CAP88-PC tritium ingestion model inconsistencies.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Radiation Protection
• Nuclear Safety

Background:

• CAP88-PC is an EPA-approved code for National Emission Standard for Hazardous Pollutants (NESHAP) compliance.
• The code assesses radiation dose from environmental releases.
• Tritium dose calculations within CAP88-PC have known inconsistencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and address inconsistencies in the tritium ingestion dose methodology within the CAP88-PC code.
• To evaluate the impact of outdated parameters on tritium dose assessments.
• To propose corrections for improved accuracy in NESHAP compliance.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of tritium ingestion dose methodology against other radionuclides in CAP88-PC.
• Identification of outdated tritium ingestion dose conversion factors.
• Review of hard-coded, outdated food consumption parameters specific to tritium.

Main Results:

• Significant inconsistencies were found in the tritium ingestion model compared to other radionuclides.
• Outdated tritium ingestion dose conversion factors and food consumption parameters were confirmed.
• Correcting these parameters could lead to an approximate 50% reduction in calculated tritium dose in specific scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The current CAP88-PC code contains outdated parameters affecting tritium dose calculations.
• Updating these parameters is crucial for accurate NESHAP compliance and radiation dose assessment.
• Revised calculations show a potential for substantial dose reduction, highlighting the need for code updates.