A new analysis being produced by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates that a meltdown at a nuclear plant would cause far fewer human fatalities than previously believed.

While earlier studies calculated that a meltdown caused by a prolonged loss of electric power could release as much as 60 percent of the radioactive cesium contained in a typical plant’s reactor core, the new study suggests that just 1 to 2 percent of the radioactive material would likely escape, with most of the material remaining inside the reactor building.

And even large-scale nuclear releases would occur over a long period of time, allowing people living within a 10-mile radius enough time to evacuate, according to the New York Times, which received a draft copy from the watchdog group, the Union of Concerned Scientists.

According to the report, which officials intended to release next spring, just one person in 4,348 living within 10 miles would be expected to develop “latent cancer” as a result of exposure to radiation. Critics called the NRC calculations overly optimistic.

Among other things, the calculations assume successful evacuation and “average” weather conditions, said Edwin Lyman, a nuclear physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

Related posts:

• South Korea, Malaysia Discuss Nuclear Energy Cooperation
• Nuclear Reactions: Six Months After Fukushima, the World Readjusts
• France Invests €1B in Nuclear, Saying Moratorium ‘Makes No Sense’
• Is Belgium the Next Country to Switch Off Nuclear Power?
• China Freezes Nuclear Approvals After Japan Crisis

A Russian company has announced that it will build the world’s first floating nuclear plant, opening up the possibility that the Russians could use such reactors to power operations to extract oil and minerals in remote regions of the Arctic.

Russia’s United Industrial Corporation said its floating reactor will go into operation in 2012 off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East and will be used to help power Vilyuchinsk, a small city that serves as an atomic submarine base. The 472-foot plant will be built in the shape of a ship, will accommodate two 35-megawatt reactors, and will cost $316 million to construct, United Industrial said.

Nuclear power experts said that such floating reactors could be used to supply power to extractive industries in the Arctic as sea ice melts and Russia moves in to exploit oil, natural gas, and minerals. But putting reactors at sea, particularly in such an environmentally sensitive area as the Arctic, raises concerns about safety in extreme weather, disposal of radioactive waste produced by the reactors, and vulnerability to terrorism.

This article originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 at http://e360.yale.edu

[photo credit: flickr]

Related posts:

• Nuclear Power Debate: 350 Movers, Pragmatic Greens & Fearful Opponents
• War Against Climate Change: There Will Be Some Collateral Damage
• Support for Nuclear Power Drops Sharply in the U.S., Poll Says
• Russia Decides to Take a Step Forward with Biofuels
• New Nuclear Reactors