Essay BV41
Topic:
Nulear power
Statement:
Not just in the nuclear powerplants are there high health risks.
1. Mining uranium
Mining for anything is very dangerous. In a open mine there is only the risk of things falling
down or collisions with large equipment. A underground mine gives a lot more problems.
Things can collapse very easy, groundwater can flood the mine, you need very good
ventilation, help is nowhere near when something happens.
If you are mining uranium you’ve got all the normal mining risks plus the risks that’s caused
by the thing they are mining: uranium.
Health of workers can be effected in a few ways:
Dust
Dust contains gamma- or alpha-emitting minerals. In practice dust is the main source of
radiation exposure in an open cut uranium mine and in the mill area. Efficient ventilation and
other precautions(dustmasks) now protect underground miners from the hazard of breathing in
the dust. Open cut mining of uranium virtually eliminates the danger.
Radiation
In practice radiation levels from the ore and tailings are usually very low. At Olympic Dam,
direct gamma exposure comprises about half the miners' dose and for those in the mill, a
quarter. While uranium oxide product from a mine is certainly radioactive, the long half-lives
involved mean that it is practically impossible to receive a harmful radiation dose from it.
Radon daughter
Radon daughter exposure is minimal in an open cut mine because there is sufficient natural
ventilation to remove the radon gas. At Ranger the radon level seldom exceeds one percent of
the levels allowable for continuous occupational exposure. In an underground mine a good
forced-ventilation system is required to achieve the same result, - at Olympic Dam radiation
doses in the mine from radon daughters are kept very low, with an average of less than about
1mSv/yr. A lot of miners suffered that worked in underground mines suffered from a
mysterious illness. In the late 1800s the illness was diagnosed as lung cancer, but it was not
until 1921 that radon gas was suggested as the possible cause.
Ingestion
Strict hygiene standards are imposed on workers handling the uranium oxide concentrate. If it
is ingested it has a chemical toxicity similar to that of lead oxide (Both lead and uranium are
toxic and affect the kidney. The body progressively eliminates most Pb or U, via the urine). In
effect, the same precautions are taken as in a lead smelter, with use of respiratory protection
in particular areas identified by air monitoring.
2. Transportation
2.1 Uranium transport
Uranium Oxide Concentrate (UOC) is harmful if inhaled or ingested. Only if sensible
precautions are taken to avoid inhalation or ingestion it will not present a health hazard to
people handling it. Skin contact should be avoided and personal hygiene is important: wash
hands, do not smoke, and minimise exposure to dust.
Occupational radiation received during the transportation of low level UOC is a factor of the
time spent working around the material and the intensity of radiation emitted by the material.
If you have to spend a lot of time near the UOC transport risks will get heigher untill the
maximum limit for radiation. UOC is toxic and is weakly radioactive so inhalation and
ingestion should be avoided. If a spillage of UOC does occur, the main health consideration
will be to prevent yourself and others from breathing in any UOC dust. The likelihood of this
occurring is low due to the density of the material and the drum packing and stowage methods
employed within the packed container. However it makes good practical sense, irrespective of
the size of any spillage, to always remember you must wear a dust mask and gloves.
EXPECT NORMAL BACKGROUND RADIATION FROM A SEALED CONTAINER
Precautions
A: Reduce and limit time spent in close proximity.
B: Expect normal background radiation levels.
C: Expect normal background radiation levels.
POTENTIAL FOR INHALATION OR INGESTION OF DUST FROM A DAMAGED
OPEN CONTAINER
Precautions
A: Reduce and limit time spent in close proximity.
B: Reduce and limit time spent.
Person downwind of a spill should wear a dust mask.
Wash hands and clothes.
C: No dust.
2.2 Nuclear waste transport
The transportation of nuclear waste to the nuclear storage is risky buisiness. There are a lot of
things that could go wrong. Here is a list that contains a lot of things you have to be aware of:
Crew - Persons that have the task transporting the waste. They need to have the right
equipment to protect theirselves.
Handlers - Persons at a loading, unloading the waste. At loading and unloading there is a
huge risk that there will be a spill. The loading and unloading spot is one of the most risky
places to be.
Off-link (surrounding) population - Persons within a certain distance of a transport. Think
about the edges of the road the transport is driving(i.e., in fields, in parking lots, on sidewalks,
in buildings).
On-link (people in vehicles) population - Persons traveling in the same direction or the
opposite direction on the same highway, road, or street. There is a real risk of a collision with
other traffic users.
Population at stops - Persons near a transport when a vehicle stops for refueling, meals, and
crew changes.
Storage and warehouse personnel - Persons near a transport during storage at a warehouse
or shipment consolidation facility.
When there is an accident there are a number of consiquences:
Early fatality consequences – Persons that are directly exposed to the waste that die within 1
year.
Long-term radiological consequences - Persons that are exposed to the waste that die within
50 year.
Economic consequences – Costs of transportation accidents including emergency response,
evacuation, cleanup, and long-term loss of use of contaminated land.
3. Nuclear waste storage
Storing nuclear waste in a storges doesnt accomplish anything. The only thing you are doing
is moving the nuclear waste arround. The waste will nog be cleaned up inside the storage. It
will just rest there. If you keep transporting all nuclear waste to a storage the nuclear
powerplants have room to make more waste. This isn’t what you want because no one knows
how to safely dispose nuclear waste. The nuclear waste is mostly Plutonium-239, it has a halflife of 24,400 years, which means that the waste will remain lethal for some 240,000 years.
Earthquakes are a big danger for storages. Most nuclear waste is stored in mountains. I mean,
anyone still remembers how mountains existed? When you store it in a mountain you always
have a chance for an earthquake.
The transporting, as described in the paragraph above, is a risk on its own. There are no routes
that doesn’t involve people comming near the transport in any way so there is no risk free way
of transporting the nuclear waste to a storage facility.
When you storge a lot of nuclear waste in one place people will start to fear a terrorist attack.
Why build a nuke when there is allready one in a mountain waiting for someone to detonate
it. Or a transport that is transported to the storage facility will be a nice target when it has to
drive through sububrs.
If there is any spill at all in the storage it will be very hard and mostly expensive to clear up
the mess. At the avrage of one out of every 300 transports is expected to have an accident and
to clean it up is estimated at $6 billion dollars. If it gets in the water sources by leaking into
the ground a very very large area will be radioactive and toxic. Furthermore there will be a
large drinkwater shortage if this happens.
4. Recources:
These are the articles I read to get information on my topic.
http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/nuclear_energy.html
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernenergiedebat
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf24.html
http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2
Fehp.5203
http://www.ret.gov.au/resources/mining/australian_mineral_commodities/uranium/Documents
/Safe_and_Effective_Transport_of_Uranium.pdf
http://www.osti.gov/bridge/purl.cover.jsp;jsessionid=C189CCC621E97B7C68B9C22446898
D01?purl=/183851-pqOH5L/webviewable/
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2002/08/23_krieger_yucca-top10.htm