Atmospheric dispersion and ground deposition induced by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: A local-scale simulation and sensitivity study

Abstract Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP1) accident on March 2011, radioactive products were released in the atmosphere. Simulations at local scale (within 80 km of FNPP1) were carried out by the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) with the Gaussian Puff model pX, during the crisis and since then, to assess the radiological and environmental consequences. The evolution of atmospheric and ground activity simulated at local scale is presented with a “reference” simulation, whose performance is assessed through comparisons with environmental monitoring data (gamma dose rate and deposition). The results are within a factor of 2–5 of the observations for gamma dose rates (0.52 and 0.85 for FAC2 and FAC5), and 5–10 for deposition (0.31 for FAC2, 0.73 for FAC5 and 0.90 for FAC10). A sensitivity analysis is also made to highlight the most sensitive parameters. A source term comparison is made between IRSN's estimation, and those from Katata et al. (2012) and Stohl et al. (2011) . Results are quite sensitive to the source term, but also to wind direction and dispersion parameters. Dry deposition budget is more sensitive than wet deposition. Gamma dose rates are more sensitive than deposition, in particular peak values.