Public and occupational risks of the Nevada (USA) Test Site |
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Authors: | Inhaber H |
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Institution: | (1) Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada 89154 USA, US |
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Abstract: | The Nevada Test Site (NTS), north of Las Vegas, was the scene of hundreds of nuclear weapons tests over four decades, both
above- and belowground. There is considerable interest, both in neighboring communities and elsewhere, in the risks it poses.
Overall, the greatest risks are nonradioactive in origin, with occupational risks to employees and accident risks in transporting
low-level nuclear wastes to the NTS from other Department of Energy (DOE) sites ranking highest. For radiation risks, that
to workers handling radioactive materials is much higher than that to the surrounding population, either present or future.
Overall, annual risks are small, with all fatalities approximately 0.008% of total Nevada deaths. At the NTS, the government
spends about 5000 times more on radiation as opposed to nonradiation deaths. This suggests that at least some resources may
be misallocated towards cleanup of public risks and that the occupational risk of cleanup may be much higher than the public
risk. Thus risk may be multiplied by well-meaning programs. |
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Keywords: | : Nevada Test Site Occupational risk Public risk US Department of Energy Radiation risk Cleanup Remediation |
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