Explanation of Indicator
Nuclear power supplies approximately 18% of the Florida’s power
needs. Studies of risk perception consistently indicate that the
public rates the risk of a nuclear plant disaster higher than what
has been scientifically determined. The state has three nuclear
power plants: Turkey Point (Dade County) and St. Lucie (St. Lucie
County) owned by Florida Power and Light, and Crystal River (Citrus
County) owned by Florida Power Corporation. Each of these plants
is located directly on the coast to take advantage of the availability
of water for reactor cooling purposes. The location of these plants
represents a potential radiological hazard to coastal populations.
A 10-mile radius Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) exists around each
plant as designated by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission due
to the potential for release of radioactive material. The state
and the utility corporations plan and prepare for radiological
emergencies that may affect the populations within the EPZs. The
State of Florida Radiological Emergency Management Plan for Nuclear
Power Plants contains population estimates for the EPZs and describes
planning and procedures for radiological emergencies. Because the
population within an EPZ is likely to be directly affected by a
radiological emergency, population growth within an EPZ represents
increased risk to the population based simply on the location of
their residence.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
Information on the population within the EPZs is available from
Bill LeBlanc, Division of Emergency Management, Florida Department
of Community Affairs, 2740 Centerview Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32399,
or at (904) 413-9896.
ACQUISITION
The data are available in hard copy at no cost.
COLLECTION
The data are updated for each plant every 10 years based on the U.S. census.
Data Limitations
Because the data are only collected every 10 years, the information
quickly becomes out-dated. In addition, the data only represent
residential populations and do not include commercial and other
non-residential uses of EPZ areas.
Data Analysis
In each of the three EPZs, population figures increased from 1980 to
1990, thus indicating a greater population under threat from radiological
emergencies. The lack of annual observations prevents observations
of population changes correlated to specific events. Historically,
Dade County and St. Lucie County have been high growth counties,
while Citrus County has been a low growth county. This trend is
likely to persist in the near future.
Recommendations
Although the data are readily available, the indicator could be improved.
The utility corporations should be required to annually update population
figures for the EPZs using methods that estimate the actual population
instead of methods that interpolate or extrapolate census information.
This could be accomplished by having the local government building
departments track building permits from an established base year population.