Quantifying the Societal Risks of Nuclear Power Plant Accidents

The objective of this research is to assess the potential societal consequences from extensive ground contamination following the release of radiological material from a nuclear power plant accident. Using the WinMACCS code, ground concentrations of cesium are calculated for a radial grid of land around the plant, and the projected one-year groundshine doses to inhabitants in those areas are determined. For areas where doses exceed the habitability criterion established by the U.S. EPA, the land would have to be vacated for at least one year. Using data from the Census Bureau, the economic impact of this relocation is determined; this includes the total number of people relocated and the cost of doing so, lost business sales, and lost agricultural sales. Several different core inventory release fractions are considered, based on scenarios detailed in the NRC’s NUREG-1150 and State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses studies. Ultimately, data for frequency-consequence curves are calculated for four different sites across the United States, and are combined to create an inclusive societal risk curve for nuclear power plant accidents. It is then compared with a background societal risk curve, which is constructed using data from wars, epidemics, natural disasters, and other risks to which the public is continually exposed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nuclear Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• McGhee, Sean A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Denning, Richard

• Nuclear Engineering
• risk assessments
• nuclear power plant accidents

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366035332

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1366035332