Jon,
I remember reading somewhere that more radioactive material has been vented
into the atmosphere by coal fired plants than nuclear plants. This was based
the concentrations of C14 and other isotopes. After reading your message to
Mike Fay about C14 dating of Petroleum I was reminded of this and thought to
ask you if this had any accuracy?
TIA
Boris 08-Feb-95 00:50:50 ET
Boris,
No, radioactivity vented by coal fired power plants is mostly radon and
polonium (a daughter of radon). The rocks surrounding the (relatively) porous
coal deposits contain uranium and thorium, which outgas radon continuously.
Radon then collects in the coal, where it decays. The problem is that we burn
so much coal that we liberate substantial quantities of these radioisotopes.
It's strong enough that you can find 2x to 3x background just by walking around
in a coal yard with a survey meter.
– Norm