3H and 90Sr background in water around Tianwan NPP, China

Tianwan nuclear power plant (NPP) at Lianyungang, PR China is being in construction since 1999. To obtain the information of the 3H and 90Sr background concentrations in different water bodies around the plant and offer the estimation of the influence after its launching, 170 samples of six water bodies of vapor, ground water, drinking water, surface water, rainwater and seawater were collected, and the background concentrations of 3H and 90Sr in the water bodies are reported. The concentrations of 3H were found to vary in the range 0.5–4.8Bql-1 with an average of 1.1±0.3Bql-1, and the order is: vapor>> rainwater>> ground water>> drinking water>> surface water>> seawater. The concentrations of 90Sr were observed to vary in the range 1.1–19.3mBql-1 with an average of 4.4±2.6mBql-1. The average concentration order is: ground water>> drinking water>> surface water>> rain water>> seawater. Negative correlation is found between the concentrations of 3H and 90Sr in different water bodies. The concentrations of the 90Sr decrease in slow slopes, while the concentrations of 3H increase. The correlation in groundwater shows a large coefficient with a value of 0.62 due to the relative stable environment. The concentrations of 3H and 90Sr are in accordance with the average level in the world. It indicates a low background radioactivity of 3H and 90Sr in the vicinity of Tianwan NPP.