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()I'i'nfi.Ktil NikI*011.1) 111,1i III ()1(i,\NII \ I I()N.. t.i..(11()1\t..,\ )le..11( 1 I OR Ilk()P1 ()I'I'Nfi.ktil" \ ,.& 8444'' ''' ,..4.+4":".^ ' ' ... Cover: The Advanced Gas -Cooled Reactor at Windscale, England. Reproduced by kind permission of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. WHO Regional Publications European Series No. 3 HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR POWER PRODUCTION Report on a Working Group Brussels, 1 -5 December 1975 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR EUROPE COPENHAGEN 1978 ISBN 92 9020 103 7 © World Health Organization 1977 Publications of the World Health Organization enjoy copyright protec- tion in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copy- right Convention. For rights of reproduction or translation, in part or in toto, of publications issued by the WHO Regional Office for Europe application should be made to that Office, Scherfigsvej 8, DK -2100 Copenhagen 0, Denmark. The Regional Office welcomes such applications. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or con- cerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not men- tioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. This report contains the collective views of a Working Group and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the World Health Organization. PRINTED IN DENMARK Note This report was previously issued for limited distribution under the sym- bol ICP /CEP 804(1) but some minor editorial amendments have been made. The Thirtieth World Health Assembly in May 1977 endorsed the use of SI units in medicine, and such units will therefore be used in future publications of the World Health Organization. However, the present report was prepared before this resolution was taken, and it contains a few non -SI radiation units. In addition, Fig. 2 (pages 18 -20), which is reproduced from another publica- tion, contains a number of non -metric units. The conversion factors for all of these are given in the tables below. Non -SI unit SI unit and symbol Conversion factor rad gray, Gy 1 rad = 0.01 Gy curie, Ci becquerel, Bq 1 Ci = 3.7 X 1010 Bq (or 37 GBq, gigabecquerel) rem joule per kilogram, J /kg 1 rem = 0.01 J /kg Correct name and Unit as symbol if different Approximate SI unit and symbol given in from those given conversion Fig. 2 in Fig. 2 factor kwh kilowatt hour, joule, J 1 kW h = 3.6 X 106 J kwh acre square metre, m2 1 acre = 4 047 m2 ton ) 1 ton = 1 016 kg kilogram, kg (or 1 ton = 1.016 t) ( (or tonne, t) MT tonne, t / 1 t = 1 000 kg gal. US gallon, 1 gal (US) = 3.785 X 10 -3 m3 gal (US) cubic metre, m3 (or 1 gal = 3.785 litres) (or litre, I) cu. ft. cubic foot, ft3 1 ft3 = 2.832 X 10 -3 m3 gal. /min. US gallon per cubic metre per second,1 gal (US) /min = minute, m3 Is (or cubic metre 6.309 X 10 -5 m3 /s gal (US) /min per minute, m3 /min) (or 3.785 X 10 -3 m3 /min) (or litres per second or per minute may be used instead) CONTENTS Page Introduction 5 1. Conclusions and recommendations 6 2. Health effects of radiation 11 2.1 Somatic effects 12 2.2Genetic effects 13 2.3 Other carcinogenic and mutagenic agents 14 3. The nuclear fuel cycle 16 3.1 Mining, extraction and milling 16 3.2Enrichment 16 3.3 Fuel fabrication 21 3.4Power reactor operation 21 3.5 Fuel reprocessing 21 3.6Waste management 21 3.7Transport 23 4. Health and safety regulations of the nuclear fuel cycle 23 5. Radioactive waste management 26 5.1 Highly active waste from fuel reprocessing 27 5.2 Other highly active solid waste 32 5.3 Medium and low activity solid waste 33 5.4Medium and low activity liquid waste 33 5.5 Discharges into the atmosphere 34 6. Siting and decommissioning of nuclear facilities 36 6.1 Siting 36 6.2Decommissioning 36 7. Accidents in the nuclear fuel cycle 38 7.1 Power plant accidents 38 7.2 Transport accidents 42 7.3 Accidents in fuel reprocessing plants 43 7.4Accidents during disposal of high -level radioactive waste. 43 7.5 Procedures for mitigating the consequences of accidents... 44 7.6Non -radiationoccupationalaccidentsinnuclear power production 44 3 8. Radiation exposures from normal operation of the nuclear fuel cycle 44 8.1 Construction of installations 46 8.2Mining and milling 46 8.3 Fuel fabrication and enrichment 50 8.4Reactor operation 50 8.5 Fuel reprocessing 51 8.6Transport 52 8.7Waste storage 52 8.8 Decommissioning of nuclear facilities 53 8.9Accidents to nuclear plants 53 8.10 Total radiation exposure from nuclear power programmes and consequent effects 53 9. Environmental effects 54 9.1 Thermal effects 54 9.2Chemical waste 56 10. Proliferation of nuclear explosives, sabotage and terrorism 56 11. Consideration of healtheffects from nuclear and alternative energy production systems 58 11.1Public health effects 58 11.2 Occupational health effects 60 11.3 Radioactivity from plants utilizing fossil fuels 61 11.4 Environmental impacts 61 11.5 Alternative energy production systems 62 11.6 Conclusions 62 12. Public information 63 References 64 Annex IDefinitions of "risk ", "detriment ", and "collective dose" 72 Annex IIParticipants 7 4 INTRODUCTION The Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization, at the request of, and in collaboration with, the Government of Belgium, convened a Working Group in Brussels,1 -5 December 1975, to study, discuss, and appraise the effects of nuclear power industry on man and the environment. One of the reasons for the meeting is the concern of the general public about the safety of nuclear power generation. This report, which is based on the collective knowledge and experience of the members of the Working Group, as well as on the available literature, provides some guidelines for public health authorities. It was not the purpose of the Working Group to express any opinions on the advisability of the construction of nuclear power facili- ties. The meeting was attended by 19 temporary advisers from 12 European countries and from the USA. Six major disciplines (health administration, health physics, human biology, human genetics, environmental science and technology, and nuclear engineering) and five professional categories (physi- cians, biologists, engineers, physicists and chemists) were represented, thus ensuring a multidisciplinary approach to the discussions. Representatives from five international governmental and nongovernmental organizations were also present. The temporary advisers acted in an individual capacity and not as representatives of their countries or organizations. The Working Group reviewed the experience gained from building and operating nuclear facilities and made estimates of the attendant health risks. The Group also considered estimates of the risks associated with the genera- tion of electrical power from other types of fuel. It was agreed to accept the definition of "risk ", "detriment ", and "collective dose" as given in full in Publication No. 22 of the International Commission for Radiological Pro- tection (ICRP) (see Annex I). The Working Group discussed the magnitude of these risks to the general population and to workers in the nuclear power industry. Attention was focused on: (a)the radiation risks to man, both somatic and genetic, and the environ- mental aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, from the mining of uranium to the final stages of decommissioning a nuclear plant and the storage and disposal of radioactive waste products; (b) the likelihood and consequences of nuclear and non -nuclear acci- dents, sabotage, and theft of nuclear material. The Working Group considered measures to protect the population, (including safety regulations and emergency procedures following an accident); 5 technical and administrative procedures on both the national and international levels; education and training of personnel in the nuclear power industry; and public information. A quantitative evaluation of radiation risks for workers and the general population, as well as non -radiation occupational fatalities in the various stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, was incorporated in a summary table (Table 9) as a function of power output. Dr B. Lindell was elected Chairman, Dr E. Komarov, Vice -Chairman, Dr J. Schubert, Rapporteur, and Dr P. Czerski, Co- Rapporteur. Dr M.J. Suess acted as Scientific Secretary. The conclusions and recommendations of the Working Group are given in section 1 of the report. The programme of the meeting, a list of working documents, and a list of participants are given in Annexes II, III and IV, respectively. On the basis of a preliminary draft drawn up by the Rapporteur and the comments of the members of the Working Group on this preliminary draft, a drafting committee, consisting of Dr Dgiderlein, Dr Lister, and Dr Schubert, prepared a draft final report. The Group members subsequently reviewed this draft, and their comments were taken into consideration by the drafting committee in preparing the final version. 1. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In their discussions, the members of the Working Group drew upon their collective experience and numerous sources of information in evalu- ating the health implications, hazards and problems involved in the different stages of the nuclear fuel cycle.
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