Everyone has opinions, but it’s important that they be based on facts. Learn about three of the most misunderstood topics related to nuclear energy:  radiation, waste, and nuclear accidents.  See if what you thought you knew matches actual scientific research and data.

• Radiation is really bad, right?
• Nuclear power creates a lot of dangerous waste, right?
• The accident at Three Mile Island proves nuclear plants are unsafe, right?

Radiation is really bad, right?

Releases of radioactive materials from nuclear power plants could have harmful effects on people and the environment. That’s why utilities are required to monitor releases to the environment to ensure that they do not exceed limits established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), based on recommendations by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

All of us are exposed to and use non-harmful radiation each and every day, however, and the vast majority of it comes from natural sources such as the sun. In fact, the average American receives about 360 millirem (the most commonly used measure of radiation) of radiation each year, 300 millirem of which come from natural sources such as rocks and soil, the sun, and radon, a radioactive gas caused by the decay of naturally occurring uranium and thorium in the earth. We also use radiation every time we use a microwave or a toaster, watch television, use a cell phone, have the dentist x-ray our teeth, and ride on an airplane. Exposure to low-level radiation is a fact of life.

While some radiation, such as ultraviolet rays from the sun, can become harmful with prolonged exposure, it’s primarily only when radiation has enough energy in it to change atoms in living tissues that it becomes harmful. This type of radiation, known as “ionizing radiation,” is the kind used in chest x-rays, many manufacturing processes, and in nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Less than one-tenth of one percent of the average American’s exposure to radiation comes from the nuclear power industry.

State and federal regulations limit the amount of radiation that can be emitted by nuclear power plants. NRC regulations state that people who live near a nuclear power plant cannot be exposed to more than 100 millirem of radiation from that facility annually. Operating data show that power plants actually expose their neighbors to far less than 1 millirem per year. For comparison, airline pilots who regularly fly the New York to Toyko route are exposed to 900 millirem of radiation each year.

Links to learn more…..
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0403.shtml

The accident at Three Mile Island proves nuclear plants are unsafe, right?

No discussion of U.S. nuclear plant safety would be complete without taking into account the March 1979 accident at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island (TMI) plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In that accident, instrumentation malfunctioned and incorrectly showed the reactor was filling up with water, when it was actually losing coolant.

Most experts have concluded that the equipment malfunction was made worse by human error. Operators made a relatively minor incident more serious by cutting off backup systems.

The accident at TMI was a serious commercial reactor accident from an economic standpoint. It also point out the need to keep seeking ways to improve power plant safety and training. Ultimately, however, the plant’s safety systems protected public health and safety. The protective barriers designed into the facility protected TMI personnel and the public. There were no injuries during the accident, and no offsite property contamination. Over the longer term, recent studies of the population near the TMI plant show no change in the normal incidence of cancer.

Today, Unit 2 at TMI is permanently shut down and defueled. Unit 1 at TMI still safely operates and has done so without incident for nearly 40 years.

TMI remains the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history. The incident led to subsequent improvements in plant design, safety, emergency planning, and operations maintenance. Continuous improvements over the years have resulted in nuclear power being one of our safest and most reliable energy technologies.

To learn more, read the NRC: Fact Sheet on Three Mile Island.