Publication Laka-library:
The risks of nuclear power reactors. Review of the NRC WASH-1400 study (1977)
| Author | Union of Concerned Scientists |
| Date | 1977 |
| Classification | 6.01.3.70/11 (NUCLEAR SAFETY - RISK ANALYSES / RISK PERCEPTION) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
Preface The safety of commercial nuclear power plants is a subject of paramount national importance in light of proposals for increasing dependence on this energy source in coming decades to help alleviate U.S. energy problems. If the most ambitious of these nuclear plant construction programs were carried out, as many as 1000 large nuclear power plants would be in operation around the country by the year 2000, placing virtually the entire population in close proximity to one or more of these facilities. Even today, with 63 nuclear plants in operation, major metropolitan areas-including New York, Boston, Miami and Chicago-as well as other regions are already exposed to whatever risk may be associated with nuclear reactors of current design. A typical nuclear reactor contains a very large inventory of biologically harmful radioactive materials whose possible inadvertent release into the surrounding region is the source of all fundamental nuclear safety concerns. A number of steps have been taken by plant designers and operators to assure that these potentially ultrahazardous materials remain securely confined so as to prevent nuclear radiation injury both to plant workers and to the public at large. Whether these steps are adequate to provide assured protection against the wide range of possible contingencies is a matter upon which informed technical opinion divides.
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