92nd American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting (January 22-26, 2012)

Monday, 23 January 2012: 11:45 AM
Rapid Development and Implementation of a Waterborne Radiological Transport and Fate Model in Support of the Recent Events At the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Room 338 (New Orleans Convention Center )
Matthew Ward Ward, Applied Science Associates, South Kingstown, RI

The recent events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant resulted in a significant release of radiological material to both the atmosphere and the local marine waters. ASA has been developing the System for Hazard Assessment of Released Chemicals (SHARC) to predict the transport and fate of material in an aquatic environment for JSTO over the past several years. Shortly after the impacts of the earthquake and resulting tsunami on the power plants were known, DTRA Reachback inquired if a radiological component of SHARC could be rapidly implemented and operationalized. Within three weeks the model was completed and daily operational forecasts were being provided to Reachback. The presentation will provide an overview of the radiological transport and fate model development, the operational implementation and lessons learned over the course of the response.

Supplementary URL: