Automated dose assessment system incorporating release-weighted meteorology

Effluent technical specifications imposed on nuclear power reactors by 10CFR50 require that the licensee submit a report to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) within 60 days after January 1 and July 1 of each year that specifies the quantity of each of the principal radionuclides released to unrestricted areas in liquid and gaseous effluents during the previous six months of operation; and such information as may be required by NRC to estimate maximum potential annual radiation dose to the public resulting from effluents. Compliance requires reactor operators to implement intensive monitoring and record-keeping programs to quantify the releases of as many as 50 principal radionuclides in liquid and gaseous effluents. The task of obtaining verified laboratory results for difficult-to-measure radionuclides, transmitting the verified activity release data to the responsible dose assessment personnel, and performing the dose assessment calculations within the stipulated 60-day period is often difficult. Faced with performing this task twice each year for seven nuclear units, Duke Power Company developed an automated data acquisition and dose assessment system significantly reducing the time and workforce requirements previously necessary