Coal and Nuclear Power Plant Safety

The need to continuously provide the world with an endless supply of energy has plagued the mind of scientists for decades. The different methods and ideas on how to bring about this energy have also been the cause of much debate. The more traditional means of coal and petroleum have come under scrutiny due to their high costs and even higher pollution levels. This paper will focus on all types of physical injury, disease, and deaths caused by coal power as compared to nuclear power. One possible solution to this issue is the use of nuclear power plants. I will show within this paper that current research will eradicate any fears that people might have concerning the safety of nuclear power. I will propose a quasi-experimental research study that will determine the risks of using either nuclear or coal power.

Various studies have been conducted on the pollution that is created by coal-fired power plants. The use of this data is not to focus on the actual pollution itself, but instead on the diseases that are directly caused by coal power plants and coal mining. Among the pollutants released are things such as: fine particles or soot, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and carbon dioxide (Schneider, 2004). These pollutants are scattered throughout the surrounding environment by the power plant smoke stacks. These particles do not concentrate around the localized area of the power plant, but are able to travel across large distances creating a very large affected area (Milford, 2005). In the United States particularly, the West has been heavily affected due to the large number of coal-fired power plants that California uses to provide its large population with sufficient energy. "In 1999, coal-fired power plants in Arizona, Colorado,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming contributed 33 percent of the arsenic, 24 percent of the lead, and 15 percent of the total chromium emissions in these 11 states (Milford, 2005). These pollutants are known to cause severe health damage when inhaled or otherwise consumed by humans. Several types of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases can be attributed to the pollution created by coal-fired power plants; these include but are not limited to: lung cancer, asthma, pneumoconiosis, bronchitis, heart disease, and etc (Schneider, 2004) (Penney, 2009).

The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that between six thousand and ten thousand-seven hundred people die annually from air pollution that emits from 88 coal-fired power plants that are publicly financed (Penney, 2009). As for nonfatal health issues, a study shows that the pollution attributes to nearly 38,200 nonfatal heart attacks and 554,000 asthma attacks each year (Schneider, 2004). During a blackout that hit the Northeast in 2003 scientists from the University of Maryland completed a study on the reduction of pollution in the air. The scientists discovered that during the time that the power plants had shut down, sulfur dioxide levels within the air lowered 90 percent. Scientists also discovered that smog lowered 50 percent, light scattering air particles dropped 70 percent, and visibility increased 20 miles (Partners for Clean Air, 2004).

Pollution is not only derived from coal when it is burned but also when it is mined. Black lung is a fatal disease that is common among coal miners from breathing in too much coal mine dust over the course of their career. Black lung causes the rapid deterioration of the sufferer's lungs and causes severe breathing problems. Currently, estimated 1500 former coal miners die agonizing deaths from the affects of black lung (UMWA, 2010).

On the other hand, research done on pollution from nuclear power plants finds that these power plants produce no notable amounts of sulfur oxides nitrogen oxides, or particulates (Moens, 2010). The main source of pollution a health risk that would arise from nuclear power plants would be radiation. Radiation levels are measured in millirems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a person receives more radiation from a chest x-ray (4 millirems) or a mammogram (30 millirems) than a person living near a nuclear power station (less than 1 millirem a year). While the levels that a worker will receive are significantly higher than what the public would ever receive, the EPA has set guidelines and regulations setting the maximum levels or radiation would be able to receive (EPA, 2007).

The biggest fear of nuclear power plants is not based on normal operations, but on accidents such as Chernobyl and possible terrorist attacks. New nuclear power plants are built with substantial back-up defenses to prevent any nuclear accidents and would make terrorist attacks causing a nuclear meltdown to be nearly impossible. The Chernobyl reactor did not have a containment system to protect against radiation leaks which caused that incident to cost so many lives (Cohen, 2010). In total, there have only been a recorded death total of 56 people from nuclear incidents in the more than 14,000 reactor-years of operation (World Nuclear Association, 2010).

With this information it is my hypothesis that coal power causes more deaths and disease than nuclear power plants, and nuclear power is therefore much safer. Since 1975 there have been at least 4481 deaths from coal mine incidents alone (World Nuclear Association, 2010). Emissions from coal-fired power plants attribute to somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 annual deaths. This brings the total annual death total well over the amount of deaths that have ever occurred by nuclear power. In fact, coal power plants annually attribute to the death of 110 to 180 times more people than nuclear power ever has. Coal power also has a farther reaching negative health affect on people than nuclear power. Nuclear power releases no particulates that cause diseases; in fact a person receives more radiation from their home than from the nearby nuclear power plant (EPA, 2007). Coal power releases a significant amount of pollution that causes various kinds of cardiopulmonary diseases that affects people for many years.

Methodology

The study conducted will be quasi-experimental. The research and experiments ran will take several years and will need to be funded by federal grants and government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency. Government assistance and oversight will be required due to the security required within the power plants themselves.

To discover which source of power does more physical harm to the people several scientific research studies need to be conducted. One should first study the surrounding environment surrounding the power plants. For better results several power plants shall be examined. Care should be given that a wide age range is examined to determine how much more pollutants enter the environment as each type of power plant ages. Tests will be conducted to determine pollutant levels in and around each power plant. The test will determine the level of these pollutants: lead, soot, carbon dioxide, arsenic, and mercury. Studies of the air, fresh water supply quality will be conducted at these intervals: within the plant, 1 mile, 5 miles, 15 miles, 25 miles, 50 miles, and 100 miles. Similar tests will be given at these same intervals to determine radiation levels.

To determine the spread of disease through the pollutants and radiation levels, random sampling surveys will be given to people living within all communities within 100 miles of each power plant. These surveys will try to determine the general health of people within the affected area. Sample questions will include: Has anyone in your household been affected by a cardiovascular disease (Heart Disease, Heart Attacks)? Pulmonary disease (Asthma, Bronchitis)? Cancer? How often does someone within the household visit the hospital? The family doctor? Hospitals within the study area will also be asked to give general information to determine the amount of related illnesses and deaths. Employees will be given surveys and may volunteer to take tests to determine their exposure to pollutants and radiation.

The information gathered will be used to determine how each type of power plant affects the surrounding environment and the people that live within. It is possible that power plants produce more or less pollution depending on production levels, age, and the amount of government oversight each. Care must be given that this does not affect the results, but this information must be included. Grouping together power plants of certain age and production levels will help the researchers develop their results based on narrower study groups and will close the gap on possible the sampling error.

Power plants that are located near other industrial areas should not be studied to avoid miscalculations due to increased pollution from other industry. Previous research conducted on disease and deaths caused by coal mining will also be included within the study. While mining may not be actual part of the power production process, it is a necessary step for coal power plants and thus needs to be included for a better understanding of the total death toll.

Conclusion

Current research shows a high number of deaths resulting from the use of coal power plants as a major source of energy. Information gathered through this study will determine if nuclear will be a safer alternative to coal power. While neither of these two sources of energy are without some pollution and risk, the research will determine if either one can be held as a major source of energy for until something better may be established. Any results may also be used to help develop better methods of regulation on these power sources and helping to protect the environment and the people surrounding these plants. This research will play an important role in guiding the future of our growing demand for power.

Sources

Cohen, Bernard L. "Risks of Nuclear Power." http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/np-risk.htm (accessed November 20, 2010).

Moens , John. "Nuclear Power and the Environment." N/A.http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuclearenvissues.html (accessed

November 20, 2010).

EPA, "Radiation: Risks and Realities."May,2007.http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/docs/402-k-07-006.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010).

World Nuclear Association, "Safety of Nuclear Powers." September, 2010.http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06app.html (accessed November 20, 2010).

Milford, Jana; Nielson, John; Patton, Vickie; Ryan, Nancy; White, V. John; Copeland, Cindy. "Clearing California's Coal Shadow from the American West." 2005.http://edf.org/documents/4890_CAcoalShadow.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010).

Penney, Sarah. "Estimating the Health Impacts of Coal-Fired Power Plants Receiving International Financing." 2009.http://www.edf.org/documents/9553_coal-plants-health-impacts.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010).

Schneider, Conrad G.. "Dirty Air, Dirty Power." June, 2004.http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/Dirty_Air_Dirty_Power.pdf (accessed November 20, 2010).

UMWA, "Black Lung." http://www.umwa.org/?q=content/black-lung (accessed November 20, 2010).

Partners for Clean Air, "Deadly power plants? Study fuels debate: Partners for Clean Air." June 9, 2004.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5174391/ns/us_news-environment (accessed November 20, 2010).