Radiological consequence analysis in case of fire impact

Airborne release and dispersion of radioactive material from objects involved in a fire scenario includes a combination of coupled processes that may as well amplify as counteract in terms of consequences in the environment. Some of these relevant processes and parameters are type of release (spontaneous or continuous), time of release, thermal lift, spatial and temporal variation of fire environment and spatial distribution of objects. An exemplary sensitivity study of the behaviour of a set of 48Y cylinders filled with UF6 exposed to a large hydrocarbon fire is presented. The analysis reveals that a detailed consideration of process interaction and parameter variation is needed to identify most unfavourable event sequences with respect to radiological and chemical-toxic consequences. (authors)