ML19275A606
| ML19275A606 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 08/17/1979 |
| From: | Schweiker R SENATE |
| To: | NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7910090539 | |
| Download: ML19275A606 (4) | |
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United States Senator
'eca 13e o f n' e lesire of -his of :~ ice to Le responsive to all inTiiries and con.munica ta.cns, vo Ir cr siderau x. Of the attached is requested.
YCUF HNDINGS.CID VIWS, IN DUPLICATE, ALCNG WI"'S WILL SE A 7?ZCI.\\TED.
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?ETUPN OF **4IS '4 E'*O 9LUS E';CLC CUP E,
'4any thanks.
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4 August IC, 1979 H encrable H. Ochn bk n: 4 hp'
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3 Og) 5enator Heinc:
7 Thank ycu for your response to my letter re-garding the rate increase for residents of Three Mile Island.
I recertly sent you a copy of a letter cated July 30, 1979, that I urote to Governor Tho:ncurgh regarding the proliferation of nuclear pcuer in pennsylvania and carticula rly about the nuclear plant under construction in Limerick, Pa. I have recently received a ccpy of the " Draft Environmental Statenent" by the Di ectorate of Licensing United States Atomic Energy Commission related to the Limerick Cenerating Station -Lnits land 2.
I alsc have a copy of Part 10C-Reactor Site Criteria-C'.5.
uclear
.egulatory Ccamission-
.ules and Fegulations-Title 10, Chapter 1,
Ccds of Federal R egulations-Ene rg y. alcng with T echnical Information Cocument
- 14544 On page 31 o f T. I.D.
(148 44 is listed in Table VIII. " Calculated cadii for Uater Cooled Reactors of Varicus power Levels". In this table the Pcpulation Center Distance for a 1000 megauatt reactor is 12.7 miles. Pottetoun,c a.
and i:citb-:cuentry Tcunship, adjacent tc ?cttatoun and separated by the 5chuyluill Fider, have peculations cf 25,0C0 (1c70 census) and 7400 (cu: rent)respectively. These centers are within app-roximately 1.7 miles. The " advisory' criteria of a population dsnsity of 500/ square mile has not been given any consideration r egarding L ime rick. In the " Draft Envitenmental Statement" the 0-1,0-2 and 0-10 mile radii are the only distances uith less than 500/ square mile using the 197C ccpulation. The 1950 pro-jected populati7n has only one radius-C-2 -iles-with a density of less thar. 500/ square mile'.
The " Draft Envir:nmental 5tatement" cn page 2-10 ctates that (re: Ocnsclidated schocis) "ane ic laccted about 1-i miles to the southuest" cf the site. This particular I
schcol hapoens to be an elementary schac1 in the district
{ the Quen that my children attend-East Coventry Elementary Center in J. Racerds School District. According to the map that I have, a mac cf Chester Ccunty, the E. Coventry 5choci is less then that cietance. Coulc you please lcc9 intc the citing practices of nuclac: plants near el em e n t a r y schcols?
J I feel thac in light cf recent reocrtc of the "?C using poor judgements in granting licenses to nuclear facilities Limerick,Pa. may be one of the'pcor jucgements'. I uculd acpreciate ycur locking into tnis matter tnorcughly.
Thank ycu very much.
Sincerel
& nenste hybh cocy to:
'arlene G.
- sidts Sen. Richard S.
Schueiker fdf
- U.
Seven $ tars d.
ec. cichard T. Schulze phoenixville, pa.
r 19460 AFs e.
FE01 CAL lhPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAA PC'aTA Muci' ear power poses the greatest public haaard tne aorld has ever encountered because of tne Inewltaale contaulnation of tne blosphere with plutonium and radio active wastes. Cassation
. of all forms of nuclear pcwer Is the ultimate form of prevent!ve medicine.
The fuel cycle of nuclear power plants Is cortclex, but not too dif ficul t to understand. It has many biological and nedical Irrqzilcat!ons whica must be understood by tse average person In the street as well as by the peliticians who make most Imocr* ant decisions for society.
In this art!cle i,etcribe the fuel cycle step by steo, and explair, the medical dangera arls-Ing frorn each stup.
1 Mining. Uranlian is the fuel for atorale reactors. When it is mined from the ground It eralts a radioactive gas called radon anlch is of ten innaled into the Mngs of miners =nere it converts af ter four days to lead 210 which remains radioactive for cre than 100 years.
Because radiation In the body Is carcinogenic, It has been discovered in the U.S.A tMac up to 2C". of uranlun miners die of lung cancer over a 20 year period of mining.
2.
Milling. Af ter the uranium ore Is mined It is then milled and refined. Thousands of tons of waste are Itaj upgg) are discarded and left lying in Muge heaps on the ground.
The tallings generated to provide uranius ' or nuclear power in ene U.S.A. over tae,next 24 f
years may produce 45 cases of lung cancar in the world per year for tens of theusands of yeafs. The causative agens is 'agal'n the gas redon which' Is continually salttes from the waste uranius n the tallings.
3.
Enrichment and fuel f abrication. The uranium Is then enriched and is faoricated into fuel rods which are transported ta the nuclear reactor, and placed in the reactor core. A typical 10C0 megawatt reactor contains 526 bundles and eaca bundle consists of 12 rods.
The radioactive uranius produces heat by fission which is utfilsed to generata electricity.
But during this process uranlurn is converted to many radioactive daugnter products *nich are the ashes o,r wastes of nuclear pcwer. Once a' year one quartar of too rods are correved from the rea or care because theIr generating life has ceased. The rods are scen thermally and radloactively very hot and must be stored on racks In cooling ponds containing.ater.
They now conta!n a very large numoer of biologically dangercus radioactive sacertals includ-Ing strontium 90, lodine 131, costura 137 and plutonture.
4 Reorocessing. EventualYy It Is hoped these rods will be transported in caskets to a reprocessing plant where they will be dissolved in nitric acid.
The plutenlurn is purtfled and removed-f rom' ne solut fort, in powder form as plutenium dioxide, it will then be us1ad as either fuel for atcrilc bomes or fuel for "breecer nuclear reactors" (reactors whica breed plutonius). It is at this point in the fuel cycle that the greatest dangers arisa once the plutonius is separated. f,lutonhas is en extrenely potent car:er pro-duc!ng matarlal, depropriately naned af ter Pluto, the God of Hell. It enters the bady of entieren a -d adults, by inhalation of contesinated. air, where I t is cecosi ted in tre ' lung.
Because of ItEpotent cancer producing precertles the acceptable body dose h'as been set at less chart 1 :nlllionth of a gram (an Invisible particle). There Is some evidence this level nas been se : too high. Cancer ~will not apoear until 15 to 20 years af ter Inhalation.
5.y extrapolatisn, 1 lb. of plutonius, universally dispersed would be adeausta to kill every man, wcman and child on e'arth.
Pest of the plutenlun manuf actured Th the fuel cycle will be In powcered form and by the year 2,020 In the U.1.A. the Industry will have produced 30,000 tons of plutenlun and there will be 100,0C0 shipments of material annually on the hignways of the U.S.A.
Because plutonium Is the basic sacertal of atomic banos, It Is nore valuaale than heroin on the black market, and therefore vulneraole to thef t by terrorists, racketeers, ren-nuclear nations and deranged Individuals. Reactor grade plutonium makes inefficlent but dirty bemos. It also has a curlous physical procerty of Igniting spontanecusly when esposed to air, thereby producing tiny aerosollsed particles which are dispersed by wind currents and avellable for Inhalation by humans and animals. One could envisage disatrous consequences if a truck were to crash and discharge scme of its coadly contents. Plutonium -tus t be transpor -.
ed very carefully, packed in small cuantitles in separate containers because only 10 lbs. Is
" critical asss" whlen means that a spontanlous at:rnic exolosion could occur if to lbs. or more.ere cornoacted togeener in a finite space.
- be most imoortant procerty of plutonius is a half life of 24,L00 years, (Half lif e of a esci:-
ar.-!ve suestance Is the period of tree for half of a given ;uantity to decay, and a similar perloc f or Malf of the remaining raa!= activity to decay, ad i nf i n i t*.ri). *herefore raciation fran man-made plutonitri will exist en earth for at least half a mi t t ien years. To illustrate the enormous medical preoiems arlsing fr:m the ;nysical precerties of plut:ntus; If an Individual sles of lung cancer engendered by slutonium, his beey allt return to aus t, but me p'utenlun Ilves on to proeuce cancer in another hunan seing.
Al thougn it will be used as " fuel" In breeder reactors, more plutenlum.elll be gr:cucad tnan will be utillsed. ' So nere.Ill to a :entf aual ne t leeresse in aiutonium manuf actured.
- 5e uclear Industry has not yet decided -nat to to nfth a!! this slutoniun "HEAE AAE NC 5AFE FE*MQ:S OF JISPCSAL ANO STORAGE AVAILA!LI A7 "Mi$ PolNT IM 71.=E.
5.
Vaste s urage. Af ter ee olue:ntum is extrac ee ' :s we selcactive <aste, very :nngee.
cus oiological elements re:naln, nlen have no furtner use sna are ure aaste orecucts.
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re,asining solution cantalas soes slutonius, realeactive locine, strontium 30, cesio anc many otrer Mignty :omic railo -uclides. Because it is extre:-ely hot, it must se stored
- in tanks wnic are cooled continuously for years. Evary month numerous lea 4s of radioact!ve westes are resorted in the U.S.A. In cuantitles from several gallons:to 20* 000 gallons.
@en rMis dangerous fluld leans it alli inevitably contaminate the =ater system of tse piaret, and the various elecents are tamen up by the food cycle. aadioactive f owice, s trontium W.
and Jeslum are assorted by roots of grass and vegetaales and are f uther concentrated in :su fles4 and ellk of animals =nen they eat the grass, lodint 131, strontiun 90 and plutonium are concentrated in mitt, toch human and animal. Casium is coacentrated in. muscle (meat) and plutonitan is also concentrated 1,000 :f es in fish :om-pared to the sackground.acer concentration. These sutstances are invisible, because :Sey are tasteless and odourless and it is Impossible to kno. nen one is eating or drin<ing or innaling radiosctive elements.
6.
Ilological properties of radioactive <aste.
All cells of the sody Mave a central nucleus walen contains ganes, the basic inherited material nich controls all c6.r characteristics (colcur of eyes and hair, size, f actal enaracteris tics, ent/me sys tems etc.).
Genes are panged my radioactive particles. Cells and genes wel:M are actively dividing (as in fetuses, tes tes and yo* ng calldren) are most susceptible to the ef fects of radiation. If a gene =hich controls the rate of call division is altered ny radiation, tse cell may divide in an ancon-trolled fasnien to produce cancer and leukaemia, it may taae f rorn 15-30 years before cancer aopears af ter the cell is excosed to radf ation, if a gene' In the scerm or egg is altered by a radioactiva particle, the young may be torn either elth an f neerlted disease, or the samy may apoear normal, out.eill transmit the damaged gsne to future generations, to secome manifest in later years.
Radioactive Iodine is absorted througn :Me bowel wall, and nigraces in the blood to :Pe thyrold gland
- Mere It my pr duce taryroid cancer.
S tront hs 90 is also assorted thr:ugn the bowel af ter being Ingested in contaminated milk, and is incorporated in tone because it chemically resemotes talcium. *his slement causes os teogenic sarcoma-a highly sellgnant, lethal tore tumour, and leukaemia, a cancer of :Pe
nite blood cells. The miood cells are formed In the tone marr:w, and are therefore suo
jected to the ef fects of radiation Fr:nn strenclus 90 In the adj acent mone.
Ceslum 137 is deposited in muscles of the body where it can produce malignant canges.
Plutonium is one of the most carcinogenic substance known.
It is not absorted througn :Pe towel wel l, excep t In Inf ants in the first fcur =eems of life amen it is ingested in ellk.
As previously described, Infants are extremely sensitive to the comic ef fects of radiation.
The route of entry of plutonitas Is by inhalation of contaninated air into the lungs. Small part!cles of plutonium are deposited deep in the respiratory passages =nere they tend to renain f or years. It is accapted that one millionth of I gran of plutonisse Is suf ficient to produce lung cancar 15-30 years af ter Initial inhalation of the element. Plutonium is also assorted f rom the lungs Into the blood stream =nere It is carried to the liver ( to produce a very.nalignent Ilver cancer), to bone (where like strontium 90, it causes osteo-genic sarcana and leumaamia), and it Is selectively taken wo f rem the Irculat ten ny tre testes and ovaries wnere, because of its incredible gone emanginq gene changing preserties, le may cause an increased incidence of deformed and diseased taoles, totn now and in future gene ra t ions. Pf utonium also crosses the placenta, from the -other's blood into tne s tood of the fetus, where it may kill a cell respons!ble for deveicoment of part of an organ, e.g.
Meert, train et=., causing gross deformittes to occur in :ne developing f etus. This meenanism for production of f atal deformitles is called terat = genesis and is different from :*e de-formitles caused my genetic mutation In the egg or sperm, tecause al:3cugn Me basi: gene structure of the cells of the fetus is normal, an I oertant call In :se d.evelooiag fetus has been ki!!ad leading to a Iccallsed defermity. (Similar to the action of the drug taalidomide).
Massive cuant!tles of radloactive wastes are being and will be produced in :Me future. The saft storage of waste is unsolved, and even if : Mere were a present-day solution, =e could no:
predict a stacle seclety or world for half a mill!cn years; we could not guarantee incorr*;o-t!ble guards, or moral politicians and we certainly cancet prevent ear:Mcuaeas, cyclones or even wars. As waste is tesm!ng now so Inevitsely will it leak in :5e future.
'.e :o u l d :9ere-fore sredice epideles of cancer and f eukaemia in children and young adul:s, and an in-creased 14f dence of Innerited ilsease (there are 2,000 descrited inneet ted diseasesi. 6:
is also inevitaole : Mat slutonium will te stolen and utilised for stomic neacon orodue:lon (1 toes of plutenlun are cresently unaccounted for in :ne 'J.5.A).
I t nas seen claimed : mat 30-9C". of all cancars may se :aused my envirennentai ;ollutants.
~5ere nas a 5% ircrease in :ancar In :re 'J.S.A. In :ne !!rst seven -onens :/ 1975, aes a total 3% rise in 1975.
12vernrients scend millions of collars searching :Pe causes of :ancer, leuwaemi a, and vert:-
ed disease, 3ut si ultaneously spend 3llIIons of dollars In an Industry :Nat.Ill alrect?y precogate imese diseases.
As a doc:or, I acceal to my f ellow -edlcal OclIsagues to Investigate : Mis ev.mous cresent and potenef al :Mreet to our sat tents, and to urgentl y Int:t ate progrens s' oroonviactic merci-o I also acoeal :o :Pe wo:sers and Fat *ers of :?e aorf d to educate :nemselves scout :.n o medical dangers of nuclear power and to demand f rom gover r-ent a safe 'uture 'or :seir elldren, grano:Miferen and :escendants.
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