A pendulum decision...

I've continued reading my National Geographic today and managed to finish two articles on nuclear energy. The first was a description of what led to the Chernobyl disaster, how it has affected people thus far and what steps have yet to be taken to manage radioactive materials. The second was the possibility of a new era of pro-nuclear energy plants in the United States.

I have to say that after reading the story of Chernobyl, I was ready to swear off of nuclear energy forever. The radioactive cloud that descended upon the Ukraine and Belarus is terrifying in its reality. Children were the worst affected with an increase in thyroid cancer from 2-3 per year prior to the meltdown to 4,000 new cases in the past 20 years. The rate of child diseases have finally reduced but now those adults who were exposed as late teens and young adults are arriving at doctor's offices with signs of cancer. The soil in contaminated areas has to be treated with special chemicals in order to reduce the harmful effects on crops. For example, fields are fertilized with potassium to limit the uptake of cesium into crops and lime to block strontium, both being products of contamination. Regulations stating what kinds of crops can be grown in certain soils are distributed to farmers, i.e. potatoes in peat & other crops in clay soils (which tends to lock in radionuclides). Personally, I have to wonder WHY anyone would want to eat crops grown in contaminated soil???

The article on Chernobyl went on to describe a burgeoning terror - indicators that the sarcophagus used to contain the radioactive materials has developed cracks that allow rainwater and snow into the reactor. Water, apparently, acts as a type of catalyst for chain reactions so this is a huge concern for scientists. Plans are underway to begin constructing a new "cap" of sorts for the reactor that will hopefully last for much longer than the current one has. This new structure will be longer than a football field, taller than the Statue of Liberty and cost about $800 million. It gets even more daunting. Because the levels of radioactivity near that reactor are still too lethal for anyone to get close, this structure will have to be built from a distance and "slid" into place using remote-activated construction equipment. Unfortunately construction is expected to take four to five years so everyone will be waiting with bated breath for the current sarcophagus to hold it's stability. I, for one, would not want to live anywhere near such a place. Beam me up Scotty! I'm ready to hit the road!

The last few paragraphs of the story carried a heavy impact. Pripyat was a city close to the nuclear plant and it was abandoned by all citizens within a day of the meltdown. Now, it's like a concrete ghost town.

...Rows of white and pastel apartment blocks stand vacant, their windows dark and their lower stories overgrown [with vegetation]. Near a kindergarten and a sports complex with a swimming pool, now empty and debris-strewn,...stands a rusted Ferris wheel, its yellow cars groaning in the wind....The Energetik cultural palace, a grand hall where dances and concerts were held, presides over a desolate square. Poplars are pushing up through the pavement. Moss in the cracks sets a Geiger counter chattering. Although rains have cleansed some surfaces, a skein of hot spots will keep this soulless shell radioactive for a lifetime....Over time, the radionuclides will run through their half-lives, the survivors' fears will fade. But this loneliness knows no cure.

More on the second article later...now it's time to watch LOST!