Nuclear Toxic Waste: Really Safe to live in Oak Ridge or Knoxville (Memphis: schools, living in)

[wenxue06]

Hi My Friends,
Thanks a lot for your info about living in Knoxville.
I have almost made my mind to relocate to the beautiful city, and started
looking for housing and school info for relocation.

It is a big surprise to learn from the internet that seems like it is
dangerous to live around Oak Ridge or even the whole state because of the
big incinerator for burning the nuclear waste and toxic shuffles going in
and out along Highways to and from Oak idge. I am attaching one report for
your reference: http://www.tennessean.com/special/oakridge/part1/stories/toxicshuffle.shtml (broken link)

To me, from the report it is a serious impact on living in Knoxville area,
but still feel confused if it is too overwhelming, or warried too much?
It is also very strange that I did not find any post mentioning the neclear
lab or waste in this posting section. Could you please let me know what's
the real status of safe level there? Does it affect or any impact on daily
life in Knoxville ?

I heard Oak Ridge has very good school and housing market, and want to take your suggestions locating there. Feel confused how it can be the best place to live if the toxic problem exists? Do people living there really ingore
the nuclear problem? How can the parents there are not panic of children's
growth?

Thanks!

[jmarkey]

But look at the PLUSES.

I, for one, feel ever so much safer driving at night since I moved near Oak Ridge.

I can spot deer approaching the road quite easily, due to the soft, green glow they give off.

[mbmouse]

LOL!!! jmarkey...that was mean!

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by jmarkey

But look at the PLUSES.

I, for one, feel ever so much safer driving at night since I moved near Oak Ridge.

I can spot deer approaching the road quite easily, due to the soft, green glow they give off.

LOL and I'm looking forward to living there because when I get up at night, I won't need a night light saving even more on electricity.

But seriously wenxue06, would all of those scientists and their families live in the area if they thought it wasn't safe? If you don't feel safe, don't live there. There are approximately 28,000 people in Oak Ridge. I saw them. They aren't Night of the Living Dead brain-eating zombies. Besides, the Oak Ridge area is small potatoes compared to the other dangers of living in Tennessee.

What about sliding off the side of a mountain in some desolate place when it's icy in the East, winding up in Oz if you move to the middle of the state or being crushed by an overpass in Memphis as they are on a geological fault line? Then there are the reeeeeally mean people who don't brake for Yankees, the churchgoers who waterboard you and put bamboo under your fingernails if you turn down an invitation to their church, those NRA guys lurking behind every pretty tree in every scenic park with their uzis just waiting to pick you off as you jog by, long-time residents hovering over every bar stool just dying to puff in your face so you can get cancer from second hand smoke, the mountain people with banjos and pitchforks and tree stump-removing assault vehicles aimed at totally innocent newcomers, schools that brainwash your kids by making them say "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance...and I don't even want to mention the terrible, terrible odds of having your heart broken by some country western singer if you move to the Nashville area. Yes indeed, Tennessee is a scary place.

[jmarkey]

To the original poster:

Sorry for the flip answer. I was in a mood.

There are indeed many postings in this forum on ORNL and nuclear waste. Do what the rest of us had to do and start digging through them.

When I considered moving to this area, I knew a little about Oak Ridge and what went on in the 40's. I was concerned, so I read and read and read some more. Then I made a trip here and had a look around. None of this was conclusive - I had to make a judgement call on whether the area was safe.

Do your own research and decide for yourself. The article you referenced was written in 1997. At the very least, Google Oak Ridge incinerator and check out articles that are more recent. There's a lot of information out there. You'll feel better if you come to your own conclusion, rather than depending on the opinion of others.

I personally feel Oak Ridge is SAFE, by God!!

(Signing off from up river in Clinton)

[webbish6]

A very interesting book to read is "The Angry Genie." It talks about some of the radiation leaks in Oak Ridge, mostly from 1940-1970. My father worked in Oak Ridge as a consultant during my childhood. I lived about eight miles downwind.

[jimlee]

In addition to Oak Ridge there are also two operating nuclear power plants within a hundred miles of Knoxville; Watts Bar, about 40 miles south, and Sequoyah just north of Chattanooga.

I grew up in this area and think much more about what the weather is going to be like tomorrow than our nearby nuclear and atomic facilities.

[ArcticPhoenix]

I, for one, welcome our new mutant overlords.

[anothertntony]

Originally Posted by wenxue06

Do people living there really ingore the nuclear problem? How can the parents there are not panic of children's growth?

I don't necessarily think that people ignore the risks. The problem is that there is not really enough data from which to determine if there is a real risk. You can spend all of the time that you want doing research on the web, but you will never really get past speculation and anecdotal evidence.

Even if you can determine that an area has higher than average cancer risks (there are many such areas), removing all of the other factors and thus leaving only radioactivity from decades-old projects is basically impossible. For example, does the area contain: more smokers than average, elevated radon gas levels (naturally occurring), higher than average obesity levels, poorer health care (more cancers may then be fatal), an improving health care system (higher instances of cancer diagnosis may simply be due to cancer being identified before someone dies of "natural causes" -- in that case, cancer may seem to be increasing when in fact only the diagnostic accuracy is increasing), etc. Cancer can be identified decades after the events that actually caused it, so it is exceptionally difficult to determine its cause.

Frankly, if you want something to worry about, forget about nuclear waste and focus on air pollution. Knoxville has some of the worst air pollution in the nation. Part of this is simply geographical (that's why they are called the Smoky Mountains), but the city and state are making no efforts to address the situation. On the other hand, many of the other highly polluted areas are addressing the pollution (or the pollution sources are disappearing), so Knoxville will probably move higher up that list over time. Air pollution has well documented effects on respiratory health, so that probably will have some impact on your life, especially if you already suffer from respiratory problems.

[LauraC]

I hate to say it but you guys are responding to a post that's over 2 years old.