Simulation of Hypothetical Radiological Accident at Potential Nuclear Power Plant Sites in Malaysia

Abstract

After any nuclear incident, the main concern for human well-being is the extent of radiation released beyond the site. This study simulated a similar scenario on three potential nuclear power plant sites in Malaysia, using the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident as a reference. The computer model Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) was used to simulate and track the movement of air parcels and the dispersion of radioactive emissions. HYSPLIT analyzed the dispersion profile of radioactive materials, revealing that in S1, S2, and S3, the maximum ground dose was 7.9 mSv, 28.0 mSv, and 7.6 mSv, respectively. The maximum activity deposited on the ground was 62 MBq, 210 MBq, and 14 MBq for S1, S2, and S3, respectively. The analysis of ground deposition indicated that S1 covered an estimated area of 1500 km2, S2 covered 3025 km2, and S3 had the largest coverage of approximately 4537 km2. Overall, this study demonstrates that the hypothetical accident would contaminate the vicinity of the three potential nuclear power plant (NPP) sites.