Assessing the potential radiological impacts on Vietnam from a hypothetical accident at a nearby Chinese nuclear power plant

Abstract

Abstract We assess the radiological impact on Vietnam from a hypothetical accident at the Fanchenggang nuclear power plant (F-NPP), 65 km from Vietnam’s Mongcai city. The accident was assumed to release, among other types of radionuclides, 1E + 16 Bq 131I in 24 h. The simulation of radioactive plumes using the FLEXPART model has revealed peak concentrations of radionuclides in the air and dry and wet depositions on the ground marking the passage of radioactive plumes over the receptor sites. The northeast monsoon wind drives the peak dry depositions in winter, while the peak wet depositions are associated mainly with the high monsoon rainfall in summer. The accident impact, reflected in the frequency of plume passage over the receptor site and the resultant radiation dose to people, decreases exponentially with the distance to F-NPP. The impact on Mongcai was most severe, implying people would be advised to stay indoors during plume passage. Meanwhile, at Danang, 630 km south of F-NPP, the impact was insignificant, as plumes rarely passed through, and the maximum dose was as low as the annual dose due to exposure from naturally occurring radionuclides in soils.