Development of a unified transport approach for the assessment of power-plant impact. [Environmental impact of chemical, biological, radioactive, or thermal effluents from power plants]

Progress during the first 18 months in implementation of the Unified Transport Approach (UTA) is summarized in this report, which covers the period through December 1976. The goal of this project is to develop mathematical models for fast-transient, one-and two-dimensional transport of thermal, radiological, chemical, and biological properties in rivers, estuaries, lakes, and coastal regions for assessing the impact of power-plant operations. Development and validation of these models are illustrated in applications at several sites where data is available. The models include submodels for sediment transport, exchange of a soluble isotope with sediment, and zone-matching models to connect near-field problems of reentrainment and recirculation with far-field convective transport. Several types of automated data preparation have been introduced, and the codes have been designed to allow input of specified plant operating conditions for given durations. The UTA provides a common basis for calculating the transport of intensive quantities that depend on basic flow properties, which can be obtained from a common set of data for geometry, bathymetry, and meteorology that must be prepared only once. The formulation and calculation are based on a stable set of algorithms that have been tested and proven valid. The user can then focus on understandingmore » and interpreting thermal, chemical, or radiological transport results with confidence that the basic calculations are direct, efficient, and meaningful. Recent work in each of the three areas is described.« less