Safe & Secure
Nuclear energy is safe and secure. Strict government regulations, continuous training by the industry, and enhanced security measures have combined to ensure safety inside and outside of America’s nuclear power plants. Many safeguards existed before September 11, 2001, and many more have been added since, including an additional $1.2 billion spent on security.
Safety First
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission holds nuclear power plants to the highest security standards of any American industry. Security measures include:
Secure Facilities
All commercial nuclear plants have emergency response procedures and contingency plans in the event of a plant accident or terrorist attack. A two-day national security simulation in Washington, D.C., in 2002 conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) concluded nuclear plants “are probably our best defended targets.” Moreover, strict government regulations require that redundant monitoring and failsafe measures are installed to automatically shut down a reactor if anything out of the ordinary is detected.
- It is impossible for a nuclear power plant to explode like a bomb because of the low concentration of uranium in the fuel.
- For every one ton of solidified nuclear waste that is transported from a nuclear plant, there are four tons of protective shielding made from multiple layers of steel, lead and other materials surrounding the fuel so the containers could withstand even a severe accident.
- The containment structures required of nuclear power plants are strong enough to protect the public even if a nuclear power plant was hit by a Boeing 767 at the maximum plausible speed and at the most vulnerable spot.
- A test at Sandia National Labs confirmed a computer analysis of the impact of a plane crashing into a concrete structure like a containment building. An F-4 Phantom jet was destroyed when it hit at 480 miles per hour. The maximum penetration to the concrete wall was 2.4 inches.
A Sensible Option
Many fear that nuclear energy plants pose a safety hazard since they might emit radiation. However, the truth is that nuclear power plants are a miniscule source of radiation. Because of their advanced design and sophisticated containment structures, U.S. nuclear plants emit a negligible amount of radiation. Consider the following:
- You would have to live near a nuclear power plant for over 2,000 years to get the same amount of radiation exposure that you get from a single diagnostic medical x-ray.
- Even if you lived right next door to a nuclear power plant, you would still receive less radiation each year than you would receive in just one round-trip flight from New York to Los Angeles.
- The average American receives radiation exposure of about 360 mrem annually from all sources, according to the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements.1 More than 80 percent of that comes from nature—from radon in the air, from rocks and soil, and from outer space. The average public exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle is 0.5 mrem per year.