Nuclear Disaster Essay

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The Devastation of Man-made Disaster

According to recent research from World Nuclear Association, “56 countries operate a total of about 240 research reactors and a further 180 nuclear reactors power some 140 ships and submarines. They provide over 11 percent of the world's electricity as continuous, reliable base-load power, without carbon dioxide emissions.” The amount of nuclear power plants has been increasing hundreds times higher than wartime. What is noting is that behind the benefits of nuclear power, this is a most powerful and destructive weapon which is ready to devastate us. Nuclear power has become man- made disaster which impacts environment and human health. For example, radiation from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) were described as the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. Even though the recent nuclear disaster happened several years ago, solutions to prevent nuclear disasters are still a big question which has not been answered.
Back to April 26th, 1986 when Chernobyl, a worst nuclear disaster ever in the world occurred in Ukraine. Over 7 million people in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine were effected heavily. The radiation speeded over 63, 000 square miles; therefore, no one want to return those area which were influenced by nuclear disaster. For example, the town of Pripyap’s population are approximately 50,000 before, and now, the number has become zero. Additionally, recent nuclear disaster happened in Japan because of tsunami and earthquake impacts. According to Reuters, “the combine amount of cesium-137 contained nuclear fuel rods is 14,000 time greater than what was released when the U.S. dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of World War II. In fact, nuclear disaster impacts not only on human health but also the environment.
Most nuclear disasters occur inexpertly, most people do not know how to control the harmful ionizing radiation. Moreover, those ionizing radiation has become the deposition of radioactive substances within gas for thousands years to contribute air pollution. Also, nuclear fallout was carried by the wind and rain, transferred to land, and leaches into groundwater. According to an article from CNN website, “Last summer, as much as 300 tons of toxic groundwater was seeping into the Pacific Ocean every day, sparking fears about radioactive contamination of fish, which are a major food source”. What is mentioning is that the impacts of nuclear disasters on groundwater also creates multiple negative effects such as red forests, fauna and vegetation. Wall street journal reported, “It is being projected that the cleanup of Fukushima could take up 40 years to complete.”
Not only environment but also human health was effected on highest alert. Most people think that the ionizing radiation is not harmful; however, the radiation after nuclear explosion is thousands times. Indeed, most people who have to abstract radioactive contamination within gas, liquids, and also food have the greater damage potential. For decades, the National Cancer Institute has been studying groups of people who were exposed to ionizing radiation from nuclear accidents and above-ground atomic weapons explosions to learn about the cancer risks from these exposures. The two radioactive isotopes released in such accidents that generally pose the greatest cancer risks are iodine 131 (I-131) and cesium 137 (Cs-137).
The increase of radiation after nuclear disaster also attacks new generation, Data published in August shows 44 out of 216,809 children under age 18 in Fukushima prefecture were diagnosed with thyroid cancer or suspected of having the disease. The figure is far higher than the international average but opinions are split as to whether this is because of the nuclear accident or because of more sensitive screening. There is widespread agreement regarding a rise in thyroid cancer in those who were exposed to the
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