No Time to Bash the Nuclear Power Industry

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March14, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                               

           Rocking Soma, Japan with a third hydrogen blast, the 8.9 Richter Scale March 11earthquake and tsunami caused incalculable damage to Japan’s North coast, with deaths now exceeding 10,000.  Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushira Dai-chi nuclear complex Unit 2 exploded today, spewing radiation into the atmosphere, crippling the cooling systems that could wind up in like the 1986 Ukraine Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, where a dangerous radiation cloud spewed into the atmosphere, poisoning local inhabitants and spreading around the globe.  Japanese nuclear technicians have been cooling Dai-chi’s Unit 2 core with seawater to prevent another Chernobyl.  Catastrophic damage to Japan’s nuclear reactors raised grave concerns about the dangers of nuclear power in the U.S. and around the globe.  Putting plants along major earthquake fault lines carry certain risks.

          Were it not for the earthquake and tsunami, Japan’s nuclear infrastructure would be completely intact.  While it’s OK to question the advisability of nuclear power, it’s not OK to blame the industry for geologic risks around the planet.  Unlike Japan, most nuclear power plants aren’t built on dangerous fault lines like the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where some of the most unstable geologic activity is found around on earth.  Japanese authorities insist that no large-scale radiation leak has occurred, despite evacuating thousands of residents from the area.  “Although we cannot directly check it, it’s highly likely happening,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yokio Edeno, referring to possible reactor cores meltdowns in all units.  Because of a valve malfunction in Unite 2, water levels inside the reactor dropped exposing fuel rods, causing too much heat in reactors to prevent a meltdown.

            After Unit 2 exploded today, there was some concern about the radiation-proof concrete containment shells on all three reactors.  “Units 1 and 3 are at least somewhat stabilized for the time being,” said Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official Rychai Shiomi.  “Unit 2 now requires all our effort and attention,” said Shiomi, insisting the concrete containment shield had not been breached.  “They’re doing a good job of containing what might be melting,” said University of Iowa Nuclear engineer James  Subbins.  Reacting to the Dai-ichi plant disaster, Switzerland ordered a freeze on all new nuclear power plants while Germany suspended license extensions on existing plants.  U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) asked the White House to seriously review U.S. nuclear power policy, fearing plants the U.S., like Japan, were vulnerable to geologic events like earthquakes and weather events.

            White House officials and Congress must now look carefully at all 104 U.S. nuclear power plants.   When the Tennessee Valley Authority finished its Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station May 27, 1996, few imagined that it would be the last U.S. plant.  Whatever happened in Japan, the nuclear power industry continues to refine the safety requirements needed to generate power, produce fissile material for medicine and generate weapons grade fuel for nuclear weapons.  Earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes notwithstanding, the industry has a remarkable safety record.  If national disasters occasionally hit certain parts of the planet, then planners and engineers need to take that into account.  “We have no evidence of harmful radiation exposure,” said deputy Cabinet Secretary Noriyuki Shikata, playing down the current levels of radiation exposure in Japan and beyond.

           Securing Japan’s nuclear reactors is the least problem faced by a country now counting its dead and digging out of the worst natural disaster in Japan’s history.  Far more devastating to the world economy than the tsunami that hit Indonesia Sept. 3, 2006, the March 11 tsunami hit the world’s third leading economic power with a $5.4 trillion economy.  Since the tsunami, the Nikkei lost over 12% of its value, shedding billions in total stock market wealth.  When the Nikkei drops like that, it often takes down other major stock markets.  While losing only $1.54 to $99.65 a barrel today, world oil prices should start declining because of Japan’s lowered demand.  “When we talk about reaching a clean energy standard, it is a vital part of that,” said White House spokesman Jim Carney, talking about nuclear power’s limitations in terms of measurable safety standards and requirements.    

            Instead of pointing fingers at the nuclear power industry, the U.S. and its  European friends should pull out all stops to coordinate a sweeping global disaster response.  With thousands of bodies washing ashore, Tokyo needs all the help it can get to manage a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.  Whatever radioactivity drifts across the Pacific Ocean, Japan’s debris field requires urgent multinational help to contain a growing humanitarian and economic disaster.  All industrialized countries have a vested interest in seeing Japan back on its feet.  Ginning up talk of deadly radioactivity only promotes fear and hampers relief efforts.  While there’s nothing wrong with atomic-fueled nations taking inventory of safety standards, bashing the nuclear industry does nothing to stop natural disasters.  Only better advanced planning can help avoid future nuclear mishaps.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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