B. McPherson
The above video was released by Greenpeace investigating a radioactive waste dump in Drigg which takes waste from Sellafield(Windscale)
Think Chernobyl was bad or Fukushima? Greenpeace has released a map showing locations of more than 400 nuclear power stations around the world. Those people in charge of the nuclear power stations in Japan thought that the unthinkable wouldn’t happen, but it did. The exclusion zone of 50 miles seems woefully inadequate now that facts about the Fukushima Daiichi plant are leaking out.
That nearly 600 people’s deaths have been linked to the nuclear disaster is shocking. But that is just the beginning of the death count for this incident. Increased cancers, early metabolic failures, aborted pregnancies and birth defects will continue into the coming years.
Japanese authorities have certified that 573 people have died already from causes related to the nuclear disaster (4). They were not killed by direct radiation but they would not have died if there hadn't been a nuclear disaster. Greenpeace
One of the truly horrible things about nuclear accidents is the fact that its effects strike those who would have no benefit or contact with nuclear generated electricity. A nuclear accident affects populations around the world.
Canada has a few nuclear power stations, mostly located in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The province of British Columbia generates power mainly from hydro-electric dams and has a moratorium on even exploring for uranium. That did not save us from a dose of radiation from Japan last year.
Greenpeace has a map for Americans to locate official power plants in the US. If you live with 100 miles of one of these behemoths, you should have emergency plans ready for evacuation. If an accident occurs in your area you will have to think fast and act accordingly.
Europe is heavily dependent of nuclear fission for its electricity. Cooling towers loom over small bucolic scenes in the countryside. Germany has taken the bold step of phasing out nuclear power generation at the same time that it is encouraging small scale wind, solar and methane production of electricity.
Nuclear power plant accidents are more common than you might think. The Union of Concerned Scientists have released a report Living on Borrowed Time which addresses safety issues in US power plants. The report presents 15 near misses in the US during 2011. Any of these could have resulted in a catastrophic accident.
Something to give people living near nuclear power stations nightmares is not the near misses but that 47 nuclear power stations are allowed to continue operating in spite of their failure to comply with fire protection regulations. Another 27 plants are operating without adequate seismic protection. And to give you the heebee jeebees, there are 8 plants that have inadequacies in both fire and earthquake protection.
After the crisis in Japan started to unfold, The Guardian compiled a list of civilian power station accidents. The first they found was in Canada 1952 at Chalk River which melted some fuel rods but no radiation was released. A serious accident in England in 1957 at Windscale released large amounts of radioactive material and is believed to have compromised the health of thousands in and around Liverpool. Windscale has been renamed Sellfield.
You know the saying, “S#&*t Happens”. It doesn’t matter how safely the engineers think they have designed the plants, the wild card is human error.
The above video was released by Greenpeace investigating a radioactive waste dump in Drigg which takes waste from Sellafield(Windscale)
Think Chernobyl was bad or Fukushima? Greenpeace has released a map showing locations of more than 400 nuclear power stations around the world. Those people in charge of the nuclear power stations in Japan thought that the unthinkable wouldn’t happen, but it did. The exclusion zone of 50 miles seems woefully inadequate now that facts about the Fukushima Daiichi plant are leaking out.
That nearly 600 people’s deaths have been linked to the nuclear disaster is shocking. But that is just the beginning of the death count for this incident. Increased cancers, early metabolic failures, aborted pregnancies and birth defects will continue into the coming years.
Japanese authorities have certified that 573 people have died already from causes related to the nuclear disaster (4). They were not killed by direct radiation but they would not have died if there hadn't been a nuclear disaster. Greenpeace
One of the truly horrible things about nuclear accidents is the fact that its effects strike those who would have no benefit or contact with nuclear generated electricity. A nuclear accident affects populations around the world.
Canada has a few nuclear power stations, mostly located in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The province of British Columbia generates power mainly from hydro-electric dams and has a moratorium on even exploring for uranium. That did not save us from a dose of radiation from Japan last year.
Greenpeace has a map for Americans to locate official power plants in the US. If you live with 100 miles of one of these behemoths, you should have emergency plans ready for evacuation. If an accident occurs in your area you will have to think fast and act accordingly.
Europe is heavily dependent of nuclear fission for its electricity. Cooling towers loom over small bucolic scenes in the countryside. Germany has taken the bold step of phasing out nuclear power generation at the same time that it is encouraging small scale wind, solar and methane production of electricity.
Nuclear power plant accidents are more common than you might think. The Union of Concerned Scientists have released a report Living on Borrowed Time which addresses safety issues in US power plants. The report presents 15 near misses in the US during 2011. Any of these could have resulted in a catastrophic accident.
Something to give people living near nuclear power stations nightmares is not the near misses but that 47 nuclear power stations are allowed to continue operating in spite of their failure to comply with fire protection regulations. Another 27 plants are operating without adequate seismic protection. And to give you the heebee jeebees, there are 8 plants that have inadequacies in both fire and earthquake protection.
After the crisis in Japan started to unfold, The Guardian compiled a list of civilian power station accidents. The first they found was in Canada 1952 at Chalk River which melted some fuel rods but no radiation was released. A serious accident in England in 1957 at Windscale released large amounts of radioactive material and is believed to have compromised the health of thousands in and around Liverpool. Windscale has been renamed Sellfield.
You know the saying, “S#&*t Happens”. It doesn’t matter how safely the engineers think they have designed the plants, the wild card is human error.
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