Radiation exposure for the population living around the coal-fired power plant complexes in Vietnam

A coal-fired power plant's operation can release radioactive nuclides and radon gas into the environment, affecting the surrounding ecosystem. In this work, the collective effective dose due to the inhalation and the consumption of food containing the deposited radionuclides from the atmospheric release of the plants were evaluated. The results show that the radioactivity concentration in coal and fly ash samples depends on the origin of feed coal. The distribution of Th and U radionuclides in the 6a1 dust coal and bituminous coal is different. In general, the collective effective dose for different organs due to radiation exposure from the atmospheric release of two surveyed CFPP complexes are lower than the corresponding value published by UNSCEAR.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the impact of coal-fired power plants on the environment and ecosystem, evaluating the effects of radioactive nuclides released into the atmosphere on human health. The results showed that the concentration of radioactivity depends on the source of coal, and the distribution of radionuclides varies among different coal samples.