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Consequences of radioactive releases into the sea resultingfrom the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant - Evolution of expertinvestigation according to the data available

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2012

P. Laguionie ,
P. Bailly du Bois ,
D. Boust ,
B. Fievet ,
P. Garreau ,
O. Connan ,
S. Charmasson ,
M. Arnaud ,
C. Duffa  and
D. Champion
P. Laguionie
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, rue Max Pol Fouchet, BP 10, 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville, France
P. Bailly du Bois
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, rue Max Pol Fouchet, BP 10, 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville, France
D. Boust
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, rue Max Pol Fouchet, BP 10, 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville, France
B. Fievet
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, rue Max Pol Fouchet, BP 10, 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville, France
P. Garreau
Affiliation:
IFREMER, Laboratoire de Physique Hydrodynamique et Sédimentaire, Centre Bretagne, BP 70, 29280 Plouzané, France
O. Connan
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville, rue Max Pol Fouchet, BP 10, 50130 Cherbourg-Octeville, France
S. Charmasson
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire d'Études Radioécologiques du Milieu Continental et Marin, Zone Portuaire de Bregaillon BP 330, 83507 La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
M. Arnaud
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire d'Études Radioécologiques du Milieu Continental et Marin, Zone Portuaire de Bregaillon BP 330, 83507 La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
C. Duffa
Affiliation:
IRSN, Laboratoire d'Études Radioécologiques du Milieu Continental et Marin, Zone Portuaire de Bregaillon BP 330, 83507 La Seyne-sur-Mer, France
D. Champion
Affiliation:
IRSN, Pôle Radioprotection-Crise, 31 avenue de la Division Leclerc, BP 17, 92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
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Abstract

The accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in March 2011 led toan unprecedented direct input of artificial radioactivity into the marine environment. TheInstitute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety was requested by the French authoritiesto investigate the radioecological impact of this input, in particular the potentialcontamination of products of marine origin used for human consumption. This articledescribes the close link between the responses provided and the availability of the data,as well as their nature and ability to meet the requirements of expert investigation.These responses were needed: (i) to evaluate the inputs of radionuclides into the marineenvironment, (ii) to understand their dispersion in seawater, and (iii) to estimate theirtransfer to the biota and sediments. Three phases can be distinguished which characterisethese processes during the accident and post-accident periods. The first phase correspondsto an emergency phase during which no measurements were available on samples from themarine environment. It involved the formulation of hypotheses based solely on theexpertise of the Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety. The second phasestarted when the Japanese authorities provided measurements of the concentrations ofradionuclides in seawater. Although these data were not yet adapted to addressing theproblems of radioecology, the scenarios could then be refined and the estimates developedin more detail. During the third phase, the accumulation of data over the course of timemade it possible to study the phenomena in an appropriate way. The chronology of theevents shows that it is essential to have (i) significant measurements of concentrationfrom samples collected in the various matrices of the marine environment, regularlyupdated and sufficiently well-documented, (ii) samples of seawater collected at theearliest opportunity as close as possible to the damaged site to characterise the sourceterm, and (iii) a numerical tool allowing rapid modelling of the dispersion ofradionuclides in seawater, as well as their transfer to sediments and the biota,ultimately for the purpose of estimating the dose to humans.

Keywords

nuclear power plantaccident analysisseawatersedimentbiota
Type
Research Article
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , July 2012 , pp. 423 - 447
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2012

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