Environmental impacts of high level radioactive waste disposal

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976 · IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.1976.4328214· OSTI ID:5976806

Cohen, B L

Possible potential hazards from underground disposal of high level nuclear wastes from fuel reprocessing plants are discussed and mathematically evaluated. The calculations are based on nearly twice the present annual United States nuclear power production and the various isotopes are plotted vs time after reprocessing showing inhalation and ingestion effects as related to cancer doses and mortalities of the worst possible credible handling. A mathematical model presents an upper limit estimate of the probability for buried water to escape and be ingested by people using the comparison of radium in the rock above the buried waste and assuming that the probability for an atom of waste to be released from underground is no greater than for an atom of radium above it. The calculations show that after a few hundred years deaths would be below 0.000.001 per year from all nuclear power. On the assumption that no releases occur for the first two hundred years, it is essential that 0.4 eventual fatalities would be incurred for each year of all-nuclear power, as the upper limit.If a cancer cure is found after 100,000 years, the effect would be reduced by an order of magnitude. The burning of near-surface U-238 deposits is viewed as cleansing the earth of radioactivity. Several possibilities of underground waste releases are considered as are their effects on future generations.

• Research Organization: Pittsburgh Univ., PA
• OSTI ID: 5976806
• Journal Information: IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States) Vol. 23:1; ISSN IETNA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
DISEASES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
GROUND WATER
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INGESTION
INHALATION
INTAKE
MANAGEMENT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MORTALITY
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
PROBABILITY
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER
WATER POLLUTION