CHERNOBYL - 10 YEARS LATER

[Matt Freedman <freedman@Essential.ORG>]

  CHERNOBYL: 10 YEARS LATER AMERICA IS STILL IN DENIAL
  
  On April 26, 1986, a nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union
  exploded and the word 'Chernobyl' was seared into the
  consciousness of people around the world.  Ten years have passed
  and we have yet to glimpse the consequences of the disaster. 
  The most reliable figures available to date already establish
  Chernobyl as the worst technological accident in the history of
  humankind. 
  
       The U.S. nuclear industry and the agency that regulates it
  have learned little from this disaster.  The immediate response
  to Chernobyl was to belittle the Soviet design and to claim that
  the accident could not happen at a U.S. nuclear reactor.  While
  technically correct -- there are no soviet designed reactors in
  the U.S. -- the industry's denial missed the point. 
  
  Nuclear accidents with consequences comparable to that of
  Chernobyl are possible at U.S. reactors.  During the political
  fallout that followed the disaster, the Nuclear Regulatory
  Commission testified before congress that there is about a 45%
  chance of a core melt accident somewhere in the U.S. in the next
  20 years.  
  
       Nuclear utility executives claimed that U.S. designed
  reactors had containment structures to prevent the release of
  radiation and that the Chernobyl reactor had no containment.
  This difference in designs is often cited as the reason
  Chernobyl could not happen here.  This second denial, too, is 
  incorrect.  NRC Commissioner Asselstine testified before
  Congress that Chernobyl had a containment structure that was
  stronger than those surrounding some U.S. nuclear reactors. The
  Chernobyl containment design was based upon the theory of
  pressure suppression containment.  This same concept is used in
  nearly half the reactors in the U.S., 38 designed by General
  Electric and  9 designed by Westinghouse.  According to the NRC,
  GE Mark I designs have a 90% chance of containment failure
  during a core melt accident. The NRC has acknowledged that the
  containments are not designed to cope with such accidents. If a
  meltdown occurs, containment failure and the release of
  radiation into the environment can not be ruled out for any of
  these designs. 
       
  By denying that a 'Chernobyl' could happen here, the nuclear
  industry has denied itself the opportunity to learn from this
  tragedy.  One of the most poignant lessons of the disaster comes
  from the children of Chernobyl.  The thyroid cancer rate in 
  Belarussian children has increased 100% since the accident. 
  Health officials expect the cancer rate to continue rising since 
  pre-cancerous thyroid conditions are more common than
  carcinomas. These effects could have been mitigated by the
  distribution of potassium iodide, an inexpensive drug that
  protects the thyroid from radiation.  
  
  The nuclear industry is well aware of the usefulness of
  potassium iodide.  Many nuclear utilities store it at the
  reactor site to distribute to workers in the event of an
  accident.  While providing potassium iodide for their workers,
  the industry has blocked attempts by the NRC staff to provide
  the same protection to the public.  Nuclear industry officials
  have argued that such a policy would adversely affect the
  public's confidence in nuclear power.  They have chosen
  perception over protection and have persuaded the Nuclear
  Regulatory Commission to do the same.  
  
  Ten years after the Chernobyl disaster, the U.S. nuclear
  industry and its regulators are still in denial.  The public is
  already keenly aware of the dangers posed by nuclear reactors,
  after all, what other source of electricity requires an
  emergency evacuation zone.  Rather than protecting nuclear
  power's tarnished image, the NRC should be protecting the public
  health and safety by requiring the stockpiling of potassium
  iodide for public distribution.  Since the agency can not
  prevent the next Chernobyl from occurring, it should at least
  provide the public with the means of mitigating the
  consequences.
  
  James Riccio is the staff attorney for Public Citizen's Critical
  Mass Energy Project.