Radioactive Effluents from Nuclear Power Plants: Annual Report 2014 (NUREG/CR-2907, Volume 20)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: May 2018
Date Published: November 2018

Prepared by:
J. Davis

Oak Ridge Associated Universities
1299 Bethel Valley Road, SC-200, MS-21
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Steven Garry and Micheal Smith, NRC Project Managers

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

In 2014, there were 100 commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) licensed to operate on 62 sites in the United States (U.S.) regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In 2013, 4 NPPs (San Onofre Units 2 and 3, Crystal River Unit 3 and Kewaunee) permanently shut down and are not included in this analysis of radioactive effluents from operating reactors (see Section 1.2). Each year, each power reactor sends a report to the NRC that identifies the radioactive liquid and gaseous effluents discharged from the facility. In 2014, these effluent reports comprised about 10,000 pages of information, which described the radioactive materials discharged, as well as the resulting radiation doses to the general public. This report summarizes that information and presents the information in a format intended for both nuclear professionals and the general public.

The reader can use this report to quickly characterize the radioactive discharges from any U.S. NPP in 2014. The radioactive effluents from one reactor can be compared with other reactors. The results can also be compared with typical (or median) effluents for the industry, including short-term trends and long-term trends.

Reference information is included so the reader can compare the doses from NPP effluents with the doses the general public receives from other sources of radiation, such as medical procedures, industrial devices, and natural materials in the environment.

Although all operating NPPs released some radioactive materials in 2014, all effluents discharged were within the NRC's and the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) public dose limits, and NRC "as low as is reasonable achievable" (ALARA) criteria. Additionally, the doses from radioactive effluents were much less than the doses from other sources of natural radiation that are commonly considered safe. This indicates radioactive effluents from NPPs in 2014 had no significant impact on the health and safety of the public or the environment.