Background
On 10 March 2011 Japan was hit by a Tsunami, the earthquake measured 8.9 magnitudes. Two earthquakes followed. One of the 15 largest nuclear stations, Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant’s cooling equipment stopped working when generators failed after the earthquakes and a leak occurred. This means that water drained from the reactor core which was necessary to control core temperatures and overheating and a partial nuclear meltdown occurred.
Video link: How a nuclear reactor overheats 2011
Chernobyl exploded in 1986 resulted in radioactive materials released in the atmosphere, radioactive materials contaminated food and air, which are vital basic needs to human beings. Civilians still suffer from leukaemia, cataracts, cardiovascular diseases, thyroid cancer as well as other cancers. After two decades the environment still suffers from the explosion. In the long term fir the next few decades radioactive caesium will still be in the food products such as berries, mushrooms and game - like reindeer. Levels in lakes remain high even though radioactive levels in fish have been reduced. Even though the actual radiation is currently not as much a threat as it was previously, it is still uncertain what the health implications may be at a later stage. Around 150 000 people are caught in the web of poverty, health issues isolation and the high unemployment rate is high and skilled people are leaving the country for greener grass. (Chernobyl Nuclear Accident 2006)
A photo essay on how children were affected by the Chernobyl explosion. [Not for sensitive viewers]
Video Link: Chernobyl Legacy 2009
This is the extent to what could happen in Japan if care is not taken. Currently the seawater has shown higher levels of radiation, 210 000 people in a 30 km radius were evacuated, crops have been contaminated and fishermen are unable to earn the livelihood as they are unable to sell contaminated fish. Luckily, these leaks are minor when compared to Chernobyl. The impact has not been as big, children screened were found with no abnormalities thus far. (Associated Press 2011) It was reported that there might be problems at two other plants as well, due to radioactive particles that has been released by Fukushima I and that other reactors have also been shut down. One of these plants already suffered from a nuclear accident in 1999. Some workers are risking permanent health damage to keep the reactors cool. Luckily the crisis has been averted for the moment and would hopefully not grow into the next Chernobyl. It still might take a while for the situation to stabilize. Three female workers have been overexposed to extreme radiation due to the lack of precautions by Tepco, the plant operator. It might take some months to completely stop the leak. The recent aftershocks caused severe damage to the structures which is necessary to protect the reactors and stop radiation from exiting into the atmosphere. There is still the minor possibility of a hydrogen explosion. Radioactive waste, like the water used to cool the reactors, is mixed with glass and is stored in concrete structures where the radioactive waste will eventually reach an acceptable level (Brain, M. Lamb, R. 2011) After the Tsunami, the space in which to store the contaminated waste have run out and about 11 million litres of contaminated water need to be pumped back into the ocean. This means that radioactive iodine is currently considerably less at 600 times the legal limit, than the previously recorded at 4800 times the limit. Radioactive iodine has been detected in tap water, milk, fish and spinach.
Three quakes, a tsunami and a possible nuclear crisis will also have some kind of effect on the economy as Japan is the third-largest economy. After the tsunami everything grinds to a halt and there will be a huge drop in production. It is projected that there will be a V-shaped rebound, but the damage is more than expected. Japan is considering tapping into its foreign exchange reserves for finances. (Reuters 2011) This is considered to be the world’s costliest natural disaster estimating around $ 300 billion. Power outages will occur as some other reactors are also shut down, which means that factories will not be able to work, which will also slow production. At least four reactors will be permanently scraped, but the process might take a few years’ even decades.
Damaged reactor No. 4 of Fukushima plant (Expert: Japan botching crisis management, iodine distribution)
Anti- nuclear rallies started up in Tokyo and Nagoya after the possible threat of the reactor exploding in the Fukushima plant. Tepco the operating plant have struggled to stop leaks and radiation outages. Civilians who have previously kept quiet on their views about nuclear power had a chance to raise their voices. They believe that they have been misinformed about the dangers of nuclear power and that people need to ‘mobilise’ themselves. The protesters feel it is unacceptable that Tepco have not stopped the leaks yet, and that it still may take up to 3 months to stop the radiation leaks.
India is determined to continue building a nuclear reactor in Jaitapur and they find it necessary to learn from the Japan nuclear crisis to assess where they can improve. After the Japan crisis, protesters have renewed their effort to protest against the planned construction.
Germany and China on the other hand is going to review their plans to go ahead with their power plant plans.
Global thoughts
The fear that Japan will follow Chernobyl is a reality, and more so because the damage will more extensive and damaging than Chernobyl. “For comparison, Chernobyl held 180 tonnes of nuclear fuel. Fukushima Daiichi has 560 tonnes of nuclear fuel in its reactors along with 1,700 tonnes of spent fuel. (Leahy, S. 2011)
Fifty thousand people lived in or close to Chernobyl that had to be evacuated, Japan needed to evacuate for times the amount of people.
Countries like the UK, Australia, France and the US have urged citizens visiting Japan to leave the country. Afterwards the returning citizens get tested for radiation. Many companies are evacuating Japan and private jets are requested to help evacuate people. Flights to Japan have been largely empty due to the crises.
Two workers passed away on the plant, and the bodies were forced to undergo decontamination before the families could receive the bodies.
On the photo essay, Chernobyl Legacy (Above) comments are posted with a mixture of feelings. These are average people commenting with their thoughts on the current situation in Japan, as it is strongly related. There is a mixed reaction about whether nuclear energy should be abolished, but we have become too dependent on nuclear energy to simply shut it off, and it also takes months before a plant can be considered shut down. The biggest fear can be reduced to caesium 137; this causes severe cancer and health problems and stays radioactive for more than a century.
On the social network Facebook, posts have been circulated where there is a big disregard for the tsunami. As shown below, it is ignorantly referred to as karma. On the website ignorantandonline.tumblr.com more similar accounts can also be witnessed. It seems that people are disturbingly unsympathetic. When one looks at the possible outcome of how children live in an asylum as in the Photo Essay, it is disturbing that people can completely disregard this because of a war.
Image of social networking website comments Face Book ( Baddeley, G 2011)
Potassium Iodide, when taken soon after radiation exposure, can drastically lessen the impacts of radiation. Unfortunately it is alleged that Japan is botching the distribution of the doses of iodide to only government health clinics, and it appears that everyone in not able to get doses of this vital remedy.
Public in the US unfounded concern about radiation exposure appeared and a potassium iodide tablets sales increased.
Japan has received severe criticism from nuclear expert Cham Dallas, director of the Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defence, due to the lack of the necessary doses of potassium iodide available to the public. During the evacuation the plant was left unmanned which Dallas deemed irresponsible. This means that there are no back-up plans in place should there be an emergency. (Milestone, K 2011)
On the other hand, an Australian physicist feels that because there has been no major leaks thus far, that it is not a disaster, as long as one is not too close to the plant, and everyone has been evacuated. (CBSNews 2011) Better precautions have been taken on newer reactors than the precautions in Chernobyl, thus making it unlikely of a large scale contamination. This does not disregard the potential damages done to environment, as it is too early at the moment to do the necessary measurements as Japan is still dealing with the tsunami damages as well. There is also the minor chance that some catastrophic event might happen, as said previously it is highly unlikely because Japan has handled the situation effectively. In the worst case scenario a reactor core can meltdown, which will then cause a disaster where radioactivity will be released into the atmosphere.
Video link: Criticism of Japanese government's handling of nuclear crisis grows as adviser quits
A few individuals are risking their health in order to contain the crisis of the nuclear power at hand. These dedicated workers received acclaim all over the world for their bravery. Japanese have been well known for their dedication and diligence. One news report admires the Japanese that there have been so little looting in Japan in contrast to New Orleans; with hurricane Katrina where massive looting took place.
The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Japan for reacting to slowly to the nuclear disaster and believes that the processes were unwise. Putin especially criticized Japan for knowingly building nuclear reactors on earthquake-prone areas. It was also suggested that the situation is exaggerated to reduce insurance liabilities. (Korsunskaya, D. 2011)
Criticism may be deemed harsh from Putin’s side. The sarcophagus that is used to contain the Chernobyl reactor has been degrading, but not enough funds have been released to contain the radiation outage. Japan has a major fault line that stretches the length of the island. As shown on the image it is almost impossible to safely build a nuclear reactor. Japan also has a dense population of 127 million people that need electricity for their homes as well as the businesses.
Even after the Japan’s possible crisis it will not curb Russia’s plans to go ahead with their plans to build new reactors over the next few decades. Russia believes that even though most of their reactors were build the same time as Chernobyl’s disaster it is unlikely to cause problems because the reactors are secured by "modern methods of protection."
India is determined to continue building a nuclear reactor in Jaitapur and they find it necessary to learn from the Japan nuclear crisis to assess where they can improve. After the Japan crisis, protesters have renewed their effort to protest against the planned construction.
Germany has shut down all power plants that have been commissioned before 1980, to review safety. Germany plans to only use renewable energy, and is currently considering option to accelerate the process. Previously nuclear problems were caused by technical or human error, but with Japan nature played a big roll and Germany fears technology risks.
Switzerland decided to suspend building and replacing nuclear plants until better safety measures can be put in place. (Ryan, S. 2011)
China on par with Switzerland is suspending approvals of new nuclear plants, and is also conducting safety reviews on all of their operating plants to increase safety of the plants.
Image showing tsunami path and fault lines. (The Telegraph 2011)
A crack was found in a concrete pit and radioactive water was leaking directly into the ocean. Tepco, the plant operator, have workers using polymer, paper and sawdust in a desperate attempt to stop the leak. The seawater radiation is approximately more than 4000 times the legal level but it is supposed to be safe because there is a 19km fishing ban, and sea currents will hopefully dilute the radiated water. There were several attempts to stop the leaks, which did not slightly prevent the same amount of water rushing into the ocean
Ad/Media Campaign
There has always been much contest between pro nuclear power and anti nuclear power.
With the world’s expansion, this leads to the need of more power. Nuclear power can satisfy the growing demand but there are many risks involved, a prime example of the risks is the Chernobyl disaster.
Among the big debate of climate change, nuclear energy results in very little pollution but nuclear energy creates a lot of radioactive waste which takes ages to reduce levels to an acceptable level which is safe for humans. The containers in which the radioactive wastes are stored eventually corrode.
One of the biggest arguments is of course the effect that radioactive materials have on the humans and the environment. The Chernobyl accident caused an uninhabitable area for a 16 km radius.
Nuclear energy is expensive in comparison to other electricity generators such as coal. It is also said to be more reliable because it is apparently unaffected by workers striking or shortages.
These are some main point in the debate for and against nuclear power.
The debate will naturally also carry out into an ad campaign.
The following campaign was launched by: The German Affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)
EUROSOLAR– The European Association for Renewable Energy
WISE International– World Information Service on Nuclear Energy
Image: Shut down nuclear power plants
It is an eight poster campaign and permission is given on the website for the public to print and distribute the posters to create awareness about nuclear power plants. This campaign was launched in June 2008 and each poster makes a statement against nuclear energy and argues the point.
Ex:
Nuclear Power is a Con Trick
Nuclear energy is dispensable for power supply
Nuclear energy is dispensable for power supply
In order to claim more importance for nuclear power, the nuclear industry repeatedly overstates nuclear energy's share of electricity generation. If one examines closely what contribution nuclear energy makes to total worldwide energy consumption, it becomes evident that nuclear power is of practically no significance for mankind's energy needs. In 2001, nuclear electricity supplied only 2.3 percent of worldwide energy needs. Renewable energy's contribution to world energy supply is already significantly greater. The human race can easily do without nuclear power's marginal contribution. The risks of nuclear accidents, production of highly radioactive waste and the costs necessary for its disposal, bear no rational relationship to the slight short-term gain in energy that nuclear power provides. Nuclear power is both hazardous and superfluous.
The next video is from Green Peace:
The video shows the possible risk that terrorist’s may take advantage of nuclear power plants to cause devastation. There is a strong similarity to the well known 9/11 terrorist attack on in America. Tony Blair was pro building a nuclear power station. There was also an ad campaign from green peace. It shows a soft toy rabbit with too many ears or a elephant with too many trunks. The concept is that radiation causes birth defects in children as well as in the nature
Green peace Bunny & Elephant (Ads of the world)
Video Link: Centrica Energy Advert 2010
The Centrica shows how nuclear energy works in simple terms and it also addresses the issue that usually concerns consumers, safety and radioactive waste.
Nuclear power campaigns seem to unpopular as there are always some controversy behind it. One finds more anti-nuclear power campaigns than pro- nuclear power campaigns. It is like abortion adverts. One usually sees more pro-life campaigns than pro-choice campaigns. The strongest argument is usually is related back to the Chernobyl disaster. That is the extent to what nuclear energy can affect the environment. Most people find it too terrifying as Chernobyl has not recovered from the explosion. Two and a half decades later there are still cases of health illnesses popping up, many people surrounding the area struggle with cancers. On the other hand, there have been no other cases where there was such a severe disaster. The Japan crisis is being controlled and it cannot be classified as a disaster yet, and effort is being put in to stop it becoming from a severe case.
Cape Town Case Study
My chosen case study, Human Capital Dynamics In Three Technology Platforms: Nuclear, Space And Biotechnology can be found on
Insights
Nuclear power provides 16% of the world’s energy and South Africa is the fourth richest source in uranium which is necessary to power nuclear plants. France energy source is 75% nuclear energy, which has proven valuable to the country making it completely independent of other energy sources.
South Africa is the one of the largest producers of coal, therefore making it relatively cheap. The problem is that mines are 1500km from Cape Town which makes a nuclear powered station more practical. This also enabled job creation for about 4000 people. Radioactive substances are stored in the lonely Karoo, Vaalputs. There have been controversy about this is a very sensitive environmental area, but it is deemed the best place because the population is very low. Another reactor have been considered and the first phase in building it will hopefully be commissioned in 2016.
Skills development has had strong support from French Areva, where post graduate students can study in France. At the moment it seems that there is a lack of skill in the nuclear sector that needs to be filled, and South Africa aims to fill the positions with South African citizens. Most of the positions at Koeberg is considered critical. An effort has been made to fill positions within the company with little success. Koeberg wants to team up with the University of Cape Town and offer a three year engineering course. Unfortunately many trained engineers gets scooped up by international entities.
Due to the lack of skills South Africa still relies heavily on external designs in the reactor technology and other relevant positions. (Lorentzen, J Petersen I. 2008)
The area in which the Koeberg nuclear is built is ideal because of the Atlantic Ocean that produces cold water. The Koeberg station is built next to a fault line, called the Milnerton fault. There have been infrequent earthquakes on this fault, the last one in 2009. Scientists claim that there is a threat that an earthquake greater that 8 on the Richter scale can be experienced. Koeberg has been designed to withstand an earthquake on the scale of 7 on the Richter’s scale. (Gosling, M 2011)
Koeberg was built far from the Cape Town CBD, but urbanization have allowed that there have been built ever closer. There is a 16km radius development ban around Koeberg. This is the standard radius for an evacuation plan, when not inhabited this decreases the possibility that the public will be affected is considerably less.
Thus far there have not been many occurrences or major catastrophes that affected the surrounding areas or workers. In 2009 workers were contaminated with Cobalt 58, but it was concluded that the level was not enough to cause harm and that it would be short-lived. It was compared to a frequently flying to Johannesburg. (Associated Press 2010)
Relevant Theories and Opinions
“Nature being known...may be mastered, managed and used in services of humane life” (Dickens, P. 2004)
According to the Bible earth was made and Adam was the caretaker of the earth. In the age of the enlightenment as cited above humans want to master and manage nature, but in the case of the tsunami in Japan, there was no way to control it. Even though technology was used to make the houses as earthquake resistant as possible and implements were out in place to stop all possible errors that can possibly occur, all of these still failed. Seismic tools track the movement inside the earth is not completely accurate either. An earthquake was predicted during the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, and nothing came of it. Humans try to control their environment but it is not always possible. Some improbable catastrophic event can happen to undo all the efforts that have been put in place so far to prevent further issues in the Japan nuclear crisis. As many times as humans tried to control nature, as many times humans have been proved wrong.
This leads to the school of thought called Romanticism, where nature can be valued for being nature and wild, and not the tamed image that man wants to apply to it. Romanticism applies that when one recognizes the power of nature one will be able to view oneself as part of a greater picture and not necessarily the master.
An 8.9 magnitude earthquake seemed highly unlikely for Japan, and even though three systems were put in place to prevent meltdown in the nuclear reactor, all of these measures failed. This could lead to the thought that all of nature cannot be controlled.
John Hannigan (Hannigan, J. 2007) suggests that technology would overcome the problem of finite sources. This turns out to be likely, in the olden days coal was used to create electricity, but coal turns out to be a non-renewable energy. Modern technology allows man to create nuclear energy. Nuclear energy uses uranium which is abundantly available all over the world, which decreases costs. Nuclear technology assists positively in climate change, because it does not emit nearly as much pollution as other resources. Natural energy, like wind powered electricity does not have the as much power yet to satisfy the needs of the consumer. There is no doubt that the technology will be developed as the concept is still fairly new.
This can be related to the back to nature movement. (Hannigan, J. 2007). The environment around the Chernobyl disaster has been declared uninhabitable, and it will likely be uninhabitable for decades to come. When one uses natural energy like wind energy, there is no impact, and it will not lead to the possible destruction of an environment. After the Japan incident there were numerous anti-nuclear protests. Radiation is leaking into the ocean which will affect the organisms that live in the water, as well as the surrounding fishermen who live off the ocean as a livelihood.
The ocean is seen as an unpredictable force. It some movies it is the pinnacle of destruction, for example in the apocalyptic film, 2012. Tidal wave slams a Nimitz aircraft into the American White House. The ocean is rarely depicted as calm, is a sailor saying for when the sea is very calm. It is like before a tsunami, the water retreats for kilometres and for some it might just look like low tide.
It might be suggested that the tsunami is a divine intervention. When the 2004 tsunami hit Sri Lanka it opened the door for the opportunities that have long be planned by the government. Sri Lanka wanted to use Arugan Bay as a tourist attraction, but the beaches were used by the local fishing people. The sea provided abundant fishing possibilities, and the fishermen provided fresh fish to various businesses and hotels in the area. After the tsunami all of these houses were washed away, and no attempt has been made to rebuild these houses. The President said that: So nature itself must have thought ‘enough is enough’ and whacked us from all sides and taught us a lesson to be together. (Klein, N. 2007) Does this thus mean that the tsunami in Japan that caused major damage to various nuclear plants might be the nature’s way of telling humans that it does not approve of the technology? It might be a lesson that we have not learned from the Chernobyl disaster.
Whether one is for or against nuclear energy, it is an opinion that can go either way. Do we risk environmental damage or the lack of the necessary energy to power our businesses and homes and all the various areas that it will affect.
Personally I am pro-nuclear energy until a better renewable source of energy is available. The luxury of flipping the switch has become integrated in my life. Preferably every means possible should be exploited to prevent what happened at Chernobyl, and the guilty parties in Japan should take responsibility where it is due.
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Note: An interesting day to day account of the Fukushima, which is worth looking at.
