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;Can nuclear power slow down climate change?, by Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen
Elsewhere, other anti-nuclear power activists claim that Krypton-85 leads to the destruction of the ozone layer;Nuclear radiation depletes the ozone layer, will eventually destroy planet’s oxygen
==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.Update and improvement of the global krypton-85 emission inventory, 2011, doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.07.006
* 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. How much Krypton-85 leaks into the atmosphere each year?
==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,Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Nuclear Power Operations, by EPA which are unjustified both economically (according to any remotely rational cost-benefit analysis)Proposed EPA Rules Are Kryptonite to New Nuclear, by James Conca as well as environmentally (according to the science on Krypton-85's impact on nature).
==Hall of shame==
===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
==References== 
Category:Global warming
Category:Environmentalism
Category:Radiophobia