood tide is lower than that during the ebb tide, and the low temperature rising area during the flood tide is smaller than that during the ebb tide.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document