Nearby Power Plants

Power plants are permitted to emit tiny quantities of radiation. In fact, government says people living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant can be exposed to up to 0.1 millirem daily.

And because coal contains traces of radioactive substances, coal-fired power plants emit radiation too. In a recent test, people living within 50 miles of a coal-fired plant in Wyoming were shown to be exposed to 0.16 millirem.

Credit: istockphoto