PhD Defense | Stijn Van Leuven | Advancing Wet Deposition Modelling in Atmospheric Transport Models: Applications in Environmental Radioactivity

Advancing Wet Deposition Modelling in Atmospheric Transport Models: Applications in Environmental Radioactivity

Civil nuclear installations like power plants normally do not release significant radioactivity during routine operation. However, accidental releases into the atmosphere can pose serious risks, especially because radioactive material can be efficiently deposited on the ground through rainfall—a process known as wet deposition. This process is a major contributor to long-term radiation exposure and can contaminate water supplies and the food chain.

The key novelty of this PhD work lies in advancing how wet deposition is modeled and used in practice. It introduces an innovative method to optimize wet deposition models using measurement data, making simulations more accurate and efficient. Building on this, the research demonstrates for the first time that the source location of an unknown radioactive release can be reconstructed using deposition measurements. Additionally, the improved model is applied to simulate sudden increases in background radiation caused by naturally occurring radon decay products, helping to reduce false alarms in radiation monitoring systems.

Promoters:

• Piet Termonia (UGent & RMI)
• Andy Delcloo (RMI)
   

SCK CEN mentors:

• Johan Camps
• Pieter De Meutter