Urban working groups in the IAEA's model testing programmes

Overview from the MODARIA i and MODARIA II programmes

authored by: Kathleen M. Thiessen, Marija Zlata Boznar, Thomas W. Charnock, Sohan L. Chouhan, Lucia Federspiel, Boštjan Grašič, Zoran Grsic, Jan Helebrant, Sebastian Hettrich, Jiři HÅ¯lka, Won Tae Hwang, Sunita Kamboj, Volodymyr Korolevych, Petr Kuča, Joeun Lee, Francesco Mancini, Primoz Mlakar, Luc Patryl, Margit Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Tamir Reisin, Gert Sdouz, Kampanart Silva, Shogo Takahara, Bee Kiat Tay, Hartmut Walter, Tamara Yankovich, Charley Yu
Abstract: The IAEA's model testing programmes have included a series of Working Groups concerned with modelling radioactive contamination in urban environments. These have included the Urban Working Group of Validation of Environmental Model Predictions (1988-1994), the Urban Remediation Working Group of Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS) (2003-2007), the Urban Areas Working Group of EMRAS II (2009-2011), the Urban Environments Working Group of (Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments) MODARIA I (2013-2015), and most recently, the Urban Exposures Working Group of MODARIA II (2016-2019). The overarching objective of these Working Groups has been to test and improve the capabilities of computer models used to assess radioactive contamination in urban environments, including dispersion and deposition processes, short-term and long-term redistribution of contaminants following deposition events, and the effectiveness of various countermeasures and other protective actions, including remedial actions, in reducing contamination levels, human exposures, and doses to humans. This paper describes the exercises conducted during the MODARIA I and MODARIA II programmes. These exercises have included short-range and mid-range atmospheric dispersion exercises based on data from field tests or tracer studies, hypothetical urban dispersion exercises, and an exercise based on data collected after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Improvement of model capabilities will lead to improvements in assessing various contamination scenarios (real or hypothetical), and in turn, to improved decision-making and communication with the public following a nuclear or radiological emergency.
Organisation(s): Institute of Meteorology and Climatology
External Organisation(s): Oak Ridge Center for Risk Analysis
MEIS d.o.o
Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE)
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL)
National Emergency Operations Centre (NAZ)
Nuclear Facilities of Serbia
National Radiation Protection Institute (NRPI)
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Societa Gestione Impianti Nucleari S.p.A. (SOGIN)
French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS)
Israel Atomic Energy Commission
TU Wien (TUW)
National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
Japan Atomic Energy Agency
DSO National Laboratory, Singapore
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of radiological protection
Volume: 42
ISSN: 0952-4746
Publication date: 06.2022
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Waste Management and Disposal, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
Electronic version(s): https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1847922 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/ac5173 (Access: Closed)