It is called “Nuclear” and it is spelled “DISASTER”

Disclaimer: Based on inputs from "அணு  உலை  அறிவோம்" by J.Prabhakaran., and other sources. 

Contains disturbing pictures. Read at own risk.

With massive increase in the awareness among common people and widespread reach of media in the form of print, visual and social, the importance delivered to protests concerning environmental impacts have become stupendous. One may argue that with the growing agitation the country will turn zero tolerant to any kind of development project, which will only make the country’s growth spiral backwards. But it is equally important to value and understand the livelihood and emotions of the people and to be a responsible citizen to realize the real cost we pay for every development without rubbishing off the demands of the under privileged in the name of the greater interest of the nation and to equally develop the standard of living of common people without creating a valley between them and nation’s development. The term ‘development’ should be inclusive rather than exploiting. When we don’t have basic facilities such as Medicine, Education & Transport for people living around the Energy producing plants, When we let them rot in hell of diseases for the rest of the nation to develop, what development are we talking about? Why should their lives be traded for development?

Tarapur power plant

Ever since Independence it has been estimated that over 15,00,000 people have been replaced owing to development projects viz., Building of dams, Nuclear plants, etc., When we thump our chests in pride on our expedition from where we were to where we are now, it would be more appropriate to equally think about the people who have risked their lives and went through rough phases with or without their consent.

An average citizen sipping his coffee, sitting in the Air-conditioned chambers of his office, scrolls his newsfeed to come across any kind of protest and shrug it off or cry foul that the protests are only making the country miserable is nothing but a cruel joke and greatest insult that could be hurled against his fellow citizens. A responsible citizen is one who understands that every small thing we consume does come to us at the expense of human lives for real.

The electricity we get at the snap of a finger does come at the expense of millions of people fighting their uncertainty of livelihood. It is silly to say “I want Electricity hence I support Power plants” when we are not ready to afford one near our home or when we have no idea what really happened in Chernobyl.

Awaiting a Catastrophe?

If we are to take a side, it is mandatory to learn both sides at first place. This piece of work is to give a gist of nuclear accidents that have happened across the globe over the years and the deep impacts it has left for us to decide on our future course of action. Also how we have been fooled that nuclear energy is the most optimal solution and other major challenges that are associated with Nuclear power.

International Nuclear Event scale

Some of the major accidents are briefed below.

Wind scale Reactor fire:

The Reactor which was located in England was engulfed in fire on 10^th of October 1957. Awarded 5 on a scale of 7 by International Nuclear Event scale, this was the most disastrous before Chernobyl happened.

It was estimated that 250 people were diagnosed with Cancer and for an area of around 500 sqm. Litres of milk had been poured down for a month fearing contamination and potential health threats.

Scenes at Wind scale fire

Kyshtym Disaster:

Mayak plant(located near Kyshtym) was meant for Plutonium production and nuclear waste recycling for nuclear weapons produced by Russia. The reactor bombarded on 29^th September 1957. More than 4 Lakh people have been affected by Radiation.

The accident was awarded 6 on a scale of 7. More than 30 major accidents have been reported. This place is still secluded. Over 30 villages have been erased from the map of Soviet Union.

Nuclear accident at 3Mile Island:

Located in Pennsylvania of America, the reactor at 3Mile Island melted on 28^th March 1979. The Governor of the state declared everything under control 26 hours after the accident. However he changed stand and declared emergency the next day. Around 1.4 Lakh people were evacuated. The deconamination work was carried out for 14 years with a budget of 5000 Crores and more than 12,000 crores worth property was destroyed.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster:

Known as the most disastrous nuclear accident, the world has ever seen, the aftermath of the disaster will give nightmares even now.

The accident reportedly happened on 26^th of April 1986. The incident was kept secret from the rest of the world for 15 days. To prevent the passing of radiation through clouds to neighbouring countries, artificial rains were induced which contaminated all the water bodies in Chernobyl with radiation and made things worse.

The nuclear core suffered a heat of 1200 degree C to 2000 degree C. 1000MT weighing concrete cap on top of the reactor was thrown away, Such was the intensity of the disaster. The radiation is said to be 400 times more than the atomic bombs hurled at Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Totally 15 countries have been affected and a land area of 2 lakh sqm. is said to have infested the radiation. 

.
As per Green peace reports, 2 lakh people have died in the long term and the number of animals suffered cannot even tracked. Most of the soldiers involved in rehabilitation works died eventually.

24 Lakh Rupees is the total loss incurred and 6% of Ukraine’s budget is allocated every year even now for rehabilitation of Chernobyl. The plant was decommissioned with 200m cubic thick concrete and it is estimated that it will take 20,000 more years for people to re-occupy Chernobyl. 

At Chernobyl Museum:Few of the so many innocent lives lost

In remembrance

Fukushima Disaster:
Associated with a 9.0 Richter scale earthquake and Tsunami, Fukushima disaster was categorised as Level-7.

The restricted area circumference was gradually increased from 2km to 20km by the Japan Government. America instructed its citizens to evacuate up to 80km, Spain up to 120km and Germany up to 220km.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan in one of his interviews later said that the Atomic dept. has recommended for evacuation of people in the capital Tokyo too. However the recommendation was turned down as it involves evacuating 3 crore residents of Tokyo which is a herculean task.
The Govt. records claim 68,000 people as evacuated. However people up to 20-30 kms were also evacuated which increases the toll  to 3 lakhs.

Radioactive fallout map

A victim: Genetically damaged

The Radiation is reported to be 168 times higher than Hiroshima & Nagasaki. 8500kms farther, 12 American states have recorded radiation.

The Enquiry commission concluded human errors as the reason for the disaster. The safety measures were neglected by the plant and the company involved repeatedly blamed the waves for being unexpectedly higher.

Fukushima Disaster

It requires 7,84,000 crores for decommissioning the plant and it might take 40 years to complete the process. 12.5 lakh crores is the projected loss.
Though there is no immediate loss of lives, WHO suggests that 1000 people may die of cancer in a short term.

In India:
India's only uranium mine is in Jadhukoda of Jharkand. Native tribes of the locality have been forcefully driven away for uranium extraction. It is said that the ore extracted contains only 0.1% of uranium, whereas the imported ore contains 12-14%. However the government continues its operation with an approximate loss of 2-3 times and most importantly resulting in cancer, skin diseases, brain related ailments, infertility,etc., among the people residing in the vicinity.

Jadukoda

What is his mistake?

Kalpakkam plant which is being in operation for more than 30 years is said to be the primary cause for causing thyroid problems, Autism, children with six fingers and unprecedented abortions.

The atomic energy department accepts the prevalence of "multiple myceloma bone marrow cancer" disease in kalpakkam. Tehelka and Nakheeran have conducted operations and gathered shocking data from the residents of kalpakkam. In the last 10 years, 244 people have been diagnosed with cancer which means every 2 week, one person dies of cancer. The atomic energy department shrugs it off as a not-so-big issue.

The forgotten side of Kalpakkam

We have open trucks carrying plutonium around Jaitapur and in one shocking incident, a painter had used the water which was kept unattended in the reactor to mix with paint. Later it was found that it was radioactive. One can understand the amount of negligence our authorities show in such issues.

Dropped nuclear projects across the world:

There have been many instances where the government has stepped down and dropped nuclear projects obliging to the determined voice of people.

In Austria, even before chernobyl and 3Mile accidents occurred, people have protested against the plant and made the plant shut even without operating for a single day.

In Italy, the government opted for public opinion poll to decide what to do with the plants that were at the final stage of completion.80% people voted against the plants. Few years later there was a poll again and this time 90% of the people turned down the government's vehement try of bringing up the plant again.

In America, Shorcham plant gained slow and steady opposition. The protests gained momentum after chernobyl and 3mile disasters. Finally the corporation succumbed to pressure and dropped the plant and the government bore the total expense.

In countries like Lituvenia, Switzerland, Poland, Bulgaria and Sweden the government conducted polls and the people happily voted away the plants.

Determined people of Koodankulam

Scenes from Koodankulam

The fall down of nuclear:

Out of 569 plants in the world only 440 are operational now. In 1980s totally 206 plants have been built in a decade. However in the next 20 years only 86 plants were built owing to the increased agitation and awareness among the people. The USA stands first in shutting down more number of plants.

Operating Reactors

Reactors shut down: country wise figures

Where does the nuclear waste go?:

The uranium fed into the plant comes out as nuclear waste. This high temperature liquid has to be diluted in the nitric acid tank in the plant for few years. Then it has to be re-processed for segregating plutonium which shall be later used for preparing nuclear weapons. This highly toxic nuclear waste will be radioactive for 30,000 years. The waste has to be preserved which is a major challenge even for developed countries.

Initially the waste was let down in sea which created a wave of fury among the environmentalists. Later it was decided to store it in canisters and bury it deep down in the earth for more than 1.5 km. After that it was decided to dig tunnels in the mountains and bury it. This process involves 30-40 years time and lakhs of crores to get done. No proper solution has been achieved by any country to overcome this huge problem. The main reason behind America shutting down the Nuclear plants is their inability in nuclear waste management.

It should also be remembered that the life span of a reactor has to be  only 40 years after which it has to decommissioned which means burying the reactor in a concrete grave. However most of the plants in India run for more than 40 years unapologetic ally. 

Decommissioning a plant

How efficient is nuclear:

No plant in the world has achieved 100% electricity generation. With the world average being 80%, India records 63%. This shall be understood best when read in conjunction with Koodankulam plant which remains shut most of the times citing technical glitches.

Nuclear power is not only harmful but also very expensive compared to other sources of electricity. The graphs substantiate the same.

Generally it is assumed that Indians over consume electricity. But an average Indian consumes reasonably lesser electricity than an average citizen of most of the developed countries.

However the transmission and distribution losses are much higher. If we were able to reduce the T&D losses like china, we would be saving a lot of electricity. Tamil Nadu stands one among the major producers of wind energy in India. Atomic plants operations are put on hold whenever there is surplus amount of energy through windmills. If we could cut short the losses and invest more on clean energy, we could be saving valuable lives and possibly thwart the necessity of keeping the people in constant panic throughout their lives.

It shall be safely said that Nuclear plants are ticking time bombs. There are no safe time-bombs. The time bombs have to be put off once and for all.

When our voices are muzzled, when we have guns aimed at us, when we have nothing but love for mother earth, when we want to pass on the comfort the nature has bestowed upon us to the next generation..

Which one would we be passing? Baton or Blame?

Fear Not.