moroney@jon.DEC (08/17/84)
There was a discussion not too long ago on radioactivity of coal-fired power plants vs. nukes. I have an interesting question on the subject - Does anyone know how long a coal fired power plant with the same generating capacity as the crippled Three Mile Island plant would have to run to release as much radioactivity as the TMI plant released during the accident there? Mail me the answer and please include references. I will post to the net if there is enough interest. Thank you. Mike Moroney ..decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-jon!moroney
res@ihuxn.UUCP (Rich Strebendt) (08/20/84)
| There was a discussion not too long ago on radioactivity of coal-fired | power plants vs. nukes. I have an interesting question on the | subject - Does anyone know how long a coal fired power plant with the | same generating capacity as the crippled Three Mile Island plant would | have to run to release as much radioactivity as the TMI plant released | during the accident there? Mail me the answer and please include | references. I will post to the net if there is enough interest. | Thank you. | Mike Moroney | ..decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-jon!moroney In order to calibrate those numbers, can we also get numbers from some respectable source on the period of exposure needed to accumulate a comparable dose from the following sources: Standing next to a granite building in New York City Standing in the open sunlight of Denver Colorado Hiking along a trail in one of the mountain ranges (Rockies, Appalachians, etc.) Flying in an open ballon at a reasonable altitude for such a craft. From my hazy recollection (which is NOT a respectable source!!), the duration of exposure to New York skyscrapers needed to be equivalent to the dosage the nearest neighbors to TMI got was on the order of a couple of hours. This may have been published in an IEEE Spectrum issue devoted to nuclear safety a while back. Rich Strebendt ...!ihnp4!ihuxn!res