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INGE 2011 Yogyakarta Workshop, Justin McIntyre1, Steve Biegalski2, Ted Bowyer1, Matt Copper1, Paul Eslinger1, Jim Hayes1, Derek Haas1, Harry Miley1, J.P. Rishel1, Vincent Woods1
1 2
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the United States Government, the United States Department of Energy, or the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Outline
Event Network Atmospheric Transport Detections Isotopic Ratios Conclusions
Material in this presentation is covered in more depth in the following journal submissions.
S. Biegalski, et al., US Particulate and Xenon Measurements Made Following the Fukushima Reactor Accident, accepted for publication in Jour. of Envir Radioactivity, 2011 T. Bowyer, et al., Elevated Radioxenon Detected Remotely Following the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. Jour. of Envir. Radioactivity 102 (7):681-687. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.04.009 P. Eslinger, et al., Source Term Estimation of Radioxenon Released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactors Using Measured Air Concentrations and Atmospheric Transport Modeling, to be submitted in Jour. of Envir. Radioactivity, 2011
Event
The March 11, 2011 9.0 magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan and subsequent tsunami waves triggered a major nuclear event at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. At the time of the event, units 1, 2, and 3 were operating and units 4, 5, and 6 were in a shutdown condition for maintenance.
Oahu, HI
Palmer Station
131I
Activity Concentration
131I
Activity Concentration
133Xe
Activity Concentration
Isotopic Ratios
SCALE6/ORIGEN-ARP models were conducted to model predicted isotopic ratios (same models used for inventory calculations). Comparisons were made between model and measurements. Good comparison adds validity to models and to measurements. Shows that all stations are measuring the same event.
133I/131I
Activity Ratios
134Cs/137Cs
136Cs/137Cs
133Xe/131mXe
Aerosol Observations/ Lessons Aerosol Network Take Away Points (2) Potential improvements
Learned
Initial RASA measurements were possible before the filter was measured Detector may need additional shielding from environmental influences Intermittent power loss was significant at RN-38 Improved mechanisms for recovery from power loss Takes ~3 days to get sample counted and reported Need first look early response systems with real time measurements (e.g., NaI, CsI) for high activity events Suggest the need for a emergency situation software script or state to reduce per-sample activity (sample for 6, 12, or 24 hours) Potential to incorporate future accident measurements into existing radiological safety protocols (discussed at ISS-11) Not unlike the seismic network tie in after the 2005 Tsunami Clearly outside of the original scope of the network
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Conclusions
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SAUNA dead time observed in samples with elevated count rate and was significant with very high count rates Sauna dead time corrections needed Initial high Xe levels saturated the RN-38 detector so no spectral analysis was possible Nuclear detector electronics needs to be updated to handle high count rate The MDC of the detector was highly effected from high memory effect Research and implementation on reduction of memory effect necessary (in progress). Inconsistencies with meta-stable ratios.
Need to re-analzye data sets Need better analysis methods (currently working on SDAT ). Desire >2X improvement in conversion electron resolution
Xe was first observed at Richland WA which is not part of the IMS network Need higher density of Xe systems
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Conclusions
The IMS network demonstrated that it is capable of measuring and reporting radionuclides from a single event across the globe. Measurements were significantly above the detection limits for many systems. Combination of atmospheric transport, radiation detection, and reactor modeling were fused to provide a picture of the event. Careful analysis mitigates source blinding More data analysis is required to demonstrate and further enhance second event detection.
Background slides
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137Cs
Activity Concentration
Combining atmospheric transport, ground measurements, and inventory shows that between 85% and 103% of radioxenon inventory was released from the three reactors.