engleski

IMPACT OF REFUELLING OF THE KRŠKO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ON THE 14C ACTIVITY IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND PLANTS

Monitoring 14C activity in the atmospheric CO2 and in biological samples (fruits and vegetables) in the close vicinity of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was performed regularly since 2006 to estimate the possible influence of the plant on environmental 14C levels and the possible contribution to the effective dose of local population through food chain. Atmospheric CO2 on two locations was collected regularly every two months, while the biological samples (apples, corn, wheat and grass) were collected twice a year (in June/July and September/October) on several locations very close to the plant in a radius of about 1 km from the Krško NPP, as well as on the control point at Dobova, 12 km from the plant. Increase of 14C activity in atmospheric CO2 was always observed during and immediately after the refuelling of the power plant, which has been performed every 18 months, and it is more pronounced on the location in the SW-NE direction that coincided with the most pronounced wind directions. 14C activity in plants collected close to the Krško NPP is always higher than the activities on the control point, and depends both on the distance from the exhaust of the plant ventilation system and on wind direction. Significantly higher activities in plants collected after the spring refuelling in 2006 and 2009 was measured. This can be explained by the influence of plant effluents during the summer when the process of photosynthesis is the most prominent, while autumn effluents (2007 and 2010) do not significantly influence the 14C activity in plants. The maximum increase of total dose to local population due to the release of 14C from the Krško NPP in the years of spring refuelling was estimated to be 0.015 %, which is negligible.

14C; atmospheric CO2; plants; monitoring; environment

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