Radioactive effluents released from Korean nuclear power plants and the resulting radiation doses to members of the public

Korean nuclear power plants (NPPs) periodically evaluate the radioactive gaseous and liquid effluents released from power reactors to protect the public from radiation exposure. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the release of radioactive effluents from Korean NPPs and the effects on the annual radiation doses to the public. The amounts of radioactive effluents released to the environment and the resulting radiation doses to members of the public living around NPPs were analyzed for the years 2011-2015 using the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd's annual summary reports of the assessment of radiological impact on the environment. The results show that tritium was the primary contributor to the activity in both gaseous and liquid effluents. The averages of effective doses to the public were approximately on the order of 10−3 mSv or 10−2 mSv. Therefore, even though Korean NPPs discharged some radioactive materials into the environment, all effluents were within the regulatory safety limits and the resulting doses were much less than the dose limits.