Risks and Benefits of Radiation

On Dec 2, 1984, Stanley J. Watras, an engineer working on construction of the new Limerick nuclear power plant near Pottstown, PA, arrived at work. The plant was scheduled to begin generating power within three weeks, and the construction crew had just installed radiation detectors at the plant door...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American scientist 2017-03, Vol.105 (2), p.112-119
Main Author: Jorgensen, Timothy J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alarms
Cigarettes
Contamination
Crews
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Detectors
Disease
DNA
Gases
Health risk assessment
Houses
Lung cancer
Nuclear power generation
Nuclear power plants
Power plants
Radioactivity
Radiography
Risk
Smoking
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Summary:On Dec 2, 1984, Stanley J. Watras, an engineer working on construction of the new Limerick nuclear power plant near Pottstown, PA, arrived at work. The plant was scheduled to begin generating power within three weeks, and the construction crew had just installed radiation detectors at the plant doors -- a standard safeguard to ensure that nuclear workers don't exit the plant with any radioactive contamination on their bodies. When Watras arrived that day, he set off the alarms on the detectors as he walked into the plant. Over the following two weeks he would set off the alarms every morning. Further investigation revealed that his clothes were contaminated with radioactivity that he had picked up at his home. When radiation safety personnel from the plant visited Watras's home, they discovered what they didn't think possible. There was more radon gas in the Watras house than was found in a typical uranium mine -- nearly 20 times as much.
ISSN:0003-0996
1545-2786