Consideration on roles and relationship between observations/measurements and model predictions for environmental consequence assessments for nuclear facilities

Togawa, Orihiko; Okura, Takehisa; Kimura, Masanori

JAEA-Review 2022-049, 76 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-049.pdf:3.74MB

Before construction and after operation of nuclear facilities, environmental consequence assessments are conducted for normal operation and an emergency. These assessments mainly aim at confirming safety for the public around the facilities and producing relief for them. Environmental consequence assessments are carried out using observations/ measurements by environmental monitoring and/or model predictions by calculation models, sometimes using either of which and at other times using both them, according to the situations and necessities. First, this report investigates methods, roles, merits/demerits and relationship between observations/measurements and model predictions which are used for environmental consequence assessments of nuclear facilities, especially holding up a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Rokkasho, Aomori as an example. Next, it explains representative examples of utilization of data on observations/measurements and results on model predictions, and considers points of attention at using them. Finally, the report describes future direction, for example, improvements of observations/measurements and model predictions, and fusion of both them.

Nuclear criticality safety standard for a fuel reprocessing plant assuming burnup credit published by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan

Nakajima, Ken*; Itahara, Kuniyuki*; Okuno, Hiroshi

Proceedings of International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC 2015) (DVD-ROM), p.496 - 502, 2015/09

An outline of the standard "Procedures for Applying Burnup Credit to Criticality Safety Control of a Reprocessing Facility: 2014" (AESJ-SC-F025: 2014) published in April 2015 by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) is presented. The AESJ published more than 60 Standards. However, many of them were in the field of nuclear power reactors or radioactive wastes. Ten years ago the AESJ published "Basic Items of Criticality Safety Control: 2004" (AESJ-SC-F004:2004), which prescribed basic ideas, requirements and methods on nuclear criticality safety controls of facilities handling with nuclear fuel materials in general for preventing a nuclear criticality accident. However, it did not include any specific procedures for adopting burnup credit. Therefore, a new standard was envisaged as the first Standard for fuel reprocessing plants, which clarified the specific procedures to apply burnup credit to designers, operators, maintenance persons and administrators.

Development of ocean pollution prediction system for Shimokita region; Model development and verification

Kobayashi, Takuya; Lee, S.; Chino, Masamichi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 39(2), p.171 - 179, 2002/02

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.39.171

A three-dimensional model system was developed to predict oceanic dispersions of radionuclides released into the eastern area of Shimokita Peninsula. This system is a combination of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) for predicting ocean currents and a particle random walk model for oceanic dispersion of radionuclides. The model was verified by using measured currents, temperature and salinity at the coastal area of Shimokita, Aomori-ken, Japan, where a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant is under construction. The results obtained from simulations area as follows; (1) Wind and the Tsugaru Warm Current entering into the objective region through the Tsugaru Strait significantly affect the structure of current over the region. (2) POM can represent seasonal variations of the Tsugaru Warm Current well with hypothetical oceanographic data. The calculation succeeded to reproduce the coastal mode from winter to spring and the gyre mode from summer to autumn.

Radiation effects and safety control of tritium, 2; Status of tritium use and source term

Noguchi, Hiroshi

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi, 39(11), p.915 - 916, 1997/00

no abstracts in English