Nuclear Power Problems

The effects caused by a nuclear power accident, on the scale of the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl

accident, must override any inclination to side with advocates for nuclear power. Surely we have all heard

the expression “I’m only human”. If we are indeed only human, and consequently prone to error, we could

never perfectly manage and contain an energy as potentially destructive as that of nuclear power, without the

possibility of a nuclear accident. Furthermore, the wastes generated by nuclear power, when inadvertently

released during a nuclear power accident, have been proven to cause malignant diseases and premature

death to those who come into contact with them. Additionally, the vegetation threat we rely on for survival is

severely affected when radioactive elements are released into the air and water supply during a nuclear

accident. Most alarming, however, is the fact that the general public is vastly unaware of its governments’

use of nuclear waste in the development of nuclear weapon. Most of us can remember the bombing of Iwo

Jima and the effects the bomb had on the lives of the millions of Japanese that lived within a twenty mile

radius of the city. We can see what happened to the second generation: children born with severe

informities such as sixteen fingers and three arms; children born with cancer; and children with mental and

physical handicaps. The radiation of a bomb doesn’t always cause instant death, but it is a lingering

experience. Japanese people, thought to be healthy, got cancer in later life, and had dis-formed children.

Consequently, we must not be swayed by advocates urging us to further develop and expand nuclear power.

We must, instead, examine the larger picture; the risks associated with this potentially devastating power.

The potential for human error causing a nuclear accident can be ascertained by considering the

causes and effects of accidents that have already occurred.

In 1952, at Chalk River’s Nuclear Reactor, four control pads were unintentionally removed, causing a

partial meltdown of the reactor’s core.

In 1957, a fire at the Windscale Pile No. 1 plant, just north of Liverpool, England, resulted in the

contamination of 200 square miles of countryside when it was covered with radiation.

In 1976, the core of the Lubmin nuclear plant in Greifswald, East Germany nearly melted down when

safety systems failed during a fire.

In 1979, the ever so famous, Three Mile Island reactor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lost coolant in one of

its two reactors and a partial meltdown occurred on March 28, 1979. “Large amounts of radioactive

noble gases were released to the containment atmosphere. Some of these were released into the

environment” (The Three). The resulting contamination led to a very expensive ten-year clean up plan.

“The first re-entry of the building took place in July of 1980” (TIP 10).

Still, nothing compares to the tragic accident at the Soviet’s Chernobyl power plant in 1986. “The

accident which immediately killed three hundred and twenty one persons, caused about 130,000 cases

of irradiation and led to the displacement of hundred of individuals” (Fragelada). The post Chernobyl

brain syndrome arose because of the high amounts of radiation. “In the city of Gomel, Belarus, near the

Chernobyl power plant, a survey revealed that out of fifteen hundreds of children, only twenty-four were

in good health” (Chernobyl). The Belarus children keep eating the contaminated food. “The Chernobyl

plant did not have the massive containment structure common to most nuclear power plants elsewhere in

the world” (The Chernobyl Accident).

The costs associated with nuclear power are of paramount concern. When compared to coal, gas,

and oil in 1997, only coal was cheaper than nuclear power. It would appear to the general public, that nuclear

power is a bargain deal. Few people, however, take into account the fact that bargain-deals often cost the

consumer more in their long-term values. The costs resulting from nuclear accidents are seldom taken

fully into account. First of all, the scientists, researchers, technicians, and workers who must assess the

accidents and initiate clean-up operations, must be compensated. Instruments, tools, and machinery must be

bought and transported to the accident site to enable the clean-up. Storage containers for the radioactive

waste must be constructed. Doctors and hospitals must be made available for the diagnosis and treatment of

the victims. Even those who sustained lower doses of radiation must be monitored. Pregnant women must

be monitored for both their incidence of spontaneous abortion [mis-carriage] as well as congenial defects in

their offspring. Children must be monitored for possible future thyroid tumors as a result of the high radiation

doses that they have sustained. Future generations must be studied to ascertain whether their incidence to

cancers, diseases, or birth defects can directly attribute to a prior generation nuclear accident. The costs of

nuclear power are, hence, quiet substantial. Most people don’t realize this, but terrorists train near Three Mile

Island. “In late 1992 to 1993, training was conducted at a camp near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for operations

and assassinations in the United States and Overseas” (Siddig Ibrahim Siddig Ali). The FBI had been aware

of the training going on, at least a month before the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center on February

26, 1993.

“One of the main problems concerning nuclear power could be the secret kept around it. Nuclear

companies are very isolated” (Fragelada). Another reason to stand against nuclear power is that,

unbeknownst to the general public, its wastes are used in the development of nuclear weapons. Although a

county initiating the use of nuclear power may develop high-level waste storage methods, they are not

generally designed to prevent encroachment. Nuclear waste becomes more tempting to potential bomb

makers as time allows the waste to decay into a cleaner plutonium which could be used in nuclear weapons.

Another problem is, what do you do with the wastes? “The problem of the wastes is a catastrophe in all the

producer countries. Nobody knows what to do with it. They are buried, either in the countryside or in foreign

countries” (Fragelada).

Politicians and media personnel often oversimplify nuclear power by showing only its’ beneficial

aspects. Llewellyn King asserts that because the word thought that it was running out of oil and natural gas

in the 1970’s, the logical explanation was to expand nuclear power production. Because coal and gas emit

large amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere, Llewellyn asserted that nuclear power could clean up the

atmosphere, thus stopping global warming. Although, the concerns of the writer are credible, further

education of the devastating effects of nuclear power accidents would probably yield a change of heart.

We must not be swayed by the opinions of those associated with, or those who have connections

with the press. Nuclear power poses a life- threatening risk to the public and the future of our world. We

must do all we can to persuade, convince, and educate the general public. The horrible effects of nuclear

accidents will eventually cause death and destruction to all life as we know it. Stand firmly opposed to

nuclear energy and save our planet form eventual destruction.

Bibliography

Works Cited

Chernobyl: Health Impact - Chapter V. Accessed on July 20, 2000.

Nuclear Waste Problems. Accessed on July 19, 2000.

Growth impairment and mental retardation among children exposed to

atomic-bomb radiation before birth. Accessed on June 20, 2000.

TIP 10: Status of Three Mile Island Unit 2. Accessed on July 20, 2000.

http://www.nrc.gov/OPA/gmo/tip/tip10.htm>

Lemonick, Michael D. Paying for Disaster. Time Magazine; May 17, 1993.

Accessed on July 22, 2000.

http://www.time.com/time/daily/chernobyl/930517.books.html>

Perlman, Fredy. Progress & Nuclear Power: The Destruction of the

Continent and Its Peoples. Accessed on July 22, 2000.

The Chernobyl Accidents and Its Consequences. Accessed on July 20, 2000.

Fragelada, Hiram. Chernobyl Project. Accessed on July 20, 2000.

Ali, Siddig Ibrahim Siddig. Another Nuclear Threat. Accessed July 21, 2000.

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