Hazards of Buried Radioactive Wastes from Electricity Generation
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 9, Issue 1
Abstract
We consider the risk of high level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, once buried in the ground, being released by ground water intrusion and eventually being ingested by a human to cause cancer. A probabilistic risk analysis is given for an average United States burial site—it seems reasonable to assume that a particular carefully selected site would be at least as secure. If the effects are summed indefinitely into the future, the result is -y). It is shown that this is thousands of times less than the deaths per GWe-y now being caused by coal burning electricity generation. Compelling arguments are given that only effects over the next should be considered, and these are very much smaller. A probabilistic risk analysis is given for an average low level waste burial site, adding up effects indefinitely into the future; the result is . The reasons why the public perceives the dangers from radioactive waste to be so much greater than indicated by these analyses are enumerated, and simple countering responses are suggested.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Cohen, B. L. (1981). “The role of radon in comparison of environmental effects of nuclear energy, coal burning, and phosphate mining.” Health Phys., 40, 19ff.
Cohen, B. L. (1982a). “Applications of ICRP-30, ICRP-23, and radioactive waste risk assessment techniques to chemical carcinogens.” Health Phys., 42, 753–757.
Cohen, B. L. (1982b). “Health effects of radon from coal burning.” Health Phys., 42, 725ff.
Cohen, B. L. (1982c). “Long term consequences of the linear no threshold dose–response relationship for chemical carcinogens.” Risk Anal, 1, 267–275.
Cohen, B. L. (1983a). “Discounting in assessment of future radiation effects.” Health Phys., 45, 687ff.
Cohen, B. L. (1983b). “Effects of recent neptunium studies on high level waste hazard assessments.” Health Phys., 44, 567–569.
Cohen, B. L. (1983c). “Long term waste problems from electricity production.” Nuclear Chem. Waste Manage., 4, 219–229.
Cohen, B. L. (1984a). “A generic probabilistic risk assessment for low level waste burial grounds.” Nuclear Chem. Waste Manage., 5, 39–47.
Cohen, B. L. (1984b). “Probability for human intake of an atom randomly released into ground, rivers, oceans, and air.” Health Phys., 47, 281–292.
Cohen, B. L. (1985a). “A Simple probabilistic risk analysis for high level waste repositories.” Nucl. Technol., 69(1), 73–76.
Cohen, B. L. (1985b). “Transport of elements from soil to human diet: An alternative approach to pathway analysis.” Health Phys., 49, 239–245.
Cohen, B. L. (1986a). “A generic probabilistic risk analysis for a high level waste repository.” Health Phys., 51, 519–528.
Cohen, B. L. (1986b). “Risk analysis of buried waste from electricity generation.” Am. J. Phys., 54, 38–45.
Cohen, B. L. (2002). “The cancer risk from low level radiation.” Am. J. Roentgenol., 179, 1137–1143.
Davis, D. L. (1997). “Short term improvements in public health from global climate policies on fossil fuel combustion.” Lancet, 350, 1341–1350.
Garrels, R. M., and McKenzie, F. T. (1971). Evolution of sedimentary rocks, Norton, New York.
Kaplan, M. F. (1980). “Characterization of weathered glass by analyzing ancient artifacts.” Scientific basis for nuclear waste, C. J. M. Northrup, ed., Plenum, New York.
Killey, R. W. D. et al. (1995). “The CRL glass block experiment: Radionuclide release and transport during the past thirty years.” Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Rep. No. RC-1513, Ottawa.
Merritt, W. F. (1977). “High-level waste glass: Field leach test.” Nucl. Technol., 32, 88–91.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS). (1998). “The health effects of exposure to indoor radon,” BEIR-VI Rep., National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
Novick, S. (1969). The careless atom, Dell, New York, 105–105.
U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE). (1998). “Viability assessment of a repository at Yucca mountain,” Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE). (2002). “Final environmental impact statement,” Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Rep. and Total System Performance Assessment, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (1996). “Air quality criteria for particulate matter.” Rep. No. EPA/600/P95-/001cF, Athens, Ga.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2003). “EPA assessment of risks from radon in homes.” Rep. No. EPA 402-R-03-003, Athens, Ga.
Wilson, R., and Spengler, J. (1995). Particles in air: Concentrations and health effects, Harvard University. Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 15, 2004
Accepted: Jun 15, 2004
Published online: Jan 1, 2005
Published in print: Jan 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.