Krypton-85 and climate change

The false claim that Krypton-85 causes climate change has a long history, dating back to at least the 1970s or 1980s. Recently, it has become an important tool for anti-nuclear power activists who push it as a new anti-nuclear power meme.

This is undoubtedly due to the continued rise in importance of climate change, and as a result, of the pro-nuclear power argument that "nuclear power mitigates climate change" - a good, scientific argument which the anti-nuclear movement thus tries to directly counter through cooking up lies about Krypton-85.

Those lies are, in turn, based upon the disproven supposition that "if Krypton-85 emissions continue to increase, it may cause climate change".

The hoax itself
Here is the basic argument;

Elsewhere, other anti-nuclear power activists claim that Krypton-85 leads to the destruction of the ozone layer;

Facts about krypton-85

 * Its half-life is 10.756 years.
 * The fission yield is around 0.3%; i.e., approximately 3 atoms of Krypton-85 are generated per 1000 fissions.
 * It is a gas at Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP). The gas density, at a temperature of 21.1°C, is 3.479 kg/m³.
 * The most common form (99.57%) of decay undergone by Krypton-85 is the emission of beta particles with a maximum energy release of 687 keV and an average energy release of 251 keV.
 * The global atmospheric inventory of Kr-85 is estimated to about 5500 PBq (petabecquerels, 1015 Bq) at the end of 2009.
 * The amount of Krypton-85 in Earth's atmosphere is minute. Its contribution to atmospheric ionization and/or ozone formation is overwhelmed by other effects.

Politics ignoring science
Sadly, this falsehood is influential within the corridors of power. Not directly, in that the EPA don't accept krypton-85 causes climate change. Indirectly, in that the EPA accept there are "legitimate environmental concerns", and try to alleviate such by enacting legislation.

The EPA proposed much lower Krypton-85 emission standards as a result of this myth, which are unjustified both economically (according to any remotely rational cost-benefit analysis) as well as environmentally (according to the science on Krypton-85's impact on nature).

Myth promoters
Listed in approximate order of credibility:
 * Climate risks by radioactive krypton-85 from nuclear fission Atmospheric-electrical and air-chemical effects of ionizing radiation in the atmosphere, by R Kollert, 1994, 64 page report
 * Can nuclear power slow down climate change?, by Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen
 * Summary of Principal Human Activities That Can Influence Climate Change, by Stephen Schneider
 * Nuclear plant emissions may be affecting climate, by "Emily", Editor, Senior Moderator
 * Climate protection through nuclear power plants? Hardly, by Lutz Mez
 * Climate risks of krypton-85 from nuclear fission, by Paul Langley
 * Krypton-85: How nuclear power plants cause climate change
 * Krypton-85: Beta Decay in Our Environment, by Majia Holmer Nadesan
 * Climate Risks from Nuclear Power. Radioactive Krypton 85: Atmospheric-Electrical and Air-Chemical Effects of Ionizing Radiation in the Atmosphere, by miningawareness

Books mentioning the meme

 * The Coevolution of Climate and Life, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 563 pp. by Schneider, S.H. and R. Londer, 1984 (See table entitled: "Summary of Principal Human Activities That Can Influence Climate Change")
 * Global Environments Through the Quaternary: Exploring Environmental Change, by David E. Anderson, Andrew S. Goudie, Adrian G. Parker (Table 9.2 "Possible ways in which human activities may cause climate change")
 * The Global Casino, Fifth Edition: An Introduction to Environmental Issues, by Nick Middleton, Table 11.1 "Possible mechanisms for inadvertant human-induced climate change"
 * After Cancún: Climate Governance or Climate Conflicts, edited by Elmar Altvater, Achim Brunnengräber, pp 178-179