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Objective
Discuss the accident of the nuclear energy
Health impact
Vulnerable groups
-Who are the affected? Any particular group
seriouslyaffected?
Major agency or agencies responsible
Existing statutory basis for government regulation
Risk assessment, risk management and risk communication
strategies
Conclusion
Question
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The accident of the nuclear energy
The Chernobyl nuclear power station located in Ukraine, as
suffered a tragic
accident in April 26, 1986. This had caused the release of
radioactive substances to
significantly polluted the atmosphere. A contributing factor was
the variation of
meteorological conditions and wind regimes during the period of
release. Thus, a
widespread of radioactivity disseminated throughout the northern
hemisphere,
mainly across Europe causing serious radiological, health and
socio-economic
consequences for the populations of Belarus which still suffer
from these
consequences.
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The accident of the nuclear energy
cont
The accident of the nuclear energy was a result of the safety
systems had been
switched off, and the reactor was being operated under improper
and unstable
conditions which allowed an irrepressible power surge to
transpire.
This power surge had led to the nuclear fuel being overheat
which result in a series
of steam explosions that severely damaged the reactor building
and completely
destroyed the unit 4 reactor.
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The Major Health Impact the accident
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Thyroid cancer
Owing to the high levels of radioactive iodine released, a
massive increase of
thyroid cancer had occurred among young children and
adolescents, as well as
persons who lived in the most contaminated areas of Belarus, the
Russian
Federation and Ukraine. Radioactive iodine had transmitted from
pastures eaten
by cows who then concentrated it in their milk which was
subsequently drunk by
children
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Leukaemia and non-thyroid solid cancer
Recent investigations suggest a doubling of the incidence of
leukaemia among the
most highly exposed Chernobyl liquidators. No such increase has
been clearly
demonstrated among children or adults resident in any of the
contaminated areas.
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Mortality
An increased number of cancer deaths can be expected during the
lifetime of
persons exposed to radiation from the accident. The cancer
deaths among the five
million residents of areas with radioactive was deposition in
Belarus, the Russian
Federation, Ukraine and also Europe are of certain, because they
are exposed to
doses slightly above natural background radiation levels
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Cataracts
The lens of the eye is very sensitive to ionizing radiation.
However when the eyes
are exposed to ionizing radiation it may lead to cataracts. The
production of
cataracts is directly related to the dose. The higher the dose
of ionizing the faster
the cataract appears.
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Cardiovascular disease
Some emergency workers From Russian conducted a research and
suggested
that the accident had result in an increased risk of death from
cardiovascular
disease to individuals who were highly exposed.
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Mental health and psychological effects
The Chernobyl accident led to:
Extensive relocation of people
Loss of economic stability
Long-term threats to health
Feelings of worry and confusion
Lack of physical and emotional well-being were commonplace
High levels of stress
Anxiety and medically unexplained physical symptoms
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Risk assessment, risk management and risk
communication strategies
The NRC's post-Chernobyl assessment emphasized the importance
of
several concepts, including:
Designing reactor systems properly on the drawing board and
implementing
them correctly during construction and maintenance;
Maintaining proper procedures and controls for normal operations
and
emergencies;
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Risk assessment, risk management and risk
communication strategies cont
Having competent and motivated plant management and operating
staff; and
Ensuring the availability of backup safety systems to deal with
potential
accidents.
The post-Chernobyl assessment also examined whether changes were
needed
to NRC regulations or guidance on accidents involving control of
the chain
reaction, accidents when the reactor is at low or zero power,
operator training,
and emergency planning.
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Risk assessment, risk management and risk
communication strategies cont
TheNRCs Chernobyl response included three major phases:
(1) determining the facts of the accident,
(2) assessing the accidents implications for regulating U.S.
commercial nuclear power
plants
(3) conducting longer-term studies suggested by the
assessment.
