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Chapter 11

HOW SAFE IS NUCLEAR POWER?

On September 30, 1999, there was an accident at a nuclear plant in Tokaimura, Japan. On that day, three plant employees accidentally poured too much uranium into a tank} which led to a leak of radiation? At least 90 people were exposed to high radiation. One worker died.

Other countries have had similar accidents. There was a close call at a nuclear plant at Three Mile Island in the United States. On March 28, 1979, there was a reactor meltdown at this plant. A reactor meltdown happens when the fuel inside a reactor rnelts. Unless immediate safety measures“ are taken, a meltdown can lead to radiation leaking into the atmosphere.7 Probably the most famous nuclear

accident occurred at a plant in Chernobyl, in the former Soviet Union. The

accident happened on April 26, 1986, when things went terribly wrong during an experiment. This caused a meltdown so serious that the top of a reactor exploded into the sky. Radiation leaked into the atmosphere for more than a week.

Wind carried some of the radioactive pollution over large parts of Europe. Many deaths and birth defects throughout Europe have resulted from this horrible event.

Reactor core and cooling pool in a nuclear power plant

The idea of using nuclear power as a form of energy grew out of weapons research” before and during World War I] (1939-1945).

Nuclear power was first used to make electricity on December 20, 1951. By the 1960s, nuclear energy was becoming cheap to produce, and utility companies“) were building plenty of plants. However, in the 1970s, there were concerns about the possibilities of nuclear disasters and environmental problems. Then, those concerns came true“ with the tragedy at Chernobyl and the near-disaster at Three Mile Island.

Today, supporters of nuclear energy say it is a necessary source of power. This is especially true in countries like Japan, which depends on nuclear energy for about 35% of its power. Obviously, taking away that source of energy could badly hurt the economy. Also, while minor accidents sometimes happen at nuclear plants, most are contained without deaths or serious injuries.

For now, nuclear energy is probably not going away. Citizens should demand that government agencies have Very strict safety measures for nuclear power plants. At the same time, we must find other safer and cheaper sources of energy.