[ RadSafe ] San Clemente panel urges radiation monitoring innewcity blueprint

[franz.schoenhofer at chello.at]

My conclusion is as always that any hope to convince people to a reasonable view of nuclear power will fail as long as politicians and massmedia can be sure to gain a few votes and a few percent increase of sold papers. 

I do not endorse a censorship to suppress any negative - and wrong! - messages about nuclear power, but I have not the slightest idea, how this problem could be solved. In France, Sweden and Finland there is a reasonable attitude to nuclear power - but how to change the attitude of for instance the US population??? (BTW I saw in Lovisa (Finland) at the main square a device showing online the actual dose rates. But this was in Finland!)

Best regards a wishes!

Franz



---- Stewart Farber <SAFarber at optonline.net> schrieb:
> 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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--
Franz Schoenhofer, PhD, MinRat
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
mobile: ++43 699 1706 1227