Human Interactions with Our Environment - Essay Example

 However, there are limitations to these alternatives and this is one of the reasons that nuclear power has become an increasingly used resource, but many countries are fearful of the powerful and destructive nature of nuclear power. Nuclear power operates on the principle of nuclear fission. The process of nuclear fission is the bombardment of large molecules to split the nucleus. The splitting of the nucleus causes an enormous release of energy. As the elements undergo more and more of the process of nuclear fission, toxic chemicals are produced in the reactor, which must be stored away for extremely large periods in order to prevent radiation exposure. Even though there are numerous safeguards designed to protect the reactor in case of a breach, there have been huge nuclear disasters that have left the global community apprehensive about the proliferation of nuclear energy technology.

The nuclear meltdown at Chornobyl is considered to be the worst nuclear reactor accident in history. An explosion in the core reactor of the building lead to the proliferation and spread of dangerous radioactive material into the atmosphere, spreading across the Soviet Union and Western Europe. At first, the Soviet Union did not report on the incident until countries started seeing the effects of the radiation fallout. There was also contamination in the water supply that had to be accounted for since the plant was near a river system. In addition to the people killed at the plant, there were mutations and cancers associated with the exposure to the radiation as it proliferated across the globe (Berger, 2010). In addition to Chornobyl, the only other level seven disaster occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Unlike Chornobyl, the precipitant to the nuclear disaster resulted in an earthquake, which damaged the systems. The cooling system is designed to pull seawater and super cool it to control the exothermic release of energy. The earthquake damaged the safety systems and is what led to the reactor breach. Even though the reactor plant was saved, there was a huge amount of damage done by melting reactor control assemblies and water contamination (Bailey, 2011).

It is a gambit to use nuclear energy. It is a “clean” and effective way to produce a great deal of power. However, as shown in the two scenarios above, the safety features are not adequate and the consequences of a damaged reactor are severe. This is why there has been a huge movement to decrease the use of nuclear power because it is too dangerous and uncontrollable.