Simplified Groundwater Flow at Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract

As a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, significant amounts of radioactive materials have been introduced into the environment. Local and international organizations continue to monitor the situation and its effect on aquatic ecosystems as well as on human health. One of the many concerns after such an accident is the civil and construction work required to address such issues; however, multiple studies tend to consider nuclear power plant sites as being founded on soil when in reality such installations are founded on rock. Using real nuclear power plant structural geometries and field data, 2-D numerical simulations were conducted to estimate the amount of groundwater flow that could be expected. The results show the amount of groundwater flux to range from 0.07 to 46 m2/day, which from an engineering perspective is not that large. Because of this, maintenance and environmental safety workers could expect some groundwater intrusion when their excavations reach the rock boundary.