Assessment of the Contamination by 14C Airborne Releases in the Vicinity of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant

A radiocarbon (14C) activity analysis in the tree rings around Ignalina nuclear power plant (INPP) has been carried out with the aim to test the hypothesis to use 14C tree-ring analysis data as a tool for the reconstruction of gaseous releases from NPP to the environment. The INPP has been in decomm...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiocarbon 2019-10, Vol.61 (5), p.1185-1197
Main Authors: Pabedinskas, Algirdas, Maceika, Evaldas, Šapolaitė, Justina, Ežerinskis, Žilvinas, Juodis, Laurynas, Butkus, Laurynas, Bučinskas, Laurynas, Remeikis, Vidmantas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic Impacts
Atmospheric diffusion
Atmospheric models
Carbon 14
Carbon cycle
Carbon dioxide
Conference Paper
Cosmic rays
Data analysis
Measurement techniques
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear reactors
Shutdowns
Tree rings
Trees
Ventilation
Wind direction
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A radiocarbon (14C) activity analysis in the tree rings around Ignalina nuclear power plant (INPP) has been carried out with the aim to test the hypothesis to use 14C tree-ring analysis data as a tool for the reconstruction of gaseous releases from NPP to the environment. The INPP has been in decommissioning state since the end of 2009. Tree-ring samples for 14C analysis were collected 7 yr after final power unit shutdown from the INPP vicinity. The samples from 5 sampling locations were collected, prepared and measured using the Single Stage Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (SSAMS). Data analysis represents observable Ignalina NPP influence by 14C increase up to 15 pMC (percent modern carbon) in tree rings. Good correlations of the 14C concentrations and wind direction were obtained. The main purpose of this article was to match 14C measurement data along with the atmospheric dispersion modeling of emissions in order to retrospectively characterize the emission source.
ISSN:0033-8222
1945-5755
DOI:10.1017/RDC.2019.77