Nuclear Plant Discussion: 4 Experts (sound)

these four experts are directly involved with Pacific Gas and Electric companies nuclear power program if you live near a nuclear power plant would you find it an environmental blot what does the building designer think let's ask e nakagawa an architect with PG and's engineering department from an environmental point of view what does a nuclear power plant do for its neighbors basically all it does is provide them with electricity however p is fully aware of its oblig ation to be a good neighbor the company is concerned with the aesthetic compatibility to the environment of their power installations and its related facilities whether they be fossil fuel or nuclear power plants what is a prime consideration when you design a nuclear power plant in so far as my involvement is concerned we carefully design and develop an environmental master plan not only to fit the functional needs of the project but to enhance the natural surroundings by providing pleasing architectural form scale and appropriate material color texture and Landscaping the other environmental aspects for nuclear power installations such as seismic thermal and biological effects are also given careful study by qualified company personnel and Consultants what about earthquakes and a nuclear power plant let's ask Dr Richard Johns professor of geology and Dean of the school of Earth Sciences at Stanford University Dr John's is geology a factor in the selection of a nuclear power plant site geologic and seismic factors are critically important in the selection of a suitable site for a nuclear power plant toward determining the suitability of a coastal site extensive onshore and offshore exploration are necessary for an evaluation of ground stability possible surface faulting and potential strong seismic ground shaking this this exploration includes detailed geologic mapping and study of bedrock and surficial deposits extensive test trenching and Drilling and in the offshore area continuous seismic profiling over miles of total Traverse as a matter of fact the basic purpose here is to make a nuclear power plant a great deal safer than your own home we'd like you to meet a physicist who can definitively answer questions concerning radiation and nuclear power plants this man is Owen Davis supervisor of Environmental Quality for PG&E Mr Davis is radiation something new in man's environment no radiation is all around us and has been here since the Earth was created some comes to us from the Sun in the form of cosmic rays there's radiation in all of the rocks of the earth there's even radiation in all of our building materials we get additional amounts of radiation from man-made uses such as medical and dental X-rays how much radiation does a nuclear power plant add to this natural radiation environment very little as a matter of fact we're getting more radi ation from the naturally occurring carbon 14 in our bodies than the average person would receive from a nuclear power plant are you saying then that nuclear power plants are safe definitely we design and operate nuclear power plants such that the additional amount of radiation exposure is almost indistinguishable from our natural background radiation now let us turn to the Sea and the thermal effects of nuclear power generation on marine life James R Adams marine biologist with PG and's department of engineering research and an acknowledged Authority in this field can answer our questions what effects will nuclear power plants have on marine life no significant adverse effects numerous studies that operating power plants in California have shown that the effects are limited to a very small area and are confined to a domination of this limited area by warm tolerant plants animals and fish well why do people keep bringing up questions about the effects of nuclear power plants on Marine ecology well unfortunately too many scientists have been speculating about what happens around operating power plants and not enough scientists have actually gone out and made field investigations those people who have made field investigations have found out that the effects are limited are predictable and are confined to a very small area and insignificant in terms of the local Marine ecology for