Radiological dose assessment due to hypothetical nuclear power plant operation in Mersing, Johor, Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia has considered for some time to adopt nuclear power to cater to the increasing demand of electricity following other developed Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China. In implementing a nuclear power plant, strict regulations and guidelines by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) must be fulfilled before any construction license is given for a new nuclear power program. One of the assessments include the estimation of potential radiological risks to both humans and environment from routine and accidental release of radioactive effluent from the nuclear power plant (NPP). In this work, simulations of radionuclide dispersion from a hypothetical NPP site in Mersing, Johor will be presented. The simulation was performed based on the Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model using the HYSPLIT software. The radioactive effluent release rate was approximated to the value found in the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in 2011. Meteorological data of 2017 were utilized in this study. Simulation results showed that the dispersion of radioactive effluent from the hypothetical NPP can potentially affect areas around Johor Bahru district, Singapore, and even some areas in Indonesia.