TED Case Studies: British Nuclear Waste in the Irish Sea

[kristopher]

I. Identification

1. The Issue
Sellafield Nuclear Plant is located on the Northwest Coast of England on the Irish Sea. It is a government owned facility that produces about one-fourth of the United Kingdom's energy. Nuclear waste from this facility had turned the Irish sea into one of the most radioactive bodies of water in the world. This pollution threatens the health of the British people as well as inhabitants of Ireland across the Irish Sea. This is a controversial issue because of the environmental degradation of the Irish Sea. This case raises the question of how a country can try to protect it self against invading polution from a neighboring state....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/19/sellafield-nuclear-plant-cumbria-hazards

Sellafield: the most hazardous place in Europe

Last week the government announced plans for a new generation of nuclear plants. But Britain is still dealing with the legacy of its first atomic installation at Sellafield - a toxic waste dump in one of the most contaminated buildings in Europe. As a multi-billion-pound clean-up is planned, can we avoid making the same mistakes again?
...For its part, the nuclear industry is adamant. New reactors will produce little waste and pose few threats to the environment, say UK nuclear chiefs who point to the example of France where almost 80% of electricity is generated by atomic fission and waste is safely reprocessed. Atomic energy today is safe and

Sellafield's problems are merely a historic accident - the result of Britain's desperation to be a leading postwar power, they say....

Now compare that to this puff piece on Fukushima, where there have been massive discharges flowing directly out of 3 reactors that have melted down and breached containment. Although it is titled "How Bad Is Japan's Radioactive Contamination of the Ocean?" it shows up on Google as

"Radioactive Contamination a Mere Drop In the Ocean, Experts Say ..."

...While iodine-131 and cesium-137 concentrations near the nuclear reactors' drainage outlets are high, "the diluting capacity of the ocean is great, and radioactivity concentrations decrease with distance from the source," said Pal Andersson, a radioecologist with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority.

Contaminants quickly disperse and sink to the seafloor. As a result, "the concentration in sea water 30 km <19 miles> from the nuclear power plant is comparable to levels suggested as reference values, below which there is no concern about effects on wildlife," Andersson told Life's Little Mysteries. Radioactive substances such as uranium are naturally present in the ocean.

The ecological impact will thus be limited in scope, according to Ward Whicker, professor emeritus in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University and author of several books on the environmental impact of radiation.

"Any ecological effects are likely to be somewhat localized near the points of discharge," Whicker said.

http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/how-bad-japan-radioactive-contamination-ocean-1562/

Here are some numbers:

b]Radioactive sea pollution from Fukushima may dwarf previous estimates
September 09, 2011

More than 15 quadrillion becquerels of radioactivity are estimated to have been released from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea between March 21 and April 30, according to a preliminary analysis by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and other institutions.

That is more than three times the initial estimate of marine contamination by the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which said only 4.72 quadrillion becquerels had been leaked. A quadrillion is 1,000 trillion.

The new total is believed to have been inflated by the inclusion of fallout from the atmosphere in addition to the direct runoff from the plant that TEPCO looked at...

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201109099808


Oh yes, a recent addendum - They've given up trying to clean up the waters off Shellafield. It is now permanently contaminated by lethal particles of plutonium.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/kristopher/808

[madokie]

1. Nothing to worry about boss

this shit is perfectly safe or thats what some here would like us to believe.
rec'd

[kristopher]

3. This might help in another thread you are involved in right now.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Horrific and important info.

Rec and kick