title: Distribution of carbon 14 in the terrestrial environment close to French nuclear power plants.
abstract: For 10 years, (14)C measurements have been performed around French nuclear power plant sites, both in zones influenced and zones not influenced by gaseous releases. Examining the results from these measurements in the terrestrial environment shows that the discharges have a very slight impact on the radiocarbon level (with a relative increase in the specific activity of the order of 3 Bqkg(-1)C in the influenced areas). In correlation, there is a near-negligible increase in dose, on average less than 0.1 microSvyr(-1), with reference to a dose from background radiation, which is of the order of 10 microSvyr(-1). The deltaC13 values are very similar between the influenced zone and the non-influenced zone, with a mean of -27 per thousand. The mean DeltaC14 varies from 101 per thousand in the non-influenced zone to 123 per thousand in the influenced zone. Moreover, a general reduction in (14)C concentration was found, with a time constant of the order of 95 years. The current level of (14)C specific activity in terrestrial environment is estimated to be 242+/-6 Bqkg(-1)C.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude Radioécologique du milieu Continental et Marin, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, DEI/SESURE/LERCM, Cadarache, Bât.153, B.P. 3, 13115 St-Paul-lez-Durance Cedex, France. sylvie.roussel-debet@irsn.fr
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roussel-Debet
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gontier
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Siclet
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fournier
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D011210:Power Plants; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants