Name: James D Miks
Status: Other
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What do you think about the new nuclear power plant in China?
Do you think
that there could be another Chernobyl?
Replies:
I am not surprised that there is a new nuclear power plant in China (do you
mean Taiwan, Hong Kong, or the People's Republic?). It is a little bit
disturbing for the same reason that the nuclear power plants in Iraq and North
Korea are disturbing - which is to say that some of the by-products of nuclear
fission can be used to make nuclear weapons. But it is also a little bit
disturbing for the same reason that the nuclear power plants in the United
States are disturbing: what will they do with the radioactive waste, and how
long will it be before another accident like Three-Mile Island or Chernobyl?
Yes, I think there could be another Chernobyl-type accident if Chernobyl-type
reactors are still in use. United States scientists here at Argonne are
trying to design safer reactors to lower the risk of accidents. On the other
hand, nuclear power does not produce carbon-dioxide pollution, which is a
reason to feel good about China's new nuclear power plant. And besides, do
not Chinese people have every bit as much right as Americans to build nuclear
power plants?
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
