Environmental impacts to nuclear activity
Nuclear technology will always have its supporters and its doubters for various reasons, however the impacts of the technology may not be known for years to come. This is a look at how the environment is impacted and its resilience to come back.
CASE STUDY: Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (India)
In 1988, an agreement between India and Russia was signed allowing construction of a proposed nuclear power plant in Koodankulam, India. This construction was stalled due to until 2012 due to a range of factors such as political and economic crisis from the break-up of the Soviet Union and sanctions from the U.S. regarding nuclear construction. During this time, many people in the area became opposed to the idea. They were first told promises such as 10,000 jobs, water from Pechiparai dam in Kanyakumari district, and fantastic development of the region. However, many issues were not seen in the beginning and were highlighted in 2012:
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Case study: Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Critics of nuclear energy worry that the storage facilities for radioactive waste will leak, crack, or erode. Radioactive material could then contaminate the soil and groundwater near the facility. This could lead to serious health problems for the people and organisms in the area. All communities would have to be evacuated.
This is what happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. A steam explosion at one of the power plants four nuclear reactors caused a fire, called a plume. This plume was highly radioactive, creating a cloud of radioactive particles that fell to the ground, called fallout. The fallout spread over the Chernobyl facility, as well as the surrounding area. The fallout drifted with the wind, and the particles entered the water cycle as rain. Radioactivity traced to Chernobyl fell as rain over Scotland and Ireland. Most of the radioactive fallout fell in Belarus.
The environmental impact of the Chernobyl disaster was immediate. For kilometers around the facility, the pine forest dried up and died. The red colour of the dead pines earned this area the nickname the Red Forest. Fish from the nearby Pripyat River had so much radioactivity that people could no longer eat them. Cattle and horses in the area died.
More than 100,000 people were relocated after the disaster, but the number of human victims of Chernobyl is difficult to determine. The effects of radiation poisoning only appear after many years. Cancers and other diseases can be very difficult to trace to a single source.
Environmental resilience
Critics of nuclear energy worry that the storage facilities for radioactive waste will leak, crack, or erode. Radioactive material could then contaminate the soil and groundwater near the facility. This could lead to serious health problems for the people and organisms in the area. All communities would have to be evacuated.
This is what happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. A steam explosion at one of the power plants four nuclear reactors caused a fire, called a plume. This plume was highly radioactive, creating a cloud of radioactive particles that fell to the ground, called fallout. The fallout spread over the Chernobyl facility, as well as the surrounding area. The fallout drifted with the wind, and the particles entered the water cycle as rain. Radioactivity traced to Chernobyl fell as rain over Scotland and Ireland. Most of the radioactive fallout fell in Belarus.
The environmental impact of the Chernobyl disaster was immediate. For kilometers around the facility, the pine forest dried up and died. The red colour of the dead pines earned this area the nickname the Red Forest. Fish from the nearby Pripyat River had so much radioactivity that people could no longer eat them. Cattle and horses in the area died.
More than 100,000 people were relocated after the disaster, but the number of human victims of Chernobyl is difficult to determine. The effects of radiation poisoning only appear after many years. Cancers and other diseases can be very difficult to trace to a single source.
Environmental resilience
Somehow, life did not stop after the fallout of Chernobyl and the environment has managed to survive. Humans have left the area, however, this has prompted the environment to kick start its growth and return. Whilst we as humans suffered greatly and found the aftermath difficult, the environment has found a new world. The video to the right speaks about this resilience.
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Virtual reality: Fukushima Japan
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