Rethinking Nuclear Power 2. Fear

1
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Radiation and health
• Three Mile Island and Chernobyl
• Nuclear weapons proliferation
• Waste

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
2
Preface to Fear
The most significant obstacle to nuclear power is
the publics fear. People fear invisible
radiation, cancer, and mutations, nuclear power
plant melt-downs, hazardous waste, nuclear
weapons, and terrorism. None of these are
totally unjustified, but the risks are very
small, especially compared to lifes other risks.
3
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Radiation and health

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
4
New York Times, May 5, 1940
5
The alpha particle is two protons with two
neutrons -- a helium nucleus.
alpha decay
http//nuceng.ca/igna/radioactivity.htm
6
In beta decay a neutron changes to a proton,
increasing the atomic number.
http//nuceng.ca/igna/radioactivity.htm
7
Gamma radiation just lowers an excited nucleus
into a stable state.
http//nuceng.ca/igna/radioactivity.htm
8
Alpha, beta, gamma radiation penetrate tissue
differently.
Stopped by a epidermis ß metal foil ? lead
block
All can create multiple ionizations, disrupting
molecular bonds in cells.
http//www.eas.asu.edu/holbert/eee460/RadiationPa
thTissue.pdf
9
The heavy elements are at the end of the periodic
table.
http//www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html
10
Uranium slowly becomes lead.
Pb End
U Start
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table_(wide)
11
Many heavy elements decay naturally.
Plutonium Neptunium Uranium Protactinium Thorium A
ctinium Radium Francium Radon Astatine Polonium Bi
smuth Lead
250,000 Y
5 GY
1,600 Y
4 days
a decay
ß decay
Nucleons
12
The uranium-238 radioactive decay chain includes
radium and lead.
? U-238 half-life is 4.5 billion years.
http//www.ocrwm.doe.gov/curriculum/unit2/lesson2r
eading.shtml
13
Units of radiation are Bq, Sv, rem
Current SI units Activity 1 Bq (Becquerel)
1 disintegration per second Dose 1 Gy (Gray)
1 joule per kilogram energy absorbed 1 Sv
(Sievert) 1 Gray (for X-ray, ?-ray higher for
a, ß) Old units 1 rem (roentgen equivalent
in man) 0.01 Sv 1 Ci (Curie) 3.7 x 1010
Bq 1 mSv 100 mrem
14
Most background radiation comes from inhaling
naturally occurring radon gas.
Worldwide background radiation 2.4 mSv/year
US background radiation 3.0 mSv/year
dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/beir_vii_final.pdf
15
0.18 of background and man-made radiation comes
from nuclear power.
iis-db.stanford.edu/evnts/4371/Abrams_-_BEIR_VII_P
PT_V2.ppt
16
Cosmic background radiation depends on altitude.
1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0
mSv/yr
www.lowdose.energy.gov/images/Powerpoint_Dose.ppt
17
Biological effects of ionizing radiation depend
on the dose.
18
Radiation dose examples.
19
The Linear No-Threshold relation between cancer
and radiation is controversial.
Anti-nukes say any radiation is
harmful. Pro-nukes say life evolved in a
background of low level radiation and the body
repairs or replaces damaged cells. BEIR VII 2005
supports LNT cancer proportional to radiation,
even at low levels.
20
100 mSv of radiation creates a 1 lifetime risk
of cancer.
BEIR VII 2005
humansubjects.energy.gov/other-resources/07hswg-mt
g/Douple-Rad-Effects.pdf
21
mSv x 78 yr x 1 Prcancer Prcancer
yr lifetime 100 mSv
lifetime
Use conservative BEIR VII LNT to convert typical
radiation doses to cancer risks.
22
BEIR predicts cancer rates in examples.
78 yr life cancer risk
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
23
Predicted cancer rates from radiation.
78 yr life cancer risk
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
24
Predicted cancer rates from radiation.
78 yr life cancer risk
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
25
Predicted cancer rates from radiation.
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
26
Background radiation is relatively large.
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
2.4 mSv/yrbackgroundradiation
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
27
Normal cancer rates are also large.
42 normal cancer lifetime risk
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
28
Proof of LNT is hidden behind the veil.
42 normal cancer lifetime risk
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
2.4 mSv/yrbackgroundradiation
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
Source RFH
29
Compare radiation risks to unlikely events.
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
180,000 lifetime lightning death risk
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
http//www.reason.com/news/show/36765.html
30
Compare radiation risks to unlikely events.
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
120,000 air travel death risk
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
http//www.livescience.com/environment/050106_odds
_of_dying.html
31
Compare to the convenience of driving.
Smoking 1 ½ packs a day ?
78 yr life cancer risk
177 lifetime traffic accident death risk
? Grand Central worker
coal mining ?
? human internal P-40, C-14
annual mammogram ?
atmospheric nuclear testing ?
living near a coal power plant ?
? nuclear fuel cycle
Radiation dose mSv/yr
http//www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr50/nvsr50_05
.pdf
32
Other activities with a one-in-a-million risk of
premature death are

• Living 5 years at the boundary of a nuclear
  power plant.
• Traveling 10 miles by bicycle.
• Traveling 300 miles by car.
• Traveling 1000 miles by airplane.
• Living two months in Denver.

Bernard Cohen, per Domenici, A Brighter Tomorrow
33
Fiestaware is colored with U3O8.

• Typical uranium content of a glazed item is about
  5 g (26 kBq).
• For a restaurant
• - a dishwasher would receive 0.34 mSv/yr
• - a waiter 0.08 mSv/yr
• a customer 0.002 mSv for a 4-hour exposure
• Chemical toxicity is about the same as lead.
  Uranium-glazed dishes should not be used for
  acidic foods.

http//www.orau.org/busops/ivhp/health-physics/fil
es/fiestaware-collectors-guide.pdf
34
Smoking kills two ways.

• Tobacco phosphate fertilizers contain radium,
  lead-210, and polonium-210.
• Radium decays to radon to radioactive metals that
  cling to dust that cling to sticky leaves.
• Pb-210 and Po-210 in smoke are concentrated in
  lungs, where they alpha-decay.
• 1 ½ packs per day ? 13 mSv per year
• 40 yrs ? 520 mSv
• BEIR VIII ? 5 cancer risk ? 2.5 death risk
• Observed lung cancer death rate 10.
• ? ¼ deaths from radiation, ¾ from chemistry.

http//www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/sources/tobacco.html
35
Homework compute your own radiation exposure.
mrems
so divide your answer by 100 for mSv)
pick up printed worksheet handout
or use interactive worksheet at ?
http//ans.org/pi/resources/dosechart/
http//www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/a
verage-dose-worksheet.pdf
36
Extrapolating LNT leads to sensational
conclusions. True?
2,000 Atmospheric Nuclear Tests beget .005
mSv/yr x 78 yrs/lifetime x 1Prcancer/100mSv x 6
billion people 234,000 people who may
contract cancer
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_testing
37
A study of 70,730 nuclear shipyard workers shows
hormesis, not LNT.
http//www.ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_englis
h/low-dose-NSWS-shipyard.pdf
38
A study of British radiologists showed more
radiation improved mortality.
http//www.ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_englis
h/low-dose-NSWS-shipyard.pdf
39
Deaths from radiation to rats exhibits threshold,
not LNT response.
Henriksen and Maillie 2003 Radiation Health
40
Chernobyl workers death rate from radiation
exhibits threshold, not LNT.
Wade Allison, Radiation and Reason, 2009
41
Leukemia deaths of atomic bomb survivors were not
affected by radiation exposure lt 200 mSv.
http//www.bioone.org/action/showFullPopup?doi10.
1667/RR3232idi0033-7587-162-4-377-t07
42
Solid cancer deaths of atomic bomb survivors were
not affected by radiation exposure lt 100-200 mSv.
Wade Allison, Radiation and Reason
43
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Three Mile Island

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
44
Media had hyped radiation incidents out of all
proportion to casualties.
Radiation
Motorvehicleaccidents
Industrial accidents
Asphyxiation
Bernard Cohen per Power to Save the World,
Gwyneth Cravens
45
March 16, 1979 The China Syndrome
with Jane Fonda Jack Lemon Michael Douglas
46
March 28, 1979 Three Mile Island
Accident happened12 days after the release of The
China Syndrome movie.
47
A nuclear power plant has a steam generator,
turbine, and cooling.
http//www.irsn.org/en/document/site_1/fckfiles/Fi
le/dossiers/chernobyl_essential_va/chernobyl.pdf
48
John Kemeny led the TMI commission.
John G. Kemeny, Chairman President Dartmouth
College  Bruce Babbitt     Governor of Arizona
Patrick E. Haggerty     General Director Texas
Instruments Carolyn Lewis     Associate
Professor Columbia University Paul A. Marks    
Vice President Columbia University Cora B.
Marrett     Professor University of
Wisconsin-Madison Lloyd McBride     President
United Steelworkers of America Harry C.
McPherson    Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, and
McPherson Russell W. Peterson     President
National Audubon Society Thomas H. Pigford    
Professor Nuclear Engineering UC
Berkeley Theodore B. Taylor   Princeton
University Anne D. Trunk     Resident 
Middletown, Pennsylvania
Accident March 28, 1979 Report October 16,
1979
http//www.pddoc.com/tmi2/kemeny/
49
The pressure relief safety valve (PORV) opened
control rods stopped reactor.

• Secondary feedwater pumps stop.
• Primary temp pressure rise.
• PORV opened, but pressure rose.
• Reactor automatically SCRAMed.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_acc
ident
50
A series of mistakes led to damage.

• Decay continued heat at 6.
• Water continued to escape via PORV.
• Emergency cooling water feed pump failed because
  workers had not turned on valve after earlier
  test.
• Lower pressure formed steam rather than
  heat-transferring water.
• Fuel pellets heated up.
• Safety cooling water pumps started automatically.
• But PORV indicator incorrectly indicated
  pressurizer too full, so
• Operators turned off safety pumps.
• Steam bubbles in coolant pumps forced operators
  to shut pumps down.
• Fuel pellets started to melt.
• An operator closed PORV, added water, cooled
  reactor, ended immediate crisis.

51
The public was frightened.

• WKBO and Associated Press notified the public.
• Public wrongly told of radioactive steam release.
• Radiation of .02 mSv/hr across the river.
• Radioactive waste water within NRC limits
  discharged.
• Radioactive gas vented from stack (lt12 mSv/hr)
• Governor advised residents stay indoors 30 min.
• Schools closed 10 mile evacuation zone plan
  readied.
• Hydrogen within containment building raised
  concerns.
• President Carter visited TMI.
• A week after accident, some normalcy returned.

Governor Thornburgh
52
Operator error had root causes.

• Training of operators was greatly deficient.
• Specific operating proceduresare at least very
  confusinglead operators to take the incorrect
  actions.
• Lessons from previous accidents (13 months
  before) did not result in new, clear
  instructions.
• Important safety issues are frequently raisedbut
  are not carried through to resolution.
• Little evidence of the impact of modern 1979
  information technology within the control room.
• More than 100 alarms went off, and there was no
  system for suppressing the unimportant signals.

Maintenance tags obscured emergency feedwater
indicator. ?
53
TMI accident aftermath

• No deaths, injuries, or subsequent health
  effects.
• TMI-2 shuttered radioactive fuel, water, and
  waste removed.
• Expensive clean-up and financial loss.
• Industry training, safety and reliability
  practices improved.
• No nuclear plant construction for 30 years.

http//www.nei.org/filefolder/The_TMI_2_Accident_-
_Its_Impact_Its_Lessons_1207logo.pdf
54
TMI fostered nuclear power opponents.
http//www.tmia.com/croom.htm
55
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Chernobyl

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
56
May 2, 1986
photocopy from Boston Public Library per
interlibrary loan to Howe Library, Hanover NH
57
Chernobyl reactor 4 exploded April 26, 1986.

• RBMK design flaws
• Steam bubbles do not moderate nor
• absorb neutrons,
• but graphite moderation continues.
• Positive void coefficient (unstable).
• Power goes up as temperature rises.
• Control rod graphite tips increase
• moderation as inserted until boron
• carbide rod in place.
• Only partial containment.
• Automatic SCRAM override switch.
• Management errors
• Operators unaware of non-intuitive
• behavior control rods, low power.
• Operators did not follow test plan.
• Safety systems were shut down.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
58
RBMK reactor was originally designed to produce
plutonium.

• Adapted for power production by adding water
  channels.
• Online refueling to remove plutonium while
  still bomb-usable.

59
The explosion happened during a test.
11 pm Excessive power reduction poor
control. 115 am Contravened procedures. Continue
d test. Switched off emergency shutdown
cooling. 122 am Automatic system ordered
shutdown. Personnel continued test. 123
am Turbine steam valves turned off, raising
pressure. Control rods ordered lowered,
but? Power peaked at 100x normal. The fuel rods
broke up. Overheated uranium pellets
exploded. Deflagration lifted the 2000 ton upper
slab. Air ignited the graphite core.
http//www.irsn.org/en/document/site_1/fckfiles/Fi
le/dossiers/chernobyl_essential_va/chernobyl.pdf
60
Liquidators worked 15 min shifts. Kostins first
photos were black.
61
This Chernobyl Forum report is credible.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
62
38 people died from attributable radiation.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
63
15 children died from cancer otherwise rare in
children.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
64
600,000 liquidators were exposed to elevated
radiation levels.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
65
600,000 liquidators were exposed to elevated
radiation levels.
US nuclear plant employee radiation exposure is
limited by NRC rules to lt 50 mSv per year.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
66
Among these liquidators, 4,000 fatal cancers are
predicted by LNT.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
67
Among these liquidators, no fatal cancers are
predicted by atomic bomb survivor data.
The observed atomic bomb survivor cancer
threshold is 100-200 mSv.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
68
Of the other 5 million, fewer than 5,000 excess
fatal cancers are predicted by LNT.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
69
Of the 5 million, no excess fatal cancers are
predicted by atomic bomb survivor data.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
70
53 people died from attributable radiation.9,000
may die from excess cancer by LNT.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
71
53 people died from attributable radiation.few
from excess cancer (atom bomb data).
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
72
Radioactivity in the air 2 days later.
0.1 1 10 100 Bq/m3
(6 Bq/m3 is normal atmospheric radon background.)
http//www.irsn.org/en/index.php?positionchernoby
l
73
The heaviest fallout of cesium-137 was near
Chernobyl.
http//www.irsn.org/en/document/site_1/fckfiles/Fi
le/dossiers/chernobyl_essential_va/chernobyl.pdf
74
Cesium-137 contamination of farm products dropped
rapidly at first.
note log scale

• Early contamination was the deposit on leaves.
• Since 1987 C-137 drawn up through roots.

http//www.irsn.org/en/document/site_1/fckfiles/Fi
le/dossiers/chernobyl_essential_va/fiche14_va.pdf
75
Cs-137, with a half-life of 30 years, still has
limited effects on agriculture.

• Currently, Cs-137 activity concentrations in
  agricultural food products produced in areas
  affected by the Chernobyl fallout are generally
  below national and international action levels.
• However, in some limited areas with high
  radionuclide contamination (parts of the Gomel
  and Mogilev regions in Belarus and the Bryansk
  region in Russia) or poor organic soils (the
  Zhytomir and Rovno regions in Ukraine) milk may
  still be produced with Cs-137 activity
  concentrations that exceed national action levels
  of 100 Bq per kilogram. In these areas
  countermeasures and environmental remediation may
  still be warranted.

http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
76
The economic cost of Chernobyl is high.

• 5 of Ukraine government spending still relates
  to Chernobyl.
• Belarus government spending on Chernobyl has
  dropped from 22 to 6 of the national budget.
• Total Belarus spending on Chernobyl from 1991
  and 2003 was 13 billion.
• Belarus estimated the 30-year losses to be 235
  billion.

http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
77
There is related economic activity.
http//www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Chernoby
l/chernobyl.pdf
78
Genetic effects of radiation are nil, but
sensationally misrepresented.
Miss Chernobyl 2004
http//www.joe-ks.com/archives_jan2004/MissChernob
yl2004.htm
79
Genetic effects of radiation are nil, but
sensationally misrepresented.
BEIR VII Studies of 30,000 children of exposed
A-bomb survivors show a lack of significant
adverse genetic effects. genetic risks are
very small compared to the baseline frequencies
of genetic diseases Chernobyl Forum no
evidence or any likelihood of observing ecreased
fertility among males or females in the general
population as a direct result of radiation
exposure. These doses are also unlikely to have
any major effect on the number of stillbirths,
adverse pregnancy outcomes or delivery
complications or the overall health of children.
http//www.joe-ks.com/archives_jan2004/MissChernob
yl2004.htm
80
10 RBMK-design reactors still operate today, with
upgraded safety systems.
http//www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf31.htm
81
The Chernobyl exclusion zone is now a wild-life
sanctuary.
Europe's largest wildlife sanctuary, a
flourishing at times unearthly wilderness
teeming with large animals and a variety of
birds, many of them members of rare and
endangered species. .. Cesium-137 is packed in
their muscles and strontium-90 in their bones.
But quite astonishingly, they are also thriving.
http//www.amazon.com/Wormwood-Forest-Natural-Hist
ory-Chernobyl/dp/0309094305
82
Belarus to Repopulate Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
by Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski On July 23, 2010,
Novosti, Interfax, Interia, other Belarusian,
Russian, and Polish news agencies announced that
the government of Belarus decided to resettle
hundreds of thousands of people back into the
2,000 ghost-villages in the Chernobyl exclusion
zone from which they had been hastily removed 24
years ago.
http//www.amazon.com/Wormwood-Forest-Natural-Hist
ory-Chernobyl/dp/0309094305
83
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Nuclear weapons proliferation

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
84
Atomic bombs killed 200,000 people.
Hiroshima, Japan August 5, 1945 70-140,000
deaths 60 kg U-235
Nagasaki, Japan August 9, 1945 40-80,000
deaths 6.4 kg Pu-239
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hi
roshima_and_Nagasaki
85
Nuclear weapons designs are not secrets.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design
86
Many nations now have nuclear weapons.
Russia
UK
France
N Korea
USA
Syria?
Israel
China
Iran?
Pakistan
India
S Africa?
87
Weapons do not arise from civil nuclear power
plant reactors.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_n
uclear_weapons
88
Proliferation sprang from a 1945 effort.
NY Times, Dec 9, 2008
89
Proliferation sprang from 1945 US.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_n
uclear_weapons
90
Fuel is enriched to 3-5 U-235.
UF6, uranium hexafluoride gas, is the vehicle for
both U-235 and U-238. Evacuated tubes contain
rotors 1-2 m long and 15-20 cm wide. Spinning at
60,000 rpm creates centrifugal force of one
million Gs. The slightly heavier U-238
increases in concentration near the outside. The
lighter U-235 concentrates inside. Slightly
U-235 enriched UF6 is passed to the next stage
centrifuge.
F6U-238 F6U-235
(An older, more costly UF6 diffusion cascade
process is being phased out.)
http//www.world-nuclear.org/how/enrichment.html
91
Neutron absorption makes U-238 into Pu-239, but
also Pu-239 into Pu-240.
spontaneous fission
fission
beta decay
neutron absorption
92
Pu-239 is made in nuclear reactors.
ß
ß n U238 ? U239 ? Np239 ? Pu239
95 of reactor fuel is U-238. The Pu-239 created
also powers the reactor. Spent fuel rods contain
Pu-239 and well over 7 Pu-240. Plutonium can be
chemically separated from the remaining uranium
and fission products. Weapons-grade plutonium is
produced in special breeder reactors with a
blanket of unenriched uranium.
5.3 kg ring is enough for a nuclear weapon.
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium
93
The nuclear fuel cycle in the US does not include
reprocessing.
http//www.eas.asu.edu/holbert/eee460/NuclearFuel
Cycle.pdf
94
Nuclear weapons proliferation is discouraged.

• International Atomic Energy Agency (1957).
• 189 parties to Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
• President Carter stopped US reprocessing.
• to be a model for other nations to follow.
• France, UK, Japan, India, and Russia reprocess
  spent fuel.
• IAEA is active in Iran, North Korea, and many
  other states.

95
US works with Russia to shut down plutonium
production reactors.
United States of America Nuclear National
Security Organization Office of Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation NA23 EWGPP (Elimination of
Weapons Grade Plutonium Project)

• 10 reactors already shut down.
• 3 reactors still produce plutonium, providing
  heat to two Siberian cities.
• Pre-Chernobyl design ? safety risk.
• Being replaced by fossil fuel plants.
• Worker retraining aspect is essential.
• Excess plutonium powers US nuclear electric power
  plants.

96
April 14, 2010, U.S., RUSSIA CELEBRATE CLOSING OF
RUSSIA'S LAST WEAPONS-GRADE PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION
REACTOR
The ADE-2 reactor has been producing
weapons-grade plutonium for nearly 52 years in
Zheleznogorsk, the former secret Siberian city.
Russian President Medvedev announced the imminent
shutdown at President Obama's Nuclear Security
Summit in Washington.
97
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Waste

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
98
440 nuclear power plants now operate.
http//www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/world_map.php
99
Spent fuel rods are cooled in water.
Photo Taryn Simon, courtesy of Gagosian Gallery
http//www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2008/0
1/gallery_simon?slide2slideView2
100
After 5 years in the pool, spent fuel can be
stored in dry casks.
http//www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact
-sheets/dry-cask-storage.html
101
The US has many spent fuel sites.
102
The US has not met its obligation to store spent
fuel.
The US Nuclear Waste Fund collects 0.001 per KWH
from nuclear power plants. With interest, the
fund has 30 billion. The US government
contracted with all utilities to accept waste
beginning in 1998. Utilities are suing to
recover resulting waste storage costs. By 2020
this would be 11 billion.
http//www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/us/17nuke.htm
by Matt Wald
103
Yucca Mountain is 100 miles from Las Vegas.
104
EPA standards for Yucca are very protective.

• for a Reasonably Maximally Exposed Individual
  hypotheticalfuturerural-residentialsubsistenc
  e farmer
• lt 0.15 mSv/yr for 10,000 years
• lt 3.5 mSv/yr for 1,000,000 years
• from features, events, and processes with an
  annual probability of gt 1100,000,000

105
Senate majority leader Reid (D-Nev.) opposes
Yucca Mountain project.
Feb 27, 2007 Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., told a
joint session of Nevada's Senate and Assembly on
Tuesday the Yucca Mountain project is
dead."After 25 years, folks, it's history," he
said.
http//www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070221/NEWS/
102210075
106
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is now operating
in Carlsbad, NM.
WIPP has received 6,300 shipments since 1999.
WIPP stores transuranic waste from nuclear
weapons manufacturing.
http//www.wipp.energy.gov/
http//www.leechvideo.com/video/view2135790.html
http//video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId225
7476932172725496hlen
107
The US produces 1,000 times as much toxic waste
as spent nuclear fuel.
US EPA monitors toxic materials. TRI means Toxic
Release Inventory Spent uranium fuel is 2,000
tons/year.
http//www.epa.gov/triinter/tridata/tri06/brochure
/brochure.htm
108
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• Terrorism

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH
109
F-4 Phantom jet at 480 mph
http//www.sandia.gov/news/resources/video-gallery
/index.htmlrocketsled
110
hits concrete barrier 3.66 m thick.
111
at Sandia National Laboratories.
112
Fear can be overcome.

• Radiation from nuclear power is not a health
  hazard compared to lifes other risks.
• The TMI and Chernobyl accidents will not repeat
  defense in depth provides layers of protection.
• Nuclear weapons risks are real, but not from
  nuclear power production. But U enrichment
  plants proliferate!
• Waste can be stored in dry casks for centuries or
  buried for millennia.
• Terrorist attacks on nuclear plants will not harm
  the public.

113
Rethinking Nuclear Power2. Fear

• End

Bob Hargraves, Hanover NH