Long-term risk assessment of possible accidental release of nuclear power plants in complex terrains with respect to synoptic weather patterns

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated effort of a long-term risk analysis for the emergency response of nuclear power plants in complex terrains. Use of coupled source term, fate and transport, and exposure assessment models associated with eight synoptic weather patterns successfully provides timely and reasonably accurate long-range prognostic wind fields to simulate the possible exposure episodes and risk potential. The seamless integration of multi-scale simulation models in accordance with different release scenarios of process source term in the nuclear power plants permits the simulation of pollutant fate, transport, and deposition processes in multiple dimensions of atmospheric environment. With the aid of spatial analysis, the assessment of potential detrimental impacts for the accidental release of various nuclides from nuclear power plants becomes achievable. The practical implementation of this integrated modeling system was assessed by case studies at one existing nuclear power plant in southern Taiwan, China. Two- and three-dimensional fly-through visualization technologies make risk assessment practical and credible based on the differing weather patterns identified at the continental scale in advance.

Keywords

emergency response / risk analysis / nuclear power plant / source term model / puff model / mesoscale meteorological model / geographical information system