Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 4.7
Radioactive emissions (airborne and liquid) from a PWR- and a BWR-plant site with
two reactors [
12
]
PWR plant,
Neckarwestheim,
Germany
BWR-plant,
Gundremmingen,
Germany
Isotope
Half-life
Airborne effluents Bq/(GW(e)
year)
∙
10
11
10
11
Tritium
12.3 year
2.1
2.0
10
10
10
11
C-14
5,730 year
0.5
3.0
10
11
10
11
Ar-41
1.8 h
2.3
1.0
10
4
Co-60
5.3 year
2.4
2.5
10
9
Kr-85m
4.5 h
1.0
10
11
1.5
10
11
Kr-85
10.8 year
0.7
10
8
0.8
10
9
Kr-88
2.8 h
0.4
10
7
I-131
8.0 day
0.9
10
10
3.3
10
10
Xe-131m
11.9 day
0.7
10
8
1.2
10
9
Xe-133m
2.2 day
1.8
10
9
5.19
10
10
Xe-133
5.2 day
1.1
10
10
1.07
10
11
Xe-135
9.1 h
2.2
10
7
2.26
10
11
Xe-137
3.8 min
Liquid effluents in Bq/(GW(e)
∙
year)
Fission + activation products
10
6
10
8
0.7
3.2
10
13
10
12
Tritium
12.3 year
1.2
1.3
α
-Emitters
Below measurement
limit
Below measurement
limit
4.7.1.2 Radioactive Effluents from PWRs and BWRs in the US
Data for radioactive effluents from nuclear reactors were collected between 1994
and 2009 in the USA for 104 Light Water Reactors [
24
]. The gaseous radioactive
effluents of these 69 BWRs and 35 PWRs are about equal to the German data
(previous Section) if compared on a GW(e)
year basis. This also holds for a
comparison of the liquid effluents of PWRs and BWRs on a GW(e)
∙
year basis.
The reason is the very similar safety design of US and German or European PWR
Although there are inherent design differences between LWRs and CANDU-
PHWRs or HTGRs also these types of power reactors have similar radioactivity
releases below the radiation limits described in Sect.
4.6
. Nuclear power plants are
equipped with instruments to measure continuously the amounts of gaseous and
liquid radioactive effluents. These data must be reported to national environmental
protection agencies or nuclear regulatory commissions. Such reports are made
available to the public.
∙
