Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1739584 | Journal of Environmental Radioactivity | 2006 | 22 Pages |
Abstract
The performances of models are assessed to predict the wash-off of radionuclides from contaminated flooded areas. This process should be accounted for in the proper management of the aftermath of a nuclear accident. The contamination of the Pripyat River water following the inundation of a floodplain heavily contaminated by 90Sr and 137Cs of Chernobyl origin is used as the basis for modelling. The available experimental evidence demonstrated that remobilisation of radiostrontium is an important process implying a significant secondary radioactive load of water flowing over the contaminated floodplain. On the contrary, there is no empirical evidence of a similar behaviour for radiocaesium. In general, state-of-the-art models properly predicted the remobilisation of strontium, whereas they significantly overestimated radiocaesium concentrations in water. The necessary model improvements for a more accurate prediction of radiocaesium contamination levels include a reassessment of the values of the model parameters controlling the remobilisation process.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Energy
Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Authors
Luigi Monte, Raul PeriaƱez, Sergey Kivva, Gennady Laptev, Giacomo Angeli, Haydn Barros, Mark Zheleznyak,