Radiation Protection Monitoring in the vicinity of the Coal-Fired Power Plants G.K.Panteli, I.K.Petrovi, M.M.Eremi, S.

Milai Institute of Occupational and Radiological Health Dr Dragomir Karajovi, Belgrade INTRODUCTION
The monitoring of both the working and the general environment in and around coal-fired power plants is essential, in order to achieve the primary objectives of radiation protection. The systematic examination of radioactive contamination in various samples from the environment was performed at Dr Dragomir Karajovi Institute of Occupational and Radiological Health. Coal contains trace quantities of naturally occurring primordial radionuclides. The combustion of coal, in production of electrical power in coal-fired power stations, results in the enrichment of natural radionuclides in ashes and slags. The increase in activity concentrations during the transformation phase from coal to ash can be as great as one order of magnitude. In 1999, the systematic controls of radioactivity levels in the working and the general environment at the KOLUBARA power plant in Veliki Crljeni were continued. The aim of these control was: 1) To assess the increasing of levels of radioactivity above the natural levels, in the immediate and near vicinity of the power plant. 2) To assess the corresponding effects of technologically enhanced natural radioactivity on the health of the population living and working in the given environments. Technologically enhanced natural radioactivity consists of that occurring from direct natural radiation sources that would not be present if there were no human activity in the form of the technological processes like power production. 3) To identify and establish the origin of possible localized sources of artificial radioactivity.

TYPES OF ANALYSES APPLIED AND SAMPLING FREQUENCY

In order to analyze the activity present, samples were collected once a year. The samples were collected and processed by means of the standard methods defined by the IAEA. The following types of measurements were performed: - measurement of total activity - gamma-spectrometry. Gamma-spectrometry analysis was performed for radionuclides of both natural and artificial origin from the uranium and thorium series, and for potassium-40, for radionuclides of cosmic origin, artificial radionuclides originating from fall-out, and also for activation radionuclides (i.e. 134Cs, 137Cs, 144Ce, 141Ce, 95Zr, 95 Nb, 51Cr, 103Ru, 106Ru, 65Zn, 60Co, 54Mn). The levels of the latter nuclides are controlled for the purposes of determining the possible presence of artificial sources of radioactivity from, for example, incineration of radioactive waste. Analyses were performed on the following types of samples: - coal - slag and cauldron ash - electrofilter ash resulting from the production process - slag and ash from dumps - soil from the immediate vicinity of dumps - soil from cultivated land within a range of 10 km distance from the power plant - plants from this same land - waste waters from dumps.

MEASURING METHODS
Measurement of total alpha and total beta activity was performed using an automatic alpha-beta counter of the type Countmaster (with levels for relative sample preparation and measurement error of 10%).

Gamma-spectrometry measurements were performed using HPGe detectors - with a resolution of 1.85 keV, and a relative efficiency of 25%, at an energy level of 1.33 MeV - manufactured by ORTEC (levels of relative sample preparation and measuring error of 10%). Measurement of the absorbed gamma dose rate in air was performed at the site with the model MRK-M 87 dosimeter manufactured by Rudi ajevec (relative measuring error 10%).

MEASURING RESULTS
The results of the measurements are presented in Tables 1 and 2. These permit the following conclusions to be drawn: - The content in natural radionuclides determined in coal used at the Kolubara power plant is within the normal range for the type of coal - Ash and slag from the production processes applied in the power plant proved to contain increased concentrations of natural radionuclides, while none of the artificial radionuclides could be detected - The content of natural radionuclides in dumps proved to be higher than the corresponding average content in soil. The difference in the content of radionuclides determined in passive and active filter cassettes was not statistically significant. Average annual levels for activities of natural radionuclides in slag and ash from dumps for the period from 1992 to 1999 are shown in Figure 1. Table 1: Results of gamma-spectrometry measurements Samples coal slag electrofilter ash slag and ash (dump A) slag and ash (dump A) slag and ash (dump A) slag and ash (dump B) slag and ash (dump B) slag and ash (dump B) soil, 0-5 cm (dump B) soil, 0-5 cm (dump B) soil, 0-5 cm (dump B) soil, 0-5 cm (dump B) non-cultivated soil, 0-5 cm depth, (immediate vicinity of dump) cultivated soil, 0-5 cm depth, (immediate vicinity of dump) plants (dump B) U Bq/kg 28 12 150 27 229 31 74 37 105 31 118 43 75 31 44 19 150 39 65 17 52 22 46 18 87 29 36 18 68 19 < 4.6
238

Ra Bq/kg 43 10 136 17 160 21 86 16 77 10 173 22 109 17 45 10 116 15 59 10 64 13 48 9 66 11 62 13 42 9 < 6.2

226

Th Bq/kg 27 2 92 6 95 6 60 3 48 3 97 4 82 4 48 3 75 15 56 4 66 3 45 2 63 3 40 2 65 4 5.5 0.6

232

K Bq/kg 158 11 305 16 272 18 283 14 266 15 312 16 493 20 407 15 359 20 463 22 608 22 421 16 590 26 351 14 659 28 113 6

40

Cs Bq/kg < 0.7 <1 < 1.5 < 1.3 <1 < 1.6 8.5 0.9 2.7 0.5 < 1.4 2.0 0.5 2.7 0.5 13.8 0.7 21.7 1.2 193 5 9.3 0.7 0.4 0.2

137

Be Bq/kg < 4.1 < 14 < 11 14 7 < 7.4 < 14 11 6 < 7.2 21 9 15 6 9 5 11.5 0.4 13 6 18 8 9 5 208 8

cultivated soil, 0-5 cm depth, from the village of Veliki Crljeni waste water (channel) waste water (drain)

51 16 < 1.6 < 1.6

55 11 < 0.7 < 0.7

49 3 < 0.1 < 0.1

454 21 0.40 0.09 0.42 0.09

28.8 1.4 < 0.05 < 0.04

11 5 < 0.4 < 0.3

Table 2: Total alpha and total beta activity in the waste water Samples waste water (channel) waste water (drain) Total activity Bq/m3 < 10 65.6 9.8 Total activity Bq/m3 52.6 7.9 102 15

The results of measurements for specific activities in coal, slag and electrofilter ash indicate the following: - 238U and 226Ra are in a state of radioactive equilibrium in coal samples - slag and ash contain increased levels of natural radionuclides - electrofilter ash contains - to a large degree increased concentrations of natural radionuclides (see Figure 2). Natural radionuclide content in dumps is several times higher than the corresponding average content of natural radionuclides in soil. Along with the natural radionuclides determined in materials from dumps we also detected the longlived radionuclides of artificial origin, 137Cs, and cosmogenic 7Be. These are also to be found in soil in the surroundings, as well as at control sites beyond the range of influences from the power plant. None of the shortlived radionuclides, or radionuclides with medium-range half-lives, of artificial origin, were detected. Measurements of the absorbed gamma dose rate in air at 1 m above the surface of the ground were performed simultaneously to sample collection. The values obtained in the results range from 0.08-0.17 Gy/h. Higher levels of natural radioactivity at the dumps do not contribute significantly to the increased levels of external and internal exposure to the workers employed at these sites. The measured values indicated that waste waters do not influence the activity levels of the waste waters, which can be expected, since radionuclides mainly remain in the insoluble ash and slag.
6 0 0

5 0 0 Activity (Bq/kg)

4 0 0

3 0 0

2 0 0

1 0 0

0 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 K -4 0 1 9 9 5 R a -2 2 6 1 9 9 6 T h -2 3 2 1 9 9 7 U -2 3 8 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9

Figure 1: Average annual activity levels for natural radionuclides in slag and ash from dumps
4 0 0

3 5 0

3 0 0 Activity (Bq/kg)

2 5 0

2 0 0

1 5 0

1 0 0

5 0

0 K -4 0 R a 2 2 6 C o a l S la g T h 2 3 2 E le c t ro f ilt e ra s h U 2 3 8

Figure 2: Specific activities in coal, slag and electrofilter ash

EVALUATION OF HEALTH RISKS

The magnitude of potential levels of radiation exposure to a person living and working in the vicinity of the power plant was assessed on the basis of the measuring results indicated above. Periods of work and stay at dumps of 8 hours per day, for 260 days per year, were estimated to result in a dose of 0.1 mSv per year, additional to the dose due to the natural background (i.e. from cosmic radiation, cosmogenic radionuclides, and primordial radionuclides) which represents about 10% of the permitted dose laid down by the WHO, for individuals from the general population. The extent of internal exposure due to ingestion was assessed on the basis of the measured activities of natural and artificial radionuclides determined in food products samples obtained from households in agricultural communities living both in the immediate and more distant surroundings of the power plant. The values obtained did not differ significantly from the average values for Serbian population as a whole.

CONCLUSION
The measured activities of natural radionuclides in coal correspond to the values to be expected for the type of coal used. Ash and slag contain higher concentrations of natural radionuclides as compared to the original coal. None of the radionuclides of artificial origin were detected in coal, ash or slag. The concentrations of natural radionuclides at dumps were higher, but not so high as to produce a significant contribution in terms of increased doses of external and internal irradiation. None of the short-lived radionuclides of artificial origin were detected here. The content of radionuclides in the soils of ploughed land in the immediate vicinity of the dumps did not differ significantly from the corresponding content determined in soil from areas beyond the range of influences from the power station.

REFERENCES
1. T.Niewiadomski, M. Jasinska, P. Wasiolek, Enhancement of Population Dose due to Production of Electricity from Brown Coal in Poland, J. Environ. Radioactivity 3 (1986), 273-292

2.

Lj. Mijatovi, G. Panteli, D. Vukovi, Radiological risk originating from coal-fired power in stations in Serbia", 3rd General Conference of the Balkan Physical Union, Book of abstracts, Cluj-Napoca, Cluz, 1997, 420