Nuke CO2 Emissions
Marc Ries
>>In article <5...@venice.SEDD.TRW.COM> ries writes:
>
>>> This report lists CO2 emissions from nuclear reactors as "negligible",
>>> but added that a typical commercial nuclear plant emits
>>> "8-9.5 curies of radioactive carbon-14 annually", environmentally
>>> on par with natural gas fuel although the risks are "dramatically
>>> different."
>
>>What the report probably didn't mention is that this
>>is NATURALLY OCCURING carbon-14 and that if a fossil fuel plant
>>releases 100 times as much carbon (and they do) then they also
>>release 100 times as much radio-active carbon-14!
Quoting from the report in question (any typos are mine):
NUCLEAR
"This section presents an overview of the principle potential impacts..."
"Producing Electricity: The potential atmospheric effects of nuclear power
plant operation occur as a result of heat and moisture released from the
plant cooling system, cooling tower drift, and release of airborne
radioactive materials... Airborne radioactive effluents can be divided
into several groups. First are isotopes of the fission product noble
gases krypton and xenon, as as those of argon, which are not deposited on the
ground and are not absorbed and accumulated within living organisms.
Treatment of noble gas effluents generally consists of collection, hold-up
to permit decay of shorter-lived isotopes, followed by release. Noble
gas isotopes act primarily as a source of direct external radiation
emanating from the effluent plume.
A second group of airborne radioactive effluents, the fission product
radioiodines, as well as carbon 14 and tritium, are also gaseous, but these
effluents tend to be deposited on the ground and/or inhaled during
breathing. Because these are active elements that may be incorporated
within the body, concentrations of iodine in the thyroid and of carbon
14 in bone are of particular significance. Currently, Iodine-131 is
captured by filtration through charcoal beds. Carbon 14 and tritium
are released.
The third group of airborne effluents consists of particulates. These
include fission products, such as cesium and barium, and activated
corrosion products, such as cobalt and chromium. Particulates are
controlled by filtration in high efficiency particulate filters...."
--
Marc Ries
ri...@venice.sedd.trw.com (ARPA)
somewhere!trwind!venice!ries (UUCP)
#include <std.disclaimer>
John G. De Armond
>|> This report lists CO2 emissions from nuclear reactors as "negligible",
>|> but added that a typical commercial nuclear plant emits
>|> "8-9.5 curies of radioactive carbon-14 annually", environmentally
>|> on par with natural gas fuel although the risks are "dramatically
>|> different."
Umm. I don't think so. I've not seen any soot piles forming outside
any plant stacks lately.
>I'm puzzled. How does the C-14 from a nuclear plant differ from the
>"naturally occurring" C-14 found in fossil fuel? How are the risks
>"dramatically different"? Is somebody trying to say they are different?
C-14 is considered in most health-physics circles to be harmless. The
low energy beta is so weak as to be unable to escape large molecules.
The only practical detection means are pass-through ionization chambers
and light fraction scintillation chambers. There is a tiny quantity
produced in reactors through the same neutron capture reaction with
nitrogen that forms it in nature. I've done a moderate biblio. search
of my H-P literature and only found one article and it refered to measurement
techniques.
I suspect from the tone of the original report that the reporter has
confused Sr-90 with C-14. Sr-90 is a biohazard with a high
concentration factor in the body and is produced in large quantities
as a fission product. Very little escapes, though a couple of curies
a year would be reasonable.
>Then there is the K-40 emitted from fossil fuels. It has a very long half
>life.
Yep, We used to design whole body counters and while working with them,
I made an interesting observation. I can look at the K-40 concentration
in a person's body and fairly accurately predict lifestyle. The
highest levels of K-40 generally correlate well to the veggie-type health
nuts. Us meat'n'potatos eaters generally show the lowest level. This
is a fact that really confounds the professional worriers :-)
John
--
John De Armond, WD4OQC | We can no more blame our loss of freedom on congress
Radiation Systems, Inc. | than we can prostitution on pimps. Both simply
Atlanta, Ga | provide broker services for their customers.
{emory,uunet}!rsiatl!jgd| - Dr. W Williams | **I am the NRA**