Dispersion of radioactive pollutant in a tornadic storm

A three-dimensional numerical model is used to calculate ground-level air concentration and deposition (due to precipitation scavenging) after a hypothetical tornado strike at a plutonium fabrication facility in Pennsylvania. Plutonium particles less than 10 μm in diameter are assumed to be lifted into the tornadic storm cell by the vortex. The rotational characteristics of the tornadic storm are embedded within the larger mesoscale flow of the storm system. The design-basis translational wind values are based on probabilities associated with existing records of tornado strikes in the vicinity of the plant site. Turbulence exchange coefficients are based on empirical values deduced from experimental data in severe storms and from theoretical assumptions obtained from the literature. The quasi-Lagrangian method of moments is used to model the transport of concentration within a grid cell volume. In all case studies, the effects of updrafts and downdrafts, coupled with scavenging of the particulates by precipitation, account for most of the material being deposited within 20 to 45 km downwind of the plant site. Ground-level isopleths in the x-y plane show that most of the material is deposited behind and slightly to the left of the centerline trajectory of the storm. Approximately 5% of the material is dispersed into the stratosphere and anvil section of the storm