Relative Danger of Energy Sources
Nuclear Power
7. Assuming current technology and current plans to
monitor over 200 years,how many are expected eventually to die from US
nuclear waste that will be generated this
decade?
< 100 100 –
1,000 1,000
– 10,000 10,000 -
100,000 > 100,000
During the first 10,000 years, there would be essentially no
exposure to radioactivity. After 10,000 years, as protection decays and
radioactivity begins to migrate, exposure increases, so that maximum
annual exposure could be up to 260 mrem/year, 300,000 years from now,
for a person living near Yucca Mountain. Average annual American
exposure to radioactivity (mostly naturally occurring) is 300 mrem/y
(much higher in some areas).*
Chemical contamination of groundwater from natural and human sources is
extensive. In CA, there is already considerably more contamination from
nitrate, perchlorate, and arsenic, compared to potential nuclear
contamination
in NV. In focusing on radioactive contamination of groundwater, we may
be ignoring much more significant problems.
Graphic from Per Peterson Current
and Future Activities for Nuclear Energy in the United States
*Real world evidence from a natural reactor in Oklo,
Gabon, indicate low migration rates.
For comparison: Just looking at radiation from soil and bedrock,
ignoring cosmic rays and other sources of exposure, “(s)cientists have
determined the NORM terrestrial doses in many parts of the world. These
doses vary depending upon the geology of the area. Regions with high
amounts of uranium and thorium in the soil and bedrock also have higher
radium and radon concentrations. The US average is 30 mrem. The highest
US terrestrial dose is 88 mrem. The highest measured terrestrial dose,
26,000 mrem/yr, occurs in Ramsar, Iran. Other high annual terrestrial
doses occur in areas of Brazil and India (3,500 mrem), China (1,000
mrem), Norway (1,050 mrem), and Italy (438 mrem). The areas in Iran,
India, and Brazil are associated with high concentrations of uranium
and thorium in the soil. Epidemiological studies of the people in these
areas have been made to determine, what, if any, affect these high
radiation dose levels have on health. To date, no radiation related
health effects have been found.” [UNSCEAR
1993; NCRP Report #94]
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