Radiation and Nuclear Energy

Sources of Radiation
 

Everything on earth is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Some atoms give off radiation. People cannot see, taste, feel, hear, or smell radiation, but instruments can detect it.

We are exposed to small amounts of radiation every day. It is in the air we breathe. It is in the food we eat. It is even inside our own bodies. It is normal to be exposed to small amounts of radiation. But to be safe, you should limit the amount.

Radiation doses to people are measured in millirem. The average American receives over 300 millirem of radiation a year from natural sources.

Radiation also comes from man-made sources. It is used by doctors and dentists. It is used in other helpful ways, too.

Radiation levels at nuclear plants are checked constantly. The law limits levels released from a plant. If you would like more information on radiation, write to the Perry Power Plant, Emergency Planning, P.O. Box 97, Perry, Ohio 44081

Examples of Radiation Doses:
 

The earth and air:

56 millirem a year

Natural radioactivity in the body:

39 millirem a year

Building materials (brick or stone):

3.6 millirem a year

Chest X-rays:

6 millirem each

Color TV:

Less than 1 millirem a year

Source: National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP Report No. 93), 1987.

Nuclear Energy

The energy of the atom is called nuclear energy.

A nuclear energy plant is much like a power plant that burns coal or oil. The difference is the source of heat. At the Perry Power Plant, heat comes from uranium instead of coal or oil. Uranium atoms are split to produce heat. The heat is used to boil large amounts of water. The water is turned into steam.

The steam runs a turbine-generator to make electricity. When uranium atoms are split, radiation is produced. Normally, a nuclear power plant releases very small amounts of radiation as a gas. At most, this will add only one or two millirem to the normal dose received by people who live near the plant. This radiation is less than the limit set by the law. No radiation is released from cooling towers.

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Safety Built In
 

Click image to enlarge:

 When a nuclear power plant makes electricity, its fuel becomes more radioactive.  But the plant is built to protect the public.  The fuel is kept in special metal tubes.  The tubes are kept in a steel reactor.  Around  this are thick walls of concrete and steel.

Only a very rare accident could allow too much radiation to escape from a plant.  This kind of accident has never occurred in the United States.

In 1979 an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island Plant in Pennsylvania.  Larger than normal amounts of radiation were released.  However, studies showed they were too small to be a hazard to the public.  The highest radiation dose could have been 85 millirem. Only a person who would have stood in the open, day and night, right across the river from the plant could have received that dose.  It is about the same as the extra radiation people would receive if they lived in Denver, Colorado for a year.  Denver is at a higher altitude.  This means people are exposed to more radiation from the sun than those who live closer to sea level.

(02/26/08)