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Anyone else find the INES scale: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:INES_en.svg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:INES_en.svg Uncomfortably reminiscen

Anyone else find the INES scale: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:INES_en.svg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:INES_en.svg Uncomfortably reminiscent of this: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hsas-chart_with_header.svg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hsas-chart_with_heade... ? I find the lack of metric troubling. For example, the best descriptions I can find list the INES level 6 as a "significant" release and level 7 as "major" release plus long term countermeasures. But, it's not clear if (1) the long term effects are part of the upgrade to "major" release, or (2) does "major" mean higher levels of radioactivity in a given time and that on top of that, there are long term effects? Would love if anyone has a more specific set of criteria.

WiseWeasel 16y ago
FTA: "The cumulative release of radioactive material now equals at least 1.8 million terabecquerels - enough to merit the 7 designation on the INES scale." "All told 14 million terabecquerels of radioactive material are estimated to have escaped during what remains the world's worst nuclear accident [in Chernobyl]." The INES scale is more than simply a measure of radioactive isotope quantities released, likely taking into account the distribution of the radioactive contamination due to weather, form of emission and various physical effects, as well as the exposed population.
- jamesbkel 16y ago
  Fair enough. However the only mention of release in terabecquerels reaching a 7 is media quotes. I can't find this anywhere in INES literature. Furthermore, the dose rate @ distance from reactor matters lot of than the total release. [edit: typo... does->dose]
  - WiseWeasel 16y ago
    It does seem true that there is either some level of subjective judgment in determining the level of severity, or that the factors involved may be considered by the IAEA (perhaps due to pressure from the nuclear power industry) to be too morbid to have a public debate about. This quote from an article referenced in the Wiki entry worries me: "Each country has an INES National Officer who liaises with an IAEA reporting centre to disseminate information in consistent language." http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Event_scale_revised_for_further_clarity_0510081.html http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Event_scale_revised_for... Who knows how much independence these national INES representatives have from their countries' nuclear industry, and how strongly public interest is considered by these people. There is also some mention in the same article that the INES scale is intended to be logarithmic, with each successive level representing ten-fold increase in severity, but it is not made clear how the various factors are weighted.

WiseWeasel 16y ago

FTA: "The cumulative release of radioactive material now equals at least 1.8 million terabecquerels - enough to merit the 7 designation on the INES scale." "All told 14 million terabecquerels of radioactive material are estimated to have escaped during what remains the world's worst nuclear accident [in Chernobyl]." The INES scale is more than simply a measure of radioactive isotope quantities released, likely taking into account the distribution of the radioactive contamination due to weather, form of emission and various physical effects, as well as the exposed population.

jamesbkel 16y ago
Fair enough. However the only mention of release in terabecquerels reaching a 7 is media quotes. I can't find this anywhere in INES literature. Furthermore, the dose rate @ distance from reactor matters lot of than the total release. [edit: typo... does->dose]
- WiseWeasel 16y ago
  It does seem true that there is either some level of subjective judgment in determining the level of severity, or that the factors involved may be considered by the IAEA (perhaps due to pressure from the nuclear power industry) to be too morbid to have a public debate about. This quote from an article referenced in the Wiki entry worries me: "Each country has an INES National Officer who liaises with an IAEA reporting centre to disseminate information in consistent language." http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Event_scale_revised_for_further_clarity_0510081.html http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Event_scale_revised_for... Who knows how much independence these national INES representatives have from their countries' nuclear industry, and how strongly public interest is considered by these people. There is also some mention in the same article that the INES scale is intended to be logarithmic, with each successive level representing ten-fold increase in severity, but it is not made clear how the various factors are weighted.