NPP Nuclear Power Reactors as 14C Sources

Abstract

Research has determined the actual ¹⁴C emissions from all types of reactors. The average emissions are (TBq/yr): VVER-440 (V-179, -230) 3.1 ± 1.5; VVER-440 (V-213) 1.3 ± 0.5; VVER-1000 2.0 ± 0.7; RBMK-1000 2.4 ± 1.6. The obtained data agree satisfactorily with the calculations, so that they can be used to predict the emissions from commissioned power reactors. The normalized ¹⁴C emissions from different types of foreign reactors, which approximately correspond to domestic reactors, are presented in UNSCEAR reports. The total atmospheric emissions of ¹⁴C by NPP reactors over the entire period of their operation (in 2015) equaled ~1.34 PBq. Over this same period about 54 PBq of native ¹⁴C entered the carbon cycle of the Earth’s biosphere; this is almost 50 times greater than the surveyed NPP.