[net.misc] Radioactivity of coal-fired power plants vs. TMI

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

anne@bmcg.UUCP (09/21/84)

I checked the past couple of years of IEEE Spectrum articles on
nuclear power looking for statements on natural sources of
radioactive exposure (granite buildings, high altitudes, natural gas
cooking) compared to TMI.  I could find nothing.  If anyone has figures,
please send me mail.
On a related subject, Consumer Reports, in an article on smoke detectors,
did a nice job of providing perspective when it showed that the additional
radioactive exposure from a smoke detector, when installed high on a wall as
recommended, would be (much?) less than the additional exposure one would
incur by moving from sea level to Denver.

Anne H. Anderson
ucbvax!sdcsvax!bmcg!anne
decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!bmcg!anne
ihnp4!sdcrdcf!bmcg!anne