Evaluating the effect of temporal variations in wind speed on sheltering effectiveness and developing a simplified correction method to account for these variations.

Abstract

Sheltering is a key countermeasure for mitigating radiation exposures during nuclear power plant accidents. The effectiveness of sheltering in minimising inhalation exposure is commonly expressed using the reduction factor, which is the ratio of indoor to outdoor cumulative doses. The indoor dose is primarily influenced by the air exchange rate, penetration factor, and indoor deposition rate. Additionally, the air exchange rate is dependent on wind speed. In previous studies, the reduction factor was often treated as a constant value or calculated under constant wind speed conditions. However, wind speed varies in reality. This study investigated the effect of temporal variations in wind speed on the reduction factor and developed a simplified correction method to account for these variations. The results revealed that temporal variations in wind speed caused the reduction factor to differ by a factor of approximately two. Using the simplified correction method, the corrected reduction factors agreed, on average, within 10% of those calculated using a method that explicitly considers temporal variations in actual wind speed. Additionally, the computational cost was reduced by more than 20 times.