Nuclear power plants release radioactive gases and liquids

In normal operation, nuclear reactors do indeed release very small quantities of radioactive elements, mainly in liquid form, but also in gaseous form to a lesser extent. The mere fact that they are radioactive does not necessarily make them dangerous to the public. As specified by ASNR, "public health is not at risk anywhere in France due to authorized releases”.

Real but very low radioactive releases

In normal operation, nuclear power plants do indeed release very small quantities of radioactive elements, mainly in liquid form, but also in gaseous form to a lesser extent. These are mainly tritium, carbon-14 and noble gases. When the radiological influence of a nuclear power plant’s normal operation is detectable in relation to radiological background noise, it is limited to a radius of a few kilometers around the plant [2]. 

The case of tritium

Tritium is regularly brandished as proof of the hazardous nature of the nuclear power industry. This radioactive isotope of hydrogen is one of the main effluents discharged by a nuclear power plant in normal operation. WHO sets the drinkability limit for tritium concentration in water at 10,000 becquerels per liter. French regulations require the investigations to be launched once the threshold of 100 Bq/L has been reached [4]. In France, no radioactivity measurements detected contamination greater than 100 Bq/L in the water distributed between 2016 and 2023 (last full year of data on data.gouv.fr) [3]. 

Radioactive ≠ Hazardous

The general public often thinks that the term “radioactive” is synonymous with “hazardous”, but this is not necessarily the case. ASNR is categorical about this fact: "There is no place in France where public health is at risk due to authorized releases” [1]. For example, a person living near a nuclear power plant and regularly consuming fish and water downstream of the plant would only be exposed to a dose of around 1 µSv/year, several thousand times lower than exposure due to natural radioactivity [2].