Carbon-14 levels in the vicinity of the Lithuanian nuclear power plant Ignalina

Diverse Monitoring Approaches Reveal 14C Dispersion Pattern and Its Impact on the Environment around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant

“…It is well documented that 14 C is released into the atmosphere by nuclear power plants during their routine operations, 5) and there are actually many publications reporting enhanced 14 C concentrations in the vicinity of nuclear power plants around the world. 7,9,11) In Japan, Momoshima et al 27) reported that the 14 C concentration in vegetation samples collected near a nuclear power plant (BWR) was on average about 20 Bq kg-C À1 higher than that collected far from the plant. In this study, two samples of rice grains that were taken from areas relatively close to nuclear power plants showed a slight excess of 14 C above the average (Fig.…”

“…A substantial number of recent publications tell us of the growing concern about 14 C releases from nuclear facilities and their impacts on the environment and the public, particularly in the vicinity of the facilities. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Carbon-14 is produced in nuclear reactors by the neutron reaction of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in coolant, fuel, and structural materials. 12) Some of the 14 C atoms formed in the coolant are released into the atmosphere during normal operations of the reactors at the power plant sites, whereas 14 C produced in the fuel is released at fuel reprocessing plant sites when the fuel is reprocessed.…”

Diverse Monitoring Approaches Reveal 14C Dispersion Pattern and Its Impact on the Environment around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant

“…It is well documented that 14 C is released into the atmosphere by nuclear power plants during their routine operations, 5) and there are actually many publications reporting enhanced 14 C concentrations in the vicinity of nuclear power plants around the world. 7,9,11) In Japan, Momoshima et al 27) reported that the 14 C concentration in vegetation samples collected near a nuclear power plant (BWR) was on average about 20 Bq kg-C À1 higher than that collected far from the plant. In this study, two samples of rice grains that were taken from areas relatively close to nuclear power plants showed a slight excess of 14 C above the average (Fig.…”

“…A substantial number of recent publications tell us of the growing concern about 14 C releases from nuclear facilities and their impacts on the environment and the public, particularly in the vicinity of the facilities. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Carbon-14 is produced in nuclear reactors by the neutron reaction of stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in coolant, fuel, and structural materials. 12) Some of the 14 C atoms formed in the coolant are released into the atmosphere during normal operations of the reactors at the power plant sites, whereas 14 C produced in the fuel is released at fuel reprocessing plant sites when the fuel is reprocessed.…”

Accelerator mass spectrometry

“…The 14 C content in annual tree rings of pine (Pinus), located at different distances from power plants has also been measured (Stenström et al, 1996b(Stenström et al, , 2002b. A detailed investigation concerning 14 C levels in terrestrial and fresh water samples from the vicinity of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania has been presented in Magnusson et al (2004Magnusson et al ( , 2007. Approximately 70 samples have been collected, including tree leaves and needles, grass, moss and soil profiles, as well as fresh water plants; covering a distance of up to 32 km from the plant.…”