Title: The assessment of the absorbed dose of radiation around a nuclear fuel manufacturing plant

Authors: Seyed Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri, Neda Bostani, Manuchehr Roshanzamir

Addresses: Department of Radiation Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Radiation Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. ' Department of Radiation Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: The estimation of the absorbed dose of radiation by the public around a nuclear plant is a substantial issue for nuclear industries and serves as an essential factor in radiation protection. In this study, the absorbed dose of radiation by the individuals living around a nuclear fuel manufacturing plant was calculated. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) code, which is the generalised version of the AIREM program manual – a computer code for calculating doses, population doses, and ground depositions due to atmospheric emissions of radionuclides – was used to investigate the following pathways: cloud immersion, ground deposition, inhalation and ingestion. The study was carried out in 16 geographical directions over an 80 km radius. The experimental results demonstrate that the maximum dose is absorbed at 800 m distance from the nuclear plant stack in the east southeast (ESE) direction and is equal to 3.7 × 10³ μSv, which is negligible in comparison with the background radiation.

Keywords: absorbed dose; AIREM code; AFM code; background radiation; nuclear fuel manufacturing plant; radiation protection; nuclear energy; nuclear power; cloud immersion; ground deposition; inhalation; ingestion; low radiation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNGEE.2009.026514

International Journal of Nuclear Governance, Economy and Ecology, 2009 Vol.2 No.3, pp.237 - 249

Published online: 18 Jun 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article