Possible Toxic Effects from Nuclear Reprocessing Plants at Sellafield
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Stichting Laka: Documentatie- en onderzoekscentrum kernenergie De Laka-bibliotheek The Laka-library Dit is een pdf van één van de publicaties in This is a PDF from one of the publications de bibliotheek van Stichting Laka, het in from the library of the Laka Foundation; the Amsterdam gevestigde documentatie- en Amsterdam-based documentation and onderzoekscentrum kernenergie. research centre on nuclear energy. Laka heeft een bibliotheek met ongeveer The Laka library consists of about 8,000 8000 boeken (waarvan een gedeelte dus ook books (of which a part is available as PDF), als pdf), duizenden kranten- en tijdschriften- thousands of newspaper clippings, hundreds artikelen, honderden tijdschriftentitels, of magazines, posters, video's and other posters, video’s en ander beeldmateriaal. material. Laka digitaliseert (oude) tijdschriften en Laka digitizes books and magazines from the boeken uit de internationale antikernenergie- international movement against nuclear beweging. power. De catalogus van de Laka-bibliotheek staat The catalogue of the Laka-library can be op onze site. De collectie bevat een grote found at our website. The collection also verzameling gedigitaliseerde tijdschriften uit contains a large number of digitized de Nederlandse antikernenergie-beweging en magazines from the Dutch anti-nuclear power een verzameling video's. movement and a video-section. Laka speelt met oa. haar informatie- Laka plays with, amongst others things, its voorziening een belangrijke rol in de information services, an important role in the Nederlandse anti-kernenergiebeweging. Dutch anti-nuclear movement. Appreciate our work? Feel free to make a small donation. Thank you. www.laka.org | [email protected] | Ketelhuisplein 43, 1054 RD Amsterdam | 020-6168294 STOA Scientific and Technological Options Assessment POSSIBLE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE NUCLEAR REPROCESSING PLANTS AT SELLAFIELD (UK) AND CAP DE LA HAGUE (FRANCE) A first contribution to the scientific debate 1.) Introduction: Letter to the reader by the Chairman of the STOA Panel on the decision taken by the Panel on 23 October 2001 2.) Study by WISE - Paris 3.) Evaluation reports by experts Luxembourg, November 2001 Directorate General for Research EN EN Title: POSSIBLE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE NUCLEAR REPROCESSING PLANTS AT SELLAFIELD AND CAP DE LA HAGUE Workplan Ref.: EP/IV/A/STOA/2000/17/01 Publisher: European Parliament Directorate General for Research Directorate A The STOA Programme Authors: WISE - Paris, Study director: Schneider, M., Study team: Coeytaux, X., Faïd, Y.B., Marignac, Y., Rouy, E., Thompson, G. (IRSS, Cambridge, USA) Fairlie, I., Lowry, D., Sumner, D. (Independent consultants) Editor: STOA Unit Date: November 2001 PE number: PE 303.110 This document is a working Document for the 'STOA Panel'. It is not an official publication of STOA. This document does not necessarily represent the views of the European Parliament POSSIBLE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE NUCLEAR REPROCESSING PLANTS AT SELLAFIELD AND CAP DE LA HAGUE PE 303.110 4 POSSIBLE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE NUCLEAR REPROCESSING PLANTS AT SELLAFIELD AND CAP DE LA HAGUE 1. LETTER TO THE READER....................................................................................................3 2. STUDY BY WISE-PARIS ............................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................9 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 9 2. Reprocessing Status and Issues ......................................................................................................... 9 3. International and European Legal Framework ................................................................................... 9 4. Risk Assessment of Radioactive Releases ....................................................................................... 10 5. Case Study Sellafield ...................................................................................................................... 11 6. Case Study La Hague...................................................................................................................... 13 7. Comparative and Cumulative Analysis............................................................................................ 15 8. Alternative Options......................................................................................................................... 15 General Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 16 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................17 1.1. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................................. 17 1.2. BACKGROUND AND CHRONOLOGY OF THE PROJECT ........................................................................... 18 2. REPROCESSING STATUS AND ISSUES.......................................................................................19 2.1. NUCLEAR REPROCESSING ................................................................................................................... 19 2.2. ORIGINS OF REPROCESSING ................................................................................................................ 19 2.3. IMPLICATIONS OF REPROCESSING ....................................................................................................... 20 3. INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK.........................................................21 3.1. INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION AND TREATIES .................................................................................... 21 3.1.1. Major International Bodies........................................................................................................ 21 3.1.2. Major International Conventions............................................................................................... 21 3.1.3. The European Legal Framework And Its Implementation.......................................................... 22 3.1.3.1. Euratom Treaty 22 3.2. MARINE POLLUTION - APPLICATION OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE ........................................... 26 4. RISK ASSESSMENT OF RADIOACTIVE RELEASES.....................................................................28 4.1. RELEASES FROM REPROCESSING......................................................................................................... 28 4.2. COLLECTIVE DOSES............................................................................................................................ 28 4.2.1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 28 4.2.2. Theoretical Justification............................................................................................................ 28 4.2.3. Global Collective Doses............................................................................................................ 29 4.2.4. Important Radionuclides in Reprocessing Releases ................................................................... 29 4.2.4.1. Carbon-14 (14C) 29 4.2.4.2. Krypton-85 (85Kr) 29 4.2.4.3. Iodine-129 (129I) 29 4.2.4.4. Tritium (3H) 30 4.2.4.5. Technetium-99 (99Tc) 30 4.3. UNCERTAINTIES IN RISK ASSESSMENT................................................................................................ 31 5. CASE STUDY SELLAFIELD ......................................................................................................33 5.1. NATIONAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK .............................................................................................. 33 5.2. OPERATIONS AT SELLAFIELD .............................................................................................................. 33 5.3. RELEASES FROM SELLAFIELD ............................................................................................................. 34 5.3.1. Air Emissions ........................................................................................................................... 34 5.3.2. Liquid Discharges..................................................................................................................... 35 5.3.3. Technetium Discharges............................................................................................................. 37 5.3.4. Expected Future Sellafield Discharges ...................................................................................... 37 5.4. IMPACT OF SELLAFIELD DISCHARGES ................................................................................................. 39 5.4.1. Plutonium and other actinides near Sellafield ............................................................................ 39 5.4.2. Estimated Doses from Consumption of Irish Sea Fish and Shellfish .......................................... 40 5 PE 303.110 POSSIBLE TOXIC EFFECTS FROM THE NUCLEAR REPROCESSING PLANTS AT SELLAFIELD AND CAP DE LA HAGUE 5.4.3. Doses to Critical Groups........................................................................................................... 40 5.4.4. Environmental Concentrations .................................................................................................