Key Facts
- Nuclear can help meet the nation's clean energy goal because—like wind, solar and hydropower—it does not produce greenhouse gases. It is by far the largest clean-air energy source and the only one that can produce large amounts of electricity around the clock.
- Protecting the environment at nuclear power plants extends to safely managing used fuel, protecting water quality, and preserving and improving habitat for plants and wildlife. All U.S. nuclear energy facilities have extensive environmental programs, which are under the oversight of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and state regulators.
Nuclear Energy’s Environmental Stewardship
As The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes, “Radiation has existed everywhere in the environment since the Earth's formation. … The mining and processing of naturally occurring radioactive materials for use in medicine, power generation, consumer products and industry inevitably generate emissions and waste.” EPA, the Food and Drug Administration and the NRC share responsibility for the oversight of the diverse uses of radioactive materials.
The NRC regulates the civilian uses of source material (uranium and thorium), special nuclear material (enriched uranium and plutonium), and byproduct material (such as residue from the milling of uranium and thorium). According to the NRC, there are more than 20,000 active licenses related to source, byproduct and special nuclear materials. Of these licenses, about one-quarter are administered by the NRC and the remainder by agreement states. All nuclear power plants are under NRC oversight.
Nuclear power plants generate nearly 20 percent of America’s electricity—and nearly 60 percent of its carbon-free electricity—using uranium fuel. Instead of burning anything that emits carbon dioxide, these plants use the heat generated by splitting atoms in the fuel to produce the steam needed to drive the turbines. During normal operation, nuclear plants release small amounts of radioactivity in airborne and liquid forms. All such releases are subject to stringent annual limits established by the EPA and NRC regulations.
Releases of radioactivity from nuclear power plants have decreased substantially in the past 30 years, according to the NRC, largely because of improved reactor fuel performance and waste-handling techniques. The federal limit for annual radiation dose to the public from nuclear plant operations is 25 millirem. The average actual dose to the public from living near a nuclear energy facility is less than 1 millirem, according to EPA. Stringent radiological monitoring programs are in place to protect public health and the environment.
Monitoring Programs
Radiological monitoring at nuclear energy facilities has two essential elements that serve as checks on each other. The companies operating these facilities continuously monitor and control the small releases that occur during normal plant operations, accounting for all pathways that could lead to a radiation release to the environment. They also monitor the environment—air, water, land and locally produced milk and produce—to verify that radiation levels are normal.
Environmental monitoring locations for air and land pathways typically are within 10 miles of the plant. Personnel monitor the aquatic pathway at the point where the plant’s diluted waste water is discharged to the water body and at the closest downstream municipal water treatment facility that processes drinking water. Controls for the aquatic pathway are upstream or up-current of the plant’s discharge into a local body of water. Technicians compare the downstream samples with the control samples taken upstream of the facility.
Nuclear energy facilities also monitor and test drinking water and crops that have been irrigated with water that may be affected by plant operations, if downstream or down-current of a plant situated near a river or lake. Technicians take samples from local dairy farms and fish from local waters. Independent laboratories test the samples for any radioactivity that could be attributed to nuclear energy facility operation.
In 2006, the nuclear industry adopted a voluntary program to enhance groundwater protection and communications about the results of the monitoring. A subsequent industry peer assessment found that all U.S. reactors have completed major actions that significantly enhanced their monitoring of groundwater.
Federal and state regulators provide oversight of nuclear plant environmental programs. The NRC has resident inspectors at all nuclear energy facilities. Reports on the environmental monitoring programs are submitted annually to the NRC and are available on the agency’s website. Additionally, many state environmental protection or public health departments assign staff to monitor nuclear plants, and some conduct their own sampling and testing programs.
Because nuclear energy facilities are industrial sites, they report annually to EPA the results of separate programs that monitor the potential impact of cleaning solutions, diesel fuel or other potentially hazardous materials used at the site.
Nurturing Habitat for Endangered Species
Many electric utilities augment their environmental programs with voluntary initiatives to enhance natural habitats at nuclear reactor sites for endangered species. Some of the nation’s best-known environmental organizations have recognized these programs, including the Audubon Society, Ducks Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Habitat Council.