Frequently Asked Questions - C-10 Research & Education Foundation, Inc.

What is "C-10"? C-10 is an acronym for Citizens Within the Ten-Mile Radius, a 5,000 member grassroots organization founded in 1986 to challenge evacuation plans for the Seabrook Station nuclear reactor. C-10 Research and Education Foundation evolved from this group, and was incorporated in 1991 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. C-10's mission is to address the health and safety issues related to the Seabrook Station nuclear power plant.

What are the health concerns related to nuclear power plants? C-10 is concerned that people living near nuclear power plants are exposed to continuous, low-level ionizing radiation that the industry and NRC do not adequately monitor or document. Nuclear power plants routinely release radioactive waste into the air, water, and soil. It is scientifically established that every exposure to radiation increases the risk of damage to tissues, cells, DNA and other vital molecules. Each exposure potentially can cause programmed cell death (apoptosis), genetic mutations, cancers, leukemia, birth defects, and reproductive, immune and endocrine system disorders.

What are the safety issues related to nuclear power plants, and specifically what is your concern with Seabrook Station? Since the events of September 11, 2001, the idea of nuclear terrorism has become a very real threat. We would like to believe that our nuclear power plants are well protected, but we have little evidence to that effect. Increasing economic pressures to reduce costs due to the deregulation of the electric power industry could further reduce the already unreliable monitoring and reporting of radioactive releases. Deferred maintenance can increase the radioactivity released - and the risks. Evacuation plans in the event of an emergency at Seabrook Station are seriously flawed. At any one time, as many as 200,000 people may be within the ten-mile emergency planning zone around Seabrook Station, most of them on the Hampton and Seabrook beaches east of the plant. All the beach escape routes in the emergency evacuation plans involve Route 1A, a narrow road. During summer months, traffic may be tied up for hours between Route 1A and Interstate 95. Emergency shelters were deemed unnecessary as an alternative to evacuation by the NRC, with the flawed reasoning that since the annually averaged population of the beach area is only a few thousand, there will be no problem evacuating the area in the event of an emergency.

Are there routine emissions from a nuclear power reactor such as Seabrook Station? Yes, the release of radioactivity into our air, water, and soil is not strictly limited to an accident at a nuclear power plant. All it takes is the plant's everyday routine operation, and federal regulations permit these radioactive releases as long as they contain "permissible" levels of contamination. Legally permissible does not mean safe. Radioactive releases from a nuclear power reactor's routine operation often are not fully detected or reported. Accidental releases may not be completely verified or documented.

How does Seabrook Station track emissions? Seabrook Station's monitoring of emissions is done at the stack vent or within the plant's various ventilation, waste and steam handling systems. In our view, this monitoring is inadequate because there is no real-time, continuous monitoring of emissions at the plant perimeter or anywhere in the populated area around Seabrook Station.

Does the NRC track Seabrook Station's emissions? The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) maintains a network of thermo-luminescent dosimeters (TDLs) within a ten-mile radius of Seabrook Station. These devices are widely used around nuclear power plants because of their low cost. TLDs are passive, averaging monitors, read once every 90 days. TLDs, therefore, are also inadequate because they do not give real-time information about emissions. Additionally, interpretation of TLD data has been called into serious question. Accurate determination of radioactive release amounts from TLDs is probably impossible.

Do nuclear power plants pollute? Yes, but because the operation of nuclear power plants does not add to the greenhouse effect, the nuclear industry claims to be environmentally friendly. Normal operations at nuclear power plants result in routine releases of large numbers of radioisotopes into the air, water, and soil. Highly radioactive spent fuel rods are currently stored in water-filled vaults because they pose a potential environmental nightmare. If there were a serious accident or terrorist attack at a nuclear power plant, a fire in the spent fuel pool could contaminate thousands of square kilometers of land for hundreds of years.