Study On The Health Risk Assessment Of The Nuclear Power Plant Based On Population Vulnerability

Faced with the adverse problems caused by energy crisis and climate change,nuclear energy has been considered to be the best alternative to fossil energy.The goals of“carbon peak”and“carbon neutrality”are beneficial to promote the development of clean energy in China.At the same time,it also means that the current energy structure needs to be adjusted and optimized,which indicates that the importance of nuclear power is becoming more and more obvious.In the short term,the operation of nuclear power has brought significant environmental effects,and has also played a positive role in increasing taxation,driving local economic development,and promoting employment.In the long run,the environmental impact caused by the discharge of radioactive materials from nuclear power plants,the hazards of nuclear accidents,and the disposal of nuclear waste need to be resolved urgently.The development of nuclear power in the post-Fukushima era has been affected by the"NMBY”（not-in-my-backyard）effect.Accompanied by the increasing health demands of residents around nuclear power plants,improving public acceptance and safeguarding nuclear safety have become an inseparable relationship.Hence,a comprehensive assessment of the health effects caused by nuclear radiation requires a combination of risk sources and receptors,and the vulnerable target groups should be identified.Further,the level of nuclear risk management is expected to be improved to ensure the healthy operation of nuclear power.Based on the theory of vulnerability research and risk assessment,the population vulnerability evaluation framework was constructed from two aspects,which included physical vulnerability and social vulnerability.According to the framework model,the health risk assessment for residents was adopted in 23 townships around Fangchenggang Nuclear Power plant.For the assessment of physical vulnerability,different atmospheric diffusion modes were selected to calculate the concentration of radionuclide under different working conditions.Owing to the concentration prediction,the personal dose could be estimated,and used it to quantitatively analyze the physical vulnerability of the population in each area.A social vulnerability evaluation index system was built from five dimensions,such as sensitivity,socioeconomic,exposure behavior,risk perception,and risk response.The indicator weights were determined by combination weighting method.The indicator-related data was collected through questionnaire surveys,and the social vulnerability of each region was analyzed.The interrelationship between the various factors of risk perception dimensions was explored,and the hypotheses were tested by structural equation model.Finally,the physical and social vulnerability assessment results were integrated to analyze the impact of nuclear power plants on the health of the surrounding population.Then,with the help of the evaluation results,the vulnerable areas and individuals were identified,the countermeasures and suggestions for environmental risk management were put forward in a targeted manner.The main conclusions of this paper are as follows:（1）Judging from the results of nuclide concentration and dose prediction,the radioactive materials discharged by nuclear power plants have relatively low carcinogenic hazards to surrounding residents,and the fatal impact of the accident is relatively small.The maximum effective dose received by the public at a radius of 1 km from the site under normal operating conditions is 1.11×10^-6 Sv/a.Ingestion exposure is the route that contributes the most to the dose,up to 83.3%.Under the maximum credible accident conditions,the maximum effective dose of any individual on the boundary of the planned restricted area is less than the national standard limit of 0.25 Sv.The area where the nuclear power plant located in has a significant maritime monsoon climate.The most physically vulnerable area is Guangpo Town,followed by Qisha Town,the physical vulnerability indexes are 0.351 and 0.177 respectively.These areas are located in the downwind direction of the site’s dominant wind direction（NNE）,which are vulnerable to nuclear radiation pollution.（2）Through data analysis of the collected 600 questionnaires,the public acceptance of nuclear risk is low,trust and perceived benefit can positively affect risk acceptance,while influence and stigmatization have significant effects on risk acceptance.People in different regions differ greatly in their resistance to and coping with nuclear risks.The most vulnerable area is Tanying Township,and the lowest is Jianshan Street,the social vulnerability indexes are 0.620 and 0.346 respectively.Socio-economic characteristics and risk perception characteristics are the main factors that affects the level of social vulnerability.（3）The Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant causes certain health risks to surrounding residents within acceptable levels,and the magnitude of the risks varies by region,gender,and occupation.Guangpo Town,Qisha Town,and Longmengang Town are vulnerable areas.The vulnerable population characteristics from the subjective perception perspective are women,low education,high income,and agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry and fishery practitioners.From the perspective of objective response to risks,the vulnerable population characteristics include the elderly,poor health,low-income,and agricultural,forestry,animal husbandry and fishery practitioners.（4）.In combination with the health risk assessment results of the Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant.For the areas where nuclear facilities are located in,it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring of the radiation environment,conduct regular inspections of the radioactivity levels of food and drinking water,strengthen risk communication and improve emergency response capabilities.For the areas surrounding nuclear power plants,it’s necessary to collect meteorological data and popular scientific knowledge of radiation protection.For those areas far away from nuclear power plants,it’s important to collect background values of the radiation environment,disseminate basic knowledge of nuclear power,and improve the public risk awareness level.