CCC-0553 RASCAL 3.0.5

1. NAME OR DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM:  RASCAL 3.0.5.

3. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM OR FUNCTION

RASCAL, Version 3.0.5 (December 2006 release with January 2008 updates), is the latest in the series of the Radiological Assessment System for Consequence Analysis codes. It evaluates releases from nuclear power plants, spent fuel storage pools and casks, fuel cycle facilities, and radioactive material handling facilities. Developed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, RASCAL is designed to be used in the independent assessment of dose projections during response to radiological emergencies. The system supplements assessments based on plant conditions and quick estimates based on hand-calculational methods. RASCAL will be used by response personnel to conduct an independent evaluation of dose and consequence projections and for training and drills. The model was developed to allow consideration of the dominant aspects of source term, transport, dose, and consequences. Source term calculations in RASCAL estimate the amount of radioactive (or hazardous) material released based on a wide variety of potential radiological accident scenarios. The source term calculations performed that pertain to fuel-cycle facility and materials accidents can be generally categorized as (1) fuel-cycle facility/UF accidents, (2) uranium fires and explosions, (3) criticality accidents, and (4) isotopic releases (e.g., transportation, materials).

4. METHOD OF SOLUTION

RASCAL computes power reactor source terms, airborne transport of activity (through both Gaussian plume and puff models), and the resulting doses. The results allow easy comparison to EPA protective action guidelines.

5. RESTRICTIONS ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEM

Because RASCAL is designed to be used during a radiological emergency, it is assumed that the amount of activity being released (the source term) and the meteorologic conditions will not be precisely known. The doses computed for RASCAL are, therefore, assumed to be rough estimates.

6. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME:  Run times vary.

7. UNUSUAL FEATURES: UNUSUAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM

8. RELATED OR AUXILIARY PROGRAMS: RELATED AND AUXILIARY PROGRAMS

11. MACHINE REQUIREMENTS:   PC Pentium.

13. OPERATING SYSTEM UNDER WHICH PROGRAM IS EXECUTED

RASCAL was tested at RSICC under Windows XP application. It runs under Windows Vista, but there are problems with some of the older help files. Vista users can download a file from Microsoft that will allow them to use the older format help files.

15. NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORS

Contributed by: Radiation Safety Information Computational Center
                Oak Ridge National Laboratory
                Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
Developed by:   Athey Consulting, Charles Town, West Virginia, USA
                Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC, USA