c*****n
发帖数: 601 | 1 这么说shadow cliff的鱼是不是不能吃了？
http://www.trivalleycares.org/factSheet/Health_and_Environment.
【 以下文字转载自 SanFrancisco 讨论区 】
发信人: SFrose (黛娜), 信区: SanFrancisco
标 题: 弯曲Livermore 核试验室
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Wed Mar 16 15:52:40 2011, 美东)
Fact Sheet: Increasing Plutonium Storage and Usage at Livermore
Lab Endangers the Bay Area and Central Valley
The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to double the administrative limit for
plutonium to 3,080 pounds, which is the amount that
can be housed in Livermore Lab's plutonium building. DOE also plans to
double the amount that can be used in a process or room
from 44 to 88 pounds. These plans, announced in the final Site Wide
Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) on Livermore Lab
operations, would enable DOE to transport 1,540 pounds of additional
plutonium to the Lab. Workers will use this plutonium to
develop new manufacturing techniques for bomb cores (called pits), to
prototype new plutonium pits, to evaluate pits currently in the
arsenal and to support new plans to use plutonium in the National Ignition
Facility megalaser, a nuclear weapon design facility under
construction at the Lab. Pits are the generally softball-sized plutonium (
fission) spheres that sit inside modern nuclear weapons to
trigger thermonuclear explosions. The increase in plutonium activity at
Livermore Lab will support DOE's proposed factory, called
the Modern Pit Facility, being designed to produce hundreds of bomb cores
per year. Livermore Lab's plutonium use, storage,
transportation and waste disposal pose severe health and safety risks for
workers and the surrounding Livermore, San Francisco Bay
Area and Central Valley communities. Here are a few of the dangers we face:
HEALTH AND SAFETY: One microscopic particle of
plutonium, if inhaled, can cause lung cancer and numerous other
diseases. Weapons' grade plutonium has a radioactive half-life
of 24,000 years. Scientists often calculate a radioactive material's
hazardous life at ten half-lives. For plutonium, that is 240,000
years -- longer than human history. Much of the Lab's plutonium
is stored as oxides - fine shavings - that are easily dispersed in
the environment. Plutonium can enter the body through
inhalation, ingestion or an open wound. Growing children are
most at risk; plutonium is a "bone seeker," emitting radiation
from inside the body for years to come.
STORAGE: In certain forms and configurations, plutonium
is "pyrophoric," spontaneously igniting upon contact with
oxygen. If plutonium in larger amounts is packed too closely
together, or comes into contact accidentally, a "criticality" can
result in explosion and sudden release of radiation. An
examination of the Lab's recent history reveals systemic safety
deficiencies. In January 2005, the plutonium facility was placed
in "stand down" mode due to faulty gloveboxes, taped
ventilation ducts and other safety hazards. In March 2005, a
federal safety board cited the Lab for storing plutonium in paint
cans and food tins. In 1997, the plutonium facility was shut
down due to 25 criticality safety violations. Storage problems
are severe and chronic.
EARTHQUAKES: Livermore Lab sits near numerous faults,
including the Greenville and Los Positas faults. The Las Positas
fault zone is less than 200 feet from the site boundary. A 1980
quake on the Greenville fault cost the Lab millions in damages,
caused a radioactive tritium leak on site, and resulted in a ground
fissure opening up near the radioactive and toxic waste storage
areas. Storing plutonium in an aging facility near fault zones is
probably not a good idea. The final SWEIS for Livermore Lab
operations identified 108 buildings that need seismic upgrades.
TERRORISM / SABOTAGE: Experts have stated that
the plutonium within the Lab's crowded, 1.3 square mile site is
not secure and probably cannot be made secure from terrorist
attack or internal sabotage. A September 2005 DOE report said
that the complex suffered from a "low regard for security-set in
a deeply rooted culture of ingrained behavior, attitudes and
values." The Project on Government Oversight reviewed DOE
sites with special nuclear material and determined that the
plutonium at Livermore could not be adequately defended and
should be removed immediately. In light of these and other
reports, we are shocked by plans to double plutonium at the
Lab.
SURROUNDING POPULATIONS: While Livermore
was once mainly ranching, it is now a highly dense residential
city. Seven million people live within a fifty-mile radius of
Livermore Lab, and homes and apartment buildings are near
the gates. The plutonium facility is a mere 800 yards from the
nearest neighborhood. During a May 2004 hearing, a U.S.
Congressman said: "Considering the proximity of Livermore
to surrounding residential populations, shouldn't we remove and
consolidate these excess [plutonium] materials as soon as
possible?"
HUMAN ERROR: Incidents like Bhopal and Three Mile
Island remind us of the inevitability of human error. Although
the Lab has systems in place, when air monitors, alarms,
radiation sensors, worker training, packaging, or administrative
controls fail, releases can and do occur. In October 2003, twelve
workers were potentially exposed to airborne plutonium when
(1) a routine power outage occurred causing (2) fine particles
of plutonium to leak through a missing glovebox seal, and (3)
an alarm failed. The plutonium contamination was not
discovered for five days while workers continued to enter and
exit the room. In 1996, it was announced that the Lab could not
account for nearly 12 pounds of plutonium. Moreover, plutonium
has been found in Big Trees Park near the Lab at up to 1000
times the amount that can be attributed to global fallout.
OTHER PLANS: Plutonium is not the only health threat
from radiation at Livermore Lab. Large amounts of tritium
(radioactive hydrogen) have been released. In addition to the
plutonium, the Lab is planning to ramp up its activities with
tritium and acknowledges that the airborne releases will increase.
We CAN STOP THESE PLANS: Contact Tri-Valley
CAREs, 2582 Old First St., Livermore, CA 94551,
www.trivalleycares.org, for details |
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