fallout shelter does nuclear reactor cause radiation

The range of effects from a nuclear weapon is very strongly dependent on its yield and whether it was detonated on the ground or at some height above the ground. This was seen after the Chernobyl accident, where large sections of Northern Europe did receive significant contamination and the aftermath was detectable all around the northern hemisphere. However, the plume would be carried by the wind and depending on atmospheric conditions could contaminate a large area and even hundreds of miles downwind there would be some significant contamination. This is partly the basis for the choice of 10 miles as the size of the emergency planning for U.S. Member Question: What are the levels of radiation risk at 10 miles, 100 miles, 100,000 miles from ground zero? How far can the radiation travel? Is that based solely on wind direction?Įdwin Lyman: Well, again one should distinguish between a nuclear weapon attack and an attack on a nuclear plant.įor a nuclear power plant accident, the acute effects I described - acute radiation sickness with a high chance of death - would be limited to within 10 miles or less of the accident. This is an interview with Edwin Lyman, PhD, scientific director for the Nuclear Control Institute, in November 2001.

Fallout shelter does nuclear reactor cause radiation