SOCRATES · Assessment of Liquid Source Term for Accidental Post Management Phase

The SOCRATES project addresses critical gaps in our understanding of the liquid source term during severe nuclear accidents and offers innovative solutions to mitigate and monitor the release of radionuclides into the environment. The project contributes to the mid-to-long-term management of nuclear power plants after a severe accident by enhancing safety, environmental protection, safe waste management and public well-being. The main contributions of the topical project are:- Enhanced understanding of liquid source term- New computer models for the liquid source term phenomena- Innovative absorbent materials to effectively trap key radionuclide species, particularly Cs and Sr- Miniature size radiochemical laboratory for radionuclides- Education and training for nuclear safety- Recommendations for long-term operations, waste management and severe accident management strategies. The management of possible leakages of contaminated water, which may happen more frequently due to aging of reactor components and joints, will gain new remedies from SOCRATES results to tackle and mitigate the contaminants inside the plant. The project's research on the liquid source term directly impacts a majority of existing and new nuclear reactors, encompassing diverse reactor designs and technologies. Recommendations based on SOCRATES results will support nuclear community on international scale by giving guidelines how to manage liquid source term. Developed computer models for the analysis of liquid source term phenomena will benefit industry, safety authorities and research community in the safety assessments of NPPs. The models developed in SOCRATES will be implemented in severe accident analysis codes, such as AC2 and ASTEC. When the design of new sorbent materials for radionuclides will be performed with computer simulations, it will enhance the digitalization of safety developments, and enable considerations of multiple sorbent composition variations with low cost.