Aerosol particle transport modeling for preclosure safety studies of nuclear waste repositories.

摘要

An important concern for preclosure safety analysis of a nuclear waste repository is the potential release to the environment of respirable aerosol particles. Such particles, less than 10 (mu)m in aerodynamic diameter, may have significant adverse health effects if inhaled. To assess the potential health effects of these particles, it is not sufficient to determine the mass fraction of respirable aerosol. The chemical composition of the particles is also of importance since different radionuclides may pose vastly different health hazards. Thus, models are needed to determine under normal and accident conditions the particle size and the chemical composition distributions of aerosol particles as a function of time and of position in the repository. In this work a multicomponent sectional aerosol model is used to determine the aerosol particle size and composition distributions in the repository. A range of aerosol mass releases with varying mean particle sizes and chemical compositions is used to demonstrate the sensitivities and uncertainties of the model. Decontamination factors for some locations in the repository are presented. 8 refs., 1 tab.