Assessment of state-of-the-art models for predicting the remobilisation of radionuclides following the flooding of heavily contaminated areas: the case of Pripyat River floodplain.
The performances of models are assessed to predict the wash-off of radionuclides from contaminated flooded areas. This process should be accounted for in the proper management of the aftermath of a nuclear accident. The contamination of the Pripyat River water following the inundation of a floodplain heavily contaminated by (90)Sr and (137)Cs of Chernobyl origin is used as the basis for modelling. The available experimental evidence demonstrated that remobilisation of radiostrontium is an important process implying a significant secondary radioactive load of water flowing over the contaminated floodplain. On the contrary, there is no empirical evidence of a similar behaviour for radiocaesium. In general, state-of-the-art models properly predicted the remobilisation of strontium, whereas they significantly overestimated radiocaesium concentrations in water. The necessary model improvements for a more accurate prediction of radiocaesium contamination levels include a reassessment of the values of the model parameters controlling the remobilisation process.
Monte
Luigi
L
ENEA CR Casaccia, via P. Anguillarese, 301 cp 2400, 00100 Rome, Italy. monte@casaccia.enea.it
Periañez
Raul
R
Kivva
Sergey
S
Laptev
Gennady
G
Angeli
Giacomo
G
Barros
Haydn
H
Zheleznyak
Mark
M
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D004190:Disasters; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D045483:Rivers; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes; D014455:Ukraine; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive
D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive