Radiation Disasters

Radiation disasters are rare, but their effects may be profound and prolonged. Such disasters may occur at one of numerous locations where radiation sources are utilized or stored. Radiation disasters can be either unintentional or intentional, and are generally caused by either human error or a terrorist act. The use of radiation within industry, research, and medicine is extensive, and the effects of nuclear radiation are misunderstood by the public. The government, medical community, and general public should support prevention, preparedness, and response measures due to the potential for injury, destruction, and contamination caused by radiation disasters.

Although disasters from radiation exposure are rare occurrences, the short and long-term physical and psychological consequences of this type of event can be profound. This release of radioactive material can occur from damage to a nuclear power plant, waste reprocessing facility, medical facility, or food irradiation plant. Other public threats of radioactive material dispersal include a radiological transportation accident, the detonation of a nuclear weapon, or the detonation of a conventional explosive that emits radiation.

Nuclear power plants pose an inherent, unintentional radiation risk, due to the potential for release of radioactive elements into the environment. Additionally, spent reactor fuel rods, which typically are stored for many years, present a hazard because of residual radioactive components. In March 1979, a nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania had a near meltdown, which is defined as an overheating of the fuel rods and a release of radiation. The mishap produced very negligible doses to those living nearby, but the psychological effects were much greater than the biological impact. More significantly, the Three Mile Island accident brought into public focus the safety of nuclear power plants and the potential consequences of a nuclear facility incident.

In April 1986, a power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, had an accident that produced a meltdown. More than 20,000 square kilometers of land were contaminated, and 17 million people were exposed to excess radiation. Approximately 135,000 people were permanently evacuated.

The delayed effect, which appeared approximately four years after exposure, included excessive cases of thyroid cancers in adolescents. More than two decades later, the area remains uninhabited because of persistent concerns about environmental contamination. Despite these and other reactor accidents, modern nuclear power plants, especially those in developed nations, are less susceptible to mishaps due to design improvements over older models, including redundant safety mechanisms and shutdown procedures.

[Page 540]Millions of packages of radioactive materials are transported in the United States annually. Shipments consist of medical and industrial products; nuclear power plant fuel; nuclear weapons and weapons material; and radioactive waste generated by hospitals, laboratories, reactors, and military facilities.

Despite the high frequency of transport, no known serious nuclear radiation exposures have resulted from a transportation accident in the United States. This is due largely to the nature of the radioactive materials transported and careful protective packaging and labeling of the material.