TMI Nuclear Plant springs a leak AGAIN!

[Hemply]

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - November 22, 2009 -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant.

Specialist John White has told ABC News that there is no indication that radiation at the plant exceeded or even approached regulatory limits.

The commission sent investigators to the central Pennsylvania plant after a small amount of radiation was detected.

About 150 employees were sent home Saturday afternoon, but officials say there is no public health risk.

Exelon Nuclear spokeswoman Beth Archer says the radiation was quickly contained.

The unit has been shut for refueling and maintenance since Oct. 26. Workers are being tested for radiation exposure.

A partial meltdown occurred in Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor in 1979.


(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

They are reporting that the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere equates to what you would experience if you were having an x-ray taken. Too bad no one who lives close to the Three Mile Island plant asked or even needed an x-ray!

On a side-note I think the extra radiation in the air is giving my vintage 1959 Les Paul Junior D/C even better tone if that's possible!

[geochem1st]

[Hemply]

Hmmm according to the map Geo posted maybe I should consider wearing a bio-hazard suit when I go to visit Uncey Greg!

[delawaregold]

The laws of Probability, Random Chance, and
Unexpected Consequence, dictate it is not if….
but when.

[Hemply]

Originally Posted by delawaregold

The laws of Probability, Random Chance, and
Unexpected Consequence, dictate it is not if….
but when.

Hey man, I took a short-cut to get down to PRS last September through Odessa/Middletown DE... I don't know what scared me more... the amount of chemical plants, or the nuclear plant sirens coming out from the middle of the corn crops!

Children of the corn!

[djwilbanks]

[delawaregold]

Originally Posted by Hemply

Hey man, I took a short-cut to get down to PRS last September through Odessa/Middletown DE... I don't know what scared me more... the amount of chemical plants, or the nuclear plant sirens coming out from the middle of the corn crops!

Children of the corn!

The sirens were the warning system for The Hope Creek
Nuclear Power Station at Salem New Jersey, just across
the Delaware River. That’s the backup system should TMI
fail to kill everyone. It’s designed to get even the most
hearty among us! The Chemical Plants and Oil Refineries
are just a test of your resistance. You have to have the
Immune System of a Klingon to live here.

[Cygnus X1]

From the NRC:

Quote:

"Detailed studies of the radiological consequences of the accident have been conducted by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services), the Department of Energy, and the State of Pa.. Several independent studies have also been conducted. Estimates are that the average dose to about 2 million people in the area was only about 1 millirem. To put this into context, exposure from a chest x‑ray is about 6 millirem. Compared to the natural radioactive background dose of about 100‑125 millirem per year for the area, the collective dose to the community from the accident was very small. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem.

In the months following the accident, although questions were raised about possible adverse effects from radiation on human, animal, and plant life in the TMI area, none could be directly correlated to the accident. Thousands of environmental samples of air, water, milk, vegetation, soil, and foodstuffs were collected by various groups monitoring the area. Very low levels of radionuclides could be attributed to releases from the accident. However, comprehensive investigations and assessments by several well‑respected organizations have concluded that in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radiation was contained and that the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment."

Not to say safety is not a paramount consideration, even estimates from Chernobyl were overblown.
Another quote:

"An international assessment of the health effects of the Chernobyl accident is contained in a series of reports by the United Nations Scientific Committee of the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). UNSCEAR was set up as a collaboration between various UN bodies, including the World Health Organisation, after the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to assess the long-term effects of radiation on human health.

UNSCEAR has conducted 20 years of detailed scientific and epidemiological research on the effects of the Chernobyl accident. Apart from the 57 direct deaths in the accident itself, UNSCEAR originally predicted up to 4,000 additional cancer cases due to the accident, however the latest UNSCEAR reports insinuate that these estimates were overstated. In addition, the IAEA states that there has been no increase in the rate of birth defects or abnormalities, or solid cancers (such as lung cancer) corroborating UNSCEAR's assessments.

Precisely, UNSCEAR states:

"Among the residents of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine there had been, up to 2002, about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer reported in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident, and more cases are to be expected during the next decades. Notwithstanding problems associated with screening, many of those cancers were most likely caused by radiation exposures shortly after the accident. Apart from this increase, there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident. There is no scientific evidence of increases in overall cancer incidence or mortality rates or in rates of non-malignant disorders that could be related to radiation exposure. The risk of leukaemia in the general population, one of the main concerns owing to its short latency time, does not appear to be elevated. Although those most highly exposed individuals are at an increased risk of radiation-associated effects, the great majority of the population is not likely to experience serious health consequences as a result of radiation from the Chernobyl accident. Many other health problems have been noted in the populations that are not related to radiation exposure."

Thyroid cancer is generally treatable. The five year survival rate of thyroid cancer is 96%, and 92% after 30 years, with proper treatment."

[geochem1st]

Originally Posted by Cygnus X1

From the NRC:

Quote:

"Detailed studies of the radiological consequences of the accident have been conducted by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services), the Department of Energy, and the State of Pa.. Several independent studies have also been conducted. Estimates are that the average dose to about 2 million people in the area was only about 1 millirem. To put this into context, exposure from a chest x‑ray is about 6 millirem. Compared to the natural radioactive background dose of about 100‑125 millirem per year for the area, the collective dose to the community from the accident was very small. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem.

In the months following the accident, although questions were raised about possible adverse effects from radiation on human, animal, and plant life in the TMI area, none could be directly correlated to the accident. Thousands of environmental samples of air, water, milk, vegetation, soil, and foodstuffs were collected by various groups monitoring the area. Very low levels of radionuclides could be attributed to releases from the accident. However, comprehensive investigations and assessments by several well‑respected organizations have concluded that in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radiation was contained and that the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment."

Thats the standard DoE boiler plate disclaimer. Been there, done that.

[Cygnus X1]

Sorry, Geo.
My brother is a nuke trainer/safety compliance, etc. guy.

I'll just go ahead and tell him he's full of shit.

Edit-before I get too snarky (too late), I will ask him again.
We'll be taking a two day road trip over the Thanksgiving holiday.

He has stressed that although no accident is acceptable, the release from TMI in '79 was far overblown.
He has given me sources other than the NRC, I just have to ask.