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Radon and Its Effect on the Radiation Situation in the Chernobyl NPP Sarcophagus

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During studies performed in 2010–2014, in the under-reactor rooms and deaerator stack of the sarcophagus at the Chernoby NPP, the average volume activity of radon was ~100 Bq/m3 and the average coefficient of equilibrium of radon and its daughter products was ~0.7. The maximum volume activity of radon reached 666 Bq/m3. The daughter products complicate radiation monitoring of the aerosol situation. In the inspected rooms of the under-reactor space and deaerator stack, the radiation exposure of workers due to inhalation of radon, thoron, and their daughter products can exceed 10% of the maximum admissible effective dose. It was determined that the carrier aerosols of the daughter products are submicron aerosols with active median aerodynamic diameter ~0.1 μm. The arch erected above the sarcophagus at the end of 2016 can degrade the radon radiation situation because of reduction of the natural ventilation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karpov Research Institute of Physical Chemistry (NIFKhI), Moscow, Russia

    B. I. Ogorodnikov

  2. Institute of Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants, Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences, Chernobyl, Ukraine

    V. E. Khan

Authors
  1. B. I. Ogorodnikov
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  2. V. E. Khan
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 125, No. 1, pp. 44–51. July, 2018.

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Ogorodnikov, B.I., Khan, V.E. Radon and Its Effect on the Radiation Situation in the Chernobyl NPP Sarcophagus. At Energy 125, 45–54 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-018-0440-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-018-0440-3

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