Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents

Jean-Claude Amiard is a Doctor of Radioecology, Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS and former Associate Professor in Quebec and China. He is the author of more than 200 publications, 70 books or book chapters and 150 presentations in international conferences.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xvList of Acronyms. xviiChapter 1. Classification of Civil, Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents 11.1. Nuclear accident or radiological accident? 21.2. Classification of nuclear accidents. Incident or accident? 31.2.1. Application of the INES in France 51.2.2. Application of the INES at the international level 61.2.3. Other classifications of nuclear accidents 61.2.4. The NAMS classification 61.3. Classification of radiological accidents 71.4. The typology of accidents 91.4.1. Criticality accidents 101.4.2. Accidents in nuclear power reactors 111.4.3. Losses of radioactive sources 111.4.4. Radiotherapy accidents 121.4.5. Terrorist attacks 121.5. What are the main nuclear accidents? 121.6. Information on nuclear energy. 17Chapter 2. Accidents Related to Nuclear Power Production 192.1. Introduction 192.2. Accidents in the nuclear fuel cycle 192.2.1. Uranium mines 202.2.2. Milling, conversion, enrichment and fuel manufacturing plants 222.2.3. Nuclear reactors 222.2.4. Spent fuel reprocessing plants 292.3. Accidents in laboratories 332.3.1. Chalk River laboratories 332.3.2. French study centers 342.4. Other accidents 352.4.1. Accidents in civil engineering 352.4.2. Accidents in nuclear propulsion 362.5. Waste management incidents 362.6. Incidents in the transport of radioactive packages 372.7. Environmental consequences 382.7.1. Uranium mines 382.7.2. Tokai-Mura 392.7.3. Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux 392.7.4. Three Mile Island 402.7.5. Church Rock 412.7.6. La Hague 412.7.7. Chalk River 412.7.8. Simi Valley 422.8. Health consequences 422.8.1. Uranium miners 422.8.2. Workers in the nuclear industry 442.8.3. Simi Valley 472.8.4. Tokai-Mura 482.8.5. Lucens 492.8.6. Three Mile Island 492.8.7. Church Rock 502.8.8. La Hague 502.8.9. Chalk River 512.8.10. Ruthenium 106 releases in Russia in September 2017 512.9. The cost of accidents 522.11. Conclusions 54Chapter 3. The Extremely Serious Nuclear Accident at Chernobyl 573.1. Introduction 573.2. The facts 583.2.1. The Chernobyl site and the nuclear power plant 583.2.2. The accident 583.2.3. The core and the sarcophage 593.2.4. Atmospheric emissions 593.2.5. The dispersion of radionuclides 603.2.6. Radioactive fallout 613.2.7. Accident management 643.2.8. Countermeasures carried out at Chernobyl 673.3. Spatial and environmental consequences 683.3.1. Atmospheric contamination 683.3.2. Soil contamination 693.3.3. Surface water contamination 693.3.4. Groundwater contamination 703.3.5. Forest contamination 713.3.6. Contamination of the aquatic environment 743.3.7. Contamination of the marine environment 763.4. Ecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident 763.4.1. The three phases 763.4.2. Effects at molecular level 783.4.3. Genetic effects 803.4.4. Morphological and physiological effects on individuals 863.4.5. Effects on individual reproduction (sex, sex-ratio, fertility) 883.4.6. Effects on populations (age, abundance, longevity) 893.4.7. Effects on ecosystem structure and functioning 923.4.8. Partial conclusion 933.5. Health consequences 943.5.1. Implications for large organisms 943.5.2. The main contributions to exposure 973.5.3. Population exposure 973.5.4. Cancer pathologies 1003.5.5. Non-cancerous pathologies 1063.5.6. Mortalities resulting from the Chernobyl accident 1123.6. Social consequences 1153.6.1. Psychological disorders among liquidators 1153.6.2. Psychological disorders in evacuated populations 1163.7. Consequences in Europe and France 1193.7.1. The impact of Chernobyl in Europe 1193.7.2. The impact of Chernobyl in France 1233.7.3. Cases of thyroid cancer in France 1283.8. Economic consequences 1303.9. Long-term management of the Chernobyl accident 1313.10. Conclusion 132Chapter 4. Fukushima’s Serious Nuclear Accidents 1354.1. Introduction 1354.2. The course of the Fukushima accidents 1364.2.1. The facts 1364.2.2. Atmospheric emissions 1394.2.3. Marine discharges 1404.3. Actions taken by the Japanese authorities 1414.3.1. Evacuation of the populations 1414.3.2. Distribution of iodine tablets to children 1444.3.3. Exposure limits for nuclear workers and the public 1444.3.4. Regulatory values and food monitoring 1454.3.5. Decontamination tests of crop production 1474.3.6. Decontamination and waste management 1474.3.7. The restructuring of the Japanese nuclear industry 1494.3.8. Compensation of victims 1494.4. Environmental contamination 1504.4.1. Contamination of the atmosphere 1504.4.2. Contamination of the terrestrial environment 1524.4.3. Forest contamination 1554.4.4. Bird contamination 1584.4.5. Contamination of freshwater environments 1584.4.6. Contamination of the marine environment 1594.4.7. Contamination of agricultural products and foodstuffs 1654.5. Exposure and effects on flora and fauna 1704.5.1. Exposure and effects on forests 1714.5.2. Exposure and effects on birds 1724.5.3. Exposure and effects on other terrestrial organisms 1744.5.4. Exposure and effects on freshwater organisms 1754.5.5. Exposure and effects on marine organisms 1754.6. Health consequences 1774.6.1. Consequences for the local human population 1774.6.2. The consequences for nuclear workers 1844.6.3. Consequences on the world population (excluding Japan) 1874.7. Economic consequences 1884.8. The situation in 2016 and 2017 1894.8.1. The current situation of the Fukushima nuclear facilities 1894.8.2. The time course of freshwater contamination 1904.8.3. The first returns and return intentions of the evacuated populations following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant 1924.9. Conclusions 192Chapter 5. Industrial and Medical Radiology Accidents 1955.1 Introduction 1955.2. Industrial and medical applications 1965.2.1. Non-destructive industrial testing 1965.2.2. Industrial synthesis reactions and mechanical and chemical transformations 1975.2.3. Environmental remediation and waste treatment by irradiation 1985.2.4. Agri-food applications 1995.2.5. Medical applications 2005.3. Radiological criticality accidents 2025.4. Radiological accidents related to the loss of radioactive sources 2035.4.1. Loss of radioactive sources and public exposure 2055.4.2. The main causes of loss of radioactive sources 2115.4.3. Nuclear accidents related to the loss of radioactive sources 2125.5. Radiological accidents with radioactive sources and industrial accelerators 2155.6. Medical radiological accidents 2195.6.1. Historical accidents involving the use of radiotherapy 2195.6.2. Radiological accidents with medicinal radioactive sources 2205.6.3. Brachytherapy and brachytherapy accidents 2255.6.4. Interventional radiology by fluoroscopy 2265.6.5. Secondary cancers 2275.7. Conclusions 227Conclusion 229Glossary 239References 249Index 309