Week 14: Nuclear Wast

The videos about nuclear power plants, and in particular the Prairie Island Plant, expressed the many public health and safety concerns regarding the placement of the plants themselves and the areas designated for waste management. The videos broke down the five problems that society’s dependence on nuclear energy creates. The first is broken reactor components. Less than one third of the energy is used as electricity and the remaining energy is either released into the air as vapor or removed as waste. The tubes within the plant crack and thus leak. While cracks can be plugged, it is only a temporary solution. Cracks within the tubes can only be repaired so many times before more intense measures must be taken. This increases the potential for steam generator tube degradation to cause a nuclear meltdown. The degradation of tubes can be extremely dangerous. The rules regulating the plants did not take into consideration the possibility of cascading tube ruptures, and the cooling systems were not designed to prevent a core meltdown. During a radioactive meltdown, radioactive materials will most defiantly infiltrate the ground below the plant and make their way into the surrounding rivers. In the event of a radioactive meltdown, Prairie Island, and I’m assuming many other area near a nuclear power plant, their only option would to evacuate and abandon the area. Prairie Island does not have a well equipped evacuation plan if such a thing were to occur. Even when a nuclear power plant is running without problems, they are continually releasing radioactive vapor into the air that public officials are unaware of where the emissions go or concentrate. Tritium is released into water and when Tritium water is ingested it will cause continuous internal exposure to radiation over a long period of time. . There are three toxic elements released, each dangerous when inhaled. The first is Cesium 137 which mimics sodium and is attracted to fatty tissues in the body, most often women’s breasts. The next is Iodine 137 that concentrates in the Thyroid and effects the body’s immune system. The radiation acts as positive and negative ions in our bodies and kills living tissue and dissolves cell walls, leading to cancer, mutations, and other diseases. A study found that women living in areas within 100 miles of a nuclear power plant had a breast cancer rate 16% higher than other women and also a higher mortality rate. Yucca Mountain is the site for nuclear waste, but it is not the best place for it to be stored. One reason is that it is located near active volcanos and is an area where there are frequent earthquakes. Additionally, many nuclear plants desire to transport their nuclear waste to that site, causing potential public health and security issues. Yucca Mountain is also sacred land to the Western Shoshones and the plant violates the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. Most nuclear waste plants are on Native American land, near large Hispanic communities, or mostly African American communities creating nuclear racism.

week 13 blog: water in Maricopa County

I looked up the pollution report card based on my zip code, 85251, which is in Maricopa County. I decided to focus on the water quality of Maricopa County because honestly, the report included the amount of animal waste that was in the water. To me, that is absolutely repulsive and disgusting, so I wanted to find out the truth and see what is really in our water. Looking at the statistics of tons of animal waste per state in 1997, it was reassuring to see that Arizona was not number one on the list, but rather thirty-sixth. Arizona is in the 20% range of surface water with impaired or threatened uses. Arizona is also above 50% of the national average of the number of impaired water bodies. Pesticides constitute 40% of the pollutants and/or stressors of surface water in rivers, streams, creeks in Maricopa County. One of the main issues in Arizona is the lack of rain fall and natural lakes, rivers, and creeks. Most of the year, one witnesses dry riverbeds, creeks, and lakes. Therefore, when it does rain or the melting snow flows south into riverbeds, creeks, and lakes, it usually carries the chemicals, pesticides, sediment, and other debris along with the water. The assessed use attainment of the water quality in Arizona and Maricopa County specifically is either considered serious or that there is insufficient data to determine the quality of it. A very good example of this is the Slide Rock National Park in Sedona, Arizona. The majority of the time there are warnings to the public that it is not safe to swim or play in the water. I can remember as a child going to Slide Rock and thinking that it was like a water park in nature. Now, I cannot remember the last time that Slide Rock was open or a time that the public were advised not to go into the water because of the potential health hazards. The fish and wildlife advisories of the water quality indicators in Maricopa County are interesting. Of the 15 watersheds in Maricopa County, 5 of them have a rating of more serious quality of conditions for fish and wildlife consumption and the remaining 10 areas have insufficient data. This would obviously discourage anyone from consuming the fish that they may happen to catch anywhere in Maricopa County. In high school, I was on the Xavier College Prep crew team and we trained at Tempe Town Lake. I always saw people fishing down at the lake and always wondered why they would even bother. We would always find dead fish either on the beach or floating in the water, and the lake just smelled awful!!