Environmental impact assessment of radioactive water pipe leakage at NPP Paks

Environmental impact of the leakage of radioactive water into the soil from a subsurface-pipeline on the site of NPP Paks was studied to assess the size of the contaminated area and to estimate the potential migration of radioisotopes. For this aim a comprehensive analysis study was performed on soil samples taken from the contaminated area. The activity concentration of representative radionuclides (such as 137Cs, 134Cs, 60Co, 54Mn, 7Be, 3H and 90Sr), the composition of soil, the distribution of radioactivity in different grain size fractions and the pH of soil were determined. Dissolving experiments with synthetic acidic rain water was also carried out. Results of the activity-measurements show that the average activity concentrations in the case of all isotopes are below the exemption limit given by the authority. The short-term migration of radioisotopes has been found to be negligible. Since pH of the soil is about natural and the radionuclides are very strongly bounded to the soil, the risk of the long-scale groundwater contamination is low

Fission products from the damaged Fukushima reactor observed in Hungary

Fission products, especially 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs from the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant have been detected many places worldwide shortly after the accident caused by natural disaster. To observe the spatial and temporal variation of these isotopes in Hungary, aerosol samples have been collected at five locations from late March to early May 2011: Institute of Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (ATOMKI, Debrecen, East-Hungary), Paks NPP (Paks, South-Central-Hungary) as well as at the vicinity of Aggtelek (Northeast-Hungary), Tapolca (West-Hungary) and Bátaapáti (Southwest-Hungary) settlements. In addition to the aerosol samples, dry/wet fallout samples have been collected at ATOMKI, and airborne elemental iodine and organic iodide samples have been collected at Paks NPP. The peak in the activity concentration of airborne 131I has been observed around 30 March (1-3 mBq/m3 both in aerosol samples and gaseous iodine traps) with slow decline afterwards. Aerosol samples of several hundred cubic meters of air showed 134Cs and 137Cs in detectable amounts along with 131I. The decay corrected inventory of 131I fallout at ATOMKI was 2.1±0.1 Bq/m2 at maximum in the observation period. Dose-rate contribution calculations show that the radiological impact of this event at Hungarian locations has been of no considerable concern