Influence of normal radioactive releases from French nuclear installations. Elements of Operational Radioecology

Like all industrial facilities, French nuclear installations are authorized to discharge radioactive substances into the environment. This article deals with the releases of radioactive substances associated with the normal operation of these facilities, the influence of these releases on the mass and volume activities of radionuclides in the environment, and the doses likely to be received by neighboring populations as a result of these releases. It does not deal with environmental contamination resulting from past releases. For a long time, the consequences of normal releases from nuclear facilities were assessed only by calculation, based on the activities released, measured or estimated, using environmental transfer models, since the mass and volume activities in the environment resulting from these releases were too small to be measured. Advances in metrology now make it possible to better assess the influence of normal operation of nuclear facilities on the environment. This knowledge, which largely validates the results of previous calculations , is presented in the following article.