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 * == Be able to define background radiation. ==

Background radiation is all around us. It is found in radioactive isotopes in the Earth's crust, in cosmic rays, in our bodies, and also in many daily activities such as smoking, dental x-rays, and even drinking water. Some radioactive isotopes found in the body include: tritium, carbon-14, and potassium-40. Cosmic rays are extremely energetic particles, which are usually protons. When they pass through the Earth's atmosphere, they create large amounts of low energy particles. The radiation from Earth is given off by radioactive isotopes with extremely long half-lives because all other isotopes have since disappeared from the Earth was formed.

= CHERNOBYL =



April 26, 1986




About the accident:
It is estimated that all of the xenon gas, about half of the iodine and caesium, and at least 5% of the remaining radioactive material in the Chernobyl-4 reactor core (which had 192 tonnes of fuel) was released in the accident. ([|World Nuclear Association] More than five million people live in areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine that are significantly 1 contaminated with caesium-137 from the Chernobyl accident. 400 000 of these people lived in very contaminated areas classified as “areas of strict control” by Soviet authorities. [|Green Facts]

Effects on Human Health:
After the bombings in Japan and the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, a special committee, called the United Nations Scientific Committee of the Effects of Atomic Radiation, was organized to study the effects on human health. UNSCEAR states:

Among the residents of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, there had been up to the year 2002 about 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer reported in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident, and more cases can be expected during the next decades. Notwithstanding problems associated with screening, many of those cancers were most likely caused by radiation exposures shortly after the accident. [|UNSCEAR]

Also, of the 600 workers present on the day of the accident, 134 received high doses of radiation and suffered radiation sickness. As a result of the accident, 47 people died between 1986 and 2004. It is very hard to estimate that number of deaths from the accident. The amount of radiation can induce cancer in most organs of the body, but it is uncertain as to how long it takes for the cancer to develop. The real victims of the accident were children. It has been shown in the last twenty years that children under 18 years of age have developed more cases of thyroid cancer than any other age group. Also, there have been increased levels in leukemia in West Germany, Greece and Belarus. There has also been a 40% increase in solid cancers since the accident. There has also been an increased level in breast cancer in pre-menopausal women who were exposed to the radiation before they were 45 years old. There are non-cancerous effects as well. Cataracts have been seen in significantly higher numbers in children. Also, many of the emergency workers have shown high levels of cardiovascular complications. In addition to many physical conditions, there are many mental and physiological effects on the population surrounding Chernobyl as well. These include increased levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. This dramatic event has left the entire population in turmoil and its effects will still ripple for years to come.

Dangers of Nuclear Energy:
There are many negative effects from nuclear energy. The most significant problem with this source of energy is the lack of proper disposal of nuclear waste. Also, the process of transporting fuel can be very dangerous.

Threat of Nuclear Terrorism:
Now that nuclear energy is becoming more prevalent and readily available, it will be extremely easier for terrorist groups to obtain nuclear weapons. In our more advanced technological world, weapons are no longer just guns and knives. Nuclear weapons are not only more dangerous but can devastate larger of an area in a quicker amount of time. In the Soviet Union, lots of radioactive uranium has been unaccounted for since the Chernobyl accident. These nuclear reserves could have went to underground terrorist groups, who are developing more intensive weapons to attack the world. More and more countries are moving toward the nuclear age. The United States and United Kingdom have some 2,000 launch-ready weapons between them. These are only the weapons that are accounted for. The weapons from former Soviet Union can be in anyone's hands. This accumulation of nuclear weapons may lead to another cold war that may not be that cold this time.

We must ask ourselves, do we really want to be stuck hiding underground in fallout shelters for the rest of our lives waiting for a nuclear attack?

But the really crucial consideration is the possibility of a major accident at a nuclear plant. A single 200 megawatt reactor, after one year of operation, contains more radioactive cesium, strontium, and iodine than the amounts produced in all the nuclear weapons tests ever conducted. These high-level wastes have to be perfectly separated from the environment, not just for 600 years, but for over 1,000,000 years -- far longer than any political entity has existed in the whole of human history. Long term management of high-level radioactive waste is an extremely difficult problem, and any attempts to minimize it are in vain. [|Cited here]

Links: [|Nuclear Threats Following 9/11 According to Former Government Official Charles Ferguson]