FREE ESSAY ON NUCLEAR DISASTERS

NUCLEAR DISASTERS

Nuclear Disasters
Today in our energy hungry world, the reliance on nuclear power is getting larger 
and larger. Nuclear power is on top of the list of forms of power available to 
generate electricity in the quantities, forms and reliability needed as we head 
towards the 21st century. Current operating nuclear plants number approximately 
430 through out 26 countries . 
Nuclear energy production will grow an average of 3.3 to 4.2% Per Year 
worldwide from 1988-2005 (IAEA News briefs, Sept.1989). Though we have 
experienced if not the worst techno genic environmental disaster of the 20th century 
fourteen years ago - Chernobyl, together with the partial meltdown at Three Mile 
Island twenty-one years ago, most people today give only passing thoughts to the 
issue of nuclear safety worldwide. These two cases are only mere examples of the 
ominous potential for accidents of great magnitude within such nuclear plants 
worldwide. It is vital that we understand both the logic and outcomes of such 
disasters. Today fourteen years later, effects of Chernobyl are still hazardous and 
have been detected all over the world. Belarus, a country most affected by history's 
worst nuclear disaster does not even have a nuclear plant. The radiation released 
from Chernobyl was 200 times more than that of the combined releases of the 
atom bombs that annihilated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Due to prevailing 
winds, 25 percent of the land in Belarus is uninhabitable. All normal life has stopped 
there, people are afraid to move, stay, marry and afraid to have families. The costs 
of the accidents after-effects are monumental; resettlement of people affected, 
medical and clean-up costs are just a few on the priority list. 
The problem lies in ignorance of interactions between human, engineering, 
organizational and managerial factors of such a system. In most cases human error is 
customarily cited as a major cause of the problem. Sometimes in my mind I cannot 
blame the operators involved, reason being that the control rooms of such plants are 
a maze of complex displays and controls spread over an array of many rooms. In 
the case of an emergency, due to the mere size and complexity of such rooms, 
errors are just begging to occur. Error is also a combination of many factors such as 
ineffective training, intricate operating procedures, and natural disasters. Usually the

direction taken to ensure safety at such nuclear plants is one of tending to find an 
engineering solution. If the above mentioned factors together with the use of safety 
and human factors in the engineering education for such large-scale technological 
systems are used, then we would be heading the right direction; a safer, productive 
life not only for us but for our environment as well. Nuclear regulation is the public's

business. 
Politics, resource and structural problems are another major cause. For example here 
in the US, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was set up as the major 
regulatory agency. Under staffed and under skilled employees are just one of their 
obstacles. Relying on the fact that the industry itself is responsible for safety tests
on 
plants, the NRC has over looked many issues while tending to focus on matters with 
greatest safety importance. We should all know that system failures can be traced to 
all those small components that make up this human/machine interface. Whenever 
we have such components fitted together and are in interaction it is crucial to give 
weight not only to the human and technological factors but also to how they operate 
together. The NRC's relationship with the industry has been suspect since its 
creation in 1974. Operations of such regulatory agencies worldwide is greatly 
influenced by the member states (IAEA) who have such nuclear operating plants. 
The power of money in hand and foreign relation policies of these states control the 
acts and decisions of such agencies. Structural troubles include the fact that it is 
only optional for member states to comply with or use safety principles set by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1986 . Thus there is no clear cut 
accord by IAEA member states on the issue of complying with safety standards.
Lack of Safety is yet another obstacle. Many nuclear plants in Central and 
Eastern Europe (e.g. Ukraine) are just time bombs waiting to blow. Many of these 
plants have not yet collapsed probably due the fact that combination of events 
needed for failure has not yet occurred or that they have just not been given enough 
time. Hence it is high time that the international community and the G-7 get 
involved. The problem(s) in this industry needs to be tackled collectively, no one 
is in a position today to solve this complex field of science and practice individually,

irrespective of depth of education or dedication. Political, economic and cultural 
barriers have to be crushed if we are to achieve this. A collaborative effort 
worldwide, especially from the West is needed to form, support a research team, to 
counter and unravel studies, develop universal policies and to staff such nuclear 
plants if we are to avoid any more Chernobyl's in the future. Future Chernobyl's can 
be avoided but it is up to us. Firstly we must make space for reality to take 
precedence over public relations for any successful technology, as we cannot fool 
nature . Secondly much greater guarantees, co-operation and communication is 
needed between the industry, the regulatory agencies and the member states. Safety 
will only be achieved if ALL those involved play their part whole heartedly and 
honestly right down from the plant workers through the manufacturers and 
regulatory agencies right up to the financial institutions that control this whole 
industry. 
Overall, I'm trying to convey that safety is key in the nuclear power plants. A major 
nuclear meltdown would be a global concern. To prevent this we need to form, 
support and research teams, to develop universal policies and to staff nuclear plants 
if we are to avoid any more Chernobyl's or TMI's in the future. Human error was 
the root of the problem in these two catastrophes, so to prevent this from happening 
again the government needs to put trained and licenced nuclear engineers to work 
who know what they are doing, especially if a problem is to arise.
Bibliography

Bibliography
1. N. Meshkati. "Los Angeles Herald Examiner", March 28, 1989.
2. M. Specter "New York Times", March 31, 1996.
3. E. Pooley "Time Magazine", March 4, 1996.
4. N.Meshkati. "Foreign Policy Journal"; U.N. 50th Anniversary, The Critical Role of The
U.N.
Ensuring the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants Around The World.
5. Pringle, Laurence. Nucular Energy Troubled Past Uncertain Future. New York: Macmillan

Publishing Company, 1989.
6. Lampton, Christopher. Nuclear Accident. Brookfield, CT: The Millbrook Press, 1992