Impact of nuclear power plant accidents

 How has the impact of nuclear power plant accidents impacted the health of people affected?

Theme: Nuclear power plants are being phased out because of the fear of deaths from potential radiation leakages. In fact, nuclear plants are the cheapest and safest supplier of energy.

Summary:

I recently read about the three worst nuclear plant accidents in Michael Shellenberger's book, Apocalypse Never: Why environmental alarmism hurts us all (2020). The worst was in Chernobyl on April 26, 1986. Plant workers lost control in an unauthorized experiment that caused a reactor to catch fire. Shellenberger cites experts who debunk several of the claims made by the HBO movie about the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. According to the U.N., 28 firefighters died soon after putting out the Chernobyl fire. Nineteen more died in the next 25 years from various causes, which were unlikely related to radiation. The U.N. concluded "the assignment of radiation as the cause of death has become less clear." The U.N. estimated 16,000 future cases of thyroid cancer attributable to Chernobyl radiation, while the actual number is closer to 5,000. Thyroid cancer is easily treated and has a mortality rate of 1 percent. Thyroid cancer deaths over a 80 year period might result in from 50 to 160 deaths. The HBO movie claims a spike in cancer in Ukraine and Belarus while WHO states the radiation levels are only slightly above normal in these two countries. Colorado has higher radiation levels and some of the lowest cancer rates in the United States.

The most recent accident occurred on March 11, 2011, when a tsunami from an earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on the eastern coast of Japan. The plant lost electricity and workers couldn't keep pumps going to cool hot uranium fuel inside the reactor cores. While the tsunami was devastating on the population in eastern Japan, nobody will die by radiation poisoning from the nuclear accident. Japan gave one worker's family a settlement, following his death, but it is unlikely the cancer was caused by the nuclear plant accident.

The most serious nuclear plant accident in the United States occurred in 1979 at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. The meltdown caused a national panic which slowed down the building of nuclear plants. No one died nor was there an increase in risk of cancer from the Three Mile Island accident.

Application:

Nuclear energy may be the safest and most reliable source of energy. The health impacts are minuscule. Many people are dying from the change to other energy sources, particularly from particulate matter that causes health problems. France has maintained its nuclear plants while Germany has decided to move to alternative energy sources supported by conventional means, mainly fossil fuels. The cost of the phase out from nuclear energy in Germany is estimated at $12 billion a year, 70 percent attributable to health problems. In addition, the cost to German people for energy bills is much higher than in France. In developing countries, reliable energy sources are shown to be the most important means of improving the quality of people's lives.

Reference: Shellenberger, M. (2020). Apocalypse Never: Why environmental alarmism hurts us all. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-06-300169-5

 

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant is still in operation