Chernobyl: The World’s Worst Nuclear Power Accident |
"Chernobyl is a word we would all like to erase from our memory. It [opened] a Pandora's box of invisible enemies and nameless anxieties in people's minds, but which most of us probably now think of as safely relegated to the past. Yet there are two compelling reasons why this tragedy must not be forgotten...First, if we forget Chernobyl, we increase the risk of more such technological and environmental disasters in the future. Second, more than seven million of our fellow human beings do not have the luxury of forgetting. They are still suffering, every day, as a result of what happened 14 years ago. Indeed, the legacy of Chernobyl will be with us, and with our descendants, for generations to come."
- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General |
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Chernobyl:
The World’s Worst Nuclear Power Accident - Background | Top
In Spring 1986, the world’s worst nuclear power
accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant,
80 miles north of Kiev in Ukraine in the former Soviet
Union. The accident has been described by the United
Nations as “the greatest environmental catastrophe
in the history of humanity.”
On 26 April 1986, at 1:23 AM, a core meltdown occurred
at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant,
creating a chemical explosion and a fireball which
blew off the reactor’s 1,000-ton steel and concrete
lid. Some 190 tons of highly radioactive uranium and
graphite were expelled, spewing radioactive substances
to a height of more than 1kilometer into the earth’s
atmosphere.
It is estimated that the
explosion released more than 200 times the radioactive
fallout of the two nuclear
weapons used at the end of World War II, spreading
a radioactive cloud over large parts of the former
Soviet Union, including Belarus, Ukraine and Russia,
across Europe, and reaching as far as Greenland and
parts of Asia. The radioactive plume initially traveled
in a northwest direction toward Sweden, Finland and
Eastern Europe, exposing the unsuspecting public
to levels up to 100 times the normal background radiation.
For maps of the Chernobyl
radioactive fall out: see
http://users.owt.com/smsrpm/Chernobyl/glbrad.html  and http://www.worldprocessor.com/53.htm
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| The
After-Effects | Top
The
Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately,
and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding
20-mile radius, some 135,000 people were evacuated. However,
it was not until the third day after the explosion that
the Soviet authorities reported the full scale of the
accident, and the people of Ukraine did not learn the
truth until 3 May 1986. Early reporting of the accident
could have enabled the affected population to escape
exposure to some radioactive particles known to cause
thyroid cancer, such as Iodine 131.
As a result of the Chernobyl
accident, deadly radioactive material was widely dispersed,
affecting a vast area,
practically the whole of the northern hemisphere. In
fact, today in the UK, hundreds of farms in Wales are
still subject to restrictions due to sheep eating radioactive
grass.
Based on the official
reports by the United Nations, up to 9 million people
in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia
have been affected directly or indirectly by the
radiation fallout. The people of the affected areas
have received
the highest known exposure to radiation in the history
of the Nuclear Age, the full consequences of which
will not be seen for at least another 50 years. While
there
are no definitive figures of deaths resulting from
the Chernobyl accident, reports vary from zero to
over 100,000
fatalities. Since 1986, the rate of thyroid cancer
in affected areas has increased ten fold. Specifically,
there has been a significant increase in the number
of
thyroid cancer cases among patients age 15 or younger.
About 155,000 sq. km in
Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were contaminated, which
is almost half of the size
of Italy.
Agricultural areas covering nearly 52,000 sq. km,
which is more than the size of Denmark, were contaminated
with Cesium-137 and Strontium-90, with 30-year
and 29-year
half-lives respectively. Despite the resettlement
of
404,000 people, millions continue to live in an
environment where residual exposure has created a range
of adverse
effects.
For first hand accounts
by those who experienced the Chernobyl disaster and
now live with the consequences,
go to http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/chernob/read13.html |
| The Toxic Legacy of Nuclear Power | Top
The radioactive byproducts of the Chernobyl plant explosion will remain in affected areas for some 48,000 years. An official exclusion zone around the plant remains in place, extending for 18 miles. It is one of the most dangerous regions on earth.
The Chernobyl accident demonstrated an often overlooked facet of the Nuclear Age: it is not only our warlike technologies that threaten humanity, our so-called “peaceful” technologies can also cause devastation to life and property.
"Inherently safe" nuclear power reactors are a myth. A devastating accident can occur in any nuclear reactor, causing the release of large quantities of deadly radioactive products into the environment. In addition, one of the biggest problems facing the nuclear industry is what to do with the radioactive waste generated in a nuclear reactor. Also, any nuclear power plant capable of producing energy has the capacity to breed weapons-grade materials for nuclear bombs.
For a Nuclear Energy Fact sheet, go to:
http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/issues/nuclear-energy-&-waste/start/fact-sheet_ne&w.htm
The causes of the Chernobyl accident have been described as a fateful combination of human error and imperfect technology. The blast occurred because of a flawed reactor design and inadequately trained personnel acting without proper regard for safety. Sadly, although Chernobyl is the largest civil nuclear disaster to date, it may not be the last. There are currently 440 nuclear reactors in 31 countries and there are dozens now under construction. Almost twenty years after the Chernobyl accident, the world has yet to significantly invest human and financial resources into developing alternatives to nuclear power, the most dangerous and unsustainable of all energy sources. |
Alternatives in Energy Sources | Top
Sixteen percent of the world’s
electricity now comes from nuclear energy, 85 percent
of which is concentrated
in industrialized countries. In the US, 21percent of
energy sources are derived from nuclear power. The
world must decrease its dependence on nuclear energy
and advance a global shift to clean, sustainable and
environmentally benign sources of energy that do not
pose the risks inherent in nuclear energy
production. These sources include:
• Bioenergy: biomass, such
as plant matter and animal waste, can yield power,
heat, steam and fuel.
• Geothermal: renewable heat energy can be harnessed
from deep within the earth.
• Wind: turbines turning in the air convert kinetic energy
in the wind into electricity.
•
Solar: the sun’s energy can be captured and used
to produce heat and electricity.
• Hydrogen: if produced by renewable sources, it can
power fuel cells to convert chemical energy directly
into electricity, with useful heat and water as the
only byproducts.
• Tidal: using the movement of the ocean to power turbines
and generate electricity.
For more information
on clean and sustainable energy sources, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/
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Take Action | Top
1. Find out if there is a nuclear plant near you
Go to http://www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/world_map.php
More than 25% of California’s electricity
is derived from nuclear power. To find out what happens
if the Chernobyl
nuclear accident is applied to the Diablo Canyon nuclear
plant in California, go to http://www.mothersforpeace.org/resources/maps/maps/chernobylAppliedToDiablo
For a table of the world’s
nuclear power reactors, go to
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/reactors.htm
2. Ask your government to support clean energy
Many more sustainable energy resources could be found and current resources improved if better technology were available and if the government and utilities actively promoted their development.
In his budget request for 2006, President Bush called for increased funding for nuclear power and significant cuts in renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean air, and climate change related-programs at the US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of Transportation, US Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies.. Read an analysis of the 2006 budget request by Ken Bossong at http://www.energybulletin.net/4545.html .
In the US, call or write to your Congressional representatives and urge them to support reduced dependence on nuclear power and increased funding for the promotion of clean energy. To find contact information for your Congressional representatives, go to http://capwiz.com/wagingpeace/dbq/officials/
Talking points include:
•
Risk of Accident: On April 26, 1986 the No. 4 reactor
at the Chernobyl power plant in the former U.S.S.R.,
exploded, causing the worst nuclear accident ever.
According to the US House of Representatives, Subcommittee
on Oversight & Investigations, "Calculation
of Reactor Accident Consequences (CRAC2) for US Nuclear
Power Plants” (1982, 1997), an accident at a
US nuclear power plant could kill more people than
were killed by the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. • Environmental Degradation:
Radioactive isotopes produced by nuclear reactors
are extraordinarily long-lived,
remaining toxic for hundreds of thousands of years.
Presently, we are only beginning to observe and experience
the consequences of producing nuclear energy.
• Nuclear Waste: A typical
reactor will generate some 20 to 30 tons of high-level
nuclear waste annually.
There is no known way to safely dispose of this waste,
which remains dangerously radioactive until it naturally
decays. The hazardous life of a radioactive element
(the length of time that must elapse before the material
is considered safe) is at least 10 half-lives. For
example, Plutonium-239 will remain hazardous for 240,000
years.
• Nuclear Proliferation
Risks: Any nuclear power plant is a potential nuclear
bomb factory. Every nuclear
reactor capable of producing energy has the capacity
to generate fissile materials that can be processed
for nuclear bombs.
For further information read
the Foundation’s
Nuclear Energy Fact Sheet http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/issues/nuclear-energy-&-waste/start/fact-sheet_ne&w.htm
3. Promote alternative sources of energy
in your community
Take initiative to decrease your community’s
dependence on nuclear power and find out if there are
alternative sources of energy in your community. Here
are some examples: Solar Power – Solar power
is created when light from the sun shines on solar
panels and produces electricity.
Solar power is the second fastest growing source of
electricity today and is so abundant that the amount
of sunlight the Earth receives in just 30 minutes is
equivalent to all the power used by humankind in one
year.
For more information on solar power, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar/
Wind Power – A wind turbine uses
the wind’s
energy to generate electricity. Wind power is the fastest
growing energy source in the world. By the end of 2003,
the total capacity for energy generated by wind sources
in the United States was enough to power 1.3 million
American homes.
For more information, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/
Wave Power - The ocean is a vast source of energy
to be tapped for human use in the coming years. The
pull of the moon and the energy of the wind create
tides and waves that can provide clean renewable energy.
The technologies are still in experimental stages,
but have the potential to provide a significant portion
of the world's energy needs in the near future. There
are different ocean technologies that are being developed.
If 0.1% of the energy of the oceans was harnessed for
electricity it could meet the world's demand for energy
five times over.
For more information, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/ocean.html |
Chernobyl: The World’s Worst Nuclear Power Accident |
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