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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Atmospheric dispersion modeling for an accidental release from a SLOWPOKE-2 research reactor: a case study
Haile T Dennis1, Charles N Grant2, John A Preston2
1International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, 2 Anguilla Close, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica. haile.dennis02@uwimona.edu.jm.
Abstract:
Atmospheric dispersion modeling was performed for a postulated design basis accident at a SLOWPOKE research reactor. The MCNP-5 computer code was used to estimate the neutron flux spectrum which was then used in the ORIGEN-S code to perform core depletion calculations and determine the radiological source term. The HotSpot health physics code was then used to model the atmospheric transport of the radioactive material released to estimate the resulting doses to the population downwind of the reactor. The highest total effective dose (TED) for a release from the reactor's exhaust stack in predominant meteorological conditions, stability class C, was 0.37 mSv, while a maximum TED of 4.29 mSv was estimated for a release at ground level. Ground deposition was estimated to be 3900 kBq/m2. It was shown that any hypothetical release of radioactive material resulting from such an accident would have no significant adverse effect on the municipal water reservoir close to the reactor.
