Where the reactors are - U.S., Midwest
About the Prairie Island reactors
How a pressurized water nuclear reactor works - part I
How a pressurized water nuclear reactor works - part II
Northern States Power sues Westinghouse over faulty tubes
Problems with Steam Generator Tubes (Part I)
Problems with Steam Generator Tubes (Part II)
A nightmare confirmed: steam tube degradation is increasingly likely to cause a nuclear meltdown (Part I)
A nightmare confirmed: steam tube degradation is increasingly likely to cause a nuclear meltdown (Part II)
Chernobyl to Prairie Island - We are all in the zone (Part I)
Chernobyl to Prairie Island - We are all in the zone (Part II)
Prairie Island routinely emits radioactivity into the environment
A little lesson on radioactivity: how it affects the human body
The difference between high-level and low-level radiation exposure
The effects of low-level radiation exposure
The waste fuel pools are filling up
Dry cask storage: problems guaranteed, and problems unknown
Yucca Mountain, Nevada: not a good place for nuclear waste
Transporting the waste: how safe can 45,000 shipments be?
Most mining and milling of uranium occurs on Indian lands
People of color are also targeted for other uranium processing facilities
Nuclear waste dumps - guess where they want to put them
Anything is cheap if you don't pay the cost
Nuclear power can be phased out
An interview with two of the neighbors
REFERENCES
Nuclear Waste - No Solution
Dry Cask Storage: Problems Guaranteed, and Problems Unknown
As of March 5, 1998, seven casks are loaded with high level nuclear waste on Prairie Island.
These casks cannot be transported. Before waste in these casks can leave Prairie Island, it must be unloaded and put in transport casks. Casks that are not unloaded within 20 years must be resealed to prevent fuel assemblies from rapid disintegration.
To reseal or unload a storage cask, it must be put back in the pool and refilled with water for radiation and heat protection.
Because the fuel will still be extremely hot, pool water contacting the hot fuel will flash into steam. The steam must be vented. But there is no technology or procedure that can adequately vacuum and filter radioactive gasses and particles from the vented steam.
Cool water on hot metal could also cause damage to fragile waste assemblies. The assemblies may disintegrate and cause the waste to fall to the bottom of the cask in a pattern that goes critical.
Casks must be unloaded or else they must be maintained. Either way, they must go back into the pool. In other words, unavoidable and essential cask maintenance and operating procedures may themselves result in massive radiation releases.