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Fukushima Argument Essay

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Due to serious environmental problems caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, renewable energy sources are poised for another burst of evolution. One of them — nuclear energy, is divides the merits of its impact on the earth. Whenever the term “nuclear power” pops up in the media, people often think of bombs, war and deformed human. However, the role of nuclear energy’s roles in the world nowadays are much different. Most of the nuclear energy used today comes in the form of production of electricity. In fact, nuclear power plants are responsible for more than 16% of all of the world’s electricity production.( Research Paper 1) What makes nuclear power popular is its financial efficiency and environmental friendliness. This means it is …show more content…

The earliest impacts of radiation on environment was found in pine forests located in surrounding area in 1958. Races of three experienced the illness “including yellowing of pine needles, defects in tissue development and morphological changes in tissue structures. In areas with contamination greater than 18 MBq/m2, death of vegetation was evident and such effects were sustained for up to 3-4 years after the accident.” (Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority) According to the experiences from the past, radiation will influence surrounding areas more than two decades, even a …show more content…

On March 11th, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake took place one hundred and thirty kilometers offshore the city of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture on the eastern coast of Honshu Island. It caused a severe damage to Japan and caused large tsunami that even caused more damaged. There were four nuclear power plants were operating in that area, and earthquake shut them down automatically. “ The main problem initially centered on Fukushima Daiichi units 1-3. Unit 4 became a problem on day five.The reactors proved robust seismically, but vulnerable to the tsunami.” ( World Nuclear Association 8) The other three units were inundated by fifteen-meter tsunami, causing a meltdown of nuclear fuel rods and several explosion of hydrogen gas. The flood disabled twelfth out of thirteenth back-up generators, and three units lost their ability to

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