Nuclear plant: A new facility would pose serious health concerns JOSEPH
J. MANGANO, For the Herald-Journal The Duke Power Co. recently notified
federal officials that it will apply to build two new nuclear reactors
in South Carolina. The intended site is near Gaffney, where Duke long
ago scrapped a similar project. Duke has joined other utilities that
want to order the first new U.S. nuclear reactor since 1978. The
possibility of new reactors raises hope for additional electricity for
the people of South Carolina. But it also raises health concerns. The
most dramatic of these concerns is a full meltdown, either from a
mechanical failure or act of sabotage. Large amounts of deadly
radioactive gases and particles would spew from the reactor, moving
quickly through the air. A safe evacuation would be impossible, and
thousands would become ill or die from radiation poisoning or cancer.
The Chernobyl catastrophe two decades ago is a reminder that a nuclear
plant meltdown actually has happened -- a real-life nightmare. But
another Chernobyl is not needed for a nuclear reactor to harm local
citizens. Reactors release small amounts of radioactivity into the air
on a daily basis. This consists of more than 100 chemicals, which are
not found in nature but only created in nuclear weapons explosions and
nuclear reactors. The 100-plus chemicals, each of which can cause
cancer, enter the human body through breathing, food and water. Each
affects the body in a different way. Strontium-90 attaches to bone and
teeth. Cesium-137 disperses throughout the soft tissues. Iodine-131
seeks out the thyroid gland. They are especially hazardous to infants
and children, whose immune systems are not well developed. Levels of
routine emissions that enter the body are relatively low. While
scientists have long debated the risk of low-dose radiation exposure, a
growing number of experts agree that there are risks. Doctors no longer
give pelvic X-rays to pregnant women, and government scientists have
determined that thousands of Americans developed cancer from exposure to
atomic bomb test fallout. In 2005, a blue ribbon panel of the National
Academy of Sciences concluded that no safe level of radiation exposure
exists. What would happen to local residents if new reactors were built
and operated at Gaffney? Perhaps the best insight into this question
comes from the experience with the Catawba nuclear plant just 25 miles
east of Gaffney. Two reactors have been operating at Catawba since 1985
and 1986. York County, where Catawba is located, is relatively similar
to the overall United States in many aspects, including income, poverty
rate, educational level and racial composition. The county has three
hospitals, along with world-class medical care in Charlotte, just half
an hour away. Thus, there are no obvious factors that would suggest
county residents have a high risk of disease or death. In 1985-86, as
the two Catawba reactors were in the process of starting up, 21 York
County babies died in their first month of life. But in the next two
years, the number shot up to 41, while the U.S. rate declined. Babies
die for a variety of reasons, but because they are most susceptible to
radiation's effects, this might have been the first sign that local
residents were harmed by Catawba. Long-term trends in York County also
raise questions. In the early and mid-1980s, the county's death rate
from cancer was slightly below the U.S. rate. But since Catawba began
operating, the county rate is 4.3 percent above that of the nation. This
may not seem like much of a difference, but over the past 16 years,
4,398 York County residents have died of cancer, meaning an additional
200 persons beyond the previous rate have succumbed to the disease since
Catawba opened. Rising rates after Catawba opened suggest that
radiation exposure may have harmed local residents. But public health
departments and nuclear regulators have never explored this potential
link, and the Catawba reactors are licensed to operate for another 20
years. Cherokee County, where the new Gaffney reactors are planned, is
not as well off as York County. Its people are poorer and less educated
and have less access to medical care. Cherokee's current death rates,
from cancer and all other causes, is already one of the highest in the
state. Before building new reactors and adding radiation to a population
with a high death rate, health risks should first be considered.
Federal approval for new reactors should not be granted until nuclear
power is demonstrated to be safe. In the meantime, nontoxic electricity
sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen fuel should be developed.
Joseph J. Mangano is national coordinator of the Radiation and Public
Health Project, a professional research group based in New York.