Detriments of Nuclear Energy in Light of the Fukushima Disaster Essay

Energy can be converted from one form to another. Nuclear energy is the power released from the nucleus of an atom (Aoki & Geoffrey 240). It is produced from two main processes; fusion and fission. Fusion occurs naturally in the sun and other stars as well as in nuclear reactors built by people. On the other hand, nuclear fission is produced by the combustion of fossil fuels (Aoki & Geoffrey 240). It is believed that over the next 60 years, humanity will use more energy than it has consumed in the entire history. Earlier predictions of energy consumption growth and power technologies have proved to be wrong in the sense that the consumption is increasing faster than expected and most scientists believe that by 2030, new sources of energy are still not likely to be commercialized. Nuclear energy has a number of benefits and detriments. Some of its known benefits include reliability, competitive cost, no greenhouse emission, and efficiency. On the other hand, its demerits include difficulty in eliminating radioactivity and risks and a challenge in maintaining a regular number of operating reactors. Energy experts believe that nuclear power is detrimental because of the possibility of control systems failure and the continuous radioactive explosions that would be virtually impossible to contain.

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In the case of the Fukushima incident, nuclear energy proved disastrous. Fukushima nuclear accident is considered as the second worst accident in history. The operations done by the staff were questionable and most energy experts believe that there was the need to engage other agencies in ensuring that the disaster is contained and that people were safe. After the incident, the government of Japan concluded that the region should be alerted of the risk of a similar disaster striking again (Davies 14). Other than the loss of the power supply sources, the emergency diesel generators located in the basement of the turbine buildings started heating up (associated with the lethal levels of radiation). Energy experts argue that cooling would have been maintained through the mainstream circuit bypassing the turbine (Aoki & Geoffrey 240). The exposure to the volume of radiation for just an hour could kill. Additionally, the leaks could lead to global catastrophe if not addressed promptly. Normally, nuclear reactors are built with safety systems designed to contain the radiation given off in the fusion process (Davies 19). When the safety systems are properly installed, they are likely to function well thus preventing structural flaws. In the case of a ruptured containment field, there is a possibility that leaked radiation will be highly catastrophic. In Fukushima, the contaminated water around reactors was seeping into the ground causing major difficulties in the decommissioning process. Initially, although radiation levels identified were high, a threat to people life was unlikely and apart from employees at the site, no-one was allowed to go near the reactors.

The waste from nuclear energy is extremely dangerous and has to be carefully looked after several years. The wastes must be managed in ways that safeguard human health and minimize the impact on the surrounding. For radioactive wastes, this means diluting or isolating it such that the concentration of any radionuclides returned to the global ecological system is harmless. To achieve this, all radioactive wastes should be contained and managed with some needed deep burial (Hindmarsh 19). In nuclear power generation, all waste is regulated and none is allowed to cause pollution. In Asia, a number of nuclear reactors have failed and have been shut down. These abandoned reactors are taking up valuable space contaminating the areas surrounding them. These reactors are too unstable to be removed.

Another disadvantage of nuclear power is the risk associated with it. It is technically impossible to build a plant with the security of 100% (Hindmarsh 10). There must be a certain probability of failure. Apart from technical failures, the risk of human error can never be avoided. Now that the onset of liberalization and privatization of the electricity market has forced nuclear operators to reduce costs and increase their efficiency, the nuclear energy risk is likely to grow.

Energy experts believe that the time frame needed for planning, formalities, and building of a new nuclear power generation plant is in the range of 25 to 35 years. Nuclear energy is not sustainable in the sense that wastes leave a life-threatening legacy for hundreds of future generations. In Fukushima, people who worked in the nuclear plant and lived near the area were at high risk of facing nuclear radiations. According to this incident, it is evident that people cannot insulate themselves a hundred percent from the nuclear disasters. The reason why radioactive waste has to be disposed of safely is that it is able to emit radiations even after more than a thousand years (Aoki & Geoffrey 240). Handling and safe storage can happen as long as nuclear energy is cooled and workers insulated from radiations it emits by materials such as concrete or steel. Normally, water offers shielding and cooling. This means that a typical reactor can have its fuel removed under water and safely transferred into a storage area.

Nuclear energy implies high initial capital costs in the sense that a nation requires large capital to set up a nuclear power station. In Fukushima, the government of Japan used a lot of money to set up the plant because of what it termed 'economic benefit' of the plant. The plant was meant to boost the living conditions of the Japanese and at the same time acted as control center (Wittneben 2). However, the lax in security proved to be lethal and brutal for humans and even the world as a whole. To alleviate future disasters, the government of Japan set up the association of nuclear operators tasked to provide safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants and conducting peer reviews for every new nuclear power plant operating in Japan and other Asian countries.

In as much as the production of nuclear energy requires less Uranium, the same element is naturally unstable. This means that special precautions must be taken during the mining, transporting, and storing of the mineral to prevent it from giving off harmful levels of radiation. There are other toxic pollutants released by nuclear plants that can harm animal and plant life in aquatic bodies. The biggest concern with the nuclear waste is the negative effect it has on the body. Long-term effects can even cause cancer. In as much as human beings are exposed to radiations naturally, radiation can cause changes in DNA that ensure cell repair.

It is costly to clean up everything and make everything safe once again. When trying to clean up spilled radioactive materials, there is no easy route. It can take years to ensure that an environment is safe for the people to live in or visit. In the case of serious accidents like Fukushima it may take more than a hundred years until things start growing once again. People are advised to avoid visiting such places because of the health risks such places expose them. Radiation causes many chronic health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the nervous system, lung, skin, breast, stomach and other forms of cancer, and gastrointestinal diseases (Hindmarsh 29). Because of the deadly nature of nuclear waste, it is very expensive to clean it up. Radioactive waste can either be high, intermediate, and low level. A waste can remain radioactive from time to time depending on the radionuclides contained in it.

References

Aoki, Masahiko, and Geoffrey Rothwell. "A comparative institutional analysis of the Fukushima nuclear disaster: Lessons and policy implications." Energy Policy 53 (2013): 240-247.

Davies, Lincoln L. "Beyond Fukushima: Disasters, nuclear energy, and energy law." BYU L. Rev. (2011): 1937.

Hindmarsh, Richard, ed. Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima Daiichi: social, political and environmental Issues. Routledge, 2013.

Wittneben, Bettina BF. "The impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident on European energy policy." Environmental Science & Policy 15.1 (2012): 1-3.