Various consequences regarding hypothetical dispersion of airborne radioactivity in a city center

Jonsson, Lage; Plamboeck, Agneta H.; Johansson, Erik; Waldenvik, Mattias

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.09.003

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…A dirty bomb is likely to be limited to the scale of several city blocks (USEPA 2015). Modeling a wide area radiological event will require a model capable of calculating air dispersion behaviour, and specifically incorporating infrastructure geometry, which has been shown to affect deposition patterns (Jonsson et al 2013). Stormwater is also considered a major transport mechanism of radiological contamination.…”

Section: Emerging Infectious Diseases Such As Nipah Virus and Hantavirusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Fate and Transport Modeling of Contaminants: The Unique Needs of Emergency Response and the Potential for Adapting Existing Models

Mikelonis

Boe

Calfee

2018

JWMM

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Wide area urban contamination events, such as after a terrorist attack or other chemical, biological or radiological disaster, pose a logistical challenge for response and remediation. The extent of contamination, both on the surface and subsurface, directly impacts the costs related to characterization sampling, decontamination, and clearance sampling (e.g. personnel, consumables and waste management). Modeling tools that can predict the location and magnitude of contamination may allow for a more efficient allocation of key resources since wide area incidents may be very costly, and take an extended amount of time, to remediate. This paper identifies 27 existing water models that are able to simulate hydraulic, hydrologic and water quality processes and discusses the necessary adjustments to running the models during remediation activities. It also highlights how these features relate to the unique considerations encountered in the homeland security sector and discusses ongoing research needs.

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Section: Emerging Infectious Diseases Such As Nipah Virus and Hantavirusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Fate and Transport Modeling of Contaminants: The Unique Needs of Emergency Response and the Potential for Adapting Existing Models

Mikelonis

Boe

Calfee

2018

JWMM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ansari 2010) implies the selection and implementation of effective countermeasures that would largely rely on adequate knowledge of the dispersion patterns and the potential levels of radioactive contamination (e.g. Shin and Kim 2009;Jonsson et al 2013). This information can be estimated using atmospheric dispersion models (ADM) (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UDINEE: Evaluation of Multiple Models with Data from the JU2003 Puff Releases in Oklahoma City. Part I: Comparison of Observed and Predicted Concentrations

Hernández-Ceballos

Hanna²,

Bianconi³

et al. 2019

Boundary-Layer Meteorol

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In a complex environment such as an urban area, accurate prediction of the atmospheric dispersion of airborne harmful materials such as radioactive substances is necessary for establishing response actions and assessing risk or damage. Given the variety of urban atmospheric dispersion models available, evaluation and inter-comparison exercises are vital for assessing quantitatively and qualitatively their capabilities and differences. To that end, the European Commission/Directorate General Joint Research Centre with support from the European Commission/Directorate General-Migration and Home Affairs, and with the contribution of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, launched the Urban Dispersion INternational Evaluation Exercise (UDINEE) project. Within UDINEE, nine atmospheric dispersion models are evaluated and intercompared. Sulphur hexafluoride concentrations from puffs released near the ground during the Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) field experiment are used in UDINEE to evaluate atmospheric dispersion models. The JU2003 experiment is chosen because UDINEE aims at the better understanding of modelling capabilities for radiological dispersal devices in urban areas, and the neutrally-buoyant puff releases performed in the JU2003 experiment are the closest scenario to this purpose. The present study evaluates the capability of models at simulating the presence and concentration levels of the tracer at sampling locations. The fraction of predicted concentrations and time-integrated concentrations within a factor-of-two of observations are less than 0.36 and 0.4 respectively. The analysis reveals an improvement in the performance of models by using time-varying inflow conditions. Since the simulation of the dispersion of puff release is particularly challenging, the results of UDINEE could constitute a benchmark for future model developments.

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“…It is in populated areas where a proper estimation of the radioactive dispersion is indispensable to minimize possible health risks associated with RDD explosions (e.g. Jonsson et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UDINEE: Evaluation of Multiple Models with Data from the JU2003 Puff Releases in Oklahoma City. Part II: Simulation of Puff Parameters

Hernández-Ceballos

Hanna²,

Bianconi³

et al. 2019

Boundary-Layer Meteorol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The capabilities of nine atmospheric dispersion models in predicting near-field dispersion from puff releases in an urban environment are addressed under the Urban Dispersion INternational Evaluation Exercise (UDINEE) project. The model results are evaluated using tracer observations from the Joint Urban 2003 (JU2003) experiment where neutrallybuoyant puffs were released in the downtown area of Oklahoma City, USA. Sulphur hexafluoride concentration time series measured at ten sampling locations during four daytime and four night-time puff releases are used to evaluate how the models simulate the puff passage at the measurement locations. The neutrally-buoyant puff releases in the JU2003 experiment are the closest scenario to radiological dispersal device (RDD) releases in urban areas, and therefore, UDINEE is a first step towards improving the emergency response to an RDD explosion in the urban environment. We investigate for each puff and sampler the model capability of simulating the peak concentration; the peak and puff arrival times; and time duration, defined as the period over which concentrations exceed 10% of the peak concentration. This analysis points out differences on the performance of models: the fraction within a factor-of-two values ranges from 0.10 to 0.6 for peak concentration, from 0 to 1 for the peak and arrival times, and from 0 to 0.8 for the time duration. The results reveal that the characteristics of the release site largely influence the model simulation as it affects initial puff size and the initial downwind spread of the puff.

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Various consequences regarding hypothetical dispersion of airborne radioactivity in a city center

Cited by 4 publications

References 69 publications

Urban Fate and Transport Modeling of Contaminants: The Unique Needs of Emergency Response and the Potential for Adapting Existing Models

Urban Fate and Transport Modeling of Contaminants: The Unique Needs of Emergency Response and the Potential for Adapting Existing Models

UDINEE: Evaluation of Multiple Models with Data from the JU2003 Puff Releases in Oklahoma City. Part I: Comparison of Observed and Predicted Concentrations

UDINEE: Evaluation of Multiple Models with Data from the JU2003 Puff Releases in Oklahoma City. Part II: Simulation of Puff Parameters

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