Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power plants are built to provide power to cities using nuclear reactors as the heat source to produce steam that turns mechanical energy into electrical energy. Nuclear power is important for many reasons including low fuel costs, but they can also be detrimental to our environment if something goes wrong, and they have gone seriously wrong a few times. One accident occurred nearby at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania in 1979, the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine had an accident in 1986, and the most recent explosion occurred after an earthquake-tsunami disaster struck Fukushima, Japan in 2011. There are many different reasons that would cause a nuclear power plant to fail, but there are a handful of horrible effects it has on the surrounding environment, including plants, animals, and even humans.

The main fallout of nuclear power plant leaks or explosions is radiation that travels through the air and destroys DNA in cells. According to Marc Lallanilla of LiveScience, the trees that surrounded the Chernobyl plant died by the high levels of radiation released by the explosion of reactor number 4. An entire forest was devastated because of violations in safety regulations and a design flaw. Radioactive material can also find its way into the water. Since the Fukushima incident, scientists have also seen levels of radiation in fish and the surrounding sea life according to another LiveScience article written by Tanya Lewis. The sea life maybe contaminated so much that it would be unwise for humans to consume it. Radiation can also effect humans in a more disastrous way. Thyroid cancer can (and did in Chernobyl) develop in children and pregnant women due to sensitivities of radioactive iodine, says Hiroko Tabuchi in the New York Times. The thyroid gland is a very important gland for growth and regulation that surrounds the windpipe in your throat.

At least 4,000 cases in children have been linked to the disaster of Chernobyl, even though the residents of Pripyat were evacuated 36 hours after the accident occurred.

Radiation is difficult to detect because you can't see it with the naked eye and not everyone owns a Geiger counter. So if you ever find yourself in a situation where the following symbol is displayed, take major precautions because there is a radioactive source in the area.