Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

5.77
The maximum individual, who is 4 km from point of impact, would not survive the ini-
tial blast of the meteorite. Regardless, doses in the first year following a release of
wastes by a meteorite in the year of closure would amount to 8,000 to 22,000 rem to the
whole-body, either of which as an acute dose would prove fatal.
An estimate was made of the number of persons in the reference environment surrounding
the repository who could be expected to receive at least 500 rem in the first year following
meteorite impact. This was done by calculating the ratio of the atmospheric dispersion
coefficients at various points of the compass and the distance from the point of contact.
The number of persons so exposed amounted to about 30,000 for the midwest site. If this
dose is received in a short time, it would prove fatal to about half of these individuals;
thus about 15,000 early radiation-related fatalities would be expected.
Doses to the maximum individual for a breach by meteorite 1000 years after closure
range from about 1/3 to 3 times the currently applicable occupational limit and in terms of
accidental exposure are not particularly noteworthy. Dose to the maximum individual as a
function of time of repository breach decreases slowly after the first thousand years. For
a breach at one million years, the dose would vary from about 1% to 100% of applicable
occupational dose limits.
Doses to the regional population (2 million persons within 80 km) were calculated and
are presented in Table 5.5.3.
TABLE 5.5.3. 70-Year Whole Body-Dose Commitment to the Regional
Population--Repository Breach by Meteorite, man-rem
Time of Event Salt Granite Shale Basalt
Year of closure
Spent Fuel 6.9 x 107 1.8 x 108 9.1 x 10 7 1.8 x 108
Reprocessing 6.2 x 107 5.3 x 107 3.8 x 10 7 6.2 x 107
Wastes
Closure + 1000 Years
Spent Fuel 1.6 x 107 4.2 x 107 2.1 x 107 4.2 x 10 7
Reprocessing 6.2 x 106 5.3 x 106 3.8 x 106 6.2 x 106
Wastes
Closure + 100,000
Years
Spent Fuel 2.8 x 105 7.4 x 105 3.7 x 105 7.4 x 105
Reprocessing 7.8 x 104 6.6 x 10 4 4.8 x 10 4 7.8 x 105
Wastes
Closure + 100,000,000
Years
Spent Fuel 9.4 x 104 2.5 x 105 1.2 x 10 5 2.5 x 105
Reprocessing 8.5 x 104 7.0 x 104 5.1 x 104 8.5 x 10 4
Wastes