Monitoring Seabrook - C-10 Research & Education Foundation, Inc.

The C-10 Radiological Monitoring Network (CRMN) program was developed in 1991 when Seabrook Station first Arcview

became operational. In the absence of government oversight, citizens formed to become public watchdogs, confronting the issues of the health effects of ionizing radiation.

Normal operations at a pressurized water reactor such as Seabrook Station result in routine releases of large numbers of radioisotopes into the environment. Seabrook Station's only monitoring of these releases, which might yield data on the magnitude and type of isotopes released, is done at the stack vent or within the plant's various ventilation, waste, and steam-handling systems.

Offsite minute to minute monitoring is done by C-10 because Seabrook Station does not have continuous, real-time monitoring of plant emissions at the plant perimeter or anywhere in the populated area around Seabrook Station.

C-10's airborne radiation monitoring system consists of a network of laptops, industry standard radiation sensors, and weather probes. Beta, gamma, and weather data is recorded continually at 17 remote sites located within a ten-mile radius of Seabrook Station, and then uploaded every 15 minutes to a web-based central repository where the data is displayed on a GIS map. Additionally, the data is compiled and graphed monthly, with reports submitted electronically to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The radiation sensor equipment and data collection software are designed by International Medcom. The weather probes are R.M. Young marine model wind sensors. All 17 sites are located in private homes, schools and businesses.

C-10 is the only citizen's radiological monitoring organization in the country that has monitored emissions from a nuclear reactor from the moment it generated energy. To provide an indisputable baseline for analysis, C-10 recorded background radiation levels within the ten-mile radius prior to Seabrook Station going on line.

C-10's data is available upon request.

In late 1993, C-10 Research and Education Foundation (C-10) applied to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department for a Scientific Permit to research the potential effects of ocean discharges from the Seabrook nuclear power plant (Seabrook) on the surrounding marine environment. That permit was first granted for the 1994 year. The permit allowed C-10 to place Blue Mussels in cages in the vicinity of the cooling tunnel outfall for Seabrook. the mussels were harvested in Maine only a day or two prior to C-10's purchase of them from a local commercial source. They were placed in the ocean near the cooling tunnel outfall for Seabrook on the day of purchase, and left there over the course of the summer and into the fall. The mussels were harvested in the fall for analysis. A permit renewal was applied for and received in each year for 1994 through 1998. Only during 1994 and 1998 were we actually able to retrieve samples of mussels for analysis. During other years the lines and buoys attached to the cages disappeared during the 4-5 month summer/fall exposure period. We would like to initiate a more rigorous study of the effects of Seabrook on the marine environment. To that end, we would like to obtain samples of mussels that have grown naturally in the area around the cooling tunnel outfall at Seabrook, rather than placing imported mussels there for a relatively short duration of time over the summer months. We also want to collect far-field samples from some distance north and south of the outfall for comparison. C-10 is the only grassroots organization that has conducted a mussel study in the vicinity of Seabrook. Our concerns are the impact of radionuclides released into the ocean water by Seabrook on marine life and the food chain. We will share our study results with the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Departments of Public Health, and with local communities and the general public.

Part of C-10's mission is to research the impact that Seabrook's emissions have on the health of people living in the 23 communities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts that are within the ten-mile radius of the reactor. Working in a partnership with the Massachusetts Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment, we are in the process of developing a Disease Surveillance Program that looks at any increases in certain types of radiogenic cancers that occur over time during the operation of Seabrook.

Beta, gamma, and weather data is recorded continually at 17 remote sites located within a ten-mile radius around the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. The data is compiled and graphed, and monthly reports are submitted to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. C-10's data is available upon request.