How close is too close to a nuclear power plant?

[Monty Carlo]

A power plant meltdown is not really on my list of top concerns, but I just recently learned that the closest nuclear plant is only 16 miles away from my home. I used this online app to find out:
http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/n...nts_locations/

What do you think about this site? Does 10 miles seem like a small radius for safe air in the event of a catastrophe?

[Crashcadia]

Yes, 10 miles doesn't seem too far in the event of a catastrophe. However I have a fairly high bar for a catastrophe, think Chernobyl. In general I wouldn't worry about being 16 miles from a reactor, but if there is a catastrophe you might be in trouble.

Numerous places on the earth are in a similar predicament, if the worse happens, the residents are in trouble.

[forestdavegump]

If it has a meltdown you cannot get far enough away, fast enough.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown
http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle27695.htm

[Wild 1]

10-25 miles might be on the outskirts of the zone of incineration
100 miles might be outside of the zone of leeching
1000 miles might be outside of the zone of fallout.

It would all be situation dependent of course. A meltdown is extremely hard to achieve with the numerous fail-safes they have in current designs.

[VirginiaDavid]

Look at the situation in Japan last year. The fallout from that disaster could be detected halfway across the ocean.

No matter how far you are from a nuclear plant, having a dosimeter would be an essential bug out bag item if you're serious about the nuclear scenario.

[hazmat]

Time to invest in a good CBRN shelter I'm thinking.
16 miles away, it's going to have to be a REALLY good one.
Personally I'd sell up and move, far. far away.

[9111315]

Originally Posted by Wild 1

10-25 miles might be on the outskirts of the zone of incineration
100 miles might be outside of the zone of leeching
1000 miles might be outside of the zone of fallout.

It would all be situation dependent of course. A meltdown is extremely hard to achieve with the numerous fail-safes they have in current designs.

. . . so like dude, how many megaton do you think the blast will be?

The Soviets moved everyone within 19 miles of the Chernobyl. Also, Chernobyl did not have a containment building.

[BAR BAR 2]

The five closest nuke plants to me are from 513 miles to 648 miles away. Of the five, one is pretty much due east and the remaining four are southeast. I know there are some to the west by northwest of my location, but i will have to look up there distance from me. Atleast they are'nt the ones I am closest to.

Google "closest nuclear power plant to me" and it will take you to several sites where you can enter your adress or zipcode.

Tex

[Marjorie]

We've worked nuclear power for the past 12 years. For 10 years, we lived just within 10 miles of the country's largest nuke plant. My oldest son, his wife and their baby are 3 miles away from the plant. Now we've moved to a different plant and are renting 50 miles away, just because that's all we could find.

We know the safety systems of the plants we've worked at, we know how the domes are built, and we feel perfectly comfortable 10-20 miles out.

[nextup]

Originally Posted by VirginiaDavid

Look at the situation in Japan last year. The fallout from that disaster could be detected halfway across the ocean.

actually the fallout from the recent Japan incident was detected on the rooftops of buildings in Cleveland Ohio ... granted it was barely detectable and couldn't cause any harm it still made it that far if not further... just not reported ...

[Wild 1]

Originally Posted by 9111315

. . . so like dude, how many megaton do you think the blast will be?

The Soviets moved everyone within 19 miles of the Chernobyl. Also, Chernobyl did not have a containment building.

It would probably be a meltdown more than a blast, for the "zone of incineration" it would realistically be passive irradiation which would still cook you in a small range and a little bit slower and more painfully. Now compile all that material together and strap some charges around it in a pretty shape, and you could probably have the makings of a good bomb. A 1 Megaton explosion yields enough power to burn flesh out to about 10 miles.

It will inherently depend on the plant size and situation, but the numbers that were listed are a liberal estimate. However, if a blast radius on a bomb is only 7 miles, and I live 8 miles away, I don't think I would personally cut back on my health insurance

With the safeguards of today though, I would suspect maybe 1-2 miles of irradiation, but leaching might still go far.

[GG42]

The most critical piece of info is: are you downwind 16 miles? If "yes" it is way too close.
If I were 200 miles downwind I would definitely invest in a shelter and at least a nukealert, while sensitive low range detector would be valuable. By the way, ALL of Japan was heavily irradiated by Fukushima. I have studied the labs observations personally, not relying on anyones opinion.

[Bilgerat]

I'm only 12 miles from our plant..about 3 weeks ago they sent everyone in the county a evacuation map,according to that I'm outside of the evacuation area.

[ZMagic97]

I'd be more worried of being hit by a falling asteroid than having an issue near a nuclear power plant. Been working in one for years...I see no issues with being near one.

[Ticom]

EPZ is 10 miles radius. Secondary Alpha emitter concern is 50 miles. That info is directly from the local OEM office within the EPZ of a nuke plant. I'd make it at least 50 miles. The further away the better, like with any nuke stuff.

[greytoothe]

Blast? Duh. Maximum enrichment at a commercial power plant is less than 1/10 necessary to achieve a nuclear explosion. Meltdown, possibly. However the Fukashima Site had 10 separate plants/reactors. Only the oldest 2 actually experienced the meltdown. They were built to standards of the 60s, not current standards.

How do I know this, degrees in nuke engineering, 30 years experience at the plants, including as a licensed senior operator and a government inspector.

[PalmettoTree]

Ten miles is too close. Fifty miles is too close depending on prevailing winds. Likely everything within a hundred miles will be evacuated. Return will depend on the magnitude of the disaster.

Former CBR Officer