GEO 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Tidal Power, Iodine, Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster
1 Dec 2016
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Chernobyl, april 26, 1986: testing emergency core cooling system, power rose rapidly, steam explosion followed by hydrogen explosion, graphite moderator began to burn. Un, 20 years later: childhood thyroid cancers increased significantly, but other cancer did not: result of iodine which is a huge part of uranium135 and obviously iodine131, psychological stress on evacuees possibly worst health effect. 2 workers with radiation burns (1 died recently) ~16,000 killed by earthquake (magnitude 9) and tsunami. 6000 coal miners killed in china in 2004. In april 2010, 29 coal miners were killed in upper big branch mine in wv: estimates for future radiation-caused deaths range from 0 (cid:1005)(cid:1004)(cid:1004) (cid:894)or (cid:1005)(cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:1004) (cid:858)guessti(cid:373)ate(cid:859)(cid:895, radiation release was 1/10 of chernobyl. Radioactive waste repositories: about 200,000 canisters of spent fuel are ready for disposal, currently being stored at nuclear plants, requirements for storage: Site should be safe for 10,000 years (should result in only 1000 deaths in 10,000 years)
