“The reality all of this exposes is that nuclear power plants are inherently dangerous with their large inventories of radioactive materials that must be protected for hundreds to thousands of years from escaping into the environment,” said Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear.
“The only reason there is such justifiably high anxiety right now about the possibility of these plants being used as dirty bombs — as well as the very real threat of a missile attack — is because of the lethal radioactivity that would be released, sickening and killing countless people and contaminating land and water indefinitely,” Gunter continued.
“This sends a clear message that the risks of using this already highly expensive form of electricity generation is, and was always, a mistake,” he said.
A war adds greater levels of risk to nuclear plant safety already present on a routine working day. The loss of power, human error, equipment degradation, fire, and of course a terrorist attack (actual or cyber) are all threats that could destroy or melt down a reactor anywhere at any time.
“Given that nuclear power is too expensive, too slow, too inflexible and comes with significant safety, security and proliferation dangers, the message could not be more obvious,” Gunter continued. “For the sake of our health, wellbeing and the survival of the planet, we must transition rapidly away from nuclear power and dirty fossil fuels to flexible and fast renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation. All three of these, when combined, are demonstrably able to meet our current and future energy needs.”
*
Note to readers: Please click the share buttons above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image is from New Scientist