The Nuclear Nightmare in Japan

The catastrophic nightmare in Japan could happen anywhere.  It is a reminder of the fragile relationship between our environment and our health.

As the tsunami waves swept over the land, they swept away any pretense that we are more powerful than our environment.  The mere shifting by several feet of two constantly moving plates of the earth resulted in the death of thousands, the destruction of a region, and catastrophic worldwide effects.

Experts have noted that as many as 24% of premature deaths can be attributed to environmental factors.  These result from our inadequate understanding of our environment, and/or our inability to manage its forces.

While the underdeveloped world is more susceptible, the Japanese tsunami reminds us that the overdeveloped world is not immune.   

The images are more powerful than their descriptions.  In the wake of such destruction, we can see -- as we do in the aftermath of hurricanes -- the breeding grounds for disease.  We know that many of the survivors of the initial devastation will still become its victims. 

There are clear psychological effects as well.  In a matter of minutes, the lives of the shocked and stunned people of northeast Japan were changed forever.  Up to 15% of children who survived the tsunami, twice the norm for adults, will likely be diagnosed with PTSD.

Still greater effects are hidden in what we can’t see.

The partial meltdowns of multiple nuclear reactors are resulting in the release of deadly radiation into the atmosphere that will compromise human health for decades. 

Our leaders have forgotten how dangerous nuclear power can be.  Even some who consider themselves environmentalists naively believe that we “harnessed” the atom and made nuclear energy “green.”

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

In the 1950s and 1960s, nuclear energy was promoted as “safe, clean, and cheap” by the brand-new nuclear industry.  It was said that it was safer than walking across the street and would be too cheap to meter.  School children toured nuclear power plants to learn about the “peaceful atom.” 

Our government knew better.  In 1957, it passed the Price-Anderson Act, limiting the liability of nuclear plant owners in the event of a nuclear accident.  This is still the law of the land.  Without it, not a single nuclear power plant would have been commercially viable in this country. 

Each reactor owner must carry only $375 million of insurance to pay for damages from an accident; up to $12.6 billion more is in a secondary insurance pool.  If you lost your home to nuclear contamination, your homeowners insurance would pay nothing.

To put this in perspective, the total cost resulting from the Japanese quake and tsunami is already estimated to be up to $60 billion, and Hurricane Katrina did even more damage than this.  The Chernobyl accident cost Ukraine alone an estimated $201 billion.  The total compensation for a nuclear accident in this country could be as little as five cents on the dollar.

Once their liability was limited, nuclear companies were free to put their plants anywhere – near population centers and even along earthquake fault lines.

After many “minor” incidents in the United States and around the world during the 1960s and 1970s, the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 proved once and for all that the safety systems in nuclear power plants did not work as advertised.    

Then came Chernobyl in 1986.  This was the defining civilian nuclear disaster of the 20^th century.  Twenty-five years later, experts are still tallying its effects.  The World Health Organization conservatively estimates the number of deaths at nearly 10,000, plus thousands more excess cancers, and other health and mental health effects. 

A YouTube video shows how radiation would spread into the atmosphere if a Chernobyl-like accident were to happen in the United States.  It is a frightening reminder of the risks we are taking.

There is a lot we don’t yet know as the fuel rods melt down and the crisis unfolds in Japan.  One thing is certain.  It will be years before we understand the full global effect on human life from this event. 

We can all put those years to good use if we finally take to heart the lessons from this unspeakable tragedy.  We cannot overcome the limitations of our planet.  We do not control the forces of nature.  We can choose, however, not to stand in harm’s way. 

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors in the United States today.  Just as in Japan, some are built near earthquake fault lines and most are close to cities. 

Any one of them could be a time bomb.  It’s time we lived a little greener, and not supply so much fuel for the next environmental health disaster.

We can pretend that what’s happening in Japan is just someone else’s nightmare, or we can wake up and start doing something about it.