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Terrestrial Distribution of 14C in the Vicinity of Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2016

Zhongtang Wang ,
Yuanyi Xiang  and
Qiuju Guo
Zhongtang Wang
Affiliation:
1State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Yuanyi Xiang
Affiliation:
2Environmental Radiation Monitoring Center of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, China
Qiuju Guo*
Affiliation:
1State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
*
3Corresponding author. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

We used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) to study radiocarbon-specific activity levels in agricultural and botanical samples (moss and pine needles) distributed within a 6.5-km radius of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The 14C-specific activity in moss samples (ranging from 265.6 to 223.0 Bq/kg C) decreased with increased distance from the stacks of Plant III (heavy water reactor) and reached the background level (223.8 Bq/kg C) at 6.5 km distance. Compared to the pine needles, the moss was a better indicator for investigating the 14C distribution near Qinshan NPP. The 14C-specific activity distribution in moss samples showed that the diffusion of 14C discharged from the Qinshan NPP was affected by both geographical and meteorological factors. Excess 14C-specific activity in the food samples ranged from 8.5 to 13.0 Bq/kg C (except for rice samples), resulting in a minimal radiation dose of 0.5 μSv per year to the public.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , 2013 , pp. 59 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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