Following the tragic earthquake in Japan on Friday, a nuclear power plant lost power, essentially disabling its cooling capabilities, and measures are currently being taken to try and avert a complete meltdown of the reactor core. The loss of life from the earthquake and ensuing tsunami were tragic enough, but if scientists are not able to keep the nuclear power plant out of a complete meltdown, the tragedy will increase a thousand fold. As it is, since all power systems at the plant have failed due to the flooding, the measures being taken to keep the reactor cool require some radiation to be expelled into the atmosphere. The radiation being expelled is carried by steam, the result of alternative cooling measures, into the atmosphere. The linked article goes into much more detail about this tragedy.
Nuclear power plants are an excellent way to produce electricity. They use far less fuel and produce greater amounts of electricity than a coal or gas powered plant. However, with the production of so much electricity, there also comes an increased potential for tragedy. Most of the time, when there are issues at a nuclear power plant, there are redundant safety measures that kick in to avert a meltdown, (the worst outcome of a tragedy, i.e. Chernobyl). Aside from the normal operating procedures at a plant, there is also the issue of the waste that is produced from the plant and its lingering radioactivity. In the overall course of nuclear history, problems with actual production have been limited. There has been only one complete meltdown (Chernobyl), and all the other problems have been caught before they could cause serious damage.
Leaving the problem of spent fuel rods alone for now, it seems more pressing to discuss how to avoid production problems like the one currently unfolding in Japan. The issue in Japan was ultimately caused by nature, flood water damaged electrical circuits and disabled back-up generators. But there are lessons to be learned from this tragedy. The earthquake was the strongest ever recorded in Japan producing a tsunami that breached the flood barriers surrounding the nuclear power plant. Now while a quake and tsunami of this proportion were not planned for, maybe it is time to re-examine the safety measures at other nuclear power plants to make sure that they are adequate to protect against a natural disaster of this proportion. The weather across the globe is producing stronger storms more regularly and is becoming increasingly erratic. 100 year storms seem to have the probability of occuring more frequently than previously expected. These storms alone could have a greater negative impact on our power plants if we don't start planning now.
In Japan, the flood barrier was thought to be high enough. Consequently, the back-up generators were placed in a low-lying area that was flooded soon after the water breached the barriers. Similarly, the main electrical connections were in a basement room of the power plant that was also flooded with water rendering them useless. These two issues alone caused a majority of the problems currently unfolding at the nuclear plant today. In addition, it is feared that some of the gauges on the reactor were damaged by the quake and they are not getting proper readings. Simple planning for larger floods and proper placement of electrical equipment and backup generators could have averted this current problem. While it may be costly to re-work some of the existing nuclear power plants around the globe, it would be well worth it in the long run if it could avert tragedy.
Ultimately, it is tragedies like the one in Japan that draw out the skeptics of nuclear power. They will campaign against building new nuclear power plants and call to an end to the ones already in existence. For all its shortcomings, nuclear power has numerous benefits. The biggest benefit in this day and age is its limited atmospheric polution. Whether or not you are a believer in global warming, it is a fact that regular power plants fueled by coal or gas, produce atmospheric pollution. New power plants produce less, but it is still produced. With an every increasing global population, more power plants are needed, and more pollution is produced. Nuclear power can produce that electricity with potentially far less pollution in the short run. If there was an efficient way of disposing of the radioactive waste safely, it would be an even more attractive solution to producing power.
Do I support nuclear power plants? Partially. I love the idea, but I am also aware that we need more safeguards and more attention needs to be paid to disposing of the nuclear waste. My solution would be to retrofit the nuclear power plants still operating with more extensive safeguards and divert the money that would be spent on new ones to developing more effecient ways of harnessing "green energy" such as wind power and solar power. With the increase in strong storms, there is also in increase in wind which could be harnessed to produce power. The problem is, people would rather have a nuclear power plant hundreds of miles away rather than a wind farm closer to their house. In this day and age, we can not simply look at the aesthetics of power, we must also look at the potential for harm that each one produces whether it be pollution or nuclear radiation.
This tragedy in Japan, while it may not affect all of us directly, has dire implications. Nothing can be done to reverse what happened, but we can learn from mistakes in planning and design to try and avert this type of disaster at other nuclear power plants in the future. This could offer the impetus needed to divert more money to develop more efficient "green power" technology, a far safer bet than any coal, gas, or nuclear power plant. We can no longer simply look at the short term solutions for our energy problems. We must look at our increasing population and what it means for energy production and, conversely, energy conservation. We can all do our part starting with energy conservation, using less electricity by simply changing light bulbs, recycling more, and watching what appliances we keep running. Lets all start small by minimizing the amount of electricity we use and supporting green energy alternatives. Till next time, turn off the light when you leave the room, it all helps.
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