[ RadSafe ] San Clemente panel urges radiation monitoring in new city blueprint

[Stewart Farber]

A real-time, publically accessible rad montoring network, IMHO, is likely  
to help a nuclear utility gain public understanding and acceptance among  
the public. Decades ago, I recall reading that  the French nuclear plants  
installed rings of gamma radiation monitors off-site at each of their  
nuclear power plant sites that they could access. I'm not sure if this  
publicly accessible net-work is still in operation. If anyone knows,  
please post information about it.

If it is, the French public or people living in the vicinity of any  
nuclear facility would be able to monitor results, on-line,  of the gross  
gamma measurements being made. This would allow interested parties to see  
--and come to understand variations in normal background [such things as  
airborne radon daughter washout, and daughter product decay]. Radon  
washout can increase ground level gross radiation exposure dose rates by  
50% and more, which the public and most others do not understand to be  
happening routinely.

In the event of an unusual release, the public will know what the elevated  
gamma levels are, where exposure is elevated, and know that information is  
not being hidden from them. This emergency monitoring network does a lot  
to help people understand that emergency plan monitoring capability exists  
in advance of a problem, and that plant operators, and the local, state  
and federal regulatory agencies will be able to immediate know what is  
going on.

This will only help to build trust, greater understanding of environmental  
radiation issues, and hopefully greater acceptance of nuclear power  
playing a significant role in meeting the baseload energy needs of modern  
society.

Stewart Farber

=========================


On Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:12:03 -0500, Lawrence Jacobi  
<rjacobi at jacobiconsulting.net> wrote:

> I can't decide if this is a good idea or not.  I don't see any harm in  
> the city doing its own radiation monitoring, but I can see where it  
> might cause confusion if it is done poorly.  And, during an actual  
> offsite release from a radiological facility, it could be a source of  
> hysteria if it is not properly coordinated with the federal, state and  
> local emergency response units.
>
> San Clemente panel urges radiation monitoring in new city blueprint
>
>
>
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