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Nankar DP, Patra AK, Joshi CP, Chandrakar A, Saradhi IV, Kumar AV. Studies on diurnal variation of atmospheric tritium concentration at a sampling location near to PHWR site in Semi-Arid Zone, India. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2023; 261:107123. [PMID: 36750002 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Tritium (3H) is one of the important long-lived radioisotopes in the gaseous effluent released from Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). For the first time, the studies on diurnal variation of atmospheric tritium concentration was carried out using an in-house developed automatic air moisture collection sampler at Kakrapar Gujarat site, India, where PHWRs are operational. Correlation of diurnal variation of atmospheric tritium concentration with meteorological parameters such as absolute humidity, ambient temperature and wind speed is studied and presented in this paper. Positive and significant correlation of atmospheric 3H concentration was observed with respect to the absolute humidity. Negative correlation was observed in ambient temperature and wind speed. The diurnal maximum and minimum of 3H concentration was found during 21.00-23.00 h (night) and 13.00-16.00 h (day), respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- D P Nankar
- Environmental Survey Laboratory, Environmental Studies Section, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division, BARC, Kakrapar Gujarat Site, P.O. Anumala, Surat District, Gujarat, 394651, India.
| | - A K Patra
- Environmental Survey Laboratory, Environmental Studies Section, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division, BARC, Kakrapar Gujarat Site, P.O. Anumala, Surat District, Gujarat, 394651, India
| | - C P Joshi
- Environmental Survey Laboratory, Environmental Studies Section, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division, BARC, Kakrapar Gujarat Site, P.O. Anumala, Surat District, Gujarat, 394651, India
| | - Amol Chandrakar
- Environmental Survey Laboratory, Environmental Studies Section, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division, BARC, Kakrapar Gujarat Site, P.O. Anumala, Surat District, Gujarat, 394651, India
| | - I V Saradhi
- Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division (EMAD), BARC, Mumbai, 400 085, India
| | - A Vinod Kumar
- Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Division (EMAD), BARC, Mumbai, 400 085, India
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Fang HF, Wang CF, Lin CK. Improving distillation method and device of tritiated water analysis for ultra high decontamination efficiency. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2015; 150:62-67. [PMID: 26295438 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
It is important that monitoring environmental tritiated water for understanding the contamination dispersion of the nuclear facilities. Tritium is a pure beta radionuclide which is usually measured by Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC). The average energy of tritum beta is only 5.658 keV that makes the LSC counting of tritium easily be interfered by the beta emitted by other radionuclides. Environmental tritiated water samples usually need to be decontaminated by distillation for reducing the interference. After Fukushima Nucleaer Accident, the highest gross beta concentration of groundwater samples obtained around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is over 1,000,000 Bq/l. There is a need for a distillation with ultra-high decontamination efficiency for environmental tritiated water analysis. This study is intended to improve the heating temperature control for better sub-boiling distillation control and modify the height of the container of the air cooling distillation device for better fractional distillation effect. The DF of Cs-137 of the distillation may reach 450,000 which is far better than the prior study. The average loss rate of the improved method and device is about 2.6% which is better than the bias value listed in the ASTM D4107-08. It is proven that the modified air cooling distillation device can provide an easy-handling, water-saving, low cost and effective way of purifying water samples for higher beta radionuclides contaminated water samples which need ultra-high decontamination treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Fa Fang
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taiwan.
| | - Chu-Fang Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hus University, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Kung Lin
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taiwan
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Elperin T, Fominykh A, Krasovitov B. Scavenging of radioactive soluble gases from inhomogeneous atmosphere by evaporating rain droplets. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2015; 143:29-39. [PMID: 25723733 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/01/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We analyze effects of inhomogeneous concentration and temperature distributions in the atmosphere, rain droplet evaporation and radioactive decay of soluble gases on the rate of trace gas scavenging by rain. We employ a one-dimensional model of precipitation scavenging of radioactive soluble gaseous pollutants that is valid for small gradients and non-uniform initial altitudinal distributions of temperature and concentration in the atmosphere. We assume that conditions of equilibrium evaporation of rain droplets are fulfilled. It is demonstrated that transient altitudinal distribution of concentration under the influence of rain is determined by the linear wave equation that describes propagation of a scavenging wave front. The obtained equation is solved by the method of characteristics. Scavenging coefficients are calculated for wet removal of gaseous iodine-131 and tritiated water vapor (HTO) for the exponential initial distribution of trace gases concentration in the atmosphere and linear temperature distribution. Theoretical predictions of the dependence of the magnitude of the scavenging coefficient on rain intensity for tritiated water vapor are in good agreement with the available atmospheric measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tov Elperin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pearlstone Center for Aeronautical Engineering Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, 84105 Beer-Sheva, Israel.
| | - Andrew Fominykh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pearlstone Center for Aeronautical Engineering Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, 84105 Beer-Sheva, Israel.
| | - Boris Krasovitov
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Pearlstone Center for Aeronautical Engineering Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, 84105 Beer-Sheva, Israel.
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Ravi PM, Rout S, Kumar A, Tripathi RM. A review of the studies on environmental transport and speciation analysis of radionuclides in India. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10967-014-3005-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Matsumoto T, Maruoka T, Shimoda G, Obata H, Kagi H, Suzuki K, Yamamoto K, Mitsuguchi T, Hagino K, Tomioka N, Sambandam C, Brummer D, Klaus PM, Aggarwal P. Tritium in Japanese precipitation following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant accident. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2013; 445-446:365-370. [PMID: 23361040 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2012] [Revised: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 12/20/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Tritium concentrations in Japanese precipitation samples collected after the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) were measured. Values exceeding the pre-accident background were detected at three out of seven localities (Tsukuba, Kashiwa and Hongo) southwest of the FNPP1 at distances varying between 170 and 220 km from the source. The highest tritium content was found in the first rainfall in Tsukuba after the accident; however concentrations were 500 times less than the regulatory limit for tritium in drinking water. Tritium concentrations decreased steadily and rapidly with time, becoming indistinguishable from the pre-accident values within five weeks. The atmospheric tritium activities in the vicinity of the FNPP1 during the earliest stage of the accident was estimated to be 1.5×10(3) Bq/m(3), which is potentially capable of producing rainwater exceeding the regulatory limit, but only in the immediate vicinity of the source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Matsumoto
- Isotope Hydrology Section, Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, 1400 Vienna, Austria.
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