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NUCLEAR POWER HAZARDS.

Types, causes, dangers. Arguments against continued planning & construction of partially completed nuclear facilities.

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Nuclear power is no longer a relatively new phenomenon which impacts both on culture and society. Since the early 1960s, companies have searched for an inexpensive way in which to generate power for the increasingly demanding American society. Indeed, the debate over nuclear power shows just how much the illusions of the nuclear age are "rooted in the economic and political institutions of our society. The system for threatening nuclear war - the designing, making, deploying, explaining of nuclear weapons - serves so many short-term interests that as a society we are crippled in confronting out most basic interest: physical, economic and spiritual survival" (Loeb, 1983, p. 3).
In the 1980s, however, nuclear power has become an even greater political issue that has been thrust into national, and

These problems have the potential for serious problems, notjust internally within the plant, but for the environment and populationsnear the facility (Adato et al., 1987, pp. Weart, S. In this view, thestrategic importance of nuclear power plants places both them and the areassurrounding them in great danger because of the ease with which an enemycould sabotage or bomb a nuclear facility, causing untold numbers of deadand a serious environmental effect (Ramberg, 1984). At the end of the war however, nuclear technology was a highly guardedsecret, due to the awesome power it generated in war. Safety second - the NRC and America'snuclear power plants. Loeb, P. Just after the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Japan in 1945, nucleartechnology began to grow. In many studies, the originalviews on reactor safety have had to undergo serious revision. The irony is that Americans continue to demand cheap energy,but are reluctant to embrace alternate technology. But, where does the safety factor fit in? The pragmatic dangers from nuclear power plants are quite evident.In fact, the four major arguments against nuclear power plants show that interms of safety, environmental pollution and waste, and the possibility ofmeltdown make the use of nuclear power, given the current technologicalwisdom, a dangerous and unwise option. Reactor salescontinued to be strong in the early 197 s; between 1972 and 1974, 11 nuclear plants were ordered in the United States . et al. Since the containers are metallic, thepossibility of leaks or rusting are of concern. Combined with the oilcrisis in the late 197 s, Americans became increasingly alarmed aboutenergy, some even predicting doom if nuclear power was not adopted on alarge scale. Wood, W. The rods themselves are radioactively unsafe, as is the liquid used tocool them. The fear of the bomb itselfhas had a powerful sociological effect on society and culture, and hasmanaged to permeate almost every aspect of society. . E. Since it is debatable how likely it would be that a nuclear accidentwould occur from nuclear power stations, it is clear that the regulatoryagency in charge of safety has primary responsibility in keeping the publicboth safe and aware of the current technological developments. Public opinion and nuclear energy.Lexington: D.C. H. In thepaper, we will briefly present an overview the history and use of nuclearpower, and will then concentrate on the hazards of nuclear power, asarticulated from many sources. In psychological images, nuclear technology provides both a greatfear and a great benefit. 12-17). An overview of both theCambridge and Harris polls shows that males show greater support for theindustry, and less opposition to possible safety problems. Almost immediately, the scientists andtechnicians working on the Manhattan Project that produced the world'sfirst nuclear weapons began to envision the peaceful uses of nuclear power. (1983). (198 ). Indeed, the debate over nuclearpower shows just how much the illusions of the nuclear age are "rooted inthe economic and political institutions of our society. It now appears that although initially safe, thepossibility exists that even a minor mistake could prove disastrous for theplant (Lewis, 1977). 162). It seems theremust inevitably be a tension between the demand to make a new productcommercially available and the demand to fully understand the implicationsof large-scale commercial use before it is used" (Rolph, 1979, p. Nuclear power: The unviable option. C. Many utility companies remained steadfast,believing that it was an absolute necessity to establish a new andrenewable source of inexpensive energy for an increasingly urban Americanpopulation. Heath. Philadelphia: New Society. As the decade progressed, though, constructioncosts rose tremendously, coupled with high interest rates, and resulted ina lessening of ordered plants. NewYork: Dell. Finally, the most diredanger of nuclear power plants is that of a complete meltdown in thereactor's core. What is especially interesting, though, is that asadvertisements increased, ostensibly educationally designed by the utilitycompanies, so did an apparent trend in support of nuclear power over avariety of geographic areas (Nealey et al, 1983, p. Since the early 196 s, companies havesearched for an inexpensive way in which to generate power for theincreasingly demanding American society. "Without adoubt, nuclear power has a unique regulatory history . Boyer, P. J. Cambridge:Harvard University Press. Initially, most say,there are a series of unresolved generic problems with the design andconstruction of power plants, given the current technological expertiseavailable. . Thus, the economic benefits of nuclear power plants take on both asocial and cultural significance. Finally, say many of the scientists, the real problem of nuclearpower lies "in the fraternal relationship between the NRC and itslicensees. (1988). Nuclear power is no longer a relatively new phenomenon which impactsboth on culture and society. Glasstone, S., & Jordan, W. Nuclear Power reactor safety. (1982). (1984). (1979). The agency appears to view itself as an ally of the industry;it resists actions that place the two in adversarial roles and has beenwilling to temper its criticisms of the industry to the point where theylack effect" (Adato et al., 1987, p. La Grange Park: American Nuclear Society. Berkeley: University of California Press. After the metallic materials are used as"cooling rods," within the reactor itself, they must be removed and cooled. Nuclear power plants as weapons for the energy. Sometimes motivated by greed, other times by complex politicalmaneuvering, the NRC does not seem to operate on any consistent notation ofthe legal aspects of its enforcement capacity (Adato et al., 1987, pp. 5). 7). 3). Of course,, what should be immediately obvious was that at the time,due to the lack of sophistication in understanding the possible hazards ofnuclear power, the government did not take into account the possible safetyfactors involved, but rather remained purposefully vague on the subject. Nuclear power: Both sides. 5). Norton. 6 ). . What manyphysicists believed to be true about nuclear power in the 196 s has provedto be unreliable in the later decades. [There will come] a day when we will simply nothave enough energy to meet the nation's needs" (Kaku & Trainer, 1982, p.136). (1987). This waste, much of it with a half life of several thousandyears (it would take several thousand years for one-half of the dangerousradiation to naturally dissipate), is often stored in containers that areburied or dumped into the ocean. 1-43). . 46-52). As the public's awareness aboutnuclear power grows, and the scientific and industrial with it, many of theoriginal platitudes have turned into fear. Nealey, S. Second, the scientistssay, there is collusion between the bureaucratic NRC and the UtilityCompanies, in which the public is often treated in an adversarial capacity,with advanced advertising techniques and misinformation promulgated inorder to obtain licensing (Adato et al., 1987, pp. Nuclear culture. In fact, as far back as the early 196 s. In the ensuing years, both public and official sentiment grew so thatby 1954 a new Atomic Energy Act was put forth, setting up "a program toencourage widespread participation in the development and utilization ofatomic energy for peaceful purposes to the maximum extent consistent withthe common defense and security and with the health and safety of thepublic" (Wood, 1983, p. This directlyleads to the third point: that the NRC is arbitrary in its enforcement ofregulations that were federally mandated in order to ensure the publicgood. Nuclear power and the public safety.Lexington: D.C. Third, the issue of what to do withthe waste materials from nuclear power plants has plagued even the mostardent advocate of nuclear power. There was nosignificant relationship between level of education and support for nuclearpower, however, as income increases, so does support for an alternatesource of power. Ramberg, B. References Adato, M. Nuclear fear - a history of images. (1986). We have already mentioned the thermalpollution hazards, and while it is not clear to what extent the potentialis damaging to wildlife, it is almost certain that some damage will occur.Second, there is always the possibility for radiation leaks, if not overt,then into the ground water or soil. (1977). S. Nevertheless, the problem that exists istwofold: the current technological expertise is not advanced enough toensure a high percentage of safety with nuclear power, and, because of thecollusion between the NRC and utility companies, much of what the Americanpublic believes about nuclear power is not based on fact, it is based on acomplex mix of emotion and images, based on emotional instead ofintellectual arguments (Weart, 1988, pp. (1977). Moreover, since the issue is becoming increasingly dichotomous andpolitical, it is not surprising to see that opinion polls have begun to askpertinent questions about the nuclear power industry, and the worries aboutthe potential hazards that it might product. Berger, J. 6-7). It seems that the longer reactorsare in use, the more unstable some of the materials used in construction ofthe reactor become. Nuclear power and itsenvironmental effects. By the bomb's early light. In 1974, the AEC was reorganized into theNuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and given a broad governmentalstandard of enforcing the new demand for nuclear power (Wood, 1983, pp. 1 9). "If we deny ourselves nuclear energy," said Philip Handler,President of the National Academy of Sciences, "we are heading for a realcatastrophe down the road. If this were to happen, the human and ecological costswould be enormous, and no amount of safety precautions could preventnatural disasters from contributing to such a scenario (Glasstone & Jordan,198 ). 77-83). The system forthreatening nuclear war - the designing, making, deploying, explaining ofnuclear weapons - serves so many short-term interests that as a society weare crippled in confronting out most basic interest: physical, economicand spiritual survival" (Loeb, 1983, p. NewYork: W.W. alone" (Kaku &Trainer, 1982, p. They break their argument into four basicsections regarding the hazards of nuclear power. "American utility companiesregarded nuclear power as the cheapest energy source. Lewis, E. The biological and environmental effects of nuclear power plants areseen by some as insurmountable. Since 1945, an entirely new generation has been raised on two aspectsof nuclear technology: the fear of the bomb (nuclear fear) and the promiseof inexpensive, clean power (nuclear power). New York: JohnWiley. Nuclear safety: Risks and regulation.Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public PolicyResearch.----------------------- 11 Throughout the paper, an underlyingassumption will be that nuclear power has an impact upon society in avariety of ways: technological, economically, and industrially, and alsoculturally and psychologically. Kaku, M., & Trainer, J. In a recent book producedby the Union for Concerned Scientists, a number of leading experts onnuclear power posited the view that the NRC was, in fact, not legallyensuring the safe operation of nuclear power plants already on line orthose not yet completed. New York: PantheonBooks. It was just afterthe war, in 1946, that the United States government monopolized the newtechnology under the Atomic Energy Act (Wood, 1983, p. (1985). Rolph, E. Thus, for many, inorder to avoid the hostile uses of nuclear technology, one must embrace thepeaceful use of nuclear power - regardless of the potential consequencesfor both society and the environment (Boyer, 1985). Heath. During the 196 s, the Atomic Energy Commission produced a series ofeducational movies and advertisements designed to accustom the public tothe new theory of nuclear power. 135). (1983). America needs an inexpensive source ofenergy, one that is not directly dependent on foreign relations or the whimof the international market. Another rather surprising, if not incredulous, view about the hazardsof nuclear power comes from the academic community. . et al. One of the most significant categories between supportand criticism was that of age: support was consistently higher in themiddle age bracket (those that formed their opinions and views of societyin the early years of nuclear power) than with the younger (too manyproblems with the concept) and the older (too distrustful of the technologyinvolved) generations. In the 198 s, however, nuclear power has become an even greaterpolitical issue that has been thrust into national, and with the recentChernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union, international prominence.According to many experts, what is especially changing in the demographicattitude, is the fact that many individuals are becoming even more aware ofthe issues surrounding nuclear power, and are demanding a say in thedecisions about placement, deployment, or even the viability, of nuclearpower within this modern industrial society (Berger, 1977, p. At the same time, the cost per unit ofelectrical output may sometimes force voters into the option of nuclearpower, since in many areas the generating of power through water or othernatural resources has become so expensive that it is almost prohibitive.In the same light, if nuclear power plants can contribute to environmentalefficiency, by preventing the loss of nonrenewable natural resources, thenthe scale is tipped toward the use of nuclear power as a viable option. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

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