Abstract Atmospheric tritium discharges from nuclear power plants (NPPs) may have a significant impact on the population and should be constrained by radiation safety requirements. In this study we show that the spray ponds used for water cooling in some Russian NPPs are liable to state registration and regulation in accordance with national legislation. A comparison of possible conservative approaches to assess the intensity of tritium releases from the spray ponds was carried out using the example of the Balakovo NPP. Estimates of the evaporated water amount varied from 35 000 to 60 000 m3 over the 82-day period of stable snow cover in 2016–2017. These estimates corresponded to the total tritium activity discharged into the atmosphere during the evaporation from all spray ponds in the range from 5.2 × 1011 to 9.7 × 1011 Bq. The power of the source was from 7.4 × 104 to 1.4 × 105 Bq/s according to the thermodynamic and thermophysical approaches, respectively. The results of the investigation confirm the assumption that the spray ponds of the Balakovo NPP are a standardized source of tritium releases and should be constrained by setting airborne discharge limits.

中文翻译：

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Balakovo 核电厂喷水池大气中的保守氚暴露评估

摘要 核电厂 (NPP) 的大气氚排放可能对人口产生重大影响，应受到辐射安全要求的约束。在这项研究中，我们表明，一些俄罗斯核电厂用于水冷却的喷水池可以根据国家立法进行国家注册和监管。以 Balakovo 核电厂为例，对评估喷淋池氚释放强度的可能保守方法进行了比较。在 2016-2017 年 82 天的稳定积雪期间，蒸发水量的估计值从 35 000 到 60 000 立方米不等。这些估计对应于所有喷水池蒸发过程中排放到大气中的氚总活度，范围为 5.2 × 1011 至 9.7 × 1011 Bq。根据热力学和热物理方法，源的功率分别为 7.4 × 104 至 1.4 × 105 Bq/s。调查结果证实了这样的假设，即 Balakovo 核电厂的喷水池是标准的氚排放源，应通过设置空气排放限值来加以约束。