Atmospheric Transport of Radioactive Nuclides from Russia to Neighboring Countries

Romanova, V. & Takano, M. (2002). Atmospheric Transport of Radioactive Nuclides from Russia to Neighboring Countries. IIASA Interim Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: IR-02-010

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Abstract

On August 10, 1985, during the completion of reactor fueling network on a nuclear submarine at Chazhma Cove near Vladivostok, an uncontrolled chain reaction occurred. The air, ground and water were radioactively contaminated. The Vladivostok region (southern Primoriye Kray) still contains several nuclear fleet facilities where periodic refueling of submarines is carried out. In addition, there are about 60 decommissioned submarines that have been waiting for many years for final defueling. This causes increasing concern, as the probability of another nuclear accident is not negligible. In order to assess the consequences, the atmospheric transport analysis of radioactive nuclides released from a submarine facility in southern Primoriye Kray was evaluated using the computer code WSPEEDI. The WSPEEDI code consists of mass consistent wind model WSYNOP for a large scale wind fields and a particle random walk model GEARN for atmospheric dispersion and dry deposition of radioactivity. A parametric study of transboundary atmospheric transport of radioactivity for a 1 Bq unit release in the vicinity of Vladivostok was carried out to determine the sensitivity of the consequences to the height of the release and its duration. Atmospheric concentrations and soil concentrations due to dry deposition over Japanese and Korean coastal areas, and corresponding internal and external doses accumulated during passage of the contaminated cloud, were calculated. The results showed that in a case of northeast winds, which are predominant in winter season, the contaminated air could reach Japan in one to three days depending on the wind velocities. The maximum concentration values over Japan occur in a release within the boundary layer (up to 1000 m). The nuclide concentration depend also on the release duration, with the highest concentrations occurring as a result of release durations of 16 to 60 min. The accumulated radiation doses depend on the concentration and the residence time over the ground. Evaluation of a severe accident was carried out using core inventory data for 134Cs, 137Cs, 90Sr, 131I, 133I, 135I from a NATO study of an accident near Murmansk. Use of these values reveals that doses accumulated during cloud passage, including both external irradiation due to cloud immersion and internal doses from inhalation will not exceed the 1 mSv limit in countries adjacent to Russia. Suggestions for extensions of this analysis are presented.

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