HotSpot/EPIcode

NARAC is responsible for two PC software packages that are included in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Central Registry as toolbox codes that meet DOE Safety Software Quality Assurance (SSQA) criteria. Both codes are widely used at DOE/NNSA sites for Safety Analysis and Environmental Planning Hazard Assessments, as well as initial consequence assessment predictions during emergencies.

• HotSpot is a fast-running, local-scale, steady-state Gaussian plume model for radiological releases developed at LLNL that provides predictions of time-integrated effect (such as dosage from the entire plume passage). HotSpot was created to provide emergency response personnel and emergency planners with a fast, field-portable set of software tools for evaluating incidents involving radioactive material. The software is used for safety analyses of facilities handling nuclear material and to make initial protective action recommendations, using conservative assumptions, for pre-event planning or before advanced model results are available during an emergency.
• The Emergency Prediction Information code (EPIcode) provides emergency planners and response personnel with rapid modeling to estimate downwind concentrations of chemicals (gas, vapor, or aerosol) released during industrial and transportation accidents. Source term calculations determine the rate at which the chemical material is released to the atmosphere, as well as the height, the duration, and the form and properties of the chemical upon release. In 2012, DOE/LLNL/NARAC acquired the EPIcode software for use in developing a version for DOE use.