How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50 miles good enough

Posted by HEagle on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @03:03PM
from the self-post dept.

Is there any Nuclear Power Plant near the city or surrounding you live at least 50 miles away they say is the safest to live. This is probably not a question you're asked all that often. But it's one worth knowing the answer to for a couple of reasons: the basic value in knowing where some of your electricity comes from and, in the extremely unlikely event of a meltdown, the practical knowledge of whether you'll have to evacuate your home.

( 10 comments | on HN )

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by floxy on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @03:10PM (#37933276)

I'd think it would also depend on the prevailing winds. Better to live upwind than downwind. And same with the river. Better to be upriver than downriver.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by mouse_ on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @03:17PM (#37933398)

From what I understand, the likelihood of birth defects, cancers, etc. from living near ANY coal fired power plant is significantly higher than a meltdown in a nuclear plant. Meltdowns don't just happen; when considering them you also have to take into account the likelihood of natural disasters in your area. Coastal Japan? Maybe not great. I'd still take that over living near a coal plant, though.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by readyplayernull on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @04:08PM (#37934109)

> How large an area was affected by the radioactive fallout?

> Some 150,000 square kilometres in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine are contaminated and stretch northward of the plant site as far as 500 kilometres. An area spanning 30 kilometres around the plant is considered the “exclusion zone” and is essentially uninhabited. Radioactive fallout scattered over much of the northern hemisphere via wind and storm patterns, but the amounts dispersed were in many instances insignificant.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/chernobyl/faqs

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by joshxyz on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @11:03PM (#37937820)

i could die from a car or get stabbed by a passerby.

those things scare me more than a nuclear power plant or an airplane crash.

statistically though what are the odds?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by farseer on Thursday October 19, 2023 @12:32AM (#37938439)

Transport and Violence cause only 5% of early deaths. Here is a complete list for what should scare you more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rat...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by floxy on Thursday October 19, 2023 @02:13PM (#37946423)

From the link, it looks like "Unintentional Injury" is the #1 cause for Americans aged 1-44.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rat....)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by defrost on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @11:12PM (#37937888)

It's worth bearing in mind that:

    Before 1963, the United States and other countries conducted more than 500 nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere. During these tests, radioactive particles and gases were spread in the atmosphere.

    Radioactive fallout was deposited all over the world, so many people were exposed to it. Even today, radioactive fallout is present in all parts of the world in small amounts.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/fallout/rf-gwt_home.htm

Don't forget to compare the fallout from your nearest nuclear power plant to the radiation from radon gas expressed daily by your nearest granite outcrops. If you live in a valley with nearby granite it's quite likely your vally "fills" with radon gas every day when the winds are still and bows clear when the wind picks up.

https://www.epa.gov/radiation/what-radon-gas-it-dangerous

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by userinanother on Thursday October 19, 2023 @01:08PM (#37945545)

Depends on if your water is coming from upstream or downstream. Ground water contamination is your biggest risk.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by neoromantique on Thursday October 19, 2023 @10:01PM (#37951453)

I lived for decades in walking distance from a NPP, then I educated myself on the subject, read a lot about it on the internet

...and now I feel even safer living near NPP.

I sadly moved away for unrelated reasons, but I'd move to a similar place in a heartbeat. Turns out that requirements to actually build a NPP(access to water, seismic activity etc) are quite strict and make for a good place to live overall.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How far one should live from a Nuclear Power Plant? is 50... by idontwantthis on Saturday October 21, 2023 @12:19AM (#37964039)

I would think that the closer you are to a nuclear power plant the further you are from a coal power plant so you would want to live as close as possible. Just don’t try to build your house inside the fence or the power plant will become significantly more dangerous.

[ Parent | on HN ]