Göran Skog
Senior lecturer
Levels of C-14 in the terrestrial environment in the vicinity of two European nuclear power plants
Author
Summary, in English
Radiocarbon is produced in all types of nuclear reactors. Most of the C-14 released into the environment is in the form of gaseous emissions. Recent data on the C-14 concentration found in terrestrial samples taken in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in Romania and Lithuania are presented. We found increased C-14 levels in the surroundings of both power plants. At the Romanian power plant Cernavoda, we found excess levels of C-14 in grass within a distance of about 1000 in, the highest C-14 specific activity being 311 Bq/kg C (approximately 28% above the contemporary C-14 background) found at a distance of 200 in from the point of release (nearest sampling location). At the Lithuanian power plant Ignalina, samples of willow, pine, and spruce showed a C-14 excess of similar magnitude, while significantly higher values were found in moss samples. The samples were analyzed at the accelerator mass spectrometry facility in Lund, Sweden.
Department/s
- Nuclear physics
- Quaternary Sciences
- LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- Medical Radiation Physics, Malmö
Publishing year
2004
Language
English
Pages
863-868
Publication/Series
Radiocarbon
Volume
46
Issue
2
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Arizona Board of Regents (University of Arizona)
Topic
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging
Status
Published
Research group
- Medical Radiation Physics, Malmö
- AMS, Nuclear Physics
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0033-8222