Record Exposure of Workers to Radiation Cited--and Disputed

A consumer advocacy group said Tuesday that more nuclear power plant workers than ever before were exposed to measurable radiation in 1988, the last year for which data was available. But the data was disputed by both the federal government and the nuclear industry.

The study by an energy research project of Public Citizen said that 105,265 instances of worker exposure to measurable radiation occurred at the nation’s 107 commercial nuclear reactors that year.

“This is the highest number of incidents of worker exposure ever recorded by the U.S. commercial nuclear power industry,” the organization said.

It said its study, based on documents from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, found 104,511 such incidents in 1987 and 100,992 in 1986.

Although the number of exposure incidents nationwide was up in 1988, the number per plant is decreasing steadily, said Joseph Fouchard, a spokesman for the commission. There were 98 plants operating in 1987, nine fewer than the following year.

“With respect to worker exposure to radiation at nuclear power plants, we believe it has been steadily improving,” Fouchard said. “We believe the situation is getting better.”

The industry-sponsored Council of Energy Awareness, in a written response to the report, said that “the total number of exposed individuals increased only because, according to Public Citizen’s figures, there were 10 more nuclear energy plants in operation than the year before.”

“Their own numbers show that in 1988, the year on which they report, the number of workers per plant who were exposed to any measurable radiation declined to an all-time low, down 22% in the five-year period, 1984-1988,” said the council.

Each exposed worker in 1988 received an average radiation dose of 0.390 person-rem, which Public Citizen said was roughly equivalent to 20 chest X-rays.

The exposure could lead to significantly increased risk for radiation-caused cancers among the workers and genetic damage to their children, the group said.

Experts on both sides agree that the greatest exposure of workers occurs during reactor maintenance work, mostly on older reactors.