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
Routine Nuclear Emissions
A Little Lesson on Radioactivity:
 How it Affects the Human Body
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen that is produced in the reactor core. NSP releases tritium into the river where it replaces hydrogen in water. Tritium in water that is ingested will cause continuous internal low-level radiation exposure over a long period.
Other routine radioactive emissions that get inside the body through ingestion and inhalation include Cesium 137, Iodine 131 and Strontium 90.
Strontium mimics calcium. It collects in bones where radiation can reach the marrow, an important part of the immune system.
Cesium resembles sodium, and migrates to fatty tissue.

Radioactive iodine concentrates in the thyroid gland, which is also integral to the immune system.
Once radioactive material gets inside the body, comparisons with background radiation are meaningless.
Background radiation is outside body shielding. But living tissue next to internal sources is not shielded. It is vulnerable, and gets damaged or destroyed.