Chernobyl Disaster essays

Chernobyl Disaster essays The Chernobyl Disaster: Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts in Europe The nuclear power plant disaster in the town of Chernobyl in 1986 came to have major impact on the environment and the population of the European continent. Due to the lack of security and financial resources, the Chernobyl plant was considered unsafe before the accident; one was able to prevent the accident from happening, as the old Soviet regime would not let any nuclear specialists from the west into the country. As a result, current winds following the disaster brought radioactive particles to Scandinavia and northwestern Europe, which came to have much greater impact than if the winds would have been blowing in another direction. According to De Boer and Catsburg (1997), the Chernobyl accident was not the first incident at a nuclear plant. In 1979, the nuclear plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania had troubles, as well as the nuclear plant at Sellafield in Great Britain 1985. The accident in Chernobyl concerned peoples opinion about safety issues related to nuclear plants (Catsburg, De Boer 254). Much of the information about the Chernobyl disaster has been kept secret from people outside the former republic of Russia, but since the breakdown of the Soviet Union, a lot of information has become available to the west. Nuclear power is a fantastic energy source as it is efficient and leaves minimal chemical pollution, which can be minimized if it is done right. It is extremely effective and consistent, but what if something goes wrong? The oppositional forces to nuclear power received free advertising due to the disaster and the question about nuclear power was once again a subject for discussion. There are about 440 nuclear power reactors and 217 nuclear power plants around the world; so far two have collapsed. This might seem like a small percentage but if one looks at the consequences of the two; one will see devastat...