Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 17, 2013
Ambient office = .127 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .100 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .083 microsieverts per hour
Redleaf lettuce from Costco = .109 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .083 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .070 microsieverts per hour
I have posted several articles about the nuclear waste problems at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (HNR) in Central Washington. The waste at the reservation is the legacy of the research and construction of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The one hundred and forty nine old buried single wall tanks are leaking. The new double walled tanks that were supposed to solve that problem have now started to leak.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 15, 2013
Ambient office = .096 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .128 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .155 microsieverts per hour
Hass avacado from Costco = .072 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .113 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .094 microsieverts per hour
Every year the International Atomic Energy Agency surveys nuclear facilities of member nations around the world and issues a report on the status of global nuclear safety. The IAEA report for 2012 has just been issued. While generally positive, the report does admit that a lot of the nuclear reactors in the world are aging and nearing the end of their operational lifespans.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 15, 2013
Ambient office = .096 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .128 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .155 microsieverts per hour
Hass avacado from Costco = .072 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .113 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .094 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 14, 2013
Ambient office = .079 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .126 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .138 microsieverts per hour
Banana from local grocery store = .137 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .095 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .078 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 11, 2013
Ambient office = .065 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .076 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .091 microsieverts per hour
Sliced white mushrooms from Costco = .163 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .085 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .064 microsieverts per hour
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 11, 2013
Ambient office = .101 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .051 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .081 microsieverts per hour
Vine ripened tomato from Costco = .103 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .086 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .082 microsieverts per hour
The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant near Plymouth, Massachusetts has been operating since 1972. During the forty years of operation, it has generated a great deal of nuclear waste in the form of spent fuel rods. The reactor at the plant is a GE Mark 1 model. This is exactly the same model of reactor in use at the Fukushima plant in Japan that suffered the disaster in March of 2011. In this model of reactor, the spent fuel pool is situated above the reactor.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 11, 2013
Ambient office = .133 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .091 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .080 microsieverts per hour
Bell pepper from local grocery store = .146 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .091 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .078 microsieverts per hour
Siting of nuclear power plants is always a complex issue. Placing the plant near the area where the electricity will be utilized has the benefit of less transmission losses and the drawback of often being in heavily populated areas. The plant has to be near a source of cooling water but that makes it prone to flooding in extreme weather and other disasters. The Russians have come up with a new solution to the problem of where to build nuclear plants.
Geiger Counter Readings in Seattle, WA on July 10, 2013
Ambient office = .102 microsieverts per hour
Ambient outside = .121 microsieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = .129 microsieverts per hour
Millet from local grocery store = .107 microsieverts per hour
Tap water = .074 microsieverts per hour
Filtered water = .065 microsieverts per hour
I have blogged in previous posts about my concern over the cost of nuclear power. I believe that the cost of nuclear power will continue to rise and that, ultimately, the taxpayers in the United States and other parts of the world that use nuclear energy will wind up paying huge amounts of money to deal with spent nuclear fuel. There is a factor in the cost of nuclear power that I have not dealt with in detail before.
