Ecological Considerations in Reactor Power Plant Siting.

Abstract

Research sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission under contract with the Union Carbide Corporation. DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS UNLIMITED this concern, objections are being made to the installation of nuclear power stations by conservationists and other environmentally oriented individuals in various parts of the country. Their objections are based around consistent themes, namely, impact of radioactivity in the environment, movement of radionuclides through food chains with possible hazard to humans, and effects of thermally hot effluents on the ecology of the region. Each of these concerns has a basis in, or is related to, some underlying ecological phenomenon. This paper will discuss four ecological considerations which bear on the location of nuclear power plants. These are: 1) long-term effects of the released radionuclides on the environment, especially on maintenance of the ecological balance; 2) environmental fate of radionuclides, including their food chain dynamics and potential to build-up at different ecological levels; 3) ecological pathways by which radionuclides may expose human population groups; and 4) influences of the discharge of waste heat into the aquatic environment. EFFECTS OF LOW-LEVEL RELEASES TO THE ENVIRONMENT In the concern over nuclear power stations the question has been raised whether the radiation resulting from radioactive waste releases at MPC levels would cause ecological problems. Essentially, the question to be addressed is whether the doses that would result from release of radionuclides "in accordance with current guidelines would result in demonstrable effects which in turn might bear on the location of particular reactor sites. TABLE I. Calculated Annual Submersion Dose Rates ({5+ y) from Water Maintained at the Occupational (MPC) W for a 168 Hour Week x 1/30. Organisms would have to live continuously in these waters to achieve these doses.