Nuclear Energy and Human Health

Title: Nuclear Energy and Human Health

Author: Lyman, E.S.

Reference: Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, Jan 2011

ISBN:9780444522726

Keywords: Acute radiation syndrome; BEIR VII; Cancer; Cesium-137; Chernobyl; Containment; Emergency planning zone; Evacuation; Iodine-131; Light-water reactor; Potassium iodide; Sabotage; Severe accident; Source term; Spent fuel

Abstract: The environmental health impacts of nuclear power remain highly controversial. Although nuclear energy could have a role to play in mitigating the profound global environmental and health impacts of climate change, it also poses risks that could have long-lasting worldwide consequences. A catastrophic radiological release at a nuclear power plant, resulting from either an accident or sabotage, could cause significant numbers of human illnesses and fatalities and extensive radiological contamination over a vast area. Yet great uncertainties remain in the technical understanding of such events, providing room for a wide range of views on the magnitude and severity of these risks. A better quantitative understanding of the risks of nuclear energy, how they are distributed across geographic and socioeconomic strata, and whether they can be reduced to an acceptable level at a reasonable cost should play an essential role in development of a rational low-carbon energy policy. This article reviews information about the potential human health consequences of severe accidents at nuclear power plants and irradiated fuel storage facilities and discusses some of the uncertainties in these analyses.

URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444522726001859