[meteorite-list] OT: RISKS OF NUCLEAR POWER

From: Rob Holcomb <rob.holcomb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 23:28:19 -0700
Message-ID: <564D4C45FEE9453EA32BEDCA5E2E7FB4_at_ATTHEFARM>

This reminds me of the irrational fears people have over the "body scan"
when going through airport security. The amount of harmful non-ionizing
radiation from the scanner is significantly less than the radiation from
their upcoming flight. According to the National Council on Radiation
Protection and Measurement (NCRP), the exposure from the 40mm wavelength
scanners is approximately equal to 2 minutes of high altitude flight.

Rob H

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 10:38 PM
To: "Meteorite List" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: [meteorite-list] OT: RISKS OF NUCLEAR POWER

> List,
>
> We are invariably abnormally impressed by the
> sudden occurrence of a rare, high-risk event.
> We do not appraise them in a strictly rational
> manner when this happens.
>
> The current application of fear caused by a very
> rare event, as we see in Japan, is weighted heavily.
> For those interested in the actual data, the human cost, in lives, of the
> various means of electric power production are listed below.
> Deaths are for the period 1970 through 1992, the only period for which
> data could be collected for all the means of production.
> All deaths are "immediate" deaths, and the figures are on a worldwide
> basis, which includes countries
> with less stringent industrial safety requirements
> than the U.S. This is the picture for the Planet.
>
> Hydroelectric production accounted for roughly 4000 deaths, of members of
> the public, or 883 deaths per terawatt-year. The vast majority of those
> deaths were
> from the failure of dams and impoundments.
>
> Coal power production produced about 6400 deaths, all of workers, for a
> death rate of 342 deaths per terawatt-year. (Deaths from the mining of
> coal are
> included in proportion to the use of coal in direct
> power production.)
>
> Natural Gas power production resulted in some 1200 deaths, of both
> industry workers and the general public, for 85 deaths per terawatt-year.
>
> Nuclear Power resulted in 31 deaths, all of workers, for a total of 8
> deaths per terawatt-year, or 1%
> of the deaths from "safe" environmentally friendly hydroelectric power.
>
> The "other fuel," petroleum, is rarely used for power production but
> largely for transportation. How deadly,
> in these terms, is our transportation power use in
> cars and trucks as compared to the cost in life of power production?
> The U.S. consumed 0.138 teragallons of gasoline
> on 2009 (at 4.175 watt-years per gallon), with a
> total energy content of a "mere" 0.576 terawatt-years.
> Highway deaths in 2009 were 33,963, which yields 58,943 deaths per
> terawatt-year of power consumed.
>
> Clearly, the use of this power source for transport
> is many orders of magnitude more dangerous than the production of
> electrical power, however it is accomplished. Our reaction to this
> horrendous
> risk is to complain about how much it costs us to
> fill'er up.
>
> Humans are not rational animals.
>
> The reduction in overall life expectancy in the U.S. due to nuclear power
> production is one-third of the reduction in life expectancy caused by
> eating 8 ounces. of charcoal-broiled steak per week.
>
> Make mine medium-rare, please.
>
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
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Received on Thu 17 Mar 2011 02:28:19 AM PDT