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HWN Suggests

Nuclear Accidents in Context

Nuclear power has a bad rep, and sometimes not undeservedly. The recent disaster in Fukushima, the historical disaster at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Windscale… each demonstrated that nuclear power can be dangerous. What I wanted to do with this post was to try and put those into context, and hopefully explain why, although disasters are (obviously) terrible, disasters involving nuclear power are not the literal end of the world, nor are they automatically more dangerous than incidents involving other large scale power generation or industrial processes.

So, lets start with the big one. Chernobyl. Nobody is ever going to stand up and say Chernobyl wasn’t awful, an absolutely terrible…

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Featured

 It Sounds Crazy, But Fukushima, Chernobyl, And Three Mile Island Show Why Nuclear Is Inherently Safe

The truth about nuclear power’s safety is so shocking that it’s worth taking a closer look at the worst accidents, starting with the worst of the worst: Chernobyl.

 We still don’t really know the health hazards of a nuclear accident

Five years after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima and 30 years after the Chernobyl accident, scientists are still disagreeing about the impact on human health – such as how many people have got cancer as a result and how dangerous the exclusion zones currently are.

Articles of Interest

Damaged Nuclear-Power Plants Could Spew Range of Emissions

Far more worrying are several radioactive chemical elements released as particles about one-quarter the size of a grain of sand. These include iodine-131, strontium-90 and cesium-137. Some of these are especially dangerous to humans because they mimic substances the body naturally uses, such as iodine, and are readily incorporated into the body's tissues.

A Brief History of Nuclear Accidents Worldwide

Serious nuclear accidents have been few and far between—but their stories will help prevent future catastrophes.

Dirty Bombs and Nuclear Accidents, Are You Prepared?

The 'nuke scenario' remains but what about dirty bombs or another 'Fukushima'. Hopefully neither will occur, but the odds are one or the other will happen in our future. Are you prepared?

How Radioactive Is the Pacific, Really?

This month, an alarming report said Fukushima radiation had hit American shores. The truth is, it’s only in trace amounts. The real problem is that it’s nobody’s job to check ever again.

Nuclear power plant accidents: listed and ranked since 1952

We have identified 33 serious incidents and accidents at nuclear power stations since the first recorded one in 1952 at Chalk River in Ontario, Canada.

Radiation in the Ocean

The West Coast of the United States seems under siege by negative environmental news: earthquake predictions, oil spills, drought, critically diminished water supply, wildfires, and numerous accounts of unusual coastal events: algae blooms, whale strandings, cancer in seals, collapse of fish stocks, and more. One argument has been the effect of radiation leaking from the three nuclear power plant reactors shut down by the earthquake and resultant tsunami tidal wave that inundated Fukushima, Japan in 2011...

The Nuclear Age Has Left A Lasting Impression

Meltdowns have a much different effect, with a much bigger problem. Nuclear bombs burn hot and fast, leaving little residual radiation behind. Hiroshima and Nagasaki saw the rebuilding process happen within a year of their bombing. The sites of nuclear reactor meltdowns are still too dangerous to enter years, decades, even centuries later.

The worst nuclear plant accident in history: Live from Chernobyl

Now, almost 25 years after the disaster, the Ukrainian government has officially opened the area up for tourism. But just how safe is the zone now?

Resources

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Nuclear Accidents

Nuclear meltdowns have both harmed and benefited wildlife in contamination zones.

NEI

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) is the policy organization of the nuclear energy and technologies industry.

Nuclear Hitchhiker

We’ll talk about everything associated with nuclear from PWRs, EPRs,FCI, THORP, LLW, ILW, HLW and every other bewildering acronym under the Sun all the way through to perceptions of nuclear in film, books and the media!

The Hiroshima Syndrome

Now in retirement after my second career teaching science and math on the high school level, I have totally distanced myself technically and financially from the nuclear industry. No vested interest remains, if you will. In addition, retirement on a teacher’s pension, IRA, and Social Security has me in the position of having literally nothing to lose by going public. I firmly believe that exposing the Hiroshima Syndrome is something that must be done. The Philosopher in me said this ought to be done as soon as a possible audience exists, and not later. The time has come for the Hiroshima Syndrome to be exposed for what it is…a subtle but significant widespread psychosis predicated on fictions!