Evaluating emergency response models of radiological dispersion in complex terrain

Operational airborne releases of trace quantities of the radioactive noble gas 41Ar from the HIFAR Nuclear Research Reactor located in Sydney, Australia, are valuable for evaluating emergency response models incorporating radiological dispersion. A network of meteorological stations and GR–150 environmental gamma dose detectors are placed in the complex terrain within a 5 km radius of the site. Predictions from the model combination LSMC/RIMPUFF are evaluated using 15 min 41Ar peak observations from the detector network during 2002–2003 under a range of atmospheric stability conditions. Statistical analyses are carried out to compare the results against previous evaluations.

Keywords: model evaluation, atmospheric dispersion modelling, gamma monitoring systems, emergency response models, complex terrain, detectors, radiological dispersion, environmental pollution, air pollution, air quality, radioactive noble gases, nuclear reactors, gamma radiation, atmospheric stability, nuclear energy, nuclear power