Japan Quake, Leak Raise Nuclear Safety Concerns
"This reminds us yet again of the serious threats posed by nuclear power," said Jan Beranek of Greenpeace International, one of the world's leading environmental groups. Reacting to the news about the earthquake, Beranek warned of "far more serious nuclear accidents" and "real risks" posed by earthquakes and industrial disasters, as well as terrorist attacks in the future. Monday's earthquake killed nine and wounded more than 1,000 people in addition to causing a radioactive leak and fire at the world's largest nuclear-power producing plant. Japan's energy officials have acknowledged that the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant leaked hundreds of gallons of water, which was contaminated with radioactive waste. However, they described the amount of radioactive waste mixed with water as "tiny," and said there had been "no significant change" in the sea water and that there was no effect on the environment. Greenpeace accused Japanese officials of "lying" in their initial assessment of the impact of the fire -- in which they said there was no danger of radioactive leakage -- adding that the Japanese and global nuclear industries have been marred by a series of accidents and cover ups. Environmentalists say there are similarities between what happened in Japan and the incident of fire that took place in Germany's Krummel power plant last month. "In Germany, the industry first claimed that the fire had no impact on reactor safety," said Beranek, "[but] in realty the fire led to serious malfunctions that directly threatened the safety of the reactor." Various agencies measured Monday's earthquake between 6.7 and 6.8 on the Richter scale. The quake hit on Marine Day, an official holiday in Japan, when most people were inside their homes. The Japanese media reported a series of smaller aftershocks are still going on. Authorities said they have evacuated some 2,000 people whose homes have been completely destroyed by the quake. Greenpeace said this was not the first time the Japanese nuclear industry has tried to cover up a nuclear accident. According to the environmental group, for example, the Hokuriku utility did not inform the public or nuclear inspectors about a serious incident that took place at the Shika nuclear power plant, where a mechanical failure in 1999 led to an uncontrolled chain reaction. In April 2006, there was a radioactive spill of 40 liters of liquid containing plutonium in the brand new reprocessing plant in Rokkasho-Mura, the group said, adding that in August 2004, a pipe was ruptured in the Mihama plant, which resulted in the death of five workers. More famously, nuclear meltdowns occurred at Three Mile Island in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in 1979 and in 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet Union. A recent Greenpeace report estimated that 270,000 cancers and 93,000 fatal cancers were caused by that disaster. Greenpeace and many other environmental groups have repeatedly called for both the United States and other nuclear powers, as well as the United Nations to stop promoting nuclear technology in the world as a useful tool to tap energy resources. Last year in April, some leading European politicians raised serious questions about the UN's role in encouraging countries to acquire nuclear energy for non-military purposes. Former environment ministers from European countries, including Russia, sent a letter to the former UN chief Kofi Annan urging him to reform the mandate of the International Atomic Energy Agency. "Nuclear power is no longer necessary," they said in the letter. "We have now numerous renewable technologies available to guarantee the right to safe, clean, and cheap energy." Greenpeace's Beranek echoed the same message Monday. "Nuclear power undermines real solutions to climate change, by diverting resources away from the massive development of clean energy sources the world urgently needs," he said. "What's more," he added, "climate change will increase natural disasters, in turn posing a greater risk to nuclear power plants, and to our safety." ....................................................................................
....................................................................................
|
Printable version
Back to top
