ML20037D251
| ML20037D251 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 05/06/1981 |
| From: | Fouchard J NRC OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OPA) |
| To: | Cornell K, Harold Denton, Stello V NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE), Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, NRC OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS (EDO) |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20004B744 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8105290463 | |
| Download: ML20037D251 (70) | |
Text
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I'$gqa rieg(8, UNITED STATES I
(/l-Q(p[.4.a e, ay i NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION wasmucros. o. c. 20sss
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May 6,1981 Ib JM MEMORANDUM FOR:
Kevin Cornell, EDO Victor Stello IE Harold Denton, NRR Robert Minogue, RES John Davis, NMSS FROM:
Joseph J. Fouchard, Director Office of Public Affairs
SUBJECT:
juEST FOR COMMENT ON FEMA EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS Cn February 27 we asked for and received your coments on a pamphlet on nuclear energy being developed by Nancy Lcw & Associates under a contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
FFMA
. warded t1is contract in response to a December 1979 directive from the President to develop educational materials on nuclear energy.
A second draft of the FEMA panphlet is enclosed. We would appreciate your cor=ents -- by Wednesday, May 13, if at all possible.
Cognizant individuals, we believe, are:
NRR -- G. Zech (P. Fine and R. Gotchy)
RES -- H. Peterson and A. Rocklein EDO -- K. Perkins NMSS -- R. Conningham I&E -- 5. Schwartz
/
n Joseph J. Fouchard, Directo Office of Public Affairs Enclosure
Contact:
Frank Ingram 492-7715 I
(
~ 052 9 0 %D x
' NANCY LOW & ASSOCIATES, INC.
Ow,a.i.,~/e.u:.s//.a.
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VAN NESS CENTRE SUITE 410 4301 CONNECTICLT AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20008 TELEPHONE (202) 3621666 Me. crandtrn To:
Federal Radiological Preparedness C:rrdinating Cannittee (FRPC"')
Task Force en Public Infomation and Education
' Date:
May 1, 1981
Subject:
" Nuclear Power and Radiaticn: A Matter of Fact" (Tne oetailed brxlet) Draft #2 Acticn:
Review and respend with written coments directly to Nancy Inw &
Associates, Inc. by COB Thursday, May 7,1981.
Attached you will find the revised draft of " Nuclear P::ver and Radiation: A Matter of Fact" for your review. Your written carnents cn this draft need to be returned to Nancy Lcw & Assoriates, Inc. by close of business en ':hursday, May 7,1951 in crder for the infcmaticn program to keep cn schedule. We are aware that this is an extremely short emment period; bcwever, tirely co pleticn of this b:cklet oepends cn your c=rmitment to a speedy revie~r. In this effert, F M is wc king to arrange a meeting of the E~APCC Task Force en Public Infc=aticn and Educaticn for the folicwing day, Friday, May 8.
You will be contacted by FZ:% regarding the details of that meeting.
This revised draft of " Nuclear Poer and Radiaticn: A Matter of Fact" reflects the c==ents, ccrrections and recarendatices 'cf nere than a dozen FFJC reviewers, including health physicists, nuclear energy e.xperts, information officers, as wel.1 as a sangling of teachers, The reviewers' observaticns covered a bread spe'etrt=:
frcm philoscphical inplications and inferences to crganization, frcm details of scientific l
accuracy to editorial style and typagraphical errors. Frequently reviewers were able to refine nuances of reaning by drawing on their special expertise.
In s=e secticns-ncst retably these c=ntaining scientific 6etails c=ncerning radiaticn ghysics-reviewers were ainest unaniscus in recc=ending that changes be made.
In others, points of view diverged. At least che reviewer l
thought the bccPlet would make readers unduly apprehensive about nuclear
- cwer, W.ile another fer.
- d it guilty of a pro-nuclear bias.
All of the reviews have been instructive and thought-provoking, and rest of them have been encouraging. We appreciate the interest, time and effort that vent into the prccess, and we have carefully considered all of the l
suggestices. Many of them have been incorscrated into the present draft.
O I
l
=
l l
e
-- s TEKC Task Force Page 2
' Pay 1,1981 st:::ury of Revisicns Material has been reorganized to assure a nota logical flow. The intrcductory
, sectices have been more cicarly identified and isolated frcn the body of the text; several chapters and parts of chapters have been relocated. @e raterial new neves frcm an overview of nuclear p::wer plants in the U.S. in Chapter 1 to a secticn cn radiaticn (Chapters 2 through 7-Draft 1 Chapters 4,
, 7, 5, 6, 8 and 9) and then to a sectica on nuclear p::wer (Chapters 8 through l
l 16-Draft 1 Chapters n, 12, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17).
Scme sections have been extensively rewritten, in scme cases 1:ctrcwing heavily cn reviewers' suggested changes. Wese include Chapter 3 (Radiaticn: Energy in Motion) and the boxed section, " Types of Radiation."
other secticns have been enlarged. The cne cn radiatico measure:ents, for instance, new includes a description of the p c;csed new internaticnal units; the discussicn of occupaticnal exposure to radiaticn is cre detailed.
Meanings have heen clarified, terrs made nere precise, figures reconfirmed, and errors corrected.
As suggested by the reviewers, we have also added t o secticns:
a descripticn of the vr.rious radiation-: elated syriels, and a glossary of terms. Glossary terns are printed in bold the first time they a;oear in the text; the glossary itself has been added at the end of the bceklet.
Illustraticns In this revised draft we have irdicated the points that should be illustrated in the lef t-hand margin. Please note-that hy " illustration" we mean any graphic eierent other than type.
Illustraticns way well include water color / gouache / vinyl paints, photographs, diagrars, charts, graphs, pen and ink drawings and maps.
We have categorized illustraticns into one of too groups:
(a) Thematic Illustrations These are intended to " set a scene", to shcw, at a glance, a number of aspects of the point being illustrated.
I For exa ple, there might be a photo-rentage about Three Mile l
Island.
It might well shcw, in cne illustration:
an aerial view of the plant itself, a group of efficials inspecting the plant, several technicians in p ctective clothing, t.c c: three radiaticn ins,>ectc s taking.easurerents in farm land near the plant, a g cep of pecple protesting nuclear pcwer, the Ke eny Ccn=ission in sessicn, the cover of cne of the cert.issico's re;crts, etc.
The mark "T" in the rargin indicates A "-=
- lliestration and the goint being illustrated has been 6dgraigntec.-
l FFJCC Task Force Pace 3
~
May 1, 1981 (b) Factual Illustraticns These are intended to help readers understand the Incre cxrplex '
~
peints being described. For exa.ple, there might be a drawing of a cross secticn of a contain: rent building, shcwing the care, the fuel asserbly, and directicns of ficw of rederator and coolant.
~
The mark "F" in the rargin indicates a faclual illustration.
Again, the point itself has been liighlighteda Please give careful ccnsideraticn t:o scints stich vou think should be illustrated, and make acero:riate ' notations on vour cecy. Although we have collected a substantial ntrrber of sources which we have drawn upon for the preparaticn of illustratices, we would appreciate receiving any material'that you think might be useful.
As you read throtrgh this revised draft, we hoge you find it a clearer, rore cchesive, and more acrurate vehicle for conveying the facts about nuclear p:wer and radiatico to its intended audiences, which as you will recall, are individuals or groups with a pre-existing interest in these subjects, and those people requiring a ready reference in these areas for professicral or academic reasces.
We km that this public educaticn project was becun in the midst of both p.:blic and governmental outcries for solid, understandable in'or: ration about nuclear po er and radiaticn. Attached is a 1979 Washington Post editorial which serves to underscore both the level of the need and the length of time that has passed sirce editorials such as these were written.
This review and cccmant pericd is critical, but we can find ourselves beccming rcre a part cf the problem than the soluticn if we do not reve ahead with all deliberate speed to the final appreval and publication of the public education materials. With the c:rpleticn of this phase cf the inferraticn program, we reve into the develognent of the next pieces-the si.plified parphlet (" Plain Fa ts") and the w," poster / reference chart.
Thank you again for your inmediate attention, concern, time and c cperation.
Nancy Lcw r Asscciates, Inc.
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Radioactive gnorance strict, Nobe! laureate Rosa:yn.Yalow pcmted out the
. T HIRTY YEARS after Hiroshirna and more than 80 years after the discovery of radoactivity,the other day that the amousts of radcactive pctassnun vast majerity cf A=ericans do act have the vaguest and carbc: pr ese:t in a scr=a! hu. man bei:g would re.
idea what it is. Even the cemr:cc uruts in which ra.
quire that person-if he or the were a deadlaboratory dicaetinty is measured-curies, ratts a:d rems-are ani=al.-to be Esposed cf as nuclearuste..
as =cazi:gless to people as the most impenetrable The ecs: Imporu:t source of radoactidry-.and gitberish of advanced mathemaths.nis is a form of here is where ignorasce bred risk-is medcal and ignora ce thatis risky tolive with, de:tal work. As much as 99 percent of aII normal erpo.
It also produces fear of the unbown.Duringnree sure above the natu.af backgrou:d comes from med.
M.De Island, a ti:y a=ount of ndicactivity was Escov. cine. I-rays are the ecst et=meo source. and the most e ed in the =i:t at =eighborhood dairies. nis was grossly overused.nough mest meccal ex;osures are duly reported by de = eda '.* picoeuries per liter !cw deses, the tii.g to re=e=ber is that the effects of found in local =5t'-cd generated cries of panic. But low levels of radatic are simply unbowr The orJy sajt. Ficoeuries? What is the he:1 is a picocurle? In safe rule to fc:'ow h the face of this useertai:ty is that Iact, the amount of radicactidty discovered is seu.
a y ur.r.ecess:ry esposure is unwise.
crci :Acuscr.d times less than a: amount that would Modern medicine is here to stay sed so,apparest!y, have f.:stified precautic:ary measures. But how could are :uclear reacters. Society could live with them a you bow? And who could trust a gover:me:t that is let more cor:fertably, and more safety,if Americans the pts had-perhaps howingly-.atowed =e=bers had a basic k:owledge of v. tat radicactivityis,what of its armed forces asd citiae:s of Utah to be expesed its preperties are, which parts of the body are most to clearly dangerous levels of radcaetidty?
sensitive, what annual deses are thought to be safe, Even if the cuclear I:durtry were ds=antlei temor. and abat amcunu are known to be dangerous. Pro-row. radeactidty would r.".! be bescapable. It c:mes viding that knowledge is the respc:sibility of the at us as ecsmic rap a.ed occurs :sturaDy i: radcactive schocis, the f edera! government and the scientific es.
suts.ances i: the earth a:d is a!!1tu:g matter.Tryi:g tab!!shment. and none has done the jcb very well.
to ec:nnes a ec:grer.sio:a! com.=ittee that cer.a.in Whether pec;1e will care e:ough to learn it re=al:s surdards for the d:posa! cf :uclear waste are too to be see:.
Editorial, reprinted by perrnission
@ The Washingten Post.1079 l
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- DRNFT #2 - May ( 2981
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FOREWORD The accident.at Three Mile Island in March 1979 focused public attention, as never before, on the issue of n. lear power. The incident taught us many lessons, and pointed out the need for a sariety of reforms. One of the clearest lessons is that the seriousness of the situation was sharply itggravated by faulty communication-not only from the reactor monitoring instruments to the plant operators, but between utility company officials and government authorities; among local, state and federal government agencies; between authorities and the media; and, finally, between an of these sources and the general public. The net effect was confusion and alarm.
It is also true that the problem of mobilizing an effective emergency response was compounded by a generaHy poor understanding of nuclear power.
Most people know relatively little about nuclear power, how it works, and what risks are associated with it. Too often, behavior and opiniens are shaped by inaccurate perceptions or myths, rather than by-solid fac*a.
Most people have a generalidea of how to respond to a fire emergency, for example, because they have had some first-hand experience with fire. GeneraHy, pecple have little direct knowledge about nuclear power, however. It is of ten shrouded with a certain mystery and is a highly sophis,ticated technology whose main risk-radiation-is invisible.
This booklet was written specificaHy to address the public's need for information about nuclear power and radiation. It was produccc'. by the Federal Emergency Management Agency-the office charged with preparing for and I
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DR' AFT #2 - May 1,1981 responding to emergencies of a11 kinds, from natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes to catastrophes that are an outgrowth of technology, such as nuch power plant accidents.
In the event of such an accident, it is the Agency's Job to coordinate the Federal response, and to assist state and local agencies to protect the public R.ealth and safety. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also been asked to undertake a public education campaign on the subjects of nuclear power and radiation. This pubilcation, as part of that campaign, is one element in a package of print and audiovisual materials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making these materials available to local emergency preparedness officers end, through them, to the general public.
Nuclear Power and Radiation: A Matter of Fact strives to present straightforward information: to provide the basic understanding of nuclear power which is so necessary both to informed decision-making on energy policy, and to rational action in ne case of an emergency. Every attempt has been made to assure that the following discussion of nuclear power and radiation is clear, readable and responsive to the questions most prevalent in American minds.
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Federal Emergency Management Agency
- s3gol Washington, D.C.
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DRAPT 52 - May 1,1981 3.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 4
The Basics 6
1.
Nuclear Power Plants in the U.S.
9 2.
The Atom: Energy Source for Nuclear Power Plants 13 3.'
Radiation: Energy in Motion 15 (Box)
Types of Radiation 17 4.
Sources of Radiation 19 (Box)
Measuring Radiation 20 5.
Exposures 22 6.
Radiation and the Body 24
~
7.
The Controversy Over Lew Doses of
~
Radiation 27 8.
Nuclear Power Plants in. Action:
31 Fueling the Reactor 9.
Links in a Chain Reaction 33 10.
Releasing Energy, Creating Radioactivity 35 11.
Controlling Reactor Releases 37 i
12.
Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants 41 13.
The Likelihood of an Accident 45 i
(
14.
After Three Mile Island: Prevention 47 15.
- After Three Mile Island: Precautions
' 49 (Bex)
Government Voices 52 I
16.
Research and Nuclear Energy 56 Afterword 60 62 Glossary 66 S.ymbols
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, DR AFT # 2 - May 1, IM1 4.
~
INTRODUCTION Three million Americans live within 10 miles of nuclear power plants. If you are one of them, you have probably asked yourself questionslike these: What is all the controversy about nuclear power? How do nuclear power plants work? Is it safe to live near'one? What effect does it have on my family's health? Does it release much radiation? Can radiation cause cancer? What should I do if anything goes wrong? How would Iknow if something went wrong?
f Who is in charge?
Arriving at answers to questions like these has been complicated b'y a number of factors. To begin with, the 'echnology is sophisticated and the issues Am % " M) the physics of fiss(ion, the %pcil effects of radiations b.
are inherently complex:
differing interpretations of scientific data, the problems of isolating radioactive waste material from the environment, attempts to assess accident probabilities-all are scientifically challenging terrain. Too often explanations and pub 1Ications have been excessively technical, oversimplified, o. biased.
Public perceptions of nuclear power have also been confused by a multiplicity of government voices-the many agencies, bureaus and co:nmissions
- hat have jurisdiction over one or another facet of nuclear power and radiation.
Understanding is further clouded by fears, both those evoked by nuclear power's l
close links, in some minds, with the destruction at Hireshima and Nagasaki and l
those t. roused by the events at Three Mile Island.
Furthermore, the nuclear ' debate has been loud and often bitter, with both sides taking emotional and dogmatic positions. Nuclear advocates hail nuclear power as an efficient, safe and clean answer to. America's energy needs, and a key to continued economic growth. Antinuclear voices are raised to warn of l
dangers to human health and life, and to protest a society engulfed in
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. BRA,FT # 2 - Mcy 1,1981 -
5.
governmental regulations and dehumanized by techrelegy'. b te it is true that N
70,000 antinuclear protesters marched on Washin *. m May 1979, it is also true G.
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that' Americ oters have repeatedly upported referenda favoring nuclear power. As a result of le solarization, many Americans have grown skeptical of any inf -
aon on nuclear pow.
d radiation. Many others have become resigned to living with it, without underst
- 3. git.
The nuclear energy debate is too important, however, to be dismissed as too complicated, or to be accepted with complacency. While the issues and the technology are complex, they are not incomprehensible. It is possible for som,eone who is not en expert to understand the workings of a nuclear power plant and'to grasp the intricacies of radiation.
In writing this booklet, it is not our aim to make a case for o! against nuclear energy. Rather, we want to lay out the facts about nuclear power and radiat*T.. In language that is clear, but still technically accurate, we win explain what is known (and a great dealis_known), while identifying those areas that are still a matter of scientific debate. By facing the arguments squarely and r
carefully, it is possible to sort fact from myth, and substance from emotion.
F l
As you go through this booklet, we hope you will become familiar with the facts, and will gain a better understanding of the dualissues of nuclear power i
and radiation.
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DR, AFT E 2 - May 1,1981 THE BASICS Commercial nuclear power plants are run by utUity companies in order to produce electricity. hprinc~ e; they work like conventional coal or oil steam-to-electricity systems: fuel is burned to produce heat, the heat bons wate-and converts it into steam, and the steam runs a turbine to produce electricity.
What makes a nuclear power plant different-and can'troversial-is that the fuel it consumes is uranium, rather than a fossil fuellike coal or ciL When the uranium atom
- is split in the fission reaction, it produces a tremendous amount of heat which is subsequently converted to electricity. Fission not only produces heat, however, it also produces radioactive materials that give off radiation.
It is this association with radiation (more precisely, the type called icalzing radiatiort) that sets nuclear power plants apart. WhDe radiation is a naturally occurring phenomenon, and we are all constantly exposed to small amounts of it from outer space, the earth and the sun, in large amounts it wields potentially dangerous effects: it can destroy or cripple cells within the body.
Sometimes, such damage sets the stage for the appearance, many Jears later, of cancer or genetic defects. In very large doses, radiation can kill.
Consequently, nuclear power plants have a special need to control and contain the radioactive materials and radiation they produce. To this end they must conform to extensive governr,mt regulatic u: which stipulate,in great detail, how they are to be built, how'they are to be run, and how they are to dispose of their radioactive byproducts. In day-to-day operation, nuclear power plants do release radioactive materials into the air and nearby bodies of water.
" Terms printed in bold are defined in the gicssary (pp. 62-65)
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,DR AFT # 2 - May 1,1981 7.
l However, regulations call for the amounts to Se so carefuny controUed and so j
A 4can increc.se the radiation e
i sman that even in the immediate neighborhood the
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norm'any present in the environment by only abg&M percent.
s The possible release of large amounts of radioactive material as the f
result of a major accident at a nuchar power plant is a separate issue. The likelibcod of such an acc*j % kM}+ dent, acec-ding tog
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power plants are equipped with layers of protective barriers and mechanisms Ag/
designed to constitute a " defense in depth". Still, as the experience at Th A&
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The effects of an accidental release of radicactive rnaterial depend on several variables: the amount and kind of radioactive materials released how
'4 densely populated the area is, and the weather conditiens which determine e
W path the radioactive materials wiu foUow and,how,quickly they willbe dis' rsed mgA A'd y
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In general, the e#eeh! adiction-ee 'iminished by time, distance an ^
hat W
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The accident at Three Mile IslFnd gave a new impetus to concern j
about nucice, power plant safety. Government agenci,es and utilities have devised We and are implementing a variety of procedures for, ensuring plant safety: operator training is being improved, control room design is being made more eificient, additional monitoring devices are being installed, even minor malfunctio'ns are being scrutinized, additional personnel are being scheduled to work each shift, and resident safety inspectors from the Federal government are being assigned to individual plants.
Government rules now stipulate that every community in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant must have an eme gency response plan in place
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, DR AFT #2 - May 1,1981' 1
should, despite all the precautions, some improbable combination of events set in
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i motion a serious accident. The plans being developed call for the Federal Eme~rgency Management Agency, in consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to recommend pp opriate pfotectivd(sM*N J bcAM W
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actions..
4 A-vy of#iWs etNedvise-the public to seek shelter, to follow predetermined A
evacuation procedures or to take other actions, as circumstances dictate.
The following pages treat these topics in detail. We hope you will find this explanation of the facts helpful.
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NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN THE U.S.
What do nuclear power plants do?
k What is in a nuclear p lant?
pf Is the si t
mes out of a cooling tower dangerous?
xg Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Oyster Creek-the names suggest a stron along the byways of 18th century' America. The reality, though, is pure 20th century: they a e nuclear power plants, a handfulof the mere than 70 that route electricity to hundreds of communities in more than 40 states. All told, nuclear
, F' power suppUes about 12%[.cf the nation's eleet-icity, and in some areas the _.
percentage is considerably higher. In Vermont, for instance, about 85% of the state's electricity-to power everything from skilif ts to shoe factories-comes from nuclear power. The city of Chicago, with a population of 7 million and an industrial capacity compa able to that of Australic, relies en nuclear power for about half of its considerable energy needs.-
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A kglednuclear~po'wM"pYant has the look of a massive industrial complex, where the distinctive shapes of the domed centainment bunding and, The
& e h' perhaps, cyUndrical cooling towers rise above p cluster of smalle-buildings.[k
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S-h M plant is apt to cover an area the size of five football fields. Typicany, thev are c4/4,
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built next to a lake or river that can provide them with a 1s ge supply of water /
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7 They are run by utility companies, many of which also operate oil-or coal-powered plants. The construction and operation of nuclear power plants is regulated for the Federal government by the Nuclear Reguistory Commission, an independent agency whose commissioners are appointed by the President.
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D?.J.FT !2 - Liay 1,1C81 10.
i Nuclear power plants have been supplying electricity to American consumers since the late 1950s when a commercial nuclear power plant went into operatien in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. That first plant was a direct outgrowth of the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarine program. Indeed, the Shippingport reactor was a scaled-up version of the reactor that powered the submarine Nautilus.
In the mid-1950s, industry and government-through the civilian-run Atomic Energy Commission-worked together to develop an assortment of commercial reactors. During these early years-and, indeed, dating back into the early 1940s-reactor designs were models of inventiveness, trying out a variety of materials, fuels and engineering theories. Over time, though, a single type emerged as the leading design in the United States.' Today, all but one of the country's operating commercial reactors are light (ordina y) water reactors. Tht.y use ordinary water for three purposes: to transfer heat away from the reactor to the electricity-generating part of the plant, to keep the reactor cooled. and to regulate the nuclear chain reaction (a self-sustaining nuclear reaction) that'is the sou ce of the plant's energy and heat.
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The light water resctof has three inajor elements: the fuel core,
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where the nuclear reaction takes place; the cooling system end/or the steam-generating equipment; and an elect-icity generating system. Energy in the form l
of heat is produced in tne fuel core, water picks up the heat and produces steam, and the steam runs a turbine to produce electricity.
f Light water reactors come in two varieties: boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors. In the boiling water reactor, water that is pumped through the core is allowed to turn to steam. The pressurized water reactor adds an intermediate step: water pumped thrc, ugh the core is kept under high pressure, so that it cannot boil and turn to steam. F.ather, this super-hot water t avels in a closed loop through a second supply of water. It is this second i
source of water, traveling through the steam generator, that is allowed to boil.
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DRA.FT #2 - May 1,1981 11.
In both types of reactor (and, indeed, in coal and oil plants), the steam is piped through a turbine, which turns the generator that creates the electricity.
As the steam gives up its energy to the turbine, it begins to lose heat and condense back te water. To speed up this process, cool water in another, distinet loop is run through the condensation chamber. This is the water that, at some plants, is pumped back through those cooling towers that have become so symbolic of nuclear energy (even though similar towers are found at coal-and oil-fueled M-AM plants). Because this water is-=/: -? c'ay -
-d fqcontact wah the plant's M
core, the wisps or clouds of vapor that rise from cooling towers.do no
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contain radioactive materials.
The heart of a nuclear power plant is the u anium-fineh r..eactor 4 u
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[5 Ecore. The core is a honeycomb filled with bundles of shiny metal fueirods,-bathed u-
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in wateri (After the nuclear reaction is underway, water gives off a luminous blue \\ ^
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&[u glow, a phenomenon caused by radiation traveling through water faster than lighy M c
of'. does.) The rods, which are about 12 fect long, are tubes made of Zirca3oy (an y
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alloy of zirconium), a metal that dces not interfere with the nuclear chain reaction. Each tube is fined with pellets of uranium.
These rods are bound together into approximately 200 precisely a ranged clusters called fuel assemblies. Each fuel assembly slips into a compartment of the honeycomb, and water is pumped around anc between them.
Interspersed among the fuel rods are special tube's where contro1 rods and,
instruments such as thermometers can be inserted. Contro1 rods can slow down or speed up the nuclear chain reaction. They are used in starting up the reactor, and in shutting down the chain reactien-hnt:n:cu::y, if ::N The reactor core is encased within the reactor vessel, a 40-foot-high tank with 10-inch-thick alloyed steel walls, built to wi'.hstand the enormous heat E.nd pressure generated by the nuclear reectICn. The steel tank is shielded by
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- DR.4FT # 2 - May 1,1981 12.
I massive waHs of concrete and steel eight or nine feet thick, designed to block and absorb radiation.
Finally, the entire reactor vessel is anchored securely in the depths of a fortress-like containment building. Twenty stories tall, with wall.i of reinforced concre.te several feet thick, the containment building is engineered to withstand everything from tornadoes to airplane crashes.
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DRAFT #2 - May 1,1981 13.
2.
THE ATOM: ENERGY SOURCE FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS Where does the plant's power come from?
How can an atom split?
What is a chain reaction?
Tremendous energy is needed to drive a nuclear power plant. This energy derives from 'the splitting cf the nucleus of an atom-the wrenching apart of something natu e very firmly joined together-in the process of nuclear fission.
Actually, " atom" is a misnomer. The Greeks used the term "atomos",
meaning indivisible, to designate the smallest particles possible. At the beginning of the 19th century a pioneering chemist found that every substance that could not be broken down chemically-in c'l.tr words, every chemical element-was made up of tiny particles, and he chose to call them " atoms". Nearly another century went by before we learned that atoms are not indivisible, but are instead very complex mini-planetary systems.
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At the core of evard atom is a nucleus which is made up of two types I n a:s l
{f' of particles bound tightly together: protons and neutrons. Orbiting the nucleus is a third type of particle, the electron. Protone carry a positive electric charge, neutrons have no charge, and electrons car.y a negative charge. Usu' ally, the nucleus exists in a delicate balance. Sometimes, however, the balance is imperfect, and the atom is unstable. In an attempt to reach a stable state, the atom rids itself of its excess energy by giving off radiation. The process by which an atom changes from an unstable state to a more stable state by emitting
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radiation is called radioactive decay.
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. DR AFT #2 - May 1,1981
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Some unstable atoms do not merely release energy as they decay.
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They are so unstable that their nucleus actually splits apart, or fissicn~. This s
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process, which occurs occasionally in nature, is the feeee,mthat powe.rs the nuclear
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n reactors in use today. When a subatomic particle, called a neutron, strikes the nucleus of an atom of the reactor fuel (easy-to-fission uranium-215) two things happen. First, the nucleus splits into two (sometimes three) main fragments, which fly apart at great speed; and second, two or three newly free ~d neutrons are released. The flying fission fragme.s collide with surrounding ator$s. As they do, the tremendous energy of their motion is converted to heat. At the same
..me, some of the newly released neu'trons are smashing into the nuclei of other atoms of uranium-235, causing them in turn to split, thus perpetuating a chain reaction.
e A third nuclear phenomenon that produces energy is called. fusion Eh N
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fusion, the nuclei of two atoms are for,ced together to form a third, heavier atom,I with the release of a huge surge of energy. Fusion, which requires extremely high j l
temperatures, occurs naturally en the sun. F.xtensive research is underway in the iI hope of making fusion a commercial source.of elect-ic energy in the next century.
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DRAFT !2 - May 1,1981 15.
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RADIATION: ENERGY IN MOTION Just what.i.s. radiation?
By definition, radiation is energy in motion-energy radiating outward, transmitted from some source by waves (such as light waves) o-particles. As it pasm through niatter it graduaHy gives up its energy in a series of coHisions.
Broadly speaking, radiation is of two types: quantum, or wave, radiation, and particle radiation. Quantum radiations are the waves-pure energy,
. '.r no mass-of the so-caHed efetromdh.' etic'sdecM, the result of disturbances in.j)s. ~;-
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J C w h.-O spontaneously in our environment as the result of the decay of certain natural. tidN-elements such as radium.
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electrons loose. The electricaHy charged particles it leaves behind (a negatively charged electron and a positively charged atom) are called ions.
Icnizing radiation can take the form of either particles or waves. 'Ihe waves include X rays and gamma rays (very much alike, only gamma rays come
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, DR A,FT # 2 - May 1,1981 from the nucleus of radioactive atoms, while X rays come from the surrounding clectons). Particulate radiation includes alpha particles, beta particles and neutrons.
It is worth noting that alpha, beta and gamma radiatien retain their characteristic properties, no matter what their source. Whether from naturally occurring uranium er a nuclear reactor, gamma radiation, for instance, is always more penetrating than alpha radiation or beta radiation. Howeverg the biological bu &
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'- treat cancer are mych more energetic-and thereford biologically damaging-than
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(BOX) TYPES OF RADIATION Aloha carticles. An alpha particle is two protons bound to two neutrons. Lacking electrons, it carries a positive charge. Alpha particles are emitted from uranium and radium as well as from man-made elements like plutonium. Alpha particles arebm y.e y i T '..
} penet[ating}. A sheet of paper will stop them, as will human skin.
ver, they As a result, they do not pose any hazarf exte nsil'. !Lo bhr o(v f.
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are very densely ionizing; that is, they create, s.rge nu ions-and thus a lot of damage-along a very rt path. (Gainma radiation, in contrast, is much more sparsely ionizing.) 'Ihus, if alpha-emitting particles gain entry into the body-breathed into the lungs, or swallowed-the alpha particles can be very harmful to the tissues close to them.
Beta certicles. Beta particles are identical to electrons, except that they are emitted by the nuclei of radioactive materials. Beta FT radiation is usually gore pbnetrRihg than alpha radiation, but its range is stilllimited.4-ta partic2es from a rad,oactive form of w.
me i
hydrogen (tritium) can travel only 1/30 of an inch in air, or 1/25,000 of an inch in tissue. Beta radiation from other sources can be more energetic and mere penetrating. For example, the beta radiation from xenon-133, a gas released into the environment from nuclear reactors in controlled amounts, can travel 30 inches in air or about 1/25 of an inch in tissue.
Gamma rays. Gamma rays, which are released from a nucleus that P
has excess energy as a result of radioactive decay, can b6 very7.
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8 Qenetrating. Like X rays, they can pass right through a person's E. _
w body, with only a portion being absorbed. (X rays passing through I
the body are used to expose X ray film.) Although gamma and X rays can travel hundreds of feet through the air, heavy materials.
such as lead can reduce their intensity considerably. For example, i
gamma rays from a cobalt-60 machines like th'ese used to treat i
cancer can be reduced by about 1,000-fold by six inches'of lead, or
18.
Draft #2 - May 1,1981 e
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10 inches of concrete. I rays are usually weakec:. their intensity A.
I can be reduced 1,000-fold by a lead apron less than 1/10 of an inch j
thick.
Neutrons. Unlike beta and alpha particles, which carry electrical charges, the neutron is an atomic particle without electrical charge. Neutrons are found (along with the positively charged preton)in the nucleus of an atom. They may be released during fission--when the nucleus is split-or by other nuclear reactions.
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Because the neutron is electrically neutral, it does not directly f
ionize atoms. Iiowever, it is about the size (mass) of a single proton, which is the same as the nucleus of the hydrogen atom. The /
neuten can undergo a billiard-ball-like collision with these protons, knocking the proton out of the hydrogen atom, and the positively
.'# g et charged proton can go on to ionize atoms.
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or by actually being absorbed by an atom's nucleus. The new atom I
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become radioactive.
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A few radioactive materials can decay by emitting
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W neutrons, but these materials decay away in a few seconds and are
",3", 9 significant only inside nuclear reactors. Although neutrons play an
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are not of coocern from the standpoint of releases of radiocetive -
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Draft #2 - May 1,1981 4.
SOURCES OF RADIATION
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Where does radiation come from?
When we hear the word "rndiation" we see sa44e think of I rays, or"$[
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A small amounts have always been aIrinlegraTFart of our environment. We breathe w
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them and we drink them. We even emit radiation: our bodies contain (mostly from the food we eat) minute traces of naturally occurring radioactive carbon, potassium, strontium, cesium and lead.
Some of this background radiation comes from outer space in,the form of cosmic radiation, to which our sun contributes a part. Some comes from radioactive materials in the earth'r crust. Radioactive uranium, thorium and radium all occur naturally in stone and soil. Radon, a radioactive' gas produced by the radioactive decay of uranium, is everywhere. Granite contains radioactive material and so does natural gas. Water picks up radioactive contaminants as it seeps up through crevices in rock. As we make use of these natural emitte.rs of wAcu d radiation, we increase our exposure: we build houses o stone and bric cook with g-N
.h natural gas, use fertilize.7 made of phosphate an ink Scotch wh key made with N*
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sprirg water, i
e In addition to these naturally occurring sources of background radiation, we regularly encounter radiation which has been created through technology. By far the most significant of this is medical-I rays and radioisotopes, used for both diagnosis and therapy.
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'd 6 p & '.M f:. b,A (BOX)
MEASURING RADIATION P /
U When it comes to measure nts, the field of radiation terminology is crowded and confusing Roentgens (pronounced " rent-gens") vie with rems and rads, and their milli-equivalents. Then there are curies and picoeuries. In practice, rem and rad are often used interchangeably to designate X rays or gamma rays. Although health physicists draw clear distinctions between roentgens, rads and rems, for the sake of simplicity, this booklet will use tem and/or millirem exclusively. Still, you will want to be familiar with'the foHowing terms.
Roentgen. Named for the German physicist who discovered X rays, this term appUes to X rays and gamma rays only. It is based en the amount of energy it takes to ionize (jar elect ons loose from atoms, turning them into fragments can ions) a specific quantity of air. A-miniroentgen is 1/1,000 of a Roentgen.
Rad. An acronym for Radiation Absorbed Dese, the rad is a measure that indicates how much energy is deposited in a raaterial. One rad is the amount of radiation that deposits a specific amount of energy I
(to be precise,100 ergs)in ene gram of matter. One minirad is 1/1,000 of 'a rad. A typical chest X ray, for example, exposes the skin of the back, where it enters the body, to about 20 millirads.
Because the X rays are absorbed as they travel through the tissues of the body, the dose to the lungs is just a fraction of that, and the dose to the chest waH is smaHer yet The usefulness of the rad as a measure is limited because a rad of alpha radiation causes more tissue damage than a rad of gamma radiation. To make allowance for this difference, scientists devised the term rem.
Rem. A rem, or Roentgen Equivalent Man, is the amount of radiation, of any type, which has the same biological effect on human tissue as one rad of X rays. (In practice, when speaking of I rays or gamma rays, rem and rad are often-used interchangeably.) A millirem is 1/1,000 of a rem,. BiologicaUy speaking, rem is the mest
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Era,ft #2 - May 1,1981 21.
useful term. Since most human exposure to radiation involves very small doses, it is very common to speak of millirem. (Our typical annual dose of radiation from all sources is 200 millire g n t.p.X.R n%o y gA.
Person-rem. This term reflects the amount of exposure to a population rather than to an individual. It is used in assessing the total dose to all persons in a specified geographic crea, and is the l
sem of the doses to each of the exposed individuals. For example,if people were exposed to 2 millire(ms each,
.oet e dose ~would be 100,000 A
I calculated as 200 person-rems.
t Curie. Unlike the tem or the rad, which describe the energy absorbed from radiation, the curie (named after pioneers in the field of radiation, Marie and Pierre Curie) measures the amount of radioactivity in a radioactive substance-that is, how rapidly a quantity of radioactive materialis decaying. A commonly used unit I
is the picoeurie or one trillionth of a curie. k CuAd b N f
J A./dM: E' S nAu:y f&s mpt to make radiation measurements uniform worldwide,M N
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. sErl.,w% scientists have developed yet another set of terms. er.G 3.
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'o N-average-person-c.c:c,-4 hey p e n-tre tc, m n e : ~. JJ.2.m...u.e aCpler to tmde%rdis_.
In place of the rad is the cray; it is equal to 100 r2 N Y
th+ I-Instead of the rem, there is a sievert which corresponds to 100 rems o
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(and the oerson-sievert, equal to 100 person-rems). And the curie, 9';.. ~
E which is equel to 37 billion disintegrations per second, is to be l-replaced by the beecuerel, which represents one atorr. decaying per j cond.
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- Draft #2 - May 1,1951 5.
EXPOSURES Where do we usually come into contact with radiation?
How much do nuclear power plants add to the radiation around us?
9 GOM 4l On'the average, each of us is exposed to ?mssthem 200 miHirems of mA
-3%
radiation each year, from dil sourceT' ht half of that comes from natural ynO keM'Mkb A
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, background radI'atic roughly 40 minirems from cosmic rays,40 from earth and I
rock h ' 0 from radioactive eiements within ou-bodies, k^gd 4 d D-- Q s.
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We are exposed to an additional 60 or 70 millirem en the average p
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e from medical and dentalp:scedures. Fallout from worldwide nuclear weapons tp h.
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testing adds another 5 to 8 minirems per person each year. A variety of consumer v
products, from luminous watch dials to cardiac pacemakers to smoke detectors, all make a very slight contribution-less than 1 minirem.
Nuclear power plants, in day-to-day operation, add very little to our average annual 200 minirem exposure-weil below minirem per year. (The
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products from combustion at coal-burning plants also add about 1 minirem o U&
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radiation to our average annual exposure 7f y
d p ' 7 Mh M-v _,3Even if you live very near a nuclear plant, the maximum exp l r t Ng 3
j se to the could expect is between.1 and 5 millirems p e -- the averag'e p%~
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surrounding population isg,'^ less. In contrast, workers in the U.S. Capitol building receive an extra 20 minirems per year because of radiation emitted naturally from the stone waHs of the structure.
The fact is that where we live and how we live greatly influence our f
exposure. Because we are more exposed to ecsmic rays at higher altitudes, pecple who live in the Rockies can expect to receive several times mere cosmic radiation
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(about 90 millirems per year) than people who Uve at sea level (about illirems per year). People who work on the top floors of skyscrapers absorb aboutT) k J
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millirems more than those in offices on one of the Iower floors, and air travelers are exposed to an extra 5 millirems every time they fly coast-to-coast. I.iving in brick.or stone houses-especially air-tight, energy-efficient houses-leads to more radiation exposure; so does eating certain foods-Brazil nuts, for example, are high in radium. Smoking a cigarette releases a variety of radioactive elements, including potassium and alpha-emitting polonium, into the air-and into the lungs.,
Some people receive-additional exposure through their jobs. These include uranium miners, X ray technicians, and airline flight crews (because of greater cosmic radiation at higher altitudes), as well as nuclear power plant employees. The average dose to a worker in a nuclear power plant, for cxample, s about 700 millirems per year. Radiation protection standards, enforced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commissioil, stipulate that the whole-body dose (as distinct f
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from a dose to a limited area) to an individue.1 employed in the nuclear industry be limited to 3 rems (3,000 millirems) every three months and that a.p--~r? "'= time oocupalieralidOSE not-Ox0rF' ?N'**?g? 4MM0 irai'.lir\\ ym ane h_ year-e S
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6.
RADIATION AND THE BODY
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How does radiation affect my body?
What amounts are dangerous?
Can it cause cancer?
Can radiation damage be inherited?
How long does radiation damage last?
As many pioneers in the field of radiation learned inadvertently, radiation can damage tissue. I-large amounts, it ein produce burns and can cause within hours or davs of expcsure of the entire body to a acute radiatio; sickness:
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millirem)r-the victim develops nausea large cose-usuauy over 100 rems (100,000 A
and vomiting. These symptoms subside and the patient seems'to be fine. Then, after several days or weeks, more serious symptoms begin to develop:d.a W, / AM infections #
i%chko 6' A-about hen o 2-fever, hemorrhage, loss of hair, diarrhea. At a dose of 450 ro.ms'A victims will die, while about half will recover A dese of 800 rems *means almest.Welme certain death-although some individuals have been saved by heroic medical measures. (All of these instances assume that the dose is received a each level, damage is less when the radiation is spread out over a length of time, because the body is able to repair some damage.)
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In addition to these acute effects from large radiation doses (above 100 rems) other effects which may not become apparent for months or years have l
been seen in populations exposed to deses in the range of 10 to 200 rems. These
- include developmental defects involving the fetus and excess cancers, particularly leukemia. Animals exposed to radiation have also shown genetic effects-effects
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Draf t #2 - May 1,1981 that can be transmitted to offspring and future generations, as the result of alteraticas in therreproductive ceus-theaale sp m or 'em e e hs. f f y factors. Theseg[L.
- %4% N A The biological effects o radiation depen on m M M; melude:
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the amount of radiation ah,** a whether it is received an at once, or in a number of doses sprea[4 o
NY over time (which aHows for some recove y between exposures ah o
the kind of radiation-whether it i $y :
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particles, or less so, like gamma and X rays, and W
whether the whole body is exposed, or onIV a portion (In can,cer o
em therapy, where the goal is to destroy cancerous tissue, very ge ]
- doses-5,000 or even 7,000 rads-are directed at pre,.cisely defined g
.n target areas within the body.)
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Theeb.ete-Is.ics of the person being irradiated are important, t
too. It is becoming clear that some people are particularly susceptible to radiation damage, while others are very resistant. Because cens that are growing rapidly are especiaHy radiosensitive, children and fetuses are more vulnerable than adults. Radiation is also more damaging to cens that have not maturedinto
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Qx specialized cens. For example, cens in the fetus are especiaHy susceptible.
%4 Cancer cells, too, are immature, as wen as rapidy growing-both factors thMh" ^
make them a ready target for radiation therapy.
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. 1 Within the body, certain organs and ceus are especially radiosensitive. These include white blood cells and immature red blood cens (damage to the blood-forming organs can lead to leukemia); epithelial cens, which f
line and cover the body organs such as the intestines (thus the gastrointestinal
.f symptoms such as nausea in acute radiation syndrome), thyroid and breast tissue.
In contrast, tissues like muscle and nerve cells, which a e highly specialized and i
-9 Draf t #2 - May 1,1981 26.
do not divide, are more radioresistant. (An exception is the developing central n
/ *s neryous system of the fetus and young child, which is extremely radiosensitive.)
N Furthermore, certain radioactive substances, when they are taken into the body, are attracted to specific organs. For example, iodine-radioactive or not-is drawn to the thyroid. This poses a partic"M threat to the thyroid gland should alarge amount of radioactive iodine be released in the couise of a nuclear power plant accident. On the other hand, physicians exploit this trait when they J
give patients radicactive iodine to treat thyroid disease.
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Radiation causes its damage es it passes through tissue by ionizing Q
and disrupting ceHs along its path. Enough radiation wiH kill a ceH outright, while',4 lesser amounts cause various kinds of damage. The main target of the radiation is Gi
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which is the famous double-coiled Cr the ceH's nucleus, particularly, w
,k strands that contain the genes. The genes provide the information which tens r_ !,d
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ceu how to behave, and how and when to reproduce. Radiation can break one or e.
both strands of DNA, or rearrange its components, changing the genetic V
information within the cell. It is thought that the potency of alpha radiation lies
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in its ability to cause double-strand breaks. In addition to these subtle changes,
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43 radiation can cause gross breaks, visible with modern microscopes, in g
s chromosomes, the rod-shaped structu es that contain the DNA. Very often, sO l
irradiated 'cens stop dividing, at least for a time.
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. 3 Cens appear to have several mechanisms for repairing damage as lonb y 3.-
as it is not too extensive. However, the repair systems themselves are far from foolproof; even after it has been repaired, the ceu may manufacture the wrong V
products, or grow too rapidly. Subtle changes, which a e not well
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eventually lead to the cen's transformation into a cancer ceu.
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Draft # 2 - May 1, k981 27.
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7.
THE CONTROVERSY OVER LOW DOSES OF RADIATION Does even a little radiation cause disease?
Are scientists sure about the effects of radiation?
What is a safe dose?
How significant is our annual average exposure of 200 millirems? Will it cause cancer, or genetic defects? The answer is complicated and somewhat controversial.
For one thing, most of what we know about the long-term effects of I
radiation comes from studies of persons who received large doses of radiation-
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survivors of the atomic bomb epicsions in Japan, and groups of people with a variety of diseases whose treatment included large doses of radiation (in contrast a4 M C*
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There is very little dateen the effects in humans of low dos than 100 millirems), for a number of reaso.ns. ThekcG: gAa small dose of S.. f isk fro
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1 radiation is so slight that it is impossible to isolate. Should small doses of JA i
radiation trigger the development of leukemia, let us say, it would taka at least several years before the first cases would show up. Then, when they did develop, these mses of leukemia could not be distinguished from other cases', whatever ause. hijdktigthe chances of a radiation-induced leukemia fro (N thei:
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oses are so small-only oTie among perhaps 100,000-that the increa es over the
" natural" rate of leukemia could not be detected.
The most that,can be said is that radiation, at a specified d'ose range, l
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may increase the risk a specified amount. This is similarwo saying that smoking A
cigarettes increases the risk of lung cancer: not everyone who smokes gets Iung
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Draf t #2 - May 1,1981
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cancer, it is just that smoking increases the chances. And when the "d'ose" of 4
cigarettes !s small enough--say, one er two cigarettes a day-then the degree of risk, if any, Is uncertain.
In an attempt to arrive at numerical estimates of the risks of low-dose radiation, scientists have devised a number of mathematical approaches.
,f. /g These incorporate both the experiences of people who recelyed high doses wp,Qvj a
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r-radiation (and these groups have been very thoroughly studied), and the results of L e T= A La 5 A h> ~g%, N & c A Q :
4 j*'32N$L.ic [iThe most authoritat ve and up-to-date J
in the latest report of the National Academy of Science's Committee on the 4
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E Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR HI). The repcet also contains twog M h.
dissenting views, one of which holds the BEIR E estimates are too high by a factor of 10 cr more, the other, that they are too low by a factor of two er three.
Among the BEIR Committee's conclusions:
A one-time, whole body dose of 10,000 millirems would generate o
an increasedlifetime cancer risk somewhere in the range of 0.5%
to 1.4%. A centinuous lifetime expcsure to 1,000 millirems per year (or 70 rems over a lifetime) would boost the chance of IOPo developing cancer by 3% to*lLj. (We should remember that one
/
rem, which is 1,000 millirems, is five times cur annual background dose of about 200 millitems). In a group cf one milkien pe where 160,000 cancer deaths from all causes can be expected, this means that a one tem per year exposure would increase the 160,000 by 70 to 180 excess deaths per rem. (This is half the number estimated earlier, in a 1972 BEIR Committee study.)
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.r It is impossible to tell, with present methods, whether or not the o
effects of 100 millirems per year (about half our average annual,
exposure) arc JdramentaL NEM at & dm Q M @ -
Heredity makes some pecple especiaHy resistant to radiation o
damage, and other people especially susceptible.
The efIects of radiation on the developin;; fetus-whether effects o
occur and, if they do, what type they are-are greatly influenced by the stage of development at which exposure occurs.
i Malformations are thought not to occur at very Iow doses, although the risk of cancer may be increased in children born to women who received diagnostie X rays to the abdomen during pregnancv.
Scientists have never succeeded in demonstrating that radiation o
produces genetic defects in human beings (not even among the Japanese atomic bomb survivors). However, projections from animal and laboratory studies suggest that if aH parents in the population received a ond-tim'e expcsure of 1,000 millirems, somewhere between 5 and 75 additional serious genetic defects i
would occur in every million live offspring. (This is a small increase compared to th cQ of genetic defects, m
which is about 1C0,000 per million).
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l Allin an, then, it appears that doses on the order of 1 rem or 1,000 minirems, per year (five times the typical background dose of 200 miHirems) may I
i carry risks, albeit slight ones, of increases in cancer and genetic defects. The possibility that there are levels below which no dam 5ge occurs-100 minirems, for instance-has not been ruled out, or in. A " SW.ww AM( ~~
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- f pmH In the absence of any conclusive proof that such a safe level exists, 8-authorities assume for purposes of radiation protection that any level of radiation e:hesure carries some risk. This assumption is reflected in two basic principles of radiation safety:
o Assume that even small amounts of radiation could be harmful, and avoid exposure unless some offsetting benefit is to be derived.
o Make every effort to keep exposures as low as paceNa _
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8.
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN ACTION: FUELING THE REACTOR Why is uranium a good nuclear fuel?
Can t. nuclear power plant blow up IIke a bomb?
I The fuel for an U.S. commercial reactors is uranium-235. Uranium is i
I found in all the rocks of the earth's crust, but deposits worth mining are few.
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Most of this country's 500 or so mines ahloi.at'ed]n the West, most notably in New Mexico, Wyoming and Colorado.
The mining of uranium is only the first step in a long and elaborate process. Only a minute portion of naturally occurring uranium-Iess than1%-Is
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u anium-235, a fcrm that assions readily and can thus be used to sustain a chain t
reaction in a nuclear reactor. The rest is uranium-238. (All uranium atoms have 92 protons in their nucleus, but different forms, or Isotopes, have a different number of neutrons. Thus an atem of uranium-235 has 92 protons and143 neutrons (92 + 143 = 235), while the more c~ommon uranium-238 has 92 protons and 146 neutrors.)
To be usefulin a light water reactor, uranium must be at least 3%
uraniura-235, so the natural ore has to be enriched. Uranium ore is taken to a mill where it is ground, chemically treated, and converted into a concentrate known as yenowcake; it takes a ton of ore to yield just three pounds of yellowcake. Then this concentrate-converted from yellowcake to a gas-must be enriched to 3%
e uranium-235 at one of the country's three government-run enrichment plants. M'.
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D (exiched. Typically more than 90% of it must be uranium-235; at the very.least it
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R mu'st be.10% to 20% enriched. Since reactor uranium is only 3% uranium-235, it is physically impossible for a reactor to explode like a bomb. (Other factors, including design, also make such an explosion impossible.)
Uranium is a particularly apt target for fission because it has a large number of protons in its nucleus, and protons naturally repel one another.
Furthermore, its abundance of neutrons is a good guarantee that, as it fissions, it will discharge free neutrons to continue the chain reaction.
Uranium-235 is easy to fission because, when a free neutron strike.s its nucleus, the nucleus splits. Uranium-238, in cont ast, absorbs such c neutron; 4 34 7
in the process it turns into plutonium-239 through a series of decays, but without 4
releasir.g neutron:, or sustaining the chain reaction.
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9.
LINKS IN A CHAIN REACTION What is a chain reaction?
Can a chain reaction get out of control?
To establish and sustain a chain reaction, a reactor must contain a sufficient amount of uranium-235-a r* ical mass In a geom ically prege 44 A
h ao ohef aim f-configuratic The basic rule for a self-sustaining cdain reaction is tha the number of neutons being produced by fissions has to be balanced by the number of neutrons " lost" to subsequent fissions or capture, so that on the average each fission causes only one subsequent fission. This condition is known as criticality.
Since one fission is capable of releasing more than one neutron and thus setting off more than one subsequent fission, reactors must have ways to capture surplus neutrons and preserve this delicate balance.. To begin with, there r-(7
/"7 are eggb'1 reds., which are loaded with neuton-absorbing elements like boron or 4.t;)$ p h M cadmium or silver. The concol rods can be inserted or withdrawn, fully or partially, to slow the reaction down or speed it up-whatever is necessary to i
maintain criticality. In the case of a malfunction, the conto 1 rods are MM es l
i prog ammed to drop into place, automatically, instantaneously halting the chain reaction. (Of course, merely stopping the chain reaction t reverse one of the worst types of reacter accident-the type that involves a loss of coolant, or 1
cooling fluid. Even after the chain reaction stops, the scores of radioactive waste products in the core continue to decay, releasing tremendcus quantities of heat l
d that need to be carried off by dditional circulating coolant.
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Draft #2 - May 1,1981 34.
The reactor core also contains materials that are quick to soak up any extra neutons that may pass by. These are often added to the cooling fluid,,too l
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Another critical element in the nuclear reaction is provided by the moderator; in the case of light water reactors, the moderator is the same ordinary
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water used to cool the reactor. Neutrons freed during fission normally travel at about 12,000 miles per second-much too fast to allow many neutrons to fission the uranium-235 atoms. The moderator slows the neutrons to a speed of about one mile per second, thereby greatly increasing the chances of an encounter between a,
neutron and uranium-235, and thus a fission reaction.
The need for a moderator provides a built-in safety valve. If a light water reactor should lose its coolant-and thus its moderator as well-the neutrons would no longer be slowed enough to cause fission and the chain reaction would halt, even without control rods.
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10.
RELEASING ENERGY, CREATING RADIOACTIVITY l
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.Why is there radioactivity in a nuclear power plant?
What is a half-life?
l.
What happens to uranium in a chain reaction?
s' A ceramic pellet of uranium fuel-about the size of the tip of your little finger-contains the energy equivalent of about 100 gallons of oil As it releases energy, through the process known as fission, the uranium is split into many radioactive byproducts called fission products, and neutrons. Some of the neutrons go on to trigger additional nuclear reactions, and to create yet other sg m c,TQ 6 we d$,
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radioactive byproductsy ical w ilds up an enormous
' ' ^ M. orking reactLr, The net effect is that a k
- c-I,F F store of radioactivitv. The uranium fuel contributes only a smif1part of this L_. u -
g total. The rest comes from the fission products, and parts of the reactor core 4 tw& Acd>d 0
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that are made rad.ioact.ive
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Some of the radioactivity, of course, ceases to exist, as the t
radioactive elements deccy. The time it takes for a radioactive element to decay is measured by its after one half-life, half the original radioactity has gone; after two such periods, only half of a half, or a fourth, remains. After 20 half-lives, only one millionth of the radioactivity is left.
- Some radioactive elements decay swiftly, some slowly. Iodine-133 has a. half-life of 21 hours2.430556e-4 days <br />0.00583 hours <br />3.472222e-5 weeks <br />7.9905e-6 months <br />, while the half-life of krypton-39 is only 3.2 minutes.74
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v' But iodine-1d1 has a half-life of 8.1 days, and krypton-85 has a n'alf-life of 10.7 years. One of the concerns about plutonium-239, which is created in light water reacters, is that it has a half-life of 24,300 years. The half-life of potassium-40, which exists naturally within the human body, is 1.3 billion years.
36.
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tritium-a form of hydrogen-will appear. Many of these elements are f */
radioactive; that is, they give off different types of radiation, at varicus rates.
Eventually scor'es of different radioactivs and stable elements build up in the fuel hdA rees.
In addition to fission, a second source of radioactiv'ty within the core is non-fission reactions. One of these is the process called neutron capture; when a flying neutron hits a uranium-238 nucleus, the nupleusgay not fissi n. Rather,
(&&W tM it may absorb and capture the neutron.2In the process it can be transformed into
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L f/ eutron capture occurs randomly in the light water reactors u e
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.the U.S. today. It is, however, the essence of breeder reactors, which are (discussed.in the_section_on "E_esearch andlN,ucl' ear Enc;gv." _,
A third source of radioactivity in aquelear power plant comes from the activation-also through neutron capture-ef materials other than the fuel:
l when neutrons created by fission strike the Zi caloy cladding (covering) of the fuel i
rods, for instance, or the structural materials of the core, or the coolantitself, l
i they can create additional radioactive products. These are called activation,A
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.i, products as distinct from fission products.
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Draft # 2 - May 1,1981 11.
CONTROLLING REACTOR RELEASES How does a nuclear power plant keep radioactivity from escaping?
What kinds of radioactive substances are created in a nuclear reactor?
Eow are radioactive releases messured?
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NW-Altogether a working nuclear reactor creates about 70 radionuc b
&me bi4nkte' quantities and many with short half-lives. Under normal operating conditions,Nvecyc.4=.w ever get out into the environment. Most of the fission A
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fragments lodge in the solid, encased fuel. Over time, the uranium fuelis used up through fission, and the fuel rods ary remYed from the core pe
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Only small proportions of the rad lioactive byproducts are either gase
%l-M or solids that are easily converteg! Jojva or, and which can escape from the fuel Adf M WA
- elements If Gefects de elop in the Zirealoy cladding of the fuel rods, such substances-which include xenon, krypton, and iodine-are able to leak into the coolant. The coolant can also pick up radionuclides that are created when D'*
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neutrons activate materials that make up/.the structure of the core, or when 4
neutrons activate substances within the coolant itself, or even slimes that collect on pipe suriaces.
To make sure that very little of this radioactivity actually escapes from the nuclear power plant, the coolant undergoes variouq 55 mu processes. Both IIquid and gas waste streams are continuously filtered, phys bAu <Cvg c_A or chemically. This removes most of the radioactive materials. The radioactive 4
waste concentrates are the3 eld in storage areas unjil,7.ost of their radioactivity h
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has naturally decayed. Water,is diluted, sampled and analyzed to make sure its
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radioactivity levelis, low, then it is emptied into the lake or river supplying the
, Draft #2 - May 1,1981 38.
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plant. Radioactive gases are also stored to allow them tb decay, and are then released through a tall chimney (not a cooling tower). Strict federal guidelines
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stip'ulate the amounts and once trations of wastes that can be released to the f
environment
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- 1 It The most significant radionuclides emitted from a typical nuclear power plant under normal conditions include:
krvaton-85 and xenon-133. These gases in themselves are o
biologically inert. They emit gamma radiation and some betph S&".-
g M c.Mf w4 radiation. The amount of these gases released from an averag A
1,000-megawatt nuclear reactor can range anywhere between 200 and 30,000 curies a year, but they add little to the millions of AM +
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the earth's atmos curies of radioactive materials alread 6&a
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b % c.c.:J. e m t s p m Xenon-133, which has a half-life of 5.3 days, was a prirrar P
contributor to the radiation doses' received from the Three Mile A Island reactor accident (see the section on " Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants") Krypton-85 is longer-lived; its half-life is 10.7 years. Krypton-85 became a source of public concern when the air from the Three Mile Island containment building was eve ^ A y c w intentionally released ah~ 'Mafter he accident but[tha v
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f) j iodine-131. Iodine can be absorbed in tissue, and if egncentrates,
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it can enter in the thyroid gland. By contaminating grazinglan^ ^
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the food chain, finding its way into milk and other food j
products. But only very small amounts of fodine-131 are released-0.01 to 0.03 curies a year from the average 1,000-megawatt reactor.
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Draft !2 - May 1,1981 39.
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carbon-14. Like all carbon, carbon-14 can become incorporated into any of the ceUs in the body. It emits beta radiation.
Although only sman amounts are released-perhaps 8 curies a year from the typical 1,000-megawatt plant-it has a half-life of 5,730 years. There are some 220 miHion curies of carbon-14 already in the a,tmosphere, mostly from cosmic rays, and about 6
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tritium. An isotope of hydrogen, tritium is distributed uniformly o
throughout the' body. It has a half-life of 13 years, and it emits weak, short-range beta radiation. An average nuclear plant releases between 100 and 1,000 curies each year, mostly
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Two other nuclides produced 2ssion fragments in nuclear reactors are strontium-90, which has a half-life of 28 years, and which is attracted to bone within the body, and cesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years, and which is
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the principal source of ground contamination. Since both of these elements are capable of enterirg the food chain, they would become a matter of conce n if they escaped in an accident. In the normal course of events, however, they are trapped in filters and are not released in appreciable quantities into the atmosphere.
The emissions of nuclear power plants are closely regulated; the amounts of radionuclides that are aHowed into air or water must not exceed strict Federallimits. The utilities that run the plants, local health departments and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission an use sensitive detecters to monitor radioactive l
releases not only at the plant, but in scattered locations throughout the i
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F : oundihg countrysTie. They also coHect and test semples of water, milk, meat, Lsu_
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fish, vegetables and other substances that people might eat or drink. In addition, samples of soil and seaweed are coHected and evaluated as indicators of
E Draf t #2 - May 1,1981 40.
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long-term buildup of radionucUdes in the environment. This information is reported to the Federal government; the documents a e available for pubHe inspection.
In general, the record of nuclear power plants in contro1Dng and limiting emissions is a very good one. As we have seen above, a person who lives next door to a nuclear power plant is exposed to about I to 5 extra millirems of g... A3 radiation each year, above the 200 mi1Urems everyone receivesgrom, all sources.%
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12.
ACCIDENTS AT NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
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What happened at Three Mile Island?
Did a lot of radioactive materials escape?
Were people around Three Mile Island injured?
What is a meltdown?
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Since March,1979, the name "Three MUe Tsland" has become
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synonymous with the threat of a major nuclear reactor accident. At Three Mile Island, an improbable series of minor mechanical malfunctions, compounded by poor judgments by the people operating the reactor, led to aless of coolant from the reactor core.
A less-of-coolant accident is one of the mt serious that can threaten a nuclear power plant. Without coolant, the core of the plant is in danger of overheating because the radioactive substances in the core continue to generate heat even after the chain reaction has been halted.
At Three MUe Island, the coolant began to escape through a smaII valve that stuck open. The reactor's emergency water supplies came on automatically, but the operators, not knowing the coolant was escaping, Intentionally shut the supplies off. The chain reaction itself was cut off by the
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control rods dropping into place when the accident was only 8 seccnds old.
However, the radicactive decay products in the core continued to generate a t emendous afterheat. Coolant continued to escape into the containment building j
I for more than 2 hou:s, and then the water pumps, which had begun to vibrate f
bsdly because air had built up within the pipes, were shut down. Withcut enough water to keep the upper part of the core coveree, the zirealoy.:laceing or the fuel w
Drkf t ii2 - May 1,1981 42.
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rods began to deteriorate. Radioactive gases then leaked from the fuelinto the coolant, and subsequently into the containment building. Some of the radioactive gases traveled through the purification system into an auxiliary building, and ultimately out into the environment.
Two hours and 20 minutes after the accident began, a backup valve w;as closed, preventing any more coolant from escaping. In the days that followed, the plant operators, nuclear engineers and safety experts worked a~round the clock to stabiHze the reactor.
As numerous investigations and analyses of the accident have shown, the operators' training had ill prepared them to cope with circumstances that were not specifically detailed in the manuals. Their lessons had placed little emphasis on theory relating to core cooling, for instance, or thermodynamics, or on the principles underlying the emergency instructions. Furthermore, their training presupposed that no more than one system would fail at a time. Faced with multiple failures, with no guidelines for handling such a combination of malfunctLans, and no theory to fallback on, the operators not surprisingly misread the situation. Time af ter time they made.the wrong move.
No one knows for certain what would happen if a core were to melt l
i down. Authorities who analyzed what would have happened if there had been a i
core meltdown at Three Mile Isisnd concluded that the containment probably I
would have held, and that there probably would not have been any major release of
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radioactivity into the environment.
As it was, the containment system at Three Mile Island worked.
l Af Although the reactor was severelv damaged me t of the radioactive fissiond -)& cu h% nk
% wk.fA products were contained. About half of the radioactive gaseg-several million i j//
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curies-were released into the environment.
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, Draft # 2 - May 1,1981 43.
It is estimated that the average dose of radiation to people living
~T within klE-mIie'$ditis of the plant was 8 mi1Hrems-less than 5% of their annual L
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average exposure. Within a 50-mile radius, the average dose was 1.5 minirems.
The greates+ ossible individual dose was less than 100 mD1irems; the greatest (M
)
.}mewn dose, received by a man who was working on a nearby Island,.was 37 A
mDlirems.
Elaborate ground-level and aerial measurements showed that the emissions around Three MUe Island consisted primarily of radioactive xenon and krypton-two or three million curies-and sman amounts-perhaps 17 curies-of radioactive iodine. The greatest radiation-1,300 miHirems per hour-was measured by a helicopter ' lying at 200 feet altitude Just over the plant's vent stacks, through the center of the radicactive emission or plume. The greatest ground-level dose was 365 mUlirems per hour on the site, and about 50 minirems per hour at ground level next to the plant. Radicactive iodine was detected in mDk, at a maximum level of 36 to 41 picoeuries per liter,(1.06 quarts)
-far below the 1,200 picoeurie per liter level which the Food and Drug Administration regards as being of concern. An adtIlt who drank a quart of such milk would receive a dose to the thyroid of half of one miHirem.
After painstaking analyses, investigators concluded that the radiation released at Three Mile Island would have minimal biological effects. Without the accident the two million people who live within 50 miles of the plan't could be expected to develop, over their lifetimes, 325,000 cases of fatal cancers; the M)
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exposure from the accident could increase this number by about eney
( m. S ~ % ) e A L=2*r. %.
A.t the accident was evolving, however, there was little assurance that the off-site effects would be so minor. Information coming from various government authorities, utility officials and the media was confusing and often j g M
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frighten.mg. -mergency response was in disarray. Thousands of people were v___
Draft #2 - May 1,1981 44.
evacuated; thousands of others prepared to leave. Studies have shown that the 4
worst harm suffered by nearby residents was mental stress created by the uncertainty, the "What if. ?"
Three Mile Island was not our only experience with a nuclear accident. In 1966, a fuel asembly at the Enrico Fermi reactor near Detroit partly melted when the cooling system failed. No one was injured, but the plant hao to be shut down for four years. (It operated again for several years before being closed permamently.) In 1975 workmen at the Browns Ferry reactor in Alabama, using a candle test for air leaks, accidentally set the electricalinsulation on fire, knocking out several of the reactor's vital systems. Fortunately, the core was not damaged, and no radiatien escaped. Indeed, there have been no deaths directly related to radiation exposure in the more than 20 years of commercial nuclear plant operations in the U.S. (Three maintenance technicians did die due to the force of an explosion at an experimental government-run research reactor at Idaho Falls in 1961. The explosion was caused by manual withdrawalby one or more of these technicians of a control rod blade considerably beyond the limit specified in the maintenance procedures.)*
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Draft !2 - May 1, k981 45.
.P 13.
THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN ACCIDENT What are the chances that a serious accident will happen?
This question opens up one of the most controversial and confusing heets of nuclear power. Scientists trying to estimate the risk of a major accident have not been able to arrive at a definitive answer.
The most ecmprehensive attempt to grapple with the numerical probabilities of a reactor accident was the 1975 Reactor Safety Study prepahed for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by a team of 60 nuclear authorities from P.round the country. This study (also known b
" WASH-1400") estimated s
the probability of a major reactor accident to be extremely remote; a person was no more likely to be killed by a nuclear plant accident, it said, than by a falling meteor. Because the Reactor Safety Study was widely criticized, for both its
~
usumptions and its methods, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission assembled a blus -ribbon panel to review it. After a year's. eliberations, the review panel d
concluded that the Study contained much that was praiseworthy, but that,in the absence of experience with nuclear accidents, it is impossible to estimate the l
I' probabilities of one with any precision.
Ironically, scientifically derived risk estimates may not always do much to influence the public n of the risks: one study by psychologists in Oregon, for example, shows that people tend to perceive nuclear power as by l
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', Draft #2 - May 1,1981 46.
far the greatest risk to which they are exposed-far more threatening than handguns, motcreycles, nicohol, or airplanes-all of which are associated with
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frequent fatalities. Other survey data also support the conclusion that many Americans perceive the risks associated with nuclear power to be a serious problem; those who live in the vicinity of nuclear power plants, however, appear less likely to share this view.
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14.
AFTER THREE MILR ISLAND: PREVENTION Is the government dolng anything to make nuclear reactors safer?
What is industry doing?
In the af termath of Three Mile Island, governme.nt and industry have Initiated a number of programs to diminish the *dkelihood that such a serious I
accident could happen again.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission reforms have been aimed not only at improving nuclear engineering and technology, but also at changing attitudes and putting a greater emphasis on human factors. The Commission has developed a detailed action plan that, among other things, calls for additiona1 personnel on duty in the centro 1 room, more stringent qualifications for reactor operators, and.
training programs that both incor orate a, broadened c,ontant and aJe more closely f 4-a gym
,"y m.l s monitored by thc. Commission.
e Commission has also est blished a special office to analyze operational data from nuclea' power plants,in order to detect trends that could signal potential safety problems.
To minimize the possibility of future accidents, the nuclear power industry established the Nucleu Safety Analysis Center. In its role as a t
clearinghouse on technica1 safety issues, the Center screens and analyzes reports of the seemirgly minor kinds of malfunctions that triggered the accident at Three t
Mile Island, then relays its findings promptly to nuclear power plants around the l
country.
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48.
Drgft #2 - May 1,1981 With an eye to the " people problems" that ccatributed to Three MUe i
Island, the nuclear industry also set up the Institute of Nucles: Power i
Operations. Supported by all of the utilities that operate nuclear power plants, the Institute aims to establish industry-wide " benchmarks of excellence" in plant management and operation. It seeks to insure that training programs are upgraded and accredited, and that instructors are certified. It has also developed a computer bank.of technical specialists, to allow utHity companies,to share expertise. Should an accident occur, the Institute would coordinate the response of private industry.
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v Draf t !2 - May 1,1981' 49,
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15.
AFTER THREE MILE ISLAND: PRECAUTIONS
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What happens if there is an accident near me?
How willi know what to do?
Local, state and Federal governments, as well as industry, have now developed plans to cope with an emergency should, despite a11prever.tive I
measures, an accident occur. Indeed, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now requires utilities and local communities to have approved emergency preparedness plans in place in order for a reactor to be IIcensed for operation or to continue in cperation.
t In the event of an accident, the utility would be in charge of the emergency response within the boundaries of the nuclear plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would monitor the activities at.the. plant, provide expert analysis and consultation, and assure that actions taken to manage the accident are in the bust interests of pub!!c health and safety. Each of the countrfs nuclear power plants now has a hotline that leads directly to the Commission's Operations Center (just outside Washington, D.C.), staffed 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> a day with senior-Ievel personnel The job of wordinating the off-site response to a nuc1 ear plant
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accident lies with the' Federal Emergency Management Agency. As thheM i
&ody that is responsible for helping state and local governments respond to, and 1
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recover from, all sorts of large-scale crises-from earthquakes to toxic spills to l
ficods-the Agency is experienced in supervising evacuations as well as managing, emergency communications. It has developed guidel nes for siste and local agencies, and assists them in developing th3ir radiological emergency response l
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Draf t # 2 - May 1,1981 50.
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plans. It holds public hearings to review the plans, and it makes sure that the responses of state and local bodies are well coordinated with those of the utilities.
Off-site plans' distinguish between two zones, one that ecvers an area within a 10-mDe radius of the plant. In which direct exposure to radiation from the plume (the Invisible cloud of' radioactive materials) is oossible, and a 50-mue zone, where i
radioactive elements could expose people indirectly by entering the food chain through the contamination of water supplies, food crops or grazing lands.
~ Community leaders and local government agencies are expected to make protective-action decisions and to work together to mobDize their resources and enlist public cooperation. They are required to develop and publicize 9
emergency preparedness plans, and to conduebIni[u'a31 ' ills.
In the event of an accident, communities within 10-miles of the pla.'t
-the zone where exposure to the plume is possible-must alert and notify all inhabitants promptly-through sirens, radio and television broadcasts, loudspeakers, or door-to-door contacts-and to advise them of appropriate protective actions, whether to seek shel.ter or to follow a predetermined evacuation route.
The actual detaDs of an emergency response depend on the nature of r
the accident: how quickly it is evolu.g, and how much radioactive materitiis likely to be released, if any.
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An accidental emission wru'4pr4heoly consist of a plume of, hot gasas containing a mix of radionuclides. The plume would rise into the air--possibly hundreds or thousands of feet, depending on how hot the gases are-and then m~
disperse. The path cf the plumei would depend on the weather. Brisk winds would T
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s move the plyme along, perhaps confining it to a nerrow channel but, over a
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distance,1 iluting its impact. Stagnant air conditiens, on the other hand, could stall it over a relatively small area, while rain could wash a concentration of radionuclides to the ground.
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Drait # 2 - May 1,1981' 51.
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broadcasts would specify the course of action that would be most advisable.
(TO BE INSERTED: COMMENT ON POTASSIUM IODIDE, PENDING RECEIPT OF FDA'S DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS.)
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(BOX)
GOVERNMENT VOICES Nuclear power and radiation touch many aspects of cur lives. In addition to energy, they affect our environment, our health, our homes and our jobs. Because these concerns are so diverse, and their impact is so far-reaching, the Federal government has aIlocated responsibilities among a variety of departments dnd agencies. Among them:
Department of Commerce. The National Weather Service cooperates in provides viesther Information, storm warnings and detailed meteorological data to be used in making off-site dose estimates.
Deca-tment of Enerry. DOE fosters research and develcpment of new and better forms of energy. Its fission energy research programs encompass nuclear fenctors, nuclear weste management and nuclear medicine. In the event of a nuclear power plant accident, DOE is responsible for coordinating all off-site technical activities-radiological monitoring, evaluation, assessment and reporting-conducted by Federal agencies.
I Department of Transoortation. Should a radiological emergency, occur, DOT would coordinate is responsible for coordinating federal transportation support, as requested by state and local authorities.
The Department would also provide assistance to state and local.
transportation officials and directs air traffic in and around the l
affected area.
r Envirenmental Protection Agency. The EPA's role is to set basic guidelines for all radiation that directly or indirectly affects health. These guidelines serve as a basis for the standards that limit l
the amount of radioactive material that a nuclear power plant is i
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.r allowed to release into the environment. De EPA also monitors background levels of radiation.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA is responsible for the off-site responses to a nuclear power plant accident. It is charged with making sure that all communities in the vicinity of a nuclear plant have prepared a plan and rehe.arsed their response to a possible accident. In such an event, FEMA would coordinate the off-site, non-technical activities of all Federal agencies, providing the i
state whatever assistance it needs in the areas of transportation, communications, housing and the Implementation of other protective measures.
Department.of Health and Human Services. Within EHS, the Food and Drug Administration's Bureau of Radiological Health is charged with regulating radiation-producing products such as I ray machines, assessing public health risks, and acting to reduce
~
unnecessary exposure. HHS also works with the Department of Agriculture in developing recommendations for state and local officials on protective measures fcr foods and animal feeds, and provides guidance on the use of radioprotective drugs.
Nuclear Reculatory Commission (NRC). The NRC regulates all commercial nuclear activities, from uranium milling through reactor operation and commercial waste disposal. It licenses and regulates both nuclear plants and the operators who run them. In the case of an accident the NRC is responsible for evaluating the situation, notifying the appropriate Federal and local agencies, and coordinating responses to the emergency within the confines.of the plant.
Decartment of Articulture. USDA is concerned with the protection of livestock and crops from contamination by Eccidental releases of radiation, and with preventing any such radiation from entering the food chain.
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Draf t # 2 - May 1,1981
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Because so many agencies share responsibility for the varied aspects of radiation and nuclear power, some overlap of responsibilities is perhaps inevitable. Sometimes it is difficult for individuals, citizens groups or local governments to discern which department is in charge of a specific area, and the Government has been criticized for speaking with a multiplicity of voices. The Government's awareness of these shLrtcomings, which was heightened by the confusion that arose at Three Mile Island, has encouraged bridge-building among the various jurisdictions.
One response taIIored specifically to possible accidents at commercial nuclear power plants was the development, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, of a master emergency J
preparedness plan. This Iays cut in detail the responsibilities of the various agenchs in responding to a State's recuest for assistance.
l Another e.pproach to coordinating efforts, and to keeping channels of communication open, is through the work of interagency committees. Several are active in the areas of accident response, radiation research, and waste dsposal:
l Federal Radiological Precaredners Coordinating Committee.
Representing those departments and agencies responsible for managing radiological emergencies, FRPCC provides a central l
forum for developing a unified approach and eliminating duplication I
of efforts.
Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee. The NSOC consists of five lay persons charged with monitoring the progress being made by l
FEMA, NRC and the nuclear power industry in responding to the l
recommendations made by the President's Commission on the f
Accident at Three MIIe Isisnd.
i Interagency Radiatien Research Ccmmittee. The IREC's focus is radiation research. Chaired by the Department of Health and Human Services,it is responsible for coordinating a comprehensive
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Draft i2 - May 1,1981 55.
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Federal research program on the biological effects of ionizirg radiation.
Radiation Policy Council. Composed of the heads (or their representatives) of 13 federal agencies, and chaired by the Administrator of the EPA, the RPC has been given a broad mandate to coordinate the formulation and implementation of federalpoIIcy
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Draft #2 - May 1,1981 16.
RESEARCH AND NUCLEAR ENERGY What's going on in research?
Are there new kinds of reactors?
Where and how can wastes be stored?
Will fusion.ever be an option?
As part of its present commitment to nuclear power, the U.S.
sponsors a wide range of research. Scme of it is directed at improving the safety of IIght water reactors now in use, along lines we have already discussed-preventing accidents and increasing the reliability of reactor components.
Another research thrust seeks more efficient use of uranium fuel; one goalis to extract a greater percentage of fissionable uranium-235 from existing uranium supplies. Although a variety of reactors are in use.in other countries, the only kind other tiv.n the light water reactor ope ating in the U.S. today is the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in Colorado. This is the Fort St. Vrain reactor which uses helium, not water, as a coolant, and graphite blocks as the moderator.
Another type, the}ie"e6er.rea_ctoi, is the object of both research and controversy. Originally developed in the 1940s, the breeder reactor gets its name from its ability to c*eate more fuel than it uses: one type commonly discussed starts with a fissionable core of plutonium; surrounding the plutenium is a blanket,
of uranium-238-the 99% lef t over from the enrichment of uranium-235. Unlike '
uranium-235, which fissions when it encounters a neut on, u anium-238 captu es the neutron and is transformed into fissionable, or fissile, plutonium-239. (In addition, unlike the neutrons in a light water reactor, these a e ' fast" neutrons-v-
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Dnaf t # 2 - Mcy 1,1981 that is, they have not been moderated, or slowed.) Eventually, the reactor creates enough new fissionable material to replenish its own fuel and operate additional breeders.
Several types of breeder reactor have been under development. The most advanced is the liquid-metal fast-neutron breeder reactor. This modelis cooled not by water, but by liquid sodium, a material that allows the reactor to operate at high temperature and low pressure. One such reactor, the Fast Flux Test Facility, has been built at Hanford, Washington, to test fuels and materials of the type to be used in commercial fast breeder reactors.
A second tpe of breeder, the light water breeder reactor, is being tested at Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Instead of the ura'nium/ plutonium cycle of the liquid-metal fast-neutron breeder reactor, the light water breeder reactor transforms thorium into fissile uranium-233. This approach has several advantages. Not only are reserves of thorium large, but existing 1Ight water reactors could be converted into light water breeder reactors.
The controversy surrounding breeder reactors arises in part from
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concerns that the plutonium being produced by'the breeder-and during the ensuing reprocessing of breeder-produced fuel-would create a supply of fissionable material that could be diverted to the manufacture of nuclear weapons. In response to these concerns, the licensing of a commercial fast l
i breeder demonstration project, the Clinch River Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was deferred for several years.
Another focus of both research and controversy is the dispesal of rcw l'.J dioactive waste. As the nuclear enterprise evolved in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was generally assumed that spent fuel-containing the radicactive byproducts of the fission process, still encased in fuel rods-would be transpcried to reprocessing plants. There its veluable contents, including about a third of the original
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D;af t #2 - May 1,1981 uranium-235 plus a substantial amount of plutonium, could be separated, recovered, and used again to fuel nuclear reactors.
A large reprocessing plant would be responsible fcr handling tens of thousands of kilograms of plutonium each year; since less inan 20 kilograms are rcquired to make a nuclear bomb, plans to operate rem:ocessing facilities ran
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h.ead-on into concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation. There are no commercial reprocessing facilities currantly in operation in the II.S.
About one third of the fuel rods in a reactor core are used up and removed each year. At present, most are being stored in deep pools of water at
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each plant site. Although mest of the radioactivity in spent fuel rods dissipates during the first 180 days in storage, the remainder is highly radioactive-and win remain so for hundreds or thousands of years. On-site or off-site pools are considered a temporary solution, one that willbuy timegerhaps 10 or 20 years-while leng-term alternatives are developed and evaluated.
There is little consensus about suitable disposal of high-level nuclear wastes-that is, the concentrates left from reprocessing (as wen as from nuclear weapons manufacture) and, for the time being at Icast, the spent fuel rods. 'Itc best way to isolate potent and long-lived radioactivity from the environment is not certain. One pcssible approach is to solidify the wastes into glass or ceramic penets, e.ncase them in metal containers, and bury them in deep mines located in geologicaHy stable areas.
In 1980 the Government announced a comprehensive nuclear waste management program, a key element of which involves identifying four er five potential sites, aH geologicaHy different, that could serve as a large nuclear waste reposito y. From these, one or two are to be selected and licensed.
Well into the energy future-sometime in the next century-lies the prospect of using nuclear fusion rather than fission to produce electricity
59.
Draft #2 - May 1,1981 commercially. For fuel, fusion relies on two forms of an abundant element, i
hydrogen-the isotopes deuterium and tritium-and produces little in the way of radioactive byproducts. In the fusion process, two isotopes of hydrogen are heated to such a high temperature that the fuel becomes a plasma-a state of matter In which atoms lose their electrons. The two hydrogen nuclei are forced together to form a single nucleus of helium. As this happens, they release a neutron carrying an enormous amount of energy. When the neutron is captured in certain materials, it produces heat energy, which serves as fuel e
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Draft #2 - May 1,1951 60.
AFTERWORD In this booklet, we have posed and answered many questions about nuclear power and radiation. In the process we have created a frame of reference, identified areas of uncertainty, and laid out facts. We know that the nuclear technology is elaborate, the machinery is highly sophistiea'ted and the waste products are potentially lethal. The system, like many systems, reIIes on human performance, and is therefore vulnerable to human error.
Still, answers to other questions are not so readily forthcoming.
Energy concerns today are used as a fulcrum in the debate over many broadar issues. For example:
Does a growth in energy needs necessarily mean a growth in o
nuclear energy? How much of our national resources should be allocated to developing nuclear power as opposed to other forms of energy.?
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I health of future generations in order to achieve short-term l
l energy goals? How is this different from non-radioactive toxic wastes?
Does the country's economic well-being demand, as some insist, o
that our energy needs continue to grow? Or should we look to zero growth, as others urge? Do we agree that "small is beautiful"?
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Draft #2 - May 1,1981 Does extensive government regulation-a prerequisite for nuclear o
safety-translate into too much government interference? Or, is this balanced by a high standard of living, and the leisure in which to enjoy the benefits of civilization!
These questions cannot be answered by this or any other publication.
'nle questions shape fundamental choices, which each of ur must be prepared to address.
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l GLOSSARY Each of the following terms is printed in bold the first time it appears in the text:
l atom: The basic building block of all matter. An atom is the smallest particle of a chemiced element (such as iron, hydrogen,' gold or uranium).that stillhas the properties of that element.
background radiatiom The radiation of man's environment. Naturk1 background radiation consists of radiation that comes from cosmic rays and from naturally radioective elements of the earth, including those found in the ground, in food, and within our bodies. In addition, we are s.11 exposed to small amounts of radiation from non-natural sources-most notably, that produced for medical diagnosis and treatment.
breeder reactor: A nuclear reactor that produces more nuclear fuel than it consumes, by transforming a certain type of atom that does not split into a type of atom that will split easily.
chain reactiom A self-sustaining series of events in which the nuclei of atoms fission, or split, thereby producing pa.rticles (neutrons) that cause other nuclei, in--
turn, to fission.
cIndding. The metal, typically in the form of tubes, that encases the reactor fuel containment building: The nuclear power plant structure that houses the reactor vessel, the steam generator and equipment, and the piping containing reactor '
coolant. The building is engineered to prevent the release of unacceptable quantities of radioactive materialinto the environment.
control rods: Rods filled with materials that readily absorb neutrons, the atomic particles that sustain a nuclear chain reaction. Control rods can be inserted among the fuel rods in the reactor core to slow down or halt the chain reaction, or they can be withdrawn to speed it up.
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coolant: A substance that is pumped through a nuclear reactor to abcsrb the heat it produces. In the light water reactors widely used in the U.S. today, the coolant is ordinary water. Other common coolants are air, helium and liquid sodium
. metal.
cooling towers: Tall cylindrical structures which speed up the condensation of the -'
water that is used to cool power plants.
core, reactor: The key ecmponent of a nuclear reactor. The core contains the fuel in which the chain reaction takes place.
cosmic radiatiem Naturally occurring radiation that comes from the sun and from outer space.
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.Dra(t #2 - May 1,1981 The point at which a nuclear reactor is capable of sustaining a chain criticality:
reaction in which the number of neutrons being produced by fission is exactly balanced by the number of neutrons "Iost" to subsequent fissions or other nuclear activities.
electrom A subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. Electrols carry a negative electric charge.
The processing of uranium ore to increase its concentration of enrichment:
uranium-235 in crder to make it useful as a nuclear fuel fission, nuclear: The splitting of the nucleus of an atom into two or more smaIIer atoms, often with the release of large quantities of energy. Fission is usually accompanied by the emission of neutrons and gamma radiation.
The smaller atoms formed when atoms fission, or split. Many fission products:
fission products are radioactive.
A series of plants and/or animals in a community, each of which is' food chain:
related to the next as a source of food. It is possible for radicactive materials to find their way through the food chain into animals and humans. For example, dilute radioactive materials from nuclear pcwer plants can be taken up by algae.
The algae are then consumed by zooplankton, which are in turn eaten by small fish. The rhain continues through larger fish to animals and humans. At each step the radioactivity can be further concentrated.
fuel assembly: A bundle of fuel rods. The reactor core contains about 200 fuel assemblies.
Slender metal tubes filled with pellets of uranium fuel Grouped into fuel rods:
fuel assemblies, fuel rods are the heart of the reactor core.
The process by which the nucle,i of two atoms combine to form a fusion, nuclear:
third, heavier atom; the reaction can release great quantitles of energy. The sun produces its energy through fusion.
A measure cf the time it takes for a radioactive element to decayr half-life:
after one half-life, half of its origina1 radioactivity has disappeared; after two such periods, only half of a half, or a fourth, remains. The half-life of a substance may vary from a fraction of a second to thousands of years.
The electically charged particles-negatively charged electrons paired with ions:
positively charged atoms when ionizing radiation such as an X ray strikes an atom and jars loose some of its electr ons.
Radiation that has enough energy to far electrons loose from ionizing radiation:
atoms of the material through which it passes. Ionizing radiation is capable of damaging living tissue.
Nuclides, or species of atoms which have the $ame number of protons isotope:
(atomic number), but different numbers of neut ons and thus exist in alternate forms. For example, the element uranium is a nuclide that exists as several diffrent isotopes, including urar.ium-233 (92 protons and 141 neutrons), uraniu:n-235 (92 protons a.d 143 neutrons), and uranium-238 (92 protons and 146 neutrons). A radioisotope is a radioactive isotope.
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64, Draft #2 - May 1,1981 light water reactor: A type of nuclear reactor that uses ordinary water (light water, or H O as distinct from heavy water, or D 0) both as a moderator of the 2
2 nuclear chain reaction, and as a coolant. Two types are in use in the U.S.: The boiling water reactor uses boiling water as the primary cooling system, and the steam from the primary cooling system turns the turbine to generate electricity; in the cressurized water reactor the water in the primary cooling does not boil; rather, water from a secondary and separate cooling system boils, creating steam to turn the turbine.
meltdown: A condition produced by excess h' eat in the reactor core, causing the metal cladding of the fuel rods, and then the fuelitself, to melt. A meltdown could raise the possiblity of the release oflarge quantities of radioactive materials.
moderator: A substance used in a nuclear reactor to slow down the neutrons that are freed in a chain reaction. When neutrons travel at a slower speed they are better able to cause other atoms to fission, thus perpetuating the chain reaction.
' neutron: A subatomic particle that, together with the proton, is found in the nucleus of aII atoms. Neutrons carry no electric charge. Tney are released when atoms split (fission).
nuclear energy: The energy produced when the nucleus of an atom is split (fissiened), or when two nuclei are joined together (fusion).
nucleus: The inner core of the atom, consisting of neut ons and protons bound tightly togethr".
nuclide: a particular species of atom, identifiable by the. number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. A radionuclide is a particular type of atom that is radioactive. For example, carbon-12 is a stable nuclide, whereas carbon-14 is'a radionuclide. Although technically nuclides are not the same as isotopes, the.two terms are commonly used as synonyms.
plume: The name given to the invisible cicud of radicactive materials that can be emitted from a nuclear reactor in an accident.
proton: A subatomic particle that, together with the neuron, is found in the l
nucleus of all atoms. Protons carry a positive electric charge.
i radiation: E'ergy in motion, radiating from some source in the form of either waves or particles.
i radioactive decay: A natural phenomenon, in which unstable atoms spontaneously emit excess energy. This excess energy, known as nuclear radiation, can take the l
form of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays.
radioactive materials Elements that are unstable and thus emi: radiation. Many radicactive materials a: oroduced by the fission process within the core of a
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reactor, nucIcar: A power plant designed to convert nuclear energy into electicity.
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Draft # 2 - Mcy 1,1981 SYMBOLS
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