Simulating the mesoscale transport of krypton-85. (January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Felsberg, Anne; Ross, J. Ole; Schlosser, Clemens; Kirchner, Gerald
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental radioactivity. Volume 181(2018)
• Page Start: 85
• Page End: 93
• Publication Date: 2018-01
• Subjects: Atmospheric transport modeling -- Uncertainty quantification -- Radiokrypton monitoring -- HYSPLIT code; Radioactivity -- Periodicals; Radiation, Background -- Periodicals; Radioecology -- Periodicals; Radioactive pollution -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollutants -- Periodicals; Radioactive Pollutants -- Periodicals; Radioactivity -- Periodicals; Radioécologie -- Périodiques; Pollution radioactive -- Périodiques; Fond de rayonnement -- Périodiques; 539.752
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.10.015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0265-931X

Abstract

Abstract: Due to its half-life, chemical inertness and low solubility in water, radioactive 85 Kr is a valuable tracer for testing the performance of atmospheric dispersion models in simulating long-range transport of pollutants. This paper evaluates the capability of simulating the dispersion of radiokrypton emitted by a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in north-west France. Three time periods during which elevated activity concentrations of 85 Kr in ground level air were detected in south-west Germany are chosen. Simulations have been performed using the HYSPLIT code and the European Centre for Median-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data base. Although their results show a slight trend of underestimating the measured 85 Kr concentrations, there is a significant correlation and moderate scatter between observations and simulations with about 50% of the results being within a factor of two of the measured concentrations. The simulated travel time distributions provided a valuable tool for providing additional insight into the dispersion of the tracer radionuclides and for identifying potential causes of deviations between measured and calculated concentrations. Highlights: 85 Kr from a fuel reprocessing plant occasionally is detected at 750 km distance. Atmospheric transport modeling results are correlated with observations. About 50% of the results are within a factor of two of the measurements.