What is radiation and is it emitted from nuclear power plants?
A. Radiation occurs naturally all around usin cosmic rays, the sun, minerals, radon gas and in manmade sources such as medical and dental X-rays, televisions, and smoke detectors. A unit of radiation measurement is the millirem. The average person receives about 360 millirems of natural and manmade radiation each year mostly from natural sources. Nuclear power plants contribute a very small amount of radiation to the environment. A resident of an area very near a nuclear plant will receive less than one additional millirem of exposure per year.
