Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant example essay topic

Many of the causes of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear reactors were from the lack of safety and the failure to follow safety features. This horrible incident shows us many lessons that should be learned. A few reasons for the Chernobyl power plant to rupture was due to the amount of control rods that were used. Where a minimum of 30 controls rods were required, only 6 to 8 control rods were used. The main reason that cause the core to actually ruptured was due to a sudden rise of the temperature in the reactor during the manual removal of control rods in a test which lead to the instability of the reactors. As the temperature rose, the core ruptured.

A few reasons behind the Chernobyl nuclear power plants core to overheat were due to a few overlooked problems that were not taken care of. The Chernobyl Nuclear power plant used steam as a coolant, where water is a better coolant than steam for it also acts as a moderator, and second, it was found that the reactor's emergency cooling system was disabled. These lack of actions lead to the catastrophic consequences at the Chernobyl power plant. If I were in the same position before the accident, I would " ve made sure that the minimum amount of control rods were being in used considering the dangers of the reactor and their radiation incase of a meltdown. I would also have made sure all the cooling systems and equipment were working properly. Lastly, I would " ve used water as the coolant agent, so as to keep the core cooler.

In contrast to the reaction of the Soviets, I would " ve acted more quickly and expected the worst. I would " ve demanded an evacuation as soon as possible and in addition made sure I would have had a department working on plans for such an incident. Another aspect I would " ve looked at was to concentrate on how the weather would " ve effected the spread of the radiation and the carcinogenic material in the air. There are many aspects that were overlooked that lead to the deaths of many people and the illness of many people from the time for the incident to now, politically, economically, and socially. The conflict between the environmental pollution of coal plants and the possible threats of having a nuclear reactions is very controversial. The fact the coal itself when burned releases carcinogenic materials into the atmosphere is very apparent the it is dangerous, yet it has been present and is not always as detrimental to the areas that are a good distance away from the area of the plant.

Yet it seems that more people are worried that in a melt down of a nuclear power plant the results may be more catastrophic as in the Chernobyl incident. Since a nuclear power plant requires more maintenance and care, it seems more likely to be a threat in such a case as a meltdown. The coal that is burnt is detrimental, but in an area far away it is not instantaneous and does not have a visible effect in urban areas, and citizens are content with those. Where as in a nuclear power plant, the radiation levels are much greater and if contained incorrectly or leaked, the danger level is higher, effecting more than just a small area around the plant. Another reason maybe due to the actual effects between radiation and the environmental pollution. Nuclear radiation seems to have more effects than just physical means of harm.

Studies in the case of Chernobyl, have proved of different mental and physiological damages such as anxiety, and depression as well as physical problems mainly involving cancer. Another aspect of this controversy is that if a nuclear power plant could be guaranteed with proper facilitation and care, then it would be cleaner and safer than the burning of coal that pollutes the air and causes cancer. But because of the conflicts in both aspects, the more heated side of the debate lies in the pressing against nuclear reactions due to the inability to assure a 100% safely monitored nuclear plant and also because of the level of danger in the harmful waste of radiation if incorrectly contained.