Nowadays, predicting the space-time evolution of a pollutant released in a ventilated room including a process operation remains hard to achieve. However this prediction is imperative in hazardous activities, such as nuclear ones. The study consists in predicting space-time evolution of an airborne contaminant dispersion in the near-field emission source around a workplace, following an accidental rupture of a containment enclosure. The whole work is based on experiments of gas tracing, and on multidimensional simulations using CFD tools. The proposed model is written as a correlated function of various parameters: leak geometry (slot or circular opening), emission type (continuous or puff), initial velocity and emission duration. Influence of ventilation and obstructions (room walls) have been also studied in the case of continuous leaks. All final models, for gaseous pollutants, are written as correlations inspired by the theory of free turbulent jet flows. These models are easy to use within the framework of safety evaluations dealing with radioactive material containment and radiological protection inside nuclear facilities.

KEYWORDS: contaminant transfer, airborne pollutant, near-field, ventilated room, leak, jet, puff, gas tracing, CFD simulations