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14CH4 Emissions from Nuclear Power Plants in Northwestern Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Roos Eisma ,
Alex T. Vermeulen  and
Klaas Van Der Borg
Roos Eisma
Affiliation:
R.J. van de Graaff Laboratory, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80000, NL-3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands Netherlands Energy Research Foundation, P.O. Box 1, NL-1755 ZG Petten, The Netherlands
Alex T. Vermeulen
Affiliation:
Netherlands Energy Research Foundation, P.O. Box 1, NL-1755 ZG Petten, The Netherlands
Klaas Van Der Borg
Affiliation:
R.J. van de Graaff Laboratory, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80000, NL-3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Abstract

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We measured the 14C content of atmospheric methane at a 200-m-high sampling station in The Netherlands. Combined with trajectories and a transport model, it is possible to estimate the 14CH4 emissions from nuclear power plants in northwestern Europe. We demonstrate here two different methods of analyzing the data: forward modeling and an inverse method. Our data suggest that the emissions from pressurized water reactors are 260 ± 50 GBq per GW installed power per year, ca. 1.6 ± 0.4 times higher than generally assumed. We also find that, in addition to the known nuclear sources of 14CH4 (pressurized and boiling water reactors), there are two very strong sources of 14CH4 (520 ± 200 and 1850 ± 450 GBq yr−1, respectively), probably two test reactors near the sampling station.

Type
IV. 14C as a Tracer of the Dynamic Carbon Cycle in the Current Environment
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , 1995 , pp. 475 - 483
Copyright
Copyright © the Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona 

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