The recent discovery of suspected cesium contamination in a vent at the Fukushima nuclear plant is more bad news for Japan and the cleanup effort.
In this Aug. 4 Fukushima Update, nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen describes his alarming theory about the lethal radiation levels found in the vent, which is a smokestack designed to release air from the plant's reactor containment system. Gundersen believes cesium-tainted air has been spewing from the vent since the disaster began five months ago, releasing deadly radioactive material into the atmosphere and turning the "smokestack" into a radiation hotspot.
Gundersen predicts the Fukushima cleanup will take 10 to 20 years.
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Admiral Hyman Rickover, the pioneer of the nuclear powered submarine program (which served as a prototype of nuclear power reactors), eventually had second thoughts. He told the Congress in 1982:
"I think from a long-range standpoint--I'm talking about humanity--the most important thing we could do is start by having an international meeting where we first outlaw nuclear weapons and then we outlaw nuclear reactors, too."Until about two billion years ago it was impossible to have any life on Earth. That is, there was so much radiation on Earth you couldn't have any life … Gradually, about two billion years ago, the amount of radiation on this planet and probably in the entire system became reduced. That made it possible for some form of life to begin and it started in the seas .... when we use nuclear weapons or nuclear power we are creating something which nature has been eliminating. Now that is the philosophical aspect, whether it's nuclear power or using radiation for medical purposes or whatever. Of course, some radiation is not bad because it doesn't last long or has little effect on the surroundings, but every time you produce radiation, you produce something that has a certain half-life, in some cases for billions of years. I think the human race is going to wreck itself, and it's important that we get control of this horrible force and try to eliminate it.”
from a hearing held in the Joint Economic Committee, January 28, 1982
You have to admire anyone who is willing admit the folly in the work of his lifetime. Hyman Rickover is truly one of the most remarkable figures in American history. Genius, accomplishment and conscience. He was an amazing human being.
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