Radon-based assessment of stability effects on potential radiological releases

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dc.contributor.authorChambers, SDen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, AGen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGaleriu, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorMelintescu, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorDuma, Men_AU
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-14T05:19:13Zen_AU
dc.date.available2016-06-14T05:19:13Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2016-05-09en_AU
dc.date.statistics2016-06-14en_AU
dc.description.abstractIt is a requirement of nuclear energy and research facilities to conduct continuous and comprehensive atmospheric monitoring in order to better forecast public or environmental exposure to routine or accidental releases of radioactive substances to the atmosphere. A key aspect of such monitoring programs is the assessment of the atmospheric mixing state (or “stability”). Whether these facilities are in dense urban areas, or surrounded by heavily vegetated exclusion zones, local roughness heterogeneity can hamper attempts to accurately categorise stability by conventional meteorological techniques. Based on an analysis of 8 months of hourly climatology and atmospheric radon observations from a 60 m tower at the IFIN-HH nuclear research facility (Bucharest, Romania), we develop and apply a continuous (i.e. not categorical) radon-based scheme for the classification of the nocturnal atmospheric stability state. We demonstrate the superior performance of the radon-based technique to Pasquill-Gifford or bulk Richardson number stability typing at this site where heterogeneous roughness elements reach to 15 m a.g.l. Under stable nocturnal conditions the Pasquill-Gifford scheme overestimates the atmosphere’s capacity to dilute pollutants with near-surface sources by 20% compared to the radon-based scheme. Under these conditions, near-surface wind speeds drop well below 1 m s-1 and nocturnal mixing depths vary from ~25 m to less than 10 m a.g.l. Climatological parameters are characterised by season and 4 arbitrarily-defined nocturnal stability categories. Benchmarks (based on 10/50/90th percentile distributions) of 30-60 m wind and temperature gradients are devised for each stability category for evaluation of model performance. Lastly, nocturnal radon-derived effective mixing depth estimates constrained by tower observations are used to better-constrain the seasonal variability in the Bucharest regional radon flux: 13 mBq m-2 s-1 (winter), 18 mBq m-2 s-1 (summer).en_AU
dc.identifier.booktitleHARMO 17, 17th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, Budapest, Hungary, 9 - 12 May 2016en_AU
dc.identifier.citationChambers, S., Williams, A., Galeriu, D., & Duma, M. (2016). Radon-based assessment of stability effects on potential radiological releases. Paper presented at the "HARMO", the 17th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, Budapest, Hungary, 9 - 12 May 2016. (pp. 558-563). In Bozó, L., Ferenczi, Z., & Puskás, M. T. (Eds.). HARMO 17, 17th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, Budapest, Hungary, 9 - 12 May 2016. Budapest, Hungary: Hungarian Meterological Service.en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate12 May 2016en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameHARMO', the 17th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposesen_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceBudapest, Hungaryen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate9 May 2016en_AU
dc.identifier.editorsBozó, L., Ferenczi, Z., & Puskás, M. T.en_AU
dc.identifier.govdoc6640en_AU
dc.identifier.otherH17-8en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination558-563en_AU
dc.identifier.placeofpublicationBudapest, Hungryen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.harmo.org/Conferences/Proceedings/_Budapest/publishedSections/PPT/H17-001_oral.pdfen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/6977en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherHARMOen_AU
dc.subjectRadonen_AU
dc.subjectStabilityen_AU
dc.subjectRadiologyen_AU
dc.subjectAtmospheresen_AU
dc.subjectWinden_AU
dc.subjectMonitoringen_AU
dc.titleRadon-based assessment of stability effects on potential radiological releasesen_AU
dc.typeConference Paperen_AU
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