COSYMA, a mainframe and PC program package for assessing the consequences of hypothetical accidents

COSYMA (Code System from MARIA) is a program package for assessing the off-site consequences of accidental releases of radioactive material to atmosphere, developed as part of the European Commission's MARIA programme (Methods for Assessing the Radiological Impact of Accidents). COSYMA represents a fusion of ideas and modules from the Forschungszetrum Karlsruhe program system UFOMOD, the National Radiological Protection Board program MARC and new model developments together with data libraries from other MARIA contractors. Mainframe and PC versions of COSYMA are distributed to interested users by arrangement with the European Commission. The system was first released in 1990, and has subsequently been updated. The program system uses independent modules for the different parts of the analysis, and so permits a flexible problem-oriented application to different sites, source terms, emergency plans and the needs of users in the various parts of Europe. Users of the mainframe system can choose the most appropriate combination of modules for their particular application. The PC version includes a user interface which selects the required modules for the endpoints specified by the user. This paper describes the structure of the mainframe and PC versions of COSYMA, and summarises the models included in them. The mainframe or PC versions of COSYMA have been distributed to more than 100 organisations both inside and outside the European Union, and have been used in a wide variety of applications. These range from full PRA level 3 analyses of nuclear power and research reactors to investigations on advanced containment concepts and the preplanning of off-site emergency actions. Some of the experiences from these applications are described in the paper. An international COSYMA user group has been established to stimulate communication between the owners, developers and users of the code and to serve as a reference point for questions relating to the code. The group produces a regular newsletter and organises yearly meetings to discuss the use and future development of the code system. (author)