4. Transfers to watercourses

4.1 Input of radionuclides into watercourses

Radionuclides can enter watercourses:

• through a discharge outlet, as is the case for French nuclear sites located along rivers; the input can then be characterized by the discharge flow rate q _r (in Bq.s ^–1 ) during discharge operations, which are almost always carried out through a device that facilitates the dispersion and homogenization of concentrations near the end of the discharge outlet. The most common device is called a "clarinet": a pipe pierced with several holes, laid across the watercourse, which spreads the discharge over a length of several metres to several dozen metres;

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