Is it safe to swim in lake anna

[Anonymous]

I have a background in nuclear physics. There is no way that the plant is releasing "radioactivity" to the lake (lay term in this case, anyway). It's a tertiary loop. I would bet a large amount of money that if I threw a banana into a swimming pool, the pool water would be more radioactive than anything that the power plant is putting into the lake. (Potassium is radioactive.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a background in nuclear physics. There is no way that the plant is releasing "radioactivity" to the lake (lay term in this case, anyway). It's a tertiary loop. I would bet a large amount of money that if I threw a banana into a swimming pool, the pool water would be more radioactive than anything that the power plant is putting into the lake. (Potassium is radioactive.)

Yep, the pp talking about "incidents" is talking out of their ass. Of course they don't provide any sources or citations for their claim, because they don't have any. While there have been "incidents" including a leak of cooling water, those incidents have been thoroughly investigated by the NRC and even in the case of coolant leak the water discharged was well within normal safe and legal levels of radioactivity.

As for amoebas, Lake Anna does have a higher incidence than other bodies of water, but we're talking about the difference between winning the lottery and winning the lottery twice in a row. It may be more likely, but that doesn't mean it's anything to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

Do you have seven fingers on each hand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:friends of ours had a house there and the dad was a nuclear scientist. He swam in it. they would go "hot tubbing" which meant they would take their boat near the power plant and float around in blow ups where the water was really hot.

Yeah, no thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

Do you have seven fingers on each hand?

She does now.

[Anonymous]

I thought this thread was a joke at first. It's absolutely safe to go swimming in Lake Anna.

As noted above, there are two parts of the lake. The smaller, "private" side is the water that comes out after it cools the reactor. It is often called the "warm" side because it tends to be about 10-15 degrees warmer than the other side. But also as noted above, there is no radioactivity to the water.

The much larger "public" side of the lake is also called the "cool" side and is where the water is drawn from into the plant.

The most dangerous part of swimming in the lake right now is the algae bloom that has happened the last couple of years at the north end of the lake (potentially due to agricultural runoff, but not totally clear). But it has not been detected on the private side or for the majority of the public side. And by "dangerous" I mean there's a warning of some skin irritation or gastric issues if you were to drink the water. But there are not even really any reports of that. Just warnings.

[Anonymous]

PP above - the warm side is probably not very comfortable for summer swimming, but I've heard it's quite nice in fall or winter. I've only ever been on the cool side, but have swam happily in June, July, August, and September and found it comfortable and refreshing during all summer months.

[Anonymous]

Gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

[Anonymous]

Radiation may or may not be an issue at Lake Anna. However, on the warm side by the power plant water, the temperature was 90 degrees F in Sept. there were cows in the water 100 yards from us defecating in the water. Fecal coliform bacteria from warm blooded animals thrive in that environment. We left 5 days early once we saw that. It is considered a waste stream, so it is likely not tested for swimming safety.

Anonymous - MS degree in water resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a background in nuclear physics. There is no way that the plant is releasing "radioactivity" to the lake (lay term in this case, anyway). It's a tertiary loop. I would bet a large amount of money that if I threw a banana into a swimming pool, the pool water would be more radioactive than anything that the power plant is putting into the lake. (Potassium is radioactive.)

Also a scientist with nuclear research experience and exactly this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

You have 7 fingers on one hand??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

You have 7 fingers on one hand??

Thanks to Lake Anna she does

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swim m in Lake Anna every summer and have done since the 1980s. I can easily count on one hand the 6 or 7 incidents we have had due to the nuclear plant.

You have 7 fingers on one hand??

I think a few ppl missed the joke.

[Anonymous]

I go to Smith Mountain Lake instead!