Comparison of software for rescue operation planning during an accident in a nuclear power plant

This work has been developed to determine proper analytical support instruments in order to improve emergency operation systems in case of accidents in a nuclear reactor. The case study analyzed is in reference to an experimental nuclear fission power plant in Italy (the information about the name and location of this plant has been omitted for safety reasons). The accidental event’s consequences were simulated using a free licensed software, HotSpot, and the results obtained were compared with the results obtained using ISPRA Software, the only software certified by the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) for nuclear accidents. Once the reliability of HotSpot was established, the most critical incident for this reactor, as indicated by the latest revision of the National Plan on Protective Measures against Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies, was simulated. The simulation results (for areas classified with respect to limits on effective dose) were used as input in the development, through the use of the GeoMedia GIS software, of a vulnerability model that takes into account the spatial distribution of the population in the area affected by the event. In the context of emergency management, such instruments should be integrated with the systems of command & control centres for crisis management and the emergency operation centre (EOC), and made available to the entire chain of emergency management, including the field teams with handheld terminals.