Environmental impact assessment for transporting radioactive material of Lanzhou uranium enrichment plant (1961-1965)

The author briefly presents the environmental impact from transporting radioactive material of Lanzhou Uranium Enrichment Plant from 1961 to 1985. The computer code RADTRAN 4, which is provided by IAEA to its member state, is adopted to calculated dose to personnel. The calculation results show that under normal conditions of transport during 1961-1985, the annual individual dose to crewman is 16 μSv for crewman, to handlers 1.0 mSv. The individual dose to the public over areas of width 1 km on both sides of the railway line, persons in vehicles sharing the transport link with the shipment and population around the shipment while stops are 0.14, 1.0, 2.7 μSv per year, respectively. Of which, the exposed dose to handlers is the highest, its annual average collective effective dose equivalent is only 7 x 10-3 man·Sv. No transport accidents have ever happened since the plant was put into production. Thus, the transport of radioactive material of Lanzhou Uranium Enrichment Plant is safe and its environmental impact rather low