NUCLEAR HAZARD


Nuclear accident can occur by the direct scattering of radio active materials in the open atmosphere. The most severe accident of this type was that of Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant. It happened on April 26, 1986. Over half a million people suffered the effects of radiations emitted from radio active materials. As a result of this, parts of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus had to be evacuated. There have been thousands of deaths due to radiations causing cancer. And babies have suffered birth defects.


Causes

The causes of the nuclear accident can be many. It can be due to technical fault or human error in handling the equipment. When the temperature of reactor core at the nuclear facility becomes so high that the core melts there is every chance that the radio active material can leak into the open air. This rise in temperature can be due to a number of reasons but the chief being the failure of cooling facilities where large amounts of water are required.



The situation can be very horrendous even if a minor leak of radio active materials occurs from the nuclear facility. The accidents have occurred in almost all types of facilities where nuclear technology is used over the last 60 years. These include research facilities, power plants, bombs and bombers, submarines and ships, nuclear bomb testing facilities and can also occur in processing, storage, shipping and disposal of radio active materials.

Precautionary measures


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for setting all the safety standards to be practiced in the industry. The nuclear industry and the NRC insist that the probability of a nuclear accident is very low however they can’t specify what the probability is. The numbers of incidents that have occurred show the trend otherwise. There have been reports by independent organizations which criticize some of the elements in nuclear industry of often putting profits over the safety of people.

Therefore the government and the agencies involved in regulating and overseeing the safety at the nuclear plants should do their work thoroughly and effectively. The costs associated in cleaning the nuclear accidents catastrophe are very high. The awareness in general public is negligible. People don’t know what measures to take when nuclear radiations occur. There are many people who may not even know whether a commercial nuclear plant is operating nearby, let alone military nuclear facility.