Radiological impact assessment of Lead-Cooled SMRs using advanced atmospheric dispersion modelling

Starting from COP28 in 2023, more than 20 countries world-wide endorsed the declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The declaration recognizes the potential role of nuclear energy in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

With this increasing interest in nuclear energy, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are presented as interesting options due to the favorable economics, flexibility, and user-driven applications. Given the scientific expertise developed within the MYRRHA project, the Belgian government tasked SCK CEN to conduct research on lead-cooled SMRs (LFR-SMR) with the aim of building a technology demonstrator at the SCK CEN site by 2035.

SMRs are being considered for a broad range of sites, ranging from locations already hosting nuclear installations to deployment sites close to populated areas or industrial domains. These possibilities, together with the development of non-water-cooled reactors require the development of tools to assess the radiological impact assessment for SMRs in both normal operations and accident scenarios.

This PhD project will first identify state-of-the-art atmospheric dispersion codes that allow the inclusion of structures such as buildings in the considered simulation environment. The chosen code will be then adapted and tuned for the purpose of estimating radiological impact assessments of accidental releases from LFR-SMRs. A large set of simulations for short-range domains with increasing terrain complexity will be conducted to identify the parameters that affect the radiological impact assessment. The adapted code will be validated against measured data and finally tested for potential SMR deployment sites in Belgium. Such code can be beneficial in the licensing, environmental impact assessment, and Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) determination for LFR-SMRs.