Table 4.25 Scenario Baseload Capacities and Electrical Generation The addition of quantified public risks to the occupational risks in Fig. 4.32, in particular those from coal, would favor the SPS scenario with reduced conventional generation. However, the unquantified risks to the public in Table 4.24 restrict the delineation of definitive conclusions related to total scenario risks. Conelus ions. Under the assessment taxonomy and the assumptions described in this report, the coal technology appears to have the largest overall quantified risk of the various systems considered, primarily due to coal extraction, processing and transport, and air pollution, although large uncertainties remain in the actual effect of the air pollution. On the other hand, no additional issues were identified for the coal system that are potentially major but remain largely unquant ifiable. Quantified risks from the remaining technologies (fission, fusion, SPS, and centralized TPV) are comparable within the range of quantified uncertainty. The occupational risks for component production, both direct and indirect, are a substantial fraction of the total risk, in particular for the advanced, capital-intensive solar and fusion technologies. Of potential major significance for public acceptance of new energy systems, but not included in the quantification,, is the possibility of catastrophic incidents that exist for the fission and fusion systems. Unique, unquantified possibilities of catastrophic incidents also exist for the SPS, in relation to the use of microwave transmission of energy and extensive space travel. 4.4 ENVIRONMENTAL WELFARE EFFECTS 4.4.1 Introduction Several types of effects from environmental degradation that are not directly related to public or occupational health and safety will be referred to as environmental welfare effects, since they concern the well-being of individuals. For example, deterioration of building materials from SO2 emissions, reduced crop productivity due to water pollution, and aesthetic impacts such as plumes from stacks and cooling towers are considered. This evaluation of coal (conventional coal and CG/CC), nuclear (LWR, LMFBR, and fusion), and solar (TPV and the GaAlAs version of SPS) systems identifies the
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