Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
to intermediate and final storage sites. Toxic and highly radioactive waste such
as spent fuel rods is already produced during normal operation of a nuclear
power station. Besides other radioactive substances, they also contain about
1 per cent plutonium. One microgram of plutonium, i.e. one millionth part of
a gram, is considered to be lethal when breathed in; it will cause death by lung
cancer. Hence, one gram of plutonium could theoretically wipe out a whole
city. There is no absolute safety guarantee with such nuclear material; the
possibility of transport accidents and the emission of radioactive material is
very real. Final storage of radioactive waste is also very problematic, because
this waste will retain its lethal properties over thousands of years.
The normal operation of nuclear power plants also bears risks. Nuclear
power stations continuously emit a very small amount of radioactivity. An
increased rate of leukaemia in children living near a nuclear power plant has
been reported. However, accepted scientific correlations do not exist at present.
The highest risk of nuclear fission is an MCA (maximum credible accident)
in a power station. Such an accident would affect millions of people and the
emitted radioactivity would make large regions uninhabitable. Many humans
and animals would die from radiation or fall ill with cancer. An MCA can
never be totally excluded. Nuclear accidents in Harrisburg and Chernobyl have
made this clear. In recent years the risk of terrorist attacks has also increased
the risk of an MCA.
The first big reactor accident happened on 28 March 1979 at Three Mile
Island near Harrisburg, the capital of the US state of Pennsylvania. Large
amounts of radioactivity escaped. Numerous animals and plants were harmed
and the number of human stillbirths in the neighbourhood of the power plant
increased after the accident and cancer rates increased drastically.
On 26 April 1986, another severe nuclear reactor accident happened in
the city of Chernobyl in the Ukraine, which had about 30,000 inhabitants.
The escaped radioactivity not only affected the vicinity of the plant but also
affected Central Europe. Many workers who tried to stop further damage at
the plant paid for their efforts with their lives. The number of stillbirths and
the incidence of cancer due to exposure to radiation increased significantly in
the following years.
As has already been noted, civilian use of nuclear power stations is not their
only potential use; they can also be used for military applications. This is one
reason why civilian nuclear power has been promoted in some countries. The
use of nuclear power in politically unstable countries can provoke international
crises. Countries such as Iran, Iraq and North Korea have promoted nuclear
power, probably also to exploit its military potential. If the use of civilian
nuclear power is encouraged, the risk of nuclear crises and the risk that
terrorists will come into possession of nuclear material will rise significantly.
The number of incalculable risks is balanced by the undisputed benefits of
civilian use of nuclear power. Other cleaner technologies than nuclear power
exist and the potentially enormous costs associated with nuclear accidents
suggest that the insistence on withdrawal from the nuclear programme is
perfectly justified.
