Nuclear Energy

Conclusion: Nuclear Reactors are Inherently Accident-Prone
The conclusion is inescapable: nuclear reactors are no more safer today than they were
during the 1980s, when TMI and Chernobyl occurred. In the words of M.V. Ramana, one of India's
leading nuclear experts: The basic features of all nuclear reactors remain the same. It is a complex
technology, involving large quantities of radioactive materials, and relatively high temperatures and
pressures. In such technologies, even minor failures or human errors can lead to a cascading chain
of events culminating in a major accident. Sociologists and organization theorists have come to the
pessimistic conclusion that with such high-technology systems involving extremely hazardous
materials, it is in the very nature of such systems that serious accidents are inevitable. In other
words, that accidents are a “normal” part of the operation of nuclear reactors, and no amount of
safety devices can prevent them. clix
4. Inching towards another Chernobyl: Relicensing of Old Nukes
As if this danger wasn't enough, nuclear authorities worldwide, under industry pressure, are
granting permission to extend the operating lifetimes of the existing nuclear plants by 10-20
years. clx More than half of America's nuclear plants have received new twenty-year operating
licenses. Many of these plants have also received "power up-rates" that allow them to run at up to
120 percent of their originally intended capacity. clxi
In the words of Robert Alvarez, senior policy advisor at the Department of Energy (DOE)
from 1993 to 1999, and presently executive director of the Standing for Truth About Radiation
(STAR) Foundation, this is an “invitation to disaster”. clxii That is because the risk of accidents
increases as plants get older. The reason is obvious: as it is, there is deterioration in any machine as
it gets old; but for nuclear plants, the aging is much more because nuclear reactors are subjected to
unprecedented amounts of heat, pressure, stress, corrosion and radiation. All these make the various
parts of the reactor brittle, increasing the possibility of mechanical failures of one or the other parts
of the reactor, which could lead to massive releases of radioactivity into the atmosphere. This is
why, as the reactor fleet in the US ages, the vulnerability of the reactors to failures has been
increasing. According to David Lochbaum, one of the foremost nuclear safety engineers in the USA
and Director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists, there have been
47 instances since 1979 in which nuclear reactors in the U.S. have had to be shut down for more
than a year for safety reasons! clxiii
What makes the situation even more fraught with danger is that the NRC, the US
government agency overseeing the nuclear industry, has gone about giving licenses for lifetime
extensions and power upratings in a very lackadaisical manner. Instead of doing its own research
on whether the plant is in a good enough condition to be given permission to operate beyond 40
years, it has simply accepted corporate assertions about safety, and even used industry language
verbatim in its reports. clxiv With such a casual approach towards licensing, it shouldn’t surprise
anyone that the NRC has not rejected a single license-renewal application in the last many years. clxv
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