...Geography Chernobyl On April 26, 1986, a hellish white glow bejeweled a small, little-known town in central Ukraine, now notoriously recognized by the international community as Chernobyl. During the early morning, operators had been running an ill-conceived experiment on reactor unit number four, during which a spike the operating level of the core caused a catastrophic explosion. The resulting eruption of radionuclide’s, both from the initial explosion and from the subsequently fires, turned the Ukraine contrary into a radioactive waste land. The accident on April 1986 at the Chernobyl power plant demonstrates that planning conducted at a national level alone cannot estimate the risks posed to all nations by nuclear energy. The scope of the challenge to make nuclear energy production safer is even greater than that shown by the accident at Chernobyl. At the nuclear power station itself, several attempts were made to clear away and contain chunks of graphite and other radioactive solids. They sent in volunteers, they were only allowed to be in the power station for 90 seconds or less. In 20-36 minutes at the power station, radiation would have over whelmed the nervous system and subsequently killed anyone as close as these volunteers were. The radiation levels were 15, 00 times greater than a normal person’s exposure in a year. For the past years, major accidents have contributed to our awareness in the nuclear power plant surrounding us. These accidents have set an example...
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...The topic I have chosen for my research paper is Chernobyl disaster that happened on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR). Chernobyl is considered to be the worst nuclear power disaster in the history. I will be talking about what caused such a big accident, effects of it for the country and the world, crisis management and consequences for people and environment. Chernobyl disaster was caused by human error. There was a test to find out how long it needs cool the reactor if engineers shut down it using only the residual steam and coasting turbines for power to run the coolant pumps. To run this test they had to switch off several automated safety systems. The experiment didn’t work out and ended as the greatest disaster in the world. The number of people whose lives were affected by the disaster is enormous. An estimated 350 000 clean-up workers or "liquidators" from the army, power plant staff, local police and fire services were initially involved in containing and cleaning up the radioactive debris during 1986-1987. About 240 000 liquidators received the highest radiation doses while conducting major mitigation activities within the 30 km zone around the reactor. Later, the number of registered liquidators rose to 600 000, although only a small fraction of these were exposed to high levels of radiation. It also resulted in an impossible to count number of Thyroid cancer cases that often result in death. The entire nearby...
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...The Chernobyl Disaster Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Written by: Heather Stover ENG135 October 2012 Professor Spencer Robinson Twenty-six years ago in April of 1986 the city of Chernobyl, located in north-central Ukraine on the Pripyat River, was virtually unknown. It was just an obscure city that you and I would never have known existed. Almost incidentally, the name of this city was attached to the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant located about twenty-five kilometers upstream from the city of Chernobyl. On April 26, the city's anonymity vanished forever when, during a test at 1:21 A.M., the No. 4 reactor exploded and released thirty to forty times the radioactivity of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was due to the flawed reactor design in use at the plant. The world first learned of history's worst nuclear accident from Sweden, where abnormal radiation levels were registered at one of its nuclear facilities. (Adams, 1996) Ranking as one of the greatest industrial accidents of all time, the Chernobyl' disaster and its impact on the course of events for the Soviets can hardly be exaggerated. No one can predict what will finally be the exact number of human victims. Thirty- one lives were lost immediately, although it was initially reported as only two and the others were to have died from acute radiation poisoning. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belorussians had to abandon entire cities and...
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...Chernobyl April 26 1986 BEEP!! BEEP!! WARNING!! WARNING!! As Jeff turned on the radio, he heard the blaring voice of an announcer. There is a core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl. Explosion of the nuclear power plant eminent!! All citizens of Pripyat evacuate immediately!! Jeff just had time to react to these words when he heard a sudden explosion. BOOM!! Quickly, Jeff ran down the stairs of the apartment and saw many people groggily getting up to see what had happened. Seeing so many people in dangers path, Jeff quickly pulled the fire alarm. “Great,” Jeff thought “Saved a bunch of people.” Jeff then ran to his car, put the key into the ignition and drove as quickly as he could, caring only about his own safety. After driving for a few minutes Jeff’s car glided to a halt in the middle of the highway. Jeff had forgotten that he had no more gas. As Jeff ran away from his car the air became more and more hazy. Radiation was everywhere. Jeff stumbled to a halt and fell to the ground. It became harder and harder to breathe. “No,” thought Jeff. Then he passed out. 1min 24sec According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, there are currently 442 active nuclear power reactors worldwide. Of all of the reactors worldwide, 14 of them have been classified as accidents where the public has been exposed to large amounts of radiation. The most devastating of these incidents was the core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, better known as the Chernobyl disaster. Today I am going...
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...and the water already there was escaping as steam, the control rods drove down into the reactor and nuclear fission halted. The operators misunderstood what was happening and turned off the emergency pumps that were intended to cool the reactor. This created a perilous situation; although nuclear fission had stopped and no heat was being produced by that means, the radioactive nature of the fuel caused it to generate a great deal of heat. Heat continued to rise in the reactor, and eventually part of the core melted; this would commonly be known as a nuclear meltdown. Fortunately, very little radiation was released and over a dozen independent studies have shown there were no increase in adverse health effects like cancer ("Three Mile Island"). However, the mishap at Three Mile Island is far less severe than the most famous nuclear accident:...
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...Hiroshima, Japan was bombed with the most lethal weapon in world history, “The Atomic Bomb.” Not only did this seal up the victory for the U.S. and the world, but it also destroyed the lives of many innocent people of Japan. This part in history brings up the controversy that we are still facing today. Is pursuing nuclear power the right way to go? Some proclaim that it is a great alternative to electric power, an alternative that can help the economy by way of reducing cost. According to the report of a major European study of the external costs of various fuel cycles, focusing on coal and nuclear, was released in mid 2001. It shows that in clear cash terms nuclear energy makes about one tenth of the costs of coal (ExternE). But there is another group of people who think that nuclear power is harmful to the earth and the military uses from it can cause nations to fall and the earth to be heavily contaminated. With the thought of earth in the picture the use of nuclear power not only can harm this planet but it can also help it as well. This is because researches have found out that nuclear power emits zero greenhouse gasses. Which means that nuclear power will not cause any contributions to global warming. “You can’t just write nuclear off,” says Judi Greenwald, director of innovative solutions with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, an environmental research and advocacy group. “I think everybody feels you have at least look again” at nuclear power (William M.). The...
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...Nuclear technology started being researched in the late 1800’s. The research really didn’t kick off until the late 1940’s during World War II for the use of nuclear power on naval ships making propulsion and electricity, as well as nuclear bombs for use in warfare. There are also other major nuclear evens that also paved the road for nuclear technology. Some of these events include the Cherynoble meltdown, the Three Mile Island meltdown, and most recently the Fukushima Japan flooding of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plant accidents and incidents with multiple fatalities and/or more than US$100 million in property damage, 1952-2011[5][16][17] | Date | Location | Description | Deaths | Cost (in millions 2006 $US) | INES level[18] | 01957-10-10October 10, 1957 | Sellafield, Cumberland, United Kingdom | A fire at the British atomic bomb project destroyed the core and released an estimated 750 terabecquerels (20,000 curies) of radioactive material into the environment. | 0 | | 5 | 01961-01-03January 3, 1961 | Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States | Explosion at SL-1 prototype at the National Reactor Testing Station. All 3 operators were killed when a control rod was removed too far. | 3 | 22 | 4 | 01966-10-05October 5, 1966 | Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan, United States | Partial core meltdown of the Fermi 1 Reactor at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station. No radiation leakage into the environment. | 0 | | | 01969-01-21January 21, 1969 | Lucens...
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...Renewable Energy Resources or Fossil Fuels: Global Warming, Efficacy and Cost Jeneen Rybak English Composition II Professor Sharon Carmack December 27, 2012 Throughout history, people have consistently developed a more convenient way to manage daily life. They have created ways to have access to fresh clean water, systems to remove human waste from within the home, heat, transportation, and electricity. People have become accustom to convenience, without thinking about the damage they could be causing to their own environment. It has become apparent that the human race has inadvertently and irreversibly caused damage to the very environment they depend on. Most of this damage is in our atmosphere due to the use of fossil fuels and the emission of carbon dioxide. Now is the time for the U.S Environmental policy to focus on developing renewable energy resources rather than further developing more oil resources. Global warming can be seen in numerous different forms, including severe weather patterns, changing seasons and melting glaciers. Since 1912, the Kilimanjaro snows have melted more than 80 percent and the glaciers of the Himalaya in India are retreating so quickly that researchers believe they could completely disappear by 2035. Even the migration pattern of animals and insects has changed with the rising temperatures (Glick, 2004). Though the cost of renewable energy sources may be slightly higher than oil (Rangarajan, & Guggenberger...
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...the special role plays information. It allows for the fashion direction to formulate a kind of social policy. In the case of tourism, it is an essential element of economic development. Tourism is in fact one of the few sectors of the economy in which business operators for profit formed only infrastructure needed for customers to enjoy the benefits of "property" in common: the landscape and cultural heritage material. At the turn of 21 century has become a very popular stag tourism to the Central and East Europe. The antenuptial stag tour made by groups of British young and adult men who travel to the Central and Eastern European cities for a relatively short time, and become synonymous with drunkenness and extreme behaviour. Recent years have seen the stag night deepened to become a stag weekend or tour involving travel to...
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...they're implemented. First we must go back into the histories to gain a better understanding of why these control systems are so important and consequences that resulted when control systems are not implements or not used properly. History To know the history of nuclear power plants, one must first understand what a nuclear power plant is. A nuclear power plant is very similar to that of any other steam-electric power plant, in that water is heated and the steam from the water turns turbines, thus creating electricity. The major difference is how the power plant generates heat. The source of the heat from nuclear power plants comes from nuclear fission, rather than from coal, oil or gas. In 1934, a physicist by the name of Enrico Fermi conducted the first experiments that resulted in the splitting of atoms. (“The history of nuclear energy,”pg4) He then proceeded to contact a few other scientist he knew to confirm his results before publishing, among these was Lise Meitner in Copenhagen, who was the one that decided to use Einstein’s theory of relativity to prove the results. Not only did she prove that the fission actually did occur, but was one of the first to prove...
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...Glasnost': The Decimation of the USSR April 16, 2002 I) Since the beginning of mankind the world has been under various ruling powers with only one goal in mind. A) This led to the rise of monarchies with their kings and queens, the socialists with their presidents, and the communists with their tsarist rulers. B) In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev brought upon the world the idea of Glasnost', which led to the changing of the largest ruling power in the world to a new power benefiting everyone. II) The Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics before Glasnost'. C) Different styles of Soviet government from the early 1900s up to 1985. 1) Leninism to Stalinism to Khrushchev to Brezhnev. D) Coups and the Great Purge III) What lead to Glasnost' and what it is. E) In 1986, Gorbachev dismayed at the slow process of reform being conducted in the country proposed to the citizens of the USSR and the entire world a two new ideas to help bring reform to the country in a much more radical direction. F) Gorbachev called for a glasnost’ (openness or candor) in the media and culture. IV) Changes within Russia and Foreign changes. G) Banned works and speaking out are no longer dangerous crimes against the state. 2) Criticizing the government led to the formation of a large number of independent nationalistic movements in the USSR. 3) Scholars and scientists are allowed to share their findings with others...
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...Business Risk Management Fukushima Daiichi – Nuclear Disaster Pedro Eza ID number: z3366523 Executive Summary Fukushima crisis management showed system failures from the public and private actors that led to overall human error and opened a continuous debate within international community about holding nuclear plants under public hands rather than private ones whose incentives clearly differ from the public interest: * The Government and regulatory agencies failed to push Tepco to heed several anomalies and warnings causing the operator to be unprepared at an operational risk level evidencing an embarrassing incompetency to make decisions. * Tepco, as this report will prove below, lacked a culture of safety failing to respond effectively to subsequent events after the accident. For all these, the need to build an adequate resilience framework within the nuclear industry covering the main pillars: Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity and Emergency Management, are paramount within risk management. Case’s Background On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 with an epicenter near...
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...consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming that is believed to be coused by the greenhouse effect. The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas. Every ten minutes one kind of enimal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years from now. Air population is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is life threatening- equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former Soviet Union. Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substunces. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. An even greater environmental threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are. People are beginning to realise that environmental problems are not somebody else's. They join and support various international organosation and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening- perhaps we'll be able to avoid the disaster...
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...Out of all the bad things occurred recently, what are some positive incidents lately? INTRODUCTION Disasters are often natural or manmade hazards. These hazards result in events of substantial degree causing momentous physical destruction or damage, loss of life, or severe changes to the natural environment (Aragones 124). The disasters are defined as tragic event which stem from occurrences such as floods, earthquakes, catastrophic accidents, explosions or fires. The disasters cause extensive damage to lives, properties and destroy the social, economic and the cultural lives of people. Several events have happened currently around the world. The negative events in the world often cause much attention as compared to the positive events that occur around the world. The terrorists have often struck various cities in the world killing thousands of people and causing mass destruction of property (Vonk 860). The United States has been confronted with international terrorists especially the Al-Qaeda terror group. The September 2001 bombing of the twin towers was an example of the terrorist disaster in the United States. Then the stock and real estate collapse in the US economy. The massive tsunami in Japan was another major disaster that got a lot of public address by all the media channels. The earthquake also triggered the nuclear disasters in Japan. The most recent disaster in the U.S is the hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy has caused unprecedented loss of lives and destruction...
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...Mozyr and Honiki though a mostly uninhabited area, due to the radio active fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. When we did stop at a small village we were surprised to be violently confronted by an elderly lady prepared to take on the world. Stick in hand, she told us to go back… When we explained we were not orange shirt Ukrainians here to overthrow the government, but Americans, the stick came down, and she welcomed us openly. I sure was glad I wasn’t from the Ukraine right then, I didn’t yearn for a beating from an elderly Belorussian any more than you would. But it meant more than just that. It was a history we were touching. Another elderly woman we met there was freed from a concentration camp by American soldiers during the second world war and implored us to thank a soldier at home. They admired America. So what gave so many all over the world such respect for our nation? It all started with that group of men in Philadelphia over 200 years ago. One of our founders, Jonathan Whitherspoon, recognized how different America was from the rest of the world and warned that: “A republic, once equally poised, must either preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.” (Congressional Record.) To understand what made America Exceptional I must answer two questions: What is virtue? And: Where does it come from? Virtue is literally means moral excellence. (Virtue – Definition.) Now what is moral has been perplexing and vexing philosophers and theologians for centuries. A commonly...
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