Diffusion near buildings as determined from atmospheric tracer experiments. Technical report

Data from the innermost arcs and roof top samplers of the Rancho Seco and EOCR field studies were used to examine diffusion close to a building. The minimum length plume paths were determined from each release location to each sampler position at these two test sites. Measured concentrations, normalized by source strength (C/Q), were plotted versus plume path length and an envelope containing 95% of the measured values of C/Q was determined. The curves from the two sites were similar in shape and implied three zones of diffusion. Comparisons were also made with current NRC methods for predicting maximum expected concentrations close to a building. The NRC model overestimated concentrations in all but one case. The model was generally within an order of magnitude at EOCR, and within two orders of magnitude at Rancho Seco