First measurements of chlorine 36 (Cl) wet deposition fluxes in the vicinity of Orano La Hague nuclear reprocessing plant in France.

Chlorine 36 (Cl) is a radionuclide of natural and anthropogenic origin, mainly used as a tracer in geochemical studies. Owing to analytical constraints and its low environmental levels, knowledge of Cl behavior in the environment is still very limited. In this study, we use environmental measurements to report for the first time the wet deposition fluxes of Cl downwind an anthropogenic source, the Orano nuclear reprocessing plant, which chronically emits Cl into the environment.

First quantitative constraints on chlorine 36 dry deposition velocities on grassland: Comparing measurements and modelling results.

Once released into the atmosphere, radionuclide dry deposition represents a major transfer process. It can be accurately characterized by its deposition velocity. However, this parameter is poorly constrained for most radionuclides, including chlorine 36.

Iodine uptake in brown seaweed exposed to radioactive liquid discharges from the reprocessing plant of ORANO La Hague.

Iodine-129 is present in controlled liquid radioactive waste routinely released in seawater by the ORANO nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in La Hague (Normandy, France). Brown algae are known for their exceptional ability to concentrate iodine from seawater. They also potentially emit volatile iodine compounds in response to various stresses, such as during emersion at low tide.

Assessing tritium internalisation in zebrafish early life stages: Importance of rapid isotopic exchange.

"It appeared that OBT content in organisms was low with an OBT/TFWT ratio of about 8% for both stages (24 hpf and 96 hpf)." Should be read as "It appeared that OBT content in organisms was low with an OBT/TFWT ratio of about 8% and 14% at 24 hpf and 96 hphf respectively".

Measurement and modelling of gaseous elemental iodine (I) dry deposition velocity on grass in the environment.

Assessing the impact of radioactive iodine on humans subsequent to a nuclear accident requires a better understanding of its behaviour in the environment. An original approach aimed at developing a model constrained by data collected during experimental campaigns has been developed. These experimental campaigns, named MIOSEC 2 and MIOSEC 3 respectively, were conducted in the middle of grassland.

Assessing tritium internalisation in zebrafish early life stages: Importance of rapid isotopic exchange.

Tritium (H) is mainly released into the environment in the form of tritiated water (HTO) by nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. To better understand how organisms may be affected by contamination to H it is essential to link observed effects to a correct estimation of absorbed dose rates. Due to quick isotopic exchanges between H and hydrogen, H measurement is difficult in small organisms such as zebrafish embryo, a model in ecotoxicological assay.

Impacts of (14)C discharges from a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant on surrounding vegetation: Comparison between grass field measurements and TOCATTA-χ and SSPAM(14)C model computations.

This article compares and discusses the ability of two different models to reproduce the observed temporal variability in grass (14)C activity in the vicinity of AREVA-NC La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in France. These two models are the TOCATTA-χ model, which is specifically designed for modelling transfer of (14)C (and tritium) in the terrestrial environment over short to medium timescales (days to years), and SSPAM(14)C, which has been developed to model the transfer of (14)C in the soil-plant-atmosphere with consideration over both short and long timescales (days to thousands of years). The main goal of this article is to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the models studied, and to investigate if modelling could be improved through consideration of a much higher level of detail of plant physiology and/or higher number of plant compartments.

Comparison of RIMPUFF, HYSPLIT, ADMS atmospheric dispersion model outputs, using emergency response procedures, with (85)Kr measurements made in the vicinity of nuclear reprocessing plant.

The Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucléaire (IRSN) performed a series of (85)Kr air sampling campaigns at mesoscale distances (18-50 km) from the AREVA NC La Hague nuclear reprocessing plant (North West France) between 2007 and 2009. The samples were collected in order to test and optimise a technique to measure low krypton-85 ((85)Kr) air concentrations and to investigate the performance of three atmospheric dispersion models (RIMPUFF, HYSPLIT, and ADMS), This paper presents the (85)Kr air concentrations measured at three sampling locations which varied from 2 to 8000 Bq m(-3), along with the (85)Kr air concentrations output by the dispersion models. The dispersion models made reasonable estimates of the mean concentrations of (85)Kr field measurements during steady wind conditions.

The TOCATTA-χ model for assessing 14C transfers to grass: an evaluation for atmospheric operational releases from nuclear facilities.

Radioactive (14)C is formed as a by-product of nuclear power generation and from the operation of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants like AREVA-NC La Hague (North France), which releases about 15 TBq per year of (14)C into the atmosphere. This article evaluates a recently improved radioecology model (TOCATTA-χ) to assess (14)C transfers to grassland ecosystems under normal operating conditions. The new version of the TOCATTA model (TOCATTA-χ) includes developments that were derived from PaSiM, a pasture model for simulating grassland carbon and radiocarbon cycling.

Water to atmosphere fluxes of 131I in relation with alkyl-iodide compounds from the Seine Estuary (France).

This study presents an original work on measurements of stable and radioactive iodinated species in the Seine estuary (France), with estimates fluxes of volatile gaseous species from water to the atmosphere. Various iodinated compounds were identified in water and air in particular 131I in water, what is unusual. Concentrations and behaviour of iodinated elements in the Seine estuary seem similar to what has been observed in other European estuaries.