Misconceptions abound, we were NOT allowed much dose at all at the nuke and sensors everywhere were looking for it, nothing gaseous vented off the spent fuel and any radiologic waste was sequestered in cubicles then vented thru activated carbon scrubbers with their own monitoring systems. The reactor in a PWR does not vent as is under pressure. 600psi matter of fact. As the gas levels accumulated they would be forced back into solution and released in the let down make up system. Water cannot but stay liquid even at 565 degrees except the nucleate boiling at surface of fuel tubes.
I had to fully understand the mechanism prior to being a operator in plant.
I was allowed 1/10 the radiation levels most doctors receive in a hospital and far less than that of a airline pilot at altitude.
Are so many Misconceived notions of how these machines work and what emissions they produce as to make head swim.
I received MORE radiation Dose when hauled rock from a quarry or worked the pit and as received barium for internal organ inspections than I ever received in Plant.
I got to enter some of the nastiest regions of the facility both on or off line and was tech on fuel receipt for ten cycles. Everything you stated are incorrect.
The FSAR Final Safety Analysis Report is available online for every active US Nuclear power station. The worst radiologic incident where Callaway Techs had to estimate actual received dosage was at a Coal Burner where a Source metering system that measured flow density off a coal bunker was failed to be stowed in its receptacle. The welders that accessed the bunker received a massive instantaneous dose yet survived, never happened at the nuke. One Super got gassed during the vacuum fill of reactor coolant system after a refuel, set off detectors in several buildings and was taken Home to gas decay off, had to poop on paper plates and bring back to plant, nothing showed in his waste stream. He is retired and teaching at Fulton MO University over 75 years old.
As to Waste, will see a Tank mounted to a Low bed Trailer on the Highway on Occasion, that will be radiologic waste from a nuke source or site. Clothing work materials as Maslin or rolls of sheet plastic are taken for incineration often to condense the volume for burial, radioactive activated metals are taken to a metal melt facility and processed into containers to transport radioactive materials tools or components, the radiation levels of these are hard to discern from background to which there is a ABUNDANCE of. Crushed Stone, freshly excavated clays, coal, some petroleum products, Boric Acid, and several other COMMON items at home have radiation levels far in exceedance of those levels inside a Nuke Plant. Spent fuel remains at all sites except TMI 1, all that mess was removed, bottled up and sent to NM for study on what went RIGHT in that event. Was on First fuel load when accident occurred ad was a H2 flash burn explosion in the can NOT a Radiologic release event that had to be vented off again THRU SCRUBBERS. No person outside of the plant grounds received any more dose than a normal day at TMI. Now Fukushima was different, H2 venting into Reactor Buildings(NOT Containment buildings) on Boiling Water Reactors accumulated inside, only took a slight static spark to set those off. The mess was due to that style(Mid 70s) BWR plant design and the fact the Japs had determined to place standby emergency generation BELOW Grade in the facilities and Fuel for them in Above Grade tanks that were swept away. Best radiation Shielding is H2O and so may not be able to detect it once they do release said liquids that have been filtered to extremes.
