Nuclear Hazards

Nuclear energy can be both beneficial and harmful depending on the way in which it is used. We
routinely use X-rays to examine bones for fractures, treat cancer with radiation and diagnose
diseases with the help of radioactive isotopes.

Approximately 17 % of the electrical energy generated in the world comes from nuclear power
plants. However on the other hand it is impossible to forget the destruction that nuclear bombs
caused the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The radioactive wastes from nuclear energy have
caused serious environmental damage.

Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of the atom. The resulting energy can be used for a
variety of purposes. The first controlled fission of an atom was carried out in Germany in 1938.
However the United States was the first country to develop an atomic bomb which was
subsequently dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world’s first electricity
generating reactor was constructed in the United States in 1951 and the Soviet Union built its first
reactor in 1954. Today nuclear power is being used as a reliable source of electricity the above
statement sounds highly optimistic.

Although nuclear power has significant benefits an incident which changed people’s attitudes
towards nuclear power plants was the Chernobyl disaster that occurred in 1986. Chernobyl is a small
city in Ukraine near the border with Belarus north of Kiev. At 1.00 am April 25, 1986 a test to
measure the amount of electricity that the still spinning turbine would produce if steam were shut
off was being conducted at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station4. Wrong decisions and technical
failure led to a big disaster.

116,000 people were evacuated of which 24,000 had received high doses of radiation. Even today
many people suffer from illnesses they feel are related to their exposure to the fallout from
Chernobyl. In 1996 ten years after the accident it was clear that one of the long term effects was the
increased frequency of thyroid cancer in children.

The degree and the kind of damage from nuclear accidents vary with the kind of radiation, the
amount of radiation, the duration of exposure and the types of cells irradiated. Radiation can also
cause mutations which are changes in the genetic makeup of the cells. Mutations can occur in the
ovaries or the testes leading to the formation of mutated eggs or sperms which in turn can lead to
abnormal offspring. Mutations can also occur in the tissues of the body ad may manifest themselves
as abnormal tissue growths known as cancer. Two common cancers that are linked to increased
radiation exposure are leukaemia and breast cancer.