3D representation of radioisotopic dose rates within nuclear plants for improved radioprotection and plant safety

VABØ Rune¹, PIOTROWSKI Leon², and RINDAHL Grete¹

1. Institutt for Energiteknikk, NO-1751 Halden, Norway (grete.rindahl@hrp.no)

2. Electricité de France, Research & Development, F-92140 Clamart, France (leon.piotrowski@edf.fr)

Abstract: A better awareness of the origin and nature of gamma doses in nuclear environments is demonstrated by visualizing the dose maps created by individual radionucleides that are present in radioactive contaminations. This isotopic representation of doses is much more informative than showing a map of the measured total doses. Two practical examples are given : (a) the placing of protections, and (b) using radiation decay to help plan dismantling operations. The necessary radionucleide information can be easily obtained by the new EDF CZT gamma spectrometer that is now used by all its NPPs. Defining radioactive sources based on such information enables the reconstruction of the radiation situation in a virtual 3-D environment. In such a virtual environment, dose rates can be calculated in any position in space and information about how much each radionucleide contributes can be extracted. Such 3D visualisations increase the awareness and knowledge of the distribution of radiation in a nuclear facility and can be considered as an educational tool for training and improved ALARA procedures.

Keyword: VR, dose, ALARA, CZT