Why is radiation bad? What does it do to the body? Tell me a bit about Yucca Mountain...?

Question

THX!!!!

Answer 1

Radiation interacts with the cells of the human body. These interactions can damage or destroy those cells. The damage may be immediate or may take some time to manifest itself in the form of mutations as the damaged cells divide and reproduce.

Humans are in constant contact with various forms of radiation throughout our whole lives. This "natural" radiation comes from outer space in the form of cosmic rays and from elements naturally occuring here on earth. Your own body is a source of radiation because it contains radioactive material from things that you have injested.

Yucca Mountain has been the planned repository for all of the spent nuclear fuel generated as a byproduct of making electricity at nuclear power plants. While there is nowhere on earth that is 100% guarunteed safe for this purpose, Yucca Mt. is as close as it gets. The plan is to transport all of the spent fuel from all of the commercial reactors in the US to this location, store and monitor it until somebody thinks up something better to do with it.

Will it be "safe" buried there?

That depends on your definition of "safe". Calculation have shown that the chances of the spent fuel containers eventually leaking several thousand years from now is much less than you being killed in a car accident this year. If you feel "safe" enough to keep riding in cars then I guess Yucca Mt. is "safe". In addition, if some of the spent fuel canisters do leak a few thousand years from now, the amount of radioactive material getting into the groundwater would still be less than the amount being put there by those natural sources in the surrounding rocks.

Answer 2

Radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness", is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a short period. Many of the symptoms of radiation poisoning occur as ionizing radiation interferes with cell division. This interference allows for treatment of cancer cells; such cells are among the fastest-dividing in the body, and will be killed by a radiation dose that adjacent normal cells are likely to survive.

The clinical name for "radiation sickness" is acute radiation syndrome as described by the CDC[1][2][3][4]. A chronic radiation syndrome does exist but is very uncommon; this has been observed among workers in early radium source production sites and in the early days of the Soviet nuclear program. A short exposure can result in acute radiation syndrome; chronic radiation syndrome requires a prolonged high level of exposure.

The use of radionuclides in science and industry is strictly regulated in most countries (in the U.S. by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission). In the event of an accidental or deliberate release of radioactive material, either evacuation or sheltering in place will be the recommended measures.

Yucca Mountain is a Ridge line in Nye County, south-central Nevada, composed of volcanic material (mostly tuff) ejected from a now-extinct caldera-forming supervolcano. Yucca Mountain is most notable as the site of the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository, a U.S. Department of Energy terminal storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste.

Answer 3

There is no doubt that radiation causes bad effects on human bodies, and that those effects are far greater than anyone has ever allowed us to believe. I am not just talking about people who work at or live near nuclear power plants, although they are, of course, at high risk of exposure. All of us, to a greater or lesser degree, have been exposed to some form of radiation. Especially at risk are children, small babies and those yet to be born. The most common sources of exposure are: airborne sources, such as nuclear accidents, bomb testing; the sun's rays, X-rays, cigarette smoke (see my Radiation & Tobacco Report), dental porcelain, some medical therapies, and radiation that exists in soil, and gets into our water and food supplies.

Radiation exposure will cause a person to have a weakened immune system and related health problems throughout his entire life. This exposure causes devastating illnesses, such as cancer and degenerative diseases, but it can also cause minor ailments, such as a persistent cough, headaches, sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal dysfunction.

The good news is that there are remedies for the bad effects of radiation, and they are contained within these pages. This report is dedicated to helping you to protect, preserve and improve your health, and the health of your family.

for more info about radiation:
http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/allergies-and-radiation-report.html

Yucca Mountain is a Ridge line in Nye County, south-central Nevada, composed of volcanic material (mostly tuff) ejected from a now-extinct caldera-forming supervolcano. Yucca Mountain is most notable as the site of the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository, a U.S. Department of Energy terminal storage facility for spent nuclear reactor fuel and other radioactive waste.

for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain#Controversy