Simulation of radionuclide atmospheric dispersion and dose assessment for inhabitants of Tehran province after a hypothetical accident of the Tehran Research Reactor

Abstract

Radiological dose assessment is one of the main categories of safety assessment for nuclear reactors and facilities. The radiation risks to the public and to the environment that may arise from these facilities have to be assessed and, if necessary, controlled. The main objective of this paper is the assessment of radiation doses to residents of Tehran province after a hypothetical accident of the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) including the determination of any protective actions that might be needed for the benefit of people’s health. The concentration of radionuclides in air and deposited on the ground surface as a result of a hypothetical radionuclide release from the TRR, following a hypothetical accident scenario, have been calculated by the HYSPLIT computer code. Simulations were performed using selected source terms taken from the TRR Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). Meteorological data of the Air Resources Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been used in these calculations. The simulation results indicate that maximum annual total effective dose equivalent values for the residents of the Tehran province are less than the protective action dose limits. Thus, it is concluded that during this hypothetical accident in the TRR, required safety due to public radiation is achieved and the residents of Tehran province are safe under a TRR accident condition.