From nuclear accident, what we learn and what we can improve?
Beginning paragraph: Nuclear energy has become a new form of power used in multiple areas, for example: the use in medical treatment, preservation for goods, transmutation doping of semiconductors and nuclear energy as a way of generating electricity is currently developing in a fast speed. Moreover, nuclear energy is generally treated as an economic, safe, reliable, and clean resource. The nuclear power plant, as well has many advantages such as it cause less pollution to the environment; the uranium is abundant in earth; the process of generating electricity would not intensify greenhouse effect and so on. However, the safety of nuclear power has long been a issue that is needed to be solved. Fukushima Chernobyl and Three Miles Island accidents all showed that even the probability of having such an accident is low, but the aftermath is really disastrous. From these miserable experiences, what can we learn from and what can we do to evade such kind of problems?
First paragraph, I would talk about the advantages of nuclear power, explaining why even the bad consequences may happen all the time, people still use nuclear as a kind of power.
Possible citation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/radioactive_materials/radioactiveproblemsrev3.shtml
“Like fossil fuels, nuclear fuels are non-renewable energy resources. And if there is an accident, large amounts of radioactive material could be released into the environment. In addition, nuclear waste remains radioactive and is hazardous to health for thousands of years. It must be stored safely.”
http://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/nuclear_advantage_Cohen.en.htm “The nuclear power advantage” by Bernard L. Cohen. “Nuclear power has advantages in many areas, including some that have been traditionally viewed as problem areas it averts the pollution and environmental degradation of fossil fuels, it guarantees the world an everlasting supply of fuel without affecting resources sorely needed for other applications.”
Second paragraph, specifically talk about the reasons of why the nuclear accidents may happen and how the nuclear power accidents can happen, explain the reason of Chernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear accidents.
Citations: According to a page called “Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors” by World Nuclear Organization http://world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Safety-of-Nuclear-Power-Reactors/ “From the outset, there has been a strong awareness of the potential hazard of both nuclear criticality and release of radioactive materials from generating electricity with nuclear power. ”
“The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission” Published in 2013 Page 12 “On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan…. This was finally declared as a level 7 by the INES”
Page26 “It was the lack of preparation that led to the severity of this accident.”
Page27 “The structure of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 was incapable of withstanding the powerful earthquake and massive tsunami of March 11, 2011. “the area surrounding the plant was considered to have minimal seismic activity and had never experienced earthquake damage. Based on that assessment, a safety tolerance level for the maximum seismic acceleration in the anti- seismic design was set at 265 gal (i.e. unit of gravitational acceleration), a remarkably low earthquake resistance.”
According to http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/#.UncVJRD_EQ0 the Chernobyl Accident 1986, “On 25 April, prior to a routine shutdown, the reactor crew at Chernobyl 4 began preparing for a test to determine how long turbines would spin and supply power to the main circulating pumps following a loss of main electrical power supply. This test had been carried out at Chernobyl the previous year, but the power from the turbine ran down too rapidly, so new voltage regulator designs were to be tested. The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel.”
According to “INSAG-7 The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1” by INSAG published in 1992, page23 “Two earlier accidents at RBMK reactors, one at Leningrad (Unit 1 in 1975) and a fuel failure at Chernobyl (Unit 1 in 1982), had already indicated major weaknesses in the characteristics and operation of RBMK units.
Page24 “Inadequate and ineffective exchange of important safety information both between operators and between operators and designers.”
“Inadequate understanding by operators of the safety aspects of their plant.”
Page25 “A general lack of safety culture in nuclear matters, at the national level as well as locally.”
Third paragraph, discuss some aspects need to be considered for builder of the power plant. For example, whether the place is not in a earthquake area. Whether the place has great natural resources like fish, woods and so on.
According to an essay published on www.naturalnews.com called “A broken ocean: the aftermath of Fukushima,“The sailor reports that, during the journey from Melbourne to Osaka, the lack of sea birds and fish made the journey eerie and a very different experience from the same journey ten years prior.”
“Meanwhile, reports of increasing radiation levels on the west coast of the United States and concerns about the dangers to human health and wildlife are growing.”
According to http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/#.UncVJRD_EQ0 Chernobyl Accident 1986, “The Chernobyl Forum report says that people in the area have suffered a paralyzing fatalism due to myths and misperceptions about the threat of radiation, which has contributed to a culture of chronic dependency.”
Fourth paragraph, discuss some policies and public awareness that already existed now and say in what part could these improve.
According to Page 69 of the “The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission”, (it is a chart saying how many people are informed by the government that there would be tsunami.)
Page 46 “The Commission has found that prior to the accident, revision and amendments of laws and regulations were only undertaken on a “patchwork” basis, in response to micro-con- cerns. The will to make large, significant changes in order to keep in step with the standards of the international community was utterly lacking.
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In all, the nuclear accidents have already left bad impressions in our mind. Based on what has been discussed above, with the technological breakthrough like…. With the improvement of public awareness, with the improvement of policies, nuclear can finally become a safer, more effective energy that can help make human society a harmony and better place.
Bibliography:
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_edexcel/radioactive_materials/radioactiveproblemsrev3.shtml
2. http://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/nuclear_advantage_Cohen.en.htm “The nuclear power advantage” by Bernard L. Cohen.
3. http://world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Safety-of-Nuclear-Power-Reactors/
4. The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission” Published in 2013 by the commission
5. The “INSAG-7 The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1” by INSAG published in 1992,
6. www.naturalnews.com called “A broken ocean: the aftermath of Fukushima, by Sue Woledge on Oct 2013
7. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/#.UncVJRD_EQ0 Chernobyl Accident 1986,
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