Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:52:26.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2012

A. Petraglia ,
C. Sabbarese ,
M. De Cesare ,
N. De Cesare ,
F. Quinto ,
F. Terrasi ,
A. D'onofrio ,
P. Steier ,
L. K. Fifield  and
A. M. Esposito
A. Petraglia
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Environmental ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
C. Sabbarese
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Life ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
M. De Cesare
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Environmental ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
N. De Cesare
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Life ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
F. Quinto
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Environmental ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
F. Terrasi
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Environmental ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
A. D'onofrio
Affiliation:
CIRCE, INNOVA and Department of Environmental ScienceSecond University of Naples, Via Vivaldi, 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy
P. Steier
Affiliation:
Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA), Fakultät für Physik, Universität Wien, Währinger Strasse 17, A-1090 Wien, Austria
L. K. Fifield
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear PhysicsResearch School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
A. M. Esposito
Affiliation:
Società Gestione Impianti Nucleari, Garigliano Power Plant, Sessa Aurunca (Ce), Italy
Get access

Abstract

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissionednuclear power plant is presented here through the results of anenvironmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surroundingthe Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil,water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in whichα, β and γ activity and the γ equivalent dose rate are measured.Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area areanalyzed and then compared with those from a control zone situatedmore than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous surveycarried out in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significantalteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundingthe plant, with the overall radioactivity depending mainly on theglobal fallout and natural sources.

Keywords

radiological impactnuclear power plantenvironmental monitoringradionuclide
Type
Research Article
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , April 2012 , pp. 285 - 297
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adliene, D., Raaf, C., Magnusson, A., Behring, J., Zakaria, M., Adlys, G., Skog, G., Stenstrom, K., Mattsson, S. (2006) Assessment of the environmental contamination with long-lived radionuclides around an operating RBMK reactor station, J. Environ. Radioact. 90, 68–77.Google ScholarPubMed
Berkovits, D., Feldstein, H., Ghelberg, S., Hershkowitz, A., Navon, E., Paul, M. (2000) 236U in uranium minerals and standards, Nucl. Inst. Meth. B 172, 372-376.Google Scholar
Boulyga, F., Heumann, K.G. (2006) Determination of extremely low 236U/238U isotope ratios in environmental samples by sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using high-efficiency sample introduction, J. Env. Rad. 88, 1-10. Google Scholar
De Cesare M. (2009) Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of actinides at CIRCE. Ph. D. Thesis. Department of Environmental Science, Second University of Naples.
De Cesare, M., Guan, Y., Quinto, F., Sabbarese, C., De Cesare, N., D'Onofrio, A., Gialanella, L., Petraglia, A., Roca, V., Terrasi, F. (2010) Optimization of 236U AMS at CIRCE, Radiocarbon 52(2), 286-294. Google Scholar
De Cesare, M., Gialanella, L., Rogalla, D., Petraglia, A., Guan, Y., De Cesare, N., D’Onofrio, A., Quinto, F., Roca, V., Sabbarese, C., Terrasi, F. (2010) Actinides AMS at CIRCE in Caserta (Italy), Nucl. Inst. Meth. B 268, 779-783.Google Scholar
De Cesare M., Fifield L.K., Sabbarese C., Tims S.G., De Cesare N., D’Onofrio A., D’Arco A., Esposito A.M., Petraglia A., Roca V., Terrasi F. (2012), Actinides AMS at CIRCE and 236U and Pu measurements of structural and environmental samples from in and around a mothballed nuclear power plant, accepted for publication in Nucl. Inst. Meth. B.
De Cort M., Dubois G., Fridman S.D., Germenchuk M.G., Israel Y.A., Janssens A., Jones A.R., Kelly G.N., Kvansikova E.V., Matveenko I.I., Nazarov I.M., Pokumeiko Y.S., Avdyshin S.I., (1998) The Atlas of Caesium Deposition on Europe after the Chernobyl Accident. EUR 16733, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
Eisenbud M., Gesell T. (1997) Environmental Radioactivity: From Natural, Industrial, and Military Sources, 4th ed. New York. Academic Press.
Esposito A.M. (2005) Environmental radiological impact for Garigliano Nuclear Power Plant decommissioning Candidate. Ph.D. thesis.
Hotchkis, M.A.C., Child, D., Fink, D., Jacobsen, G.E., Lee, P.J., Mino, N., Smith, A.M., Tuniz, C., (2000) Measurement of 236U in environmental media, Nucl. Inst. Meth. B 172, 659–665.Google Scholar
Hu, Q.H., Weng, J.Q., Wang, J.S. (2010) Sources of anthropogenic radionuclides in the environment: a review, J. Environ. Radioact. 101, 426-437.Google ScholarPubMed
Jones, D.G., Roberts, P.D., Strutt, M.H., Higgo, J.J., Davis, J.R. (1999) Distribution of Cs-137 and inventories of Pu-238, Pu-239/240, Am-241 and Cs-137 in Irish Sea intertidal sediments, J. Environ. Radioact. 44, 159-189.Google Scholar
Lima, A., Albanese, S., Cicchella, D. (2005) Geochemical baselines for the radioelements K,U, and Th in the Campania region, Italy: a comparison of stream sediment geochemistry and gamma-ray surveys. Applied Geochemistry. 20, 611-625.Google Scholar
Lu, J.G., Huang, Y., Li, F., Wang, L., Li, S., Hsia, Y. (2006) The investigation of 137Cs and 90Sr background radiation levels in soil and plant around Tianwan NPP, China, J. Environ. Radioact. 90, 89–99.Google ScholarPubMed
Quinto, F., Steier, P., Wallner, G., Wallner, A., Srncik, M., Bichler, M., Kutschera, W., Terrasi, F., Petraglia, A., Sabbarese, C. (2009) The first use of 236U in the general environment and near a shut down Nuclear Power Plant, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 67. 1775-80.Google Scholar
R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Development Core Team from R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, 2009. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.r-project.org (verified 29/09/2011).
Sabbarese, C., Esposito, A. M., Visciano, L., D’Onofrio, A., Lubritto, C., Terrasi, F., Roca, V., Alfieri, S., Migliore, G. (2005) A Monitoring network of the radioactive releases due to Garigliano nuclear power plant decommissioning, Radioprotection 40, Suppl. 1, 797-802. Google Scholar
Thinova, L., Trojek, T. (2009) Data analysis from monitoring of radionuclides in the nuclear power plant Temelin ecosystem area, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 67, 1503–1508. Google ScholarPubMed
Wallberg, P., Moberg, L. (2002) Evaluation of 20 years of environmental monitoring data around Swedish nuclear installations, J. Environ. Radioact. 63. 117-133.Google Scholar
WHO (2008) Guidelines for drinking-water quality, third edition. ISBN 9789241547611.