Nuclear Energy

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to evolution theory, radiation from the atmosphere and earth’s crust (called background radiation) is one of the important causal factors of evolution. While most mutations caused by this radiation were “harmful”, causing disease and death in the offspring, some were “advantageous”: that is, they produced changes in the offspring that enabled it to better survive and multiply in the hostile environment. Thus, it is because of such mutations that fish developed lungs and climbed out of the water to become land-dwelling amphibians, dinosaur-like creatures developed wings and became the earliest form of birds, and humans evolved from early primates. But this also means that there must have been incomparably more mutations which led to the birth of monstrous offspring which were unfit to survive and died. Mutations are also responsible for thousands of genetically inherited diseases, like heart diseases, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia – medical literature describes 19000 genetically inherited diseases! Apart from causing mutations in genes, radiation can also cause a break in chromosomes. This can cause a baby to be born with serious mental and physical genetic disorders. If a pregnant woman is exposed to radiation, then it may so happen that the radiation kills a cell of the fetus that was going to become a leg or a valve of the heart or some other part of some other important organ. Such a mutation, which is not passed on to the offspring as it did not take place in the reproductive gene, is called teratogenic mutation. Radiation and cancer All non-reproductive cells of the body have regulatory genes that control the rate of cell division. If a regulatory gene is exposed to radiation, and it mutates, then the cell may become carcinogenic. However, cancer does not develop right away; there is a long incubation period which can be from 2 to 60 years. Then one day, instead of the cell dividing into two daughter cells in a regulated fashion, it will begin to divide in a random, uncontrolled fashion into millions and trillions of daughter cells, creating a cancer. In many cases it is difficult if not impossible to stop this random growth of abnormal cells. All kinds of cancers can be caused by exposure to radiation: from cancer of the upper digestive tract and lungs to bone cancer and leukemia. Other impacts of radiation on human health Radiation exposure causes cancer, but the incubation period can be many years. Apart from cancer, non-cancerous health effects of radiation exposure are also there. It can cause radiation sickness, whose symptoms include: nausea, weakness, hair loss, skin burns and diminished organ function. If the dose is high, it can also cause premature aging and death. Exposure to radiation can damage body cells, causing a wide variety of effects. Thus, it can damage the reproductive system, causing infertility and spontaneous abortion. It deforms red blood cells, inhibiting their passage into the tiny capillaries and depriving the muscles and brain of adequate oxygen and nutrients. This can lead to impairment of many organs especially the kidneys, liver, lungs and cardiovascular system, and can also damage the system that causes formation of blood in the body (known as 28
haematopoietic system). Radiation can also cause disorders of protein and carbohydrate metabolism, leading to symptoms ranging from severe headache to brain dysfunction. No safe dose of radiation There is nothing like a safe dose of radiation. Even the smallest amount has the possibility of a lethal outcome. This has been emphatically argued by many of the world's most eminent scientists. To give a few quotes: lxiii • Dr. John William Gofman, professor emeritus of Medical Physics at UC Berkeley: The lowest dose of radiation is one nuclear track (that is, a ray or a particle) through a cell, and there is enough evidence to show that even at this lowest possible dose, it can cause cancer. “The DOE (US Department of Energy) has never refuted this evidence. They just ignore it, because it's inconvenient. We can now say, there cannot be a safe dose of radiation. There is no safe threshold. ... any permitted radiation is a permit to commit murder.” lxiv • Dr. Karl Morgan, world renowned as the father of Health Physics: “There is no safe level of exposure and there is no dose of radiation so low that the risk of a malignancy is zero.” lxv • Dr. Rosalie Bertell, world renowned environmentalist who has been consultant to the US NRC, US EPA and Health Canada: “…there is no safe level of exposure to ionising radiation, and the search for quantifying such a safe level is in vain.” lxvi • E. Wright and other researchers with the Medical Research Council, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: “An important feature of alpha irradiation is that, no matter how low the total dose to the whole body, a substantial dose of radiation is delivered to an individual cell if it is traversed by a single alpha particle.” That is because when radiation in the form of highly energetic particles passes through the human body, any cell in its path may get mutated. lxvii In 2005, a panel of the US National Academy of Sciences charged to investigate the dangers of low-energy, low-dose ionizing radiation also came to the same conclusion, that there is no safe threshold dose. The panel came to this conclusion despite having a number of pro-nuclear individuals; the evidence was simply too overwhelming for them to ignore. lxviii Yet, nuclear regulatory authorities prescribe “safe” radiation doses. In the US, according to standards set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, nuclear plant operators cannot legally expose the general public to more than 100 millirems per person annually. Operators must also limit exposure to 5,000 millirems (5 rems or .05 Sv) for adult employees and 500 millirems for pregnant or minor employees. lxix In India, the standards set by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board are that workers must not be exposed to more than 2000 millirems a year averaged over five consecutive years (and not more than 3000 millirems in any single year) and pregnant women 200 millirems for the entire duration of pregnancy. lxx 29
Page 1 and 2: NUCLEAR ENERGY Technology From Hell
Page 3 and 4: Introduction Part I: Government Pla
Page 5 and 6: yet to find solution to the problem
Page 7 and 8: Mithivirdi: A powerful movement of
Page 9 and 10: eing proposed to be set up in the c
Page 11 and 12: nuclear power plant accident, in ou
Page 13 and 14: was subsequently endorsed by the he
Page 15 and 16: Atoms are so small that they can’
Page 17 and 18: called enriched uranium. [Note that
Page 19 and 20: of a nuclear power reactor. A typic
Page 21 and 22: Coolant: A liquid or gas circulatin
Page 23 and 24: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor Hea
Page 25 and 26: Is Nuclear Energy Safe? Chapter 3 A
Page 27: iii. Gamma radiation: This is akin
Page 31 and 32: Part III: Radiation Emission in Nuc
Page 33 and 34: The radioactivity from the tailing
Page 35 and 36: power plant contains an amount of l
Page 37 and 38: Tritium is a particularly scary mat
Page 39 and 40: Plutonium cxi Named after Pluto, th
Page 41 and 42: Firstly, reprocessing does not redu
Page 43 and 44: sports and fishing were also banned
Page 45 and 46: detail the impact of these 'once th
Page 47 and 48: We today know for a fact that the n
Page 49 and 50: Till 2005, there were at least 10,0
Page 51 and 52: The report mentions 16 “events”
Page 53 and 54: In an article published in The Nati
Page 55 and 56: Even asssuming that there will not
Page 57 and 58: fossil fuels. It has now come up wi
Page 59 and 60: Opinion of Credit Ratings Agencies
Page 61 and 62: it acknowledged that the expected c
Page 63 and 64: plant owners to use much more of th
Page 65 and 66: was the Vice-President of the USA):
Page 67 and 68: 6. Blithely Ignoring Health Costs S
Page 69 and 70: Is Nuclear Power Green? Chapter 5 S
Page 71 and 72: Energy Balance attempts to make an
Page 73 and 74: nuclear energy as compared to elect
Page 75 and 76: Table 1: Estimates of Total and Nuc
Page 77 and 78: � At the end of 2009, there were
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Therefore, despite all the optimism
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1. Reviewing the Nuclear Renaissanc
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certification also runs out in 2012
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nuclear phase-out plans which are n
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lower house (Bundestag) to pass a b
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UK and French nuclear safety author
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The second and more important reaso
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eactor or two, but considering that
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Pre-Independence Period India’s N
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Secretary to the DAE. The 1958 Reso
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The reality has been quite differen
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Narora Uttar Pradesh PHWR 220 x 2 4
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Background Part III: US-India Agree
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2. New Reactors Even before the Ind
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clearance, indicative of the fact t
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producing electricity from these re
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matters of negotiations”. cdxliii
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arm of Indian big industry, had ext
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India’s Nuclear Installations: Sa
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extremely sensitive material used i
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area due to uranium mining. cdlxxxi
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women complained of fatigue, weakne
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India: World’s most unsafe, most
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the AEC has not instituted an award
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The biggest deficiency in the Rajas
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The bed of the Thane creek, which i
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Fires have also occurred repeatedly
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workers are exposed to radiation, a
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can't catch anything else, and ther
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up in 1971 at Kalpakkam to lead the
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Tulsunde (population 800), Janshipa
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are going to be correspondingly hig
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governing the computers and systems
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guidelines.” It’s unbelievable
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The Sustainable Alternative to Nucl
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especially bad in the rural areas,
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of the human body. In particular, t
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While the costs of large dams are h
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Demand Side Management Potential to
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such absolutely non-essential uses?
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The US has the highest installed wi
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Solar water heaters are a very simp
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Renewable Energies: Poised for a Le
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(iii) Small Hydro Power The governm
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Indian villages are spread over wid
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Energy about the huge potential of
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anticipating a change in NSG rules,
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� Privatise the public sector, in
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countries - recycling rubbish in th
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inflows of foreign capital (also kn
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analyse. We must develop our politi
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xxvii I. Semendeferi, “Legitimati
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lxxxvii Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jam
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cliii The IAEA maintains an interna
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cciv Mycle Schneider, et al., “Th
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cclxxi “Nuclear power: a dangerou
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cccxxxv “The postponement of the
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cdi “Uranium imports boost Indian
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cdlxix Dhirendra Sharma, India’s
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dxxxviii “Nuclear power in India
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dxciii M. V. Ramana, ibid. dxciv Mu
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dclix Union of Concerned Scientists
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