Effect of the Duration Time of a Nuclear Accident on Radiological Health Consequences

Hyojoon Jeong, Misun Park, Haesun Jeong, Wontae Hwang, Eunhan Kim and Moonhee Han
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Hyojoon Jeong: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
Misun Park: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
Haesun Jeong: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
Wontae Hwang: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
Eunhan Kim: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
Moonhee Han: Nuclear Environment and Safety Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 989-111, Daedeok-daero, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: This study aimed to quantify the effect of duration time of a nuclear accident on the radiation dose of a densely populated area and the resulting acute health effects. In the case of nuclear accidents, the total emissions of radioactive materials can be classified into several categories. Therefore, the release information is very important for the assessment of risk to the public. We confirmed that when the duration time of the emissions are prolonged to 7 hours, the concentrations of radioactive substances in the ambient air are reduced by 50% compared to that when the duration time of emission is one hour. This means that the risk evaluation using only the first wind direction of an accident is very conservative, so it has to be used as a screening level for the risk assessment. Furthermore, it is judged that the proper control of the emission time of a nuclear accident can minimize the health effects on residents.

Keywords: nuclear accident; radiological health consequences; Gaussian plume model; public health; emission characteristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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