Levels of (super 14) C in the terrestrial environment in the vicinity of two European nuclear power plants.

Abstract

Radiocarbon is produced in all types of nuclear reactors. Most of the (super 14) C released into the environment is in the form of gaseous emissions. Recent data on the (super 14) C concentration found in terrestrial samples taken in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in Romania and Lithuania are presented. We found increased (super 14) C levels in the surroundings of both power plants. At the Romanian power plant Cernavoda, we found excess levels of (super 14) C in grass within a distance of about 1000 m, the highest (super 14) C specific activity being 311 Bq/kg C (approximately 28% above the contemporary (super 14) C background) found at a distance of 200 m from the point of release (nearest sampling location). At the Lithuanian power plant Ignalina, samples of willow, pine, and spruce showed a (super 14) C excess of similar magnitude, while significantly higher values were found in moss samples. The samples were analyzed at the accelerator mass spectrometry facility in Lund, Sweden.