Use of a simulation model in occupational dose assessment at a high-level radioactive waste repository

Occupational radiation dose assessment at a nuclear facility can benefit from a systems approach that recognizes the complex dynamics of the facility. A simulation model can be a useful tool for accomplishing this goal. This technique can quantify the uncertainty in estimates of occupational dose equivalent and illustrate the effects of system interactions. A simulation model of operations at a high-level radioactive waste repository together with a radiological dose assessment model were used to illustrate this technique. Annual individual and collective occupational dose equivalents were estimated in the truck cask receiving and handling stations at a repository. The uncertainty of these estimates is shown through the use of complementary cumulative distribution functions. The effects of changing parameters in cask handling operations are examined.