Accident

Japan’s nuclear crisis and global energy

In 2004, i had chance to visit Japan and was there briefly. This was my first trip outside India and into the outside world. I remember the first time i walked out of the airport in the middle of the night and had a glimpse of this modern country i have always heard about, my first instinct was i saw lights everywhere and no people. There were no dark spots anywhere. The country was lit as though it was my house. It just took me off base for a moment. Then i learned later that the bright environment (powered by electricity) is true in all modern world. Then we took a bus from one part of the country to another, and the highway was flushed with lights for miles and miles. The first question that came to my mind at that time, was how can they afford it, and how do they generate all those electricity. So last week event kinds of answers those questions partly.

A significant portion of Japan’s energy needs, come from nuclear power. There was a massive earthquake that rattled Japan of magnitude at least 8.9, that shook the north-east part of the country (Sendai) and a massive tsunami followed. Even though the nuclear reactors are designed to handle huge earth quakes, they were no answer to nature’s fury of a huge earth quake followed by a huge tsunami all at the same time. The nuclear reactors were shut down, and the cooling process began. However the lack of electricity to channel the cooling was lost, and hence they had to resort to primitive means, like pouring water, and other chemicals (like borine) on the reactor to avoid a meltdown. Thousands of people have died in the tragedy and the country has lost valuables lives. In some cases, whole villages vanished. The relief effort has been complicated by radiation leaks from the nuclear reactors, and the situation is really bad. It is going to be years and years for Japanese to overcome the effects of this disaster and re-live normal lives. On a nuclear scale, the tragedy is given 6 out of 7 (Chernobyl was 7) and with the situation still unfolding, we will know more as the days progress. As a result of this nuclear accident, China has suspended its plans to build new nuclear plants in China. The whole nuclear energy generation and its safety is back in lime light throughout the world. Can the world really afford these accidents. There is a possibility that radiation might reach other neighboring countries. Even thought the nature’s tragedy of earth quake and tsunami have come and gone, the man-made tragedy of the radiation leak is here to stay for a long long time.
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Nuclear issues in Japan – will this change the situation in India regarding more nuclear plants ?

The nuclear industry in India has been a very closed area, with the national secret tag being applied at the talk of anything to do with the nuclear industry. There are rumors (and magazine articles) that hint of various problems in the past with the nuclear plants that India runs, including injuries, containment issues, radioactive leakages, and so on. However, as opposed to the western countries such as the US, France, UK, etc where there is much more information regarding the state of their nuclear plants, any reporting on the nuclear industry in India depends on insider information, or when there are politics inside the nuclear establishment and information is revealed to score points. The hope is that the creation of nuclear power plants have been done only on the basis of pure scientific reasons, and no other reasons.
There have been nuclear problems in other countries such as Russia, the United States, and so on, and these have been publicly disclosed, even though the revelation of these problems have caused huge Public Relations problems to the nuclear power industry. For example, in the United States, the problems at Three Mile Island caused a decades long public revulsion that prevented the creation of new nuclear power plants. It was only recently that the focus on clean energy and against the pollution caused by coal plants had caused a change in opinion with a recognition that nuclear power was a relatively clean and inexpensive source that could provide energy in realistic proportions.
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Another Bhopal Tragedy – Oil spill off the Bombay coast

August 7 morning saw the biggest ever oil spill in India as MCS Chitra collided with MV Khalijia 10 km off the Mumbai coast with the former tilting precariously and leaking oil into the sea. An estimated 500 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea and about 250 containers, some carrying hazardous chemicals and pesticides got hurled overboard. This accident is having a ripple effect; not only affecting the flora and fauna in and around the coast but also causing losses to local fisherman with a ban being imposed on fishes. Even the export market is taking a toll as an estimated 24,000 ships are stranded due to the oil spill.
Several aquatic species and sea birds have been found dead along the Mumbai coast, as a result of the oil spill off Mumbai. The formation of thick layer of poisonous oil in the seawaters has inflicted a distressing blow to the biological equilibrium by rendering fishes, turtles and other species immobile due to the caused high viscosity. Many sea birds whose diet comprises aquatic species have consumed oil which has adversely affected their digestive tracts. Mangroves along the coast have also been damaged and it is asserted that only few of them will be able to regenerate. “Cleaning up process in on but it would take around 45 days”, said the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
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