Yasuo Onishi
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195127270
- eISBN:
- 9780199869121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195127270.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It ...
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This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It provides simple but robust analytical solution models to determine site-specific radionuclide concentrations with minimum site-specific data. It has step-by-step instructions with all required information supplied by accompanying tables and figures. The chapter contains many sample calculations. It also discusses a theory of radionuclide transport and fate mechanisms in surface water. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is used to illustrate important mechanisms, radionuclide migration and accumulation, transport and fate modeling, aquatic impacts, and human health effects through aquatic pathways. Thus, this chapter connects the theory to its applications and to the actual Chernobyl nuclear accident assessment.Less
This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It provides simple but robust analytical solution models to determine site-specific radionuclide concentrations with minimum site-specific data. It has step-by-step instructions with all required information supplied by accompanying tables and figures. The chapter contains many sample calculations. It also discusses a theory of radionuclide transport and fate mechanisms in surface water. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is used to illustrate important mechanisms, radionuclide migration and accumulation, transport and fate modeling, aquatic impacts, and human health effects through aquatic pathways. Thus, this chapter connects the theory to its applications and to the actual Chernobyl nuclear accident assessment.
Ursula K. Heise
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195335637
- eISBN:
- 9780199869022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335637.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter, building on Chs. 4 and 5, focuses on two German novels about the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Christa Wolf’s Accident: A Day’s News and Gabriele Wohmann’s Sound of the Flute. Both ...
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This chapter, building on Chs. 4 and 5, focuses on two German novels about the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Christa Wolf’s Accident: A Day’s News and Gabriele Wohmann’s Sound of the Flute. Both texts portray this transnational risk scenario in its impact on the local, ordinary lives of protagonists in East Germany and West Germany, respectively. Wolf emphasizes the way in which transnational technological risk of the kind instantiated by Chernobyl transcends disrupts and alters the experience of the local, which cannot offer adequate linguistic and cultural resources to imagine and describe this kind of hazard. Modernist literary innovations, in Wolf’s approach, become a way of bridging this gap. Wohmann, by contrast, emphasizes how even the most dangerous and large-scale risk scenarios are gradually integrated into the texture of everyday language and experience, challenging established modes of inhabitation but also giving rise to new ones. The chapter concludes with a brief summary of how Chernobyl itself has been normalized by becoming a popular tourist destination.Less
This chapter, building on Chs. 4 and 5, focuses on two German novels about the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Christa Wolf’s Accident: A Day’s News and Gabriele Wohmann’s Sound of the Flute. Both texts portray this transnational risk scenario in its impact on the local, ordinary lives of protagonists in East Germany and West Germany, respectively. Wolf emphasizes the way in which transnational technological risk of the kind instantiated by Chernobyl transcends disrupts and alters the experience of the local, which cannot offer adequate linguistic and cultural resources to imagine and describe this kind of hazard. Modernist literary innovations, in Wolf’s approach, become a way of bridging this gap. Wohmann, by contrast, emphasizes how even the most dangerous and large-scale risk scenarios are gradually integrated into the texture of everyday language and experience, challenging established modes of inhabitation but also giving rise to new ones. The chapter concludes with a brief summary of how Chernobyl itself has been normalized by becoming a popular tourist destination.
Bernard Gourley and Adam N. Stulberg
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780804784177
- eISBN:
- 9780804785303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804784177.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter offers quantitative analysis of factors associated with nuclear power development from 1950 to 2001. It shows that high levels of economic development and energy insecurity have ...
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This chapter offers quantitative analysis of factors associated with nuclear power development from 1950 to 2001. It shows that high levels of economic development and energy insecurity have historically correlated with reliance on nuclear power. On the other hand, the findings do not support the popular argument that countries pursue peaceful nuclear programs when they have an interest in building nuclear weapons (i.e., nuclear hedging). The analysis has important implications for the future of the nuclear renaissance. It suggests, for instance, that stagnation or decline in developed countries such as France, South Korea, and the United States could prevent the realization of a true renaissance.Less
This chapter offers quantitative analysis of factors associated with nuclear power development from 1950 to 2001. It shows that high levels of economic development and energy insecurity have historically correlated with reliance on nuclear power. On the other hand, the findings do not support the popular argument that countries pursue peaceful nuclear programs when they have an interest in building nuclear weapons (i.e., nuclear hedging). The analysis has important implications for the future of the nuclear renaissance. It suggests, for instance, that stagnation or decline in developed countries such as France, South Korea, and the United States could prevent the realization of a true renaissance.
Ian Bellany
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719067969
- eISBN:
- 9781781701324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719067969.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Nuclear energy has peaceful applications and non-peaceful applications. The centrepiece of all political efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons lies in attempting to harmonise the ...
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Nuclear energy has peaceful applications and non-peaceful applications. The centrepiece of all political efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons lies in attempting to harmonise the proliferation of nuclear reactors with the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. What all nuclear reactors have in common is nuclear fuel, which must contain at least some uranium in the form of the isotope uranium-235 (or very much more rarely 233), or plutonium, or both. This is usually described as ‘fissile material’. This chapter is about nuclear technology and the technical interconnections between commercial and military nuclear programmes. It also discusses the spread of nuclear technology and the use to which it has been put by a number of states, both inside and outside the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to bring them close to or even take them over the nuclear weapons threshold. Moreover, the chapter provides an overview on critical mass and nuclear bombs, the differences between the United States and its natural allies over nuclear proliferation, radioactive waste and nuclear accidents and uranium enrichment.Less
Nuclear energy has peaceful applications and non-peaceful applications. The centrepiece of all political efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons lies in attempting to harmonise the proliferation of nuclear reactors with the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. What all nuclear reactors have in common is nuclear fuel, which must contain at least some uranium in the form of the isotope uranium-235 (or very much more rarely 233), or plutonium, or both. This is usually described as ‘fissile material’. This chapter is about nuclear technology and the technical interconnections between commercial and military nuclear programmes. It also discusses the spread of nuclear technology and the use to which it has been put by a number of states, both inside and outside the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, to bring them close to or even take them over the nuclear weapons threshold. Moreover, the chapter provides an overview on critical mass and nuclear bombs, the differences between the United States and its natural allies over nuclear proliferation, radioactive waste and nuclear accidents and uranium enrichment.
Naoto Kan and Jeffrey S. Irish
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501705816
- eISBN:
- 9781501706110
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501705816.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
This chapter presents Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's recollections about the actions he took before his resignation. In particular, he explains the circumstances behind his gradual move away ...
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This chapter presents Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's recollections about the actions he took before his resignation. In particular, he explains the circumstances behind his gradual move away from the use of nuclear power. He says that his experience of the nuclear accident that began to unfold on March 11, 2011, made him realize that a nuclear accident carried with it a risk so large that it could lead to the collapse of a country. He became convinced that what they had been calling “safe nuclear power” could only be found through independence from nuclear power. He also describes the passage of a bill to promote renewable energy and the shutdown of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant.Less
This chapter presents Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's recollections about the actions he took before his resignation. In particular, he explains the circumstances behind his gradual move away from the use of nuclear power. He says that his experience of the nuclear accident that began to unfold on March 11, 2011, made him realize that a nuclear accident carried with it a risk so large that it could lead to the collapse of a country. He became convinced that what they had been calling “safe nuclear power” could only be found through independence from nuclear power. He also describes the passage of a bill to promote renewable energy and the shutdown of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant.
Kristin Shrader-Frechette
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199396412
- eISBN:
- 9780199396436
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199396412.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The chapter investigates a third, and perhaps the most prominent, alternative to hypothesis-testing: inference to the best explanation. The chapter shows why this method is superior to those outlined ...
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The chapter investigates a third, and perhaps the most prominent, alternative to hypothesis-testing: inference to the best explanation. The chapter shows why this method is superior to those outlined earlier in the book. Its success is a result of its mandating assessment of causes via potential underlying mechanisms, unification of theoretical principles, and counterfactual manipulation of competing hypotheses. To defend inference to the best explanation, the chapter focuses on the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and shows that, contrary to popular beliefs, it killed many people.Less
The chapter investigates a third, and perhaps the most prominent, alternative to hypothesis-testing: inference to the best explanation. The chapter shows why this method is superior to those outlined earlier in the book. Its success is a result of its mandating assessment of causes via potential underlying mechanisms, unification of theoretical principles, and counterfactual manipulation of competing hypotheses. To defend inference to the best explanation, the chapter focuses on the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and shows that, contrary to popular beliefs, it killed many people.
Olga Kuchinskaya
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027694
- eISBN:
- 9780262325417
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027694.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in ...
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Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.Less
Before Fukushima, the most notorious large-scale nuclear accident the world had seen was Chernobyl in 1986. The fallout from Chernobyl covered vast areas in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Europe. Belarus, at the time a Soviet republic, suffered heavily: nearly a quarter of its territory was covered with long-lasting radionuclides. Yet the damage from the massive fallout was largely imperceptible; contaminated communities looked exactly like non-contaminated ones. It could only be known through constructed representations of it. The book explores how we know what we know about Chernobyl, describing how the consequences of a nuclear accident were made invisible. The analysis sheds valuable light on how we deal with other modern hazards—toxins or global warming—that are largely imperceptible to the human senses. The book describes the production of invisibility of Chernobyl’s consequences in Belarus—practices that limit public attention to radiation and make its health effects impossible to observe. Just as mitigating radiological contamination requires infrastructural solutions, the production of invisibility also involves infrastructural efforts, from categorical work of redefining the scope and nature of the accident’s consequences to reshaping infrastructures for research and radiation protection. The book finds historical fluctuations in recognition, tracing varyingly successful efforts to conceal or reveal Chernobyl’s consequences at different levels—among affected populations, scientists, government, media, and international organizations. The production of invisibility, the book argues, is a function of power relations.
Finis Dunaway
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226169903
- eISBN:
- 9780226169934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226169934.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter considers media coverage of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Television reports imparted a sense of urgency that emphasized the potential explosiveness of the situation. News ...
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This chapter considers media coverage of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Television reports imparted a sense of urgency that emphasized the potential explosiveness of the situation. News broadcasts made spectators feel like witnesses to a crisis that could, at any moment, turn into a deadly catastrophe. After the crisis ended, photographs of Three Mile Island’s cooling towers became icons of the accident, visual reminders of the tense moments that gripped the nation. Popular imagery mobilized public fear and helped validate the emotional politics of the antireactor movement. Yet these images also detached the accident from broader manifestations of energy crisis and focused public attention on the nuclear power plant as the sole locus of environmental danger. This chapter contrasts the extensive coverage of Three Mile Island with the media’s neglect of the massive radioactive spill in the Rio Puerco, on lands held by the Navajo Nation. The short-term, immediate danger of the China syndrome and Three Mile Island became increasingly visible in American public culture, but the more extensive timeframes of risk remained marginal to spectacle-driven framings of environmental crises.Less
This chapter considers media coverage of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Television reports imparted a sense of urgency that emphasized the potential explosiveness of the situation. News broadcasts made spectators feel like witnesses to a crisis that could, at any moment, turn into a deadly catastrophe. After the crisis ended, photographs of Three Mile Island’s cooling towers became icons of the accident, visual reminders of the tense moments that gripped the nation. Popular imagery mobilized public fear and helped validate the emotional politics of the antireactor movement. Yet these images also detached the accident from broader manifestations of energy crisis and focused public attention on the nuclear power plant as the sole locus of environmental danger. This chapter contrasts the extensive coverage of Three Mile Island with the media’s neglect of the massive radioactive spill in the Rio Puerco, on lands held by the Navajo Nation. The short-term, immediate danger of the China syndrome and Three Mile Island became increasingly visible in American public culture, but the more extensive timeframes of risk remained marginal to spectacle-driven framings of environmental crises.
