By Steven Shirley
The March 11 tsunami that crippled the Japanese nuclear reactors at Fukushima has led to a rethinking of safety at plants across the globe. Governments are now pausing to consider the potential dangers of nuclear power, as communities who were once ready to welcome new reactors are now experiencing a surge in the perennial NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) syndrome.
While the tsunami certainly exposed a weakness in one particular nuclear plant design, the GE Mark 1, governments and populations would be wise not to condemn the efficacy or the safety of nuclear power as a whole. Instead a measured look at reality is required.
What amounted to a ``perfect storm” of events, a combination of a 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami hitting a weakened nuclear reactor, led to the deaths over 500 people and a gaping hole in the side of the Fukushima reactors. Radiation exposure to the workers and the surrounding area was quick, but no quicker than the ``perfect media storm” of fear-inducing headlines that paralyzed much of East Asia and the western United States.
The hyperbole led to the misconception that all nuclear power is unsafe, risky, and dangerous for the general population, and the radiation emitted into the atmosphere was on par with the detonation of a nuclear device. A careful check of the facts proves otherwise.
The level of radiation that escaped is nowhere near that of a nuclear explosion. This falsity comes from the general public’s ignorance of how nuclear power plants function. Most would believe we are conducting controlled nuclear explosions inside the reactors to produce electricity, when in fact the process is much simpler and safer.
To start, the amount of fissile material used (uranium in most cases) is formed into small pellets no bigger than your fingertip and each producing the energy equivalent of 150 barrels of oil. These pellets are then stacked in rods and lowered into water. Once the fission process begins, the heat created boils the water, the steam then turns the turbines and electricity is produced. The process produces no carbon, no sulfur, and no nitrogen. Indeed, its waste is so minute that a family of four could use a lifetime of nuclear energy and produce only a golf ball sized amount of radioactive material.
But what about accidents? In any industry the risk of accidents exists, and in nuclear power it is no different. However, what is important to note, is many of these accidents are the result of human error and an aging reactor infrastructure. Because of this, there is much we can do to make the process safer; we need not throw the baby (radioactive or otherwise) out with the bathwater.
South Korea was already ahead of events in Japan, having announced in 2009 that the Korea Electric Power Corp. was organizing an International Nuclear Graduate School. With 70 nations considering building and/or expanding their nuclear power capability prior to March 11, the world will benefit from South Korea’s vision.
With nuclear power there are hard realities to accept, but the world is in dire need of energy sources other than fossil fuels and at this point in human history, our harnessing of the power of the atom is the most efficient and safest choice. With proper investment in both the training of personnel and building of new reactors, nuclear power can remain a safe and clean form of energy to fuel the growth of economies in the 21st century.
The writer is an assistant professor of international relations at Keimyung Adams College, a division of Keimyung University in Daegu. He can be reached at drstevenshirley@charter.net.