NPP Nuclear Power Reactors as C-14 Sources

摘要

Research has determined the actual C-14 emissions from all types of reactors. The average emissions are (TBq/yr): VVER-440 (V-179, -230) 3.1 +/- 1.5; VVER-440 (V-213) 1.3 +/- 0.5; VVER-1000 2.0 +/- 0.7; RBMK-1000 2.4 +/- 1.6. The obtained data agree satisfactorily with the calculations, so that they can be used to predict the emissions from commissioned power reactors. The normalized C-14 emissions from different types of foreign reactors, which approximately correspond to domestic reactors, are presented in UNSCEAR reports. The total atmospheric emissions of C-14 by NPP reactors over the entire period of their operation (in 2015) equaled 1.34 PBq. Over this same period about 54 PBq of native C-14 entered the carbon cycle of the Earth's biosphere; this is almost 50 times greater than the surveyed NPP.