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14C Distribution in Atmospheric and Aquatic Environments Around Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2016

Zhongtang Wang ,
Dan Hu ,
Hong Xu  and
Qiuju Guo
Zhongtang Wang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Dan Hu
Affiliation:
Environmental Radiation Monitoring Center of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, China
Hong Xu
Affiliation:
Environmental Radiation Monitoring Center of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, China
Qiuju Guo*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
*
3. Corresponding author. Email: qjguo@pku.edu.cn.
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Abstract

Atmospheric CO2 and aquatic water samples were analyzed to evaluate the environmental 14C enrichment due to operation of the Qinshan nuclear power plant (NPP), where two heavy-water reactors and five pressurized-water reactors are employed. Elevated 14C-specific activities (2–26.7 Bq/kg C) were observed in the short-term air samples collected within a 5-km radius, while samples over 5 km were close to background levels. The 14C-specific activities of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the surface seawater samples ranged from 196.8 to 206.5 Bq/kg C (average 203.4 Bq/kg C), which are close to the background value. No elevated 14C level in surface seawater was found after 20 years of operation of Qinshan NPP, indicating that the 14C discharged was well diffused. The results of the freshwater samples show that excess 14C-specific activity (average 17.1 Bq/kg C) was found in surface water and well water samples, while no obvious 14C increase was found in drinking water (groundwater and tap water) compared to the background level.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , 2014 , pp. 1107 - 1114
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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