| Question |
Answer |
| Radiation Protection |
|
| Are there standards for radiation exposure
to members of the general public living around IPEC? |
Yes, standards are published in 40 CFR 190, Environmental
Radiation Protection Standards for Nuclear Power Operations
and include the following annual dose equivalent limits
for members of the general public:
- < 25 millirems to the whole body
- < 75 millirems to the thyroid, and
- < 25 millirems to any other organ
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/40cfr190_01.html |
| What type of radiation monitoring program
will be in place for the ISFSI? |
Environmental radiation monitoring will be continuous
at several places in and around the ISFSI and along
the site boundary. Calculations of expected radiation
levels at the ISFSI indicate they will be well below
applicable limits. |
| What are the expected radiation levels at
the casks? |
At Entergy’s James A. Fitzpatrick JAF plant
in Oswego, NY the dose rate is < 2 millirem per hour
at the wall of a fully loaded cask. Calculations of
expected dose rates at IPEC indicate that we should
see similar results here. |
| What is the expected collective worker dose
per each transfer evolution? |
The total dose accumulation (pool to pad) at JAF was
2.4 Person-rem for the transfer of fuel to 3 casks, or
an average of 0.8 Person-Rem/cask. Our calculations lead
us to expect similar results at IPEC. The majority of
that dose will be from cask loading within the Fuel Storage
Building FSB. |
| How much radiation do people who live near
IPEC receive from the plants? |
All people experience natural and man-made radiation.
About 82 percent of our total exposure to radiation comes
from natural sources: radon gas; outer space; rocks, soil
etc. Radioactive elements in our own bodies account for
11 percent of our total exposure. The average annual radiation
dose for a person living in the United States is 360 millirem.
Theoretically, people who live within a 50-mile radius
of a nuclear power plant receive an additional 0.009 millirem/year
or 0.0025% of their total annual dose from the plant,
although that amount is so small that it is impossible
to verify by actual measurements. www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=2&catid=54
) |
| What are the risks of exposure to low levels
of radiation? |
According to the United States federal government, the
health risks from small amounts of radiation, if any,
are very low in comparison with other health risks. For
instance, compared to receiving 100 millirem of radiation
every year for your lifetime, smoking a pack of cigarettes
a day is 400 times more risky, being 15 percent overweight
is 100 times more risky, and driving a car 12,000 miles
a year is 40 times more risky. There may, in fact, be
no adverse health impacts from low levels of radiation. |
| Is there any scientific evidence that people living
near nuclear power plants have an increased risk of cancer? |
No. The National Cancer Institute publication, “No
Excess Mortality Risk Found in Counties with Nuclear Facilities”
states there is “no general increased risk of death
from cancer for people living in 107 U.S. counties containing
or closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities.” |
| What impact will dry cask storage have on the public
health of the surrounding community? |
The environmental and public health risks associated
with irradiated fuel and placed in casks produced by Indian
Point are well below federally mandated minimum requirements.
These requirements are found in 10 CFR 72 and the cask
system vendor’s Final Safety Analysis Report. The
systems, structures and components that ensure these requirements
are continually met, are maintained through a stringent
program of continuous inspections, in-service and post-maintenance
tests, preventive maintenance, and regulatory oversight.
The Indian Point FSAR is available in the NRC on-line
public reading room. |
