Radioactive Effluent and Environmental Reports
Each commercial nuclear power plant is required to submit two annual reports, which detail (1) the radioactive effluents discharged from the site, and (2) the effects (if any) on the environment. In addition to these two annual reports, in 2007 each power plant voluntarily submitted answers to a questionnaire related to the voluntary initiative on groundwater protection, initiated by the commercial nuclear power industry.
To see these reports and questionnaires for a particular nuclear power plant, select the plant name from the following table.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) directed the NRC staff to summarize the radioactive effluent data from all the reactor sites listed above. Details of the Commission's instructions to the NRC staff are contained in a Staff Requirements Memorandum SRM-SECY-06-0212, "Preparation of Annual Reports on Radioactive Materials Released in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents an in Solid Wastes Shipped for Disposal by Commercial Nuclear Power Plants."
In accordance with the direction from the Commission, NRC's annual summary radioactive effluent reports are being written for each calendar year. The staff began with the data from calendar year 2007. The currently available NRC summary reports can be found at the links below.
Radioactive Effluent Summary Report by Calendar Year:
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
These NRC radioactive effluent summary reports are generated on an annual basis and contain a description of radioactive effluent controls in nuclear power plants. The reports provide both a narrative description and many graphs and tables which allow the reader to quickly characterize the radioactive effluents from any commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. Additionally, these graphs allow the reader to compare the effluents discharged by different power plants. Beginning with the 2009 report the reports contain several trend graphs that provide the reader with a basic understanding of industry performance over the last 34 years. Additionally, even though the amount of radioactive effluents from individual power plants varies from year to year, the data indicates that the industry as a whole is continually improving performance in minimizing radioactive effluents, which are following a steady downward trend.
