• Title/Summary/Keyword: Radiological accident

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Ten Years since Chernobyl Accident: a Review of Radiological Cosequences (체르노빌 원전사고 10년의 회고)

  • Lee, Jai-Ki
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.183-200
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    • 1996
  • Many information channels have dealt with the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident in different voices ever since the time of the accident. Large differences in the data about the amount of released radioactivity, losses of life, environmental effects and economic damage confuse the information receiving group. The intention of this paper is to provide an insight to the consequences of the accident through review of the reports and articles on the given issue and the scientific background. The formal reports reviewed include those from IAEA, EC, OECD/NEA, the governments of the two most-affected countries; Belarus and Ukraine. Much consideration was paid to make the text as plain as possible.

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Geoinformation decision support system for remediation of the 137Cs contaminated agricultural lands after the Chernobyl NPP accident

  • Titov, Igor Evgenievich;Krechetnikov, Viktor Vladimirovich;Mikailova, Rena Aleksandrovna;Panov, Aleksei Valerievich
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.6
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    • pp.2244-2252
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    • 2022
  • Based on GIS technologies, a decision support system (GIDSS) has been developed to remediate agricultural lands in the Bryansk region (Russia) contaminated by 137Cs after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. GIDSS is a multilevel system consisting of basic, information and computational layers. GIDSS allows justifying a targeted approach for the remediation of agricultural lands belonging to agricultural enterprises for the production that meets the established radiological requirements for the content of radionuclides. Evaluation of the effectiveness of alternative remediation technologies and the selection of optimal measures were carried out at the level of elementary plots using radiological criteria. The introduction of GIDSS will enable agricultural producers in the south-western districts of the Bryansk region to conduct radiation-safe agro-industrial production in radioactively contaminated areas, which will help improve the socio-economic situation of the region and return it to normal living conditions.

An Off-site Screening Process for the Public in Radiation Emergencies and Disasters

  • Yoon, Seokwon;HA, Wi-Ho;Jin, Young-Woo
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.41 no.3
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    • pp.301-309
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    • 2016
  • Background: A contamination screening process for the local population in radiation emergencies is discussed. Materials and Methods: We present an overview of the relevant Korean governmental regulations that underpin the development of an effective response system. Moreover, case studies of foreign countries responding to mass casualties are presented, and indicate that responses should be able to handle a large demand for contamination screening of the local public as well as screening of the immediate victims of the incident. Results and Discussion: We propose operating procedures for an off-site contamination screening post operated by the local government for members of the public who have not been directly harmed in the accident. In order to devise screening categories, sorting strategies assessing contamination and exposure are discussed, as well as a psychological response system. Conclusion: This study will lead to the effective operation of contamination screening clinics if an accident occurs. Furthermore, the role of contamination screening clinics in the overall context of the radiation emergency treatment system should be clearly established.

Dose Estimation Model for Terminal Buds in Radioactively Contaminated Fir Trees

  • Kawaguchi, Isao;Kido, Hiroko;Watanabe, Yoshito
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.143-151
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    • 2022
  • Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, biological alterations in the natural biota, including morphological changes of fir trees in forests surrounding the power plant, have been reported. Focusing on the terminal buds involved in the morphological formation of fir trees, this study developed a method for estimating the absorbed radiation dose rate using radionuclide distribution measurements from tree organs. Materials and Methods: A phantom composed of three-dimensional (3D) tree organs was constructed for the three upper whorls of the fir tree. A terminal bud was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations for the absorbed dose rate of radionuclides in the tree organs of the whorls. Evaluation of the absorbed dose targeted 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs, the main radionuclides subsequent to the FDNPP accident. The dose contribution from each tree organ was calculated separately using dose coefficients (DC), which express the ratio between the average activity concentration of a radionuclide in each tree organ and the dose rate at the terminal bud. Results and Discussion: The dose estimation indicated that the radionuclides in the terminal bud and bud scale contributed to the absorbed dose rate mainly by beta rays, whereas those in 1-year-old trunk/branches and leaves were contributed by gamma rays. However, the dose contribution from radionuclides in the lower trunk/branches and leaves was negligible. Conclusion: The fir tree model provides organ-specific DC values, which are satisfactory for the practical calculation of the absorbed dose rate of radiation from inside the tree. These calculations are based on the measurement of radionuclide concentrations in tree organs on the 1-year-old leader shoots of fir trees. With the addition of direct gamma ray measurements of the absorbed dose rate from the tree environment, the total absorbed dose rate was estimated in the terminal bud of fir trees in contaminated forests.

Development of a radiological emergency evacuation model using agent-based modeling

  • Hwang, Yujeong;Heo, Gyunyoung
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.53 no.7
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    • pp.2195-2206
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    • 2021
  • In order to mitigate the damage caused by accidents in nuclear power plants (NPPs), evacuation strategies are usually managed on the basis of off-site effects such as the diffusion of radioactive materials and evacuee traffic simulations. However, the interactive behavior between evacuees and the accident environment has a significant effect on the consequential gap. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a method that can control and observe such interactions by establishing agents (i.e., the evacuees) and patches (i.e., the accident environments). In this paper, a radiological emergency evacuation model is constructed to realistically check the effectiveness of an evacuation strategy using NetLogo, an ABM toolbox. Geographic layers such as radiation sources, roads, buildings, and shelters were downloaded from an official geographic information system (GIS) of Korea, and were modified into respective patches. The dispersion model adopted from the puff equation was also modified to fit the patches on the geographic layer. The evacuees were defined as vehicle agents and a traffic model was implemented by combining the shortest path search (determined by an A * algorithm) and a traffic flow model incorporated in the Nagel-Schreckenberg cellular automata model. To evaluate the radiological harm to the evacuees due to the spread of radioactive materials, a simple exposure model was established to calculate the overlap fraction between the agents and the dispersion patches. This paper aims to demonstrate that the potential of ABM can handle disaster evacuation strategies more realistically than previous approaches.

An Radiological Assessment Resulting from Accident during Transportation of Irradiated PWR Fuel (경수로형 조사후핵연료의 수송중 사고결과 평가)

  • Yoon, Yeo-Chang;Ha, Chung-Woo
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.88-94
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    • 1988
  • The radiological impacts due to transportation of irradiated PWR fuel by truck were assessed for incident-free and accident conditions with. the computer code INTERTRAN. The resulting collective doses exposure to different subgroups of the public and of the workers were determined. Resulting collective doses for crewman and the public sharing the transport link and living in a corridor on either side of the route are small. All attempts to quantify the risk from the transport suffer from a lack of good input data. It is in these areas that the most important advances can be made.

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Occupational Dose Analysis of Spent Resin Handling Accident During NPP Decommissioning

  • Hyunjin Lee;Chang-Lak Kim;Sang-Rae Moon;Sun-Kee Lee
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.247-253
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    • 2023
  • According to NSSC Notice No. 2021-10, safety analysis needs to be introduced in the decommissioning plan. Public and occupational dose analyses should be conducted, specifically for unexpected radiological accidents. Herein, based on the risk matrix and analytic hierarchy process, the method of selecting accident scenarios during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants has been proposed. During decommissioning, the generated spent resin exhibits relatively higher activity than other generated wastes. When accidents occur, the release fraction varies depending on the conditioning method of radioactive waste and type of radioactive nuclides or accidents. Occupational dose analyses for 2 (fire and drop) among 11 accident scenarios have been performed. The radiation doses of the additional exposures caused by the fire and drop accidents are 1.67 and 4.77 mSv, respectively.

Study of Radiation Mapping System for Water Contamination in Water System (방사능 수치 오염 지도 작성을 위한 방사선 계측 시스템 연구)

  • Na, Teresa W.;Kim, Han Soo;Yeon, Jei Won;Lee, Rena;Ha, Jang Ho
    • Journal of Radiation Industry
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.185-189
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    • 2011
  • As nuclear industry has been developed, a various types of radiological contamination has occurred. After 9.11 terror in U.S.A., it has been concerned that terrorists' active area has been enlarged to use nuclear or radioactive substance. Recently, the most powerful earth-quake stroke, which triggered a massive tsunami in Japan and then Fukushima nuclear power plant reactor has suffered from a serious accident in history. The Fukushima reactor accident has occurred an anxiety of radiation leaks and about 170,000 people have been evacuated from the accidental area near the nuclear power plant. For these reasons, a social chaos can be occurred if radiological contamination occurs to the supply system for the drinking water. As such, the establishment of the radiation monitoring system for the city main water system is compelling for the national security. In this study, a feasibility test of radiation monitoring system which consists of unified hybrid-type radiation detectors was experimented for multi detection system by using gamma-ray imaging. The hybrid-type radiation sensors were fabricated with CsI(Tl) scintillators and photodiodes. A preamplifier and amplifier was also fabricated and assembled with the sensor in the shielding case. For the preliminary test of detection of radiological contamination in the river, multi CsI(Tl)-PIN photodiode radiation detectors and $^{137}Cs$ gamma-ray source were used. The DAQ was done by Linux based ROOT program and NI DAQ system with Labview program. The simulated contamination was assumed to be occurred at Gapcheon river in Daejeon city. Multi CsI(Tl)-PIN photodiode radiation detectors were positioned at the Gapcheon river side. Assuming that the radiological contaminations flows in the river the $^{137}Cs$ gamma-ray source has been moved and then, the contamination region was reconstructed.

A Survey on Perception Level of the Radiological Technologist's about Culture of Patient Safety (환자안전 문화에 대한 방사선사의 인식도 조사)

  • Jeon, Min-Cheol;Kim, Young-Il;Jang, Jae-Uk;Han, Man-Seok;Seo, Sun-Youl
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.423-430
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    • 2014
  • Patient safety culture for the general hospital to investigate the perception of radiological technologists, managing of the patient safety provides the Foundation for the safety activities as a basis to develop a program for providing. Patient safety culture for the general hospital to investigate the perception of Radiological technologists, the duration of the survey of the study on June 13, 2012 to June 20, and five general hospitals worked on Radiological technologists workers were material and analyzed the target of 198 (SPSS ver. 19.0). Patient safety activities within the Department, the factors affecting direct care, communication, medical malpractice, hospitals rated, safe for the patient safety culture and the reported accidents, dangerous and caused an accident, most feel that patient safety incident reporting system according to the results of evaluating medical accidents patient safety culture regarding recognition, work appeared in more than 25 years, even the most highly evaluated, the working period of 10 patient safety to 15 years the most highly. Therefore, General Hospital, Director of the patient safety culture improvement of radiation in order to have sufficient staffing, aggressive approach to patient safety issues, and safe working period of relapse prevention of accidents to the radiation as well as giving systematic consideration of mission medical accident reporting system will be active.

Integrated Level 1-Level 2 decommissioning probabilistic risk assessment for boiling water reactors

  • Mercurio, Davide;Andersen, Vincent M.;Wagner, Kenneth C.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.50 no.5
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    • pp.627-638
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    • 2018
  • This article describes an integrated Level 1-Level 2 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) methodology to evaluate the radiological risk during postulated accident scenarios initiated during the decommissioning phase of a typical Mark I containment boiling water reactor. The fuel damage scenarios include those initiated while the reactor is permanently shut down, defueled, and the spent fuel is located into the spent fuel storage pool. This article focuses on the integrated Level 1-Level 2 PRA aspects of the analysis, from the beginning of the accident to the radiological release into the environment. The integrated Level 1-Level 2 decommissioning PRA uses event trees and fault trees that assess the accident progression until and after fuel damage. Detailed deterministic severe accident analyses are performed to support the fault tree/event tree development and to provide source term information for the various pieces of the Level 1-Level 2 model. Source terms information is collected from accidents occurring in both the reactor pressure vessel and the spent fuel pool, including simultaneous accidents. The Level 1-Level 2 PRA model evaluates the temporal and physical changes in plant conditions including consideration of major uncertainties. The goal of this article is to provide a methodology framework to perform a decommissioning Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), and an application to a real case study is provided to show the use of the methodology. Results will be derived from the integrated Level 1-Level 2 decommissioning PSA event tree in terms of fuel damage frequency, large release frequency, and large early release frequency, including uncertainties.