History Of Nuclear Energy Research Articles

Engaging the Atom: The History of Nuclear Energy and Society in Europe from the 1950s to the Present ed. by Arne Kaijser et al. (review)

Engaging the Atom: The History of Nuclear Energy and Society in Europe from the 1950s to the Present ed. by Arne Kaijser et al. (review)

Development of Solar Energy: Current Status and Future Challenges from a Global Perspective

With the development of civilization and the growth of the world’s population, the need for electricity also increases. Today, the main electricity sources are nuclear power plants (NPPs) and hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) that run on hydrocarbon fuels such as coal, peat, gas, and fuel oil. But these generating electricity methods have serious drawbacks, for example, the depletion of hydrocarbon natural resources, which leads to their shortage and rise in price. Nuclear and hydroelectric power plants cannot fully cover the need for electricity. In addition, the tragic events in the history of nuclear energy, e.g., the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the nuclear power plant disaster in the city of Fukushima, etc., show great risks associated with the operation of nuclear power plants. Thus, solar energy engineering is the most efficient type of alternative, safe energy in the foreseeable future of mankind. This review is an effort to highlight the major progress and future challenges of using renewable energy sources.

Atomic Shocks of the Old: Putting Water at the Center of Nuclear Energy History

This article argues that the history of nuclear energy can and should be analyzed as a history of water. Taking inspiration from David Edgerton's The Shock of the Old and recent efforts to merge the history of technology with environmental history, here the focus shifts from nuclear reactors to the "conventional" parts of nuclear power plants. This brings to the fore that a range of hydraulic technologies with long prehistories-pumps, pipes, valves, dams, dikes, and so on-have been crucially important for nuclear safety. The "atomic age" is fundamentally a hydraulic age and should be seen in relation to experiences gathered by past hydraulic civilizations.

Taking on Technocracy: Nuclear Power in Germany, 1945 to the Present by Dolores Augustine

Reviewed by: Taking on Technocracy: Nuclear Power in Germany, 1945 to the Present by Dolores Augustine Andrew Tompkins Taking on Technocracy: Nuclear Power in Germany, 1945 to the Present. By Dolores Augustine. New York: Berghahn Books, 2018. Pp. xiii + 286. Cloth $135.00. ISBN 978-1785336454. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of academic and popular interest in the history of nuclear energy and opposition to it in Germany, driven not least by Angela Merkel's 2011 decision to phase out nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Dolores Augustine's Taking on Technocracy examines the debates that have taken place since 1945 surrounding civil nuclear technology in East, West, and united Germany. Her narrative of the importance of scientific arguments to political activism is enriched throughout by insightful analysis of gender, media, emotions, and policing. The book's first chapters focus on perceptions of nuclear technology, safety, and science after World War II. Utopian and dystopian visions of nuclear power long coexisted in tension. On the one hand, both the American "Atoms for Peace" program and its unbranded, communist counterpart upheld visions of boundless nuclear energy fostering prosperity and social progress. On the other hand, nuclear technology never shook its associations with Hiroshima and the Bomb. Publicly, nuclear safety was often represented in gendered terms that undergirded the authority of male scientists, who supposedly protected a population embodied by images of healthy women and children. Away from public view, the "Americanization and Sovietization of science and technology" (246) manifested itself in different nuclear safety regimes in each [End Page 208] German state. Neither had a flawless record, and both went to considerable lengths to cover up accidents. When accidents occurred, West German scientists tended to see them as arising from solvable technical problems, whereas in East Germany the Stasi tended to look for someone to blame. The protest movement that emerged in West Germany seized upon the contested science of nuclear technology and avidly absorbed the work of critical experts. These were often easier to find abroad than at home: West German scientists were reticent in part because they depended on state employment, in part because of "habits acquired during the Nazi period" (78). Meanwhile, English-language research by critical scientists such as Alice Stewart, John Gofman, and Arthur Tamplin circulated internationally. The Federal Republic's own "counterexperts" did include some university scientists such as Jens Scheer (though he temporarily found himself barred from teaching as a result); perhaps more typical were lay experts like Holger Strohm, an engineer with "enough of a grasp of the technological issues" (83) to explain real (and imagined) technological problems to a broad audience, and Robert Jungk, the science journalist who coined the term "atomic state" (Atomstaat). Subsequent chapters examine the development of antinuclear activism in West Germany specifically, as manifested in three cases: first, the local protests that blocked construction of a nuclear power station in Wyhl (1975); second, the confrontational demonstrations in Brokdorf (1976/77); and finally, West German reactions to the Chernobyl accident (1986). These chapters provide a fresh perspective on events through their focus on media, including not only content analysis of television broadcasts but also close reading of viewer correspondence. Though authorities accused critical media of pandering to the "emotionalism" of protesters, Augustine shows that the same could be said of Baden-Württemberg's premier, Hans Filbinger, who relentlessly played up fears that "the lights will start going out" without nuclear power (107–108). Augustine provides an informed and insightful discussion of militarized policing methods employed in Brokdorf and the heavy-handed repression of post-Chernobyl protest (including the notorious twelve-hour "kettling" of 400 protesters on Hamburg's Heiligengeistfeld), drawing on police reports and parliamentary investigative committee papers in the process. Nor does she neglect protesters' own violence, though she concludes (as others have) that nonviolent protest ultimately predominated because it was more "palatable to moderate, middle-class, and older West Germans" (152). Opposition to nuclear power in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) could not take the same organized, open, and confrontational forms as in West Germany, but the Church-protected movement that linked ecological, peace, and human rights issues there during the 1980s...

THE NATURE OF PSYCHO EMOTIONAL DISORDERS IN WOMEN, EXPOSED DURING THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT

The accident at the 4th Power Unit of the Chernobyl NPP on April 26, 1986 is estimated worldwide as one of the most severe disasters in the history of nuclear energy, which resulted in the irradiation of various population categories. Pregnant women represent a special category of victims, since external and internal radiation affected not only the female body, but also the developing fetus. The study of such irradiation consequences is extremely important, since long-term monitoring of the state of health will make it possible to find out the main mechanisms of post-radiation effects on female and children. The aim of this work was to assess the psycho-emotional characteristics in 2 women groups. The first group is women who were irradiated due to the incorporation of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in April-May 1986 and were at different pregnancy stages. The second group was analyzed as a control, identical in basic parameters to the first, except that at the time of radiation exposure to iodine-131 they have not been pregnant. The severity of post-traumatic stress disorder was analyzed using a self-reporting technique using the PCL-S questionnaire. The psychological distress degree was determined using the K-6 questionnaire. The analysis of the relationship of post-traumatic stress disorder and psychological distress was carried out, the factor structure with the assessment of the contribution of latent factors, as well as inter-factor relationships were studied. A relationship between most factors of posttraumatic stress disorder and psychological distress was revealed, which may indicate the possibility of a causal relationship between the psychological status of women and the risk of somatic pathology in them. It was revealed that radiation is the direct cause of psychological maladaptation in studied women.

АНОМАЛІЇ СКЕЛЕТА РИБ У ВОДОЙМАХ ІЗ РІЗНИМ РІВНЕМ ЗАБРУДНЕННЯ РАДІОНУКЛІДАМИ

The development features of morphological anomalies of the sunbleak (Leucaspius delineates Heckel) skeleton in water bodies, characterized by background (neighbourhood of Kyiv City) and high (Chornobyl exclusion zone) levels of radionuclide contamination were studied. The impact of radionuclide contamination on the appearance of morphological skeletal anomalies of fish was established. The level of radiation background of the natural environment is constantly increasing due to the continuous flow of radioactive substances into the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The causes of the significant deterioration of the existing state are the emergencies at the nuclear fuel cycle enterprises, related to the radionuclide emissions, among which the Chornobyl NPP accident is the most massive catastrophe in the history of nuclear energy, both in terms of the amount of radioactive substances that have been released into the environment and the area of territories that have been contaminated. Despite the fact that part of the radionuclides has decayed more than three decades after the accident, other long-lived substances remain sources of additional ionizing radiation in the environment. This necessitates the study and evaluation of all processes related to radioactive contamination. One of the important tasks of radioecology is to study the characteristics of the receipt, migration and accumulation of radioactive substances by components of aquatic biogeocenosa and their impact on the biota. The radionuclides released into aquatic ecosystems migrate and are most effectively accumulated by the upper trophic levels to which the fish belongs, serving as an important object of radioecological monitoring. The relevance of this study is to detect the influence of radionuclide contamination on the appearance of morphological skeletal anomalies in the fish species typical for the reservoirs of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, which is a representative exemplar of fresh aquatic ecosystems, taking into account the peculiarities of its way of existence. The novelty of the work is determined by the fact that for the mentioned reservoirs the relevant study was conducted for the first time.

A policy analysis of nuclear safety culture and security culture in East Asia: Examining best practices and challenges

Abstract This paper conducts a qualitative policy analysis of current challenges to safety culture and security culture in Southeast Asia and emerging best practices in Northeast Asia that are aimed at strengthening both cultures. It analyses lessons, including strengths and limitations, that can be derived from Northeast Asian states, given the long history of nuclear energy in South Korea, China and Japan. It identifies and examines best practices from Northeast Asia’s Nuclear Security Centres of Excellence in terms of boosting nuclear security culture and their relevance for Southeast Asia. The paper accentuates the important role of the State in adopting policy and regulatory frameworks and in institutionalising nuclear education and training programmes to deepen the safety-security cultures. Best practices in and challenges to developing a nuclear safety culture and a security culture in East Asia are examined using three frameworks of analysis (i) a comprehensive nuclear policy framework; (ii) a proactive and independent regulatory body; and (iii) holistic nuclear education and training programmes. The paper argues that Southeast Asian states interested in harnessing nuclear energy and/or utilising radioactive sources for non-power applications must develop a comprehensive policy framework on developing safety and security cultures, a proactive regulatory body, and holistic nuclear training programmes that cover both technical and human factors. Such measures are crucial in order to mitigate human errors that may lead to radiological accidents and nuclear security crises. Key lessons from Japan, South Korea and China such as best practices and challenges can inform policy recommendations for Southeast Asia in enhancing safety-security cultures.

Carnation Atoms? A History of Nuclear Energy in Portugal

Drawing upon the concepts of civic epistemologies and sociotechnical imaginaries, this article delves into the history of nuclear energy in Portugal, analyzing the ways in which the nuclear endeavor was differently enacted by various sociopolitical collectives – the Fascist State, post-revolutionary governments and the public. Following the 1974 revolution - known as the Carnation Revolution - this paper analyzes how the nuclear project was fiercely contested by a vibrant anti-nuclear movement assembled against the construction of the Ferrel Nuclear Plant, the first sociotechnical controversy in Portugal, paving the way for the emergence of a combative civic epistemology. Supported by semi-structured interviews with scientists, activists and local residents of Ferrel and the analysis of historical material, this article presents the failed Portuguese nuclear endeavor as an emblematic case study to explore the co-production of science and society, in particular the role of revolutionary processes in the unfolding of sociotechnical controversies.

Sorting out nuclear concerns: The Australian uranium debate from Jervis Bay to Ringwood's Synroc

This paper critically considers the history of nuclear energy in Australia, placing particular emphasis on the strong debate about uranium mining and exporting which occurred between the late 1960s and early 1980s. Though this topic has been already analyzed by different historical studies and through numerous methodological approaches, some issues of the Australian as well as international ‘atomic debate’ which involved civil uses of nuclear power in the second half of the 20th century remain under-investigated. This article, for instance, focuses on the little-known and seldom popularized history of Synroc which, in the late 1970s, was presented as the ‘geological perspective’ to deal with radioactive waste disposal. The matters under discussion here are particularly important because of their links with some key issues still prevalent in the international nuclear debate, such as nuclear safety, atomic weapons proliferation and the safe disposal of nuclear wastes.

Inventing traditions: interests, parables and nostalgia in the history of nuclear energy

From the late 1960s on, light-water designs dominated the market for nuclear reactors in most Western countries. Up to that point in time, many national governments, scientists and industrialists had favoured the rival concepts of heavy-water and graphite-moderated plants. The article focuses on Sweden and West Germany, where central actors only reluctantly gave up their support for domestically developed heavy-water solutions. Studying new archival material and adopting Hobsbawm and Ranger’s concept of the ‘invention of tradition’, the authors analyze how contemporary actors mobilized both the nation and the past when arguing for plants using natural uranium and heavy water. The paper documents how autarkic arguments were superseded by nostalgic sentiments, and how-subsequently-historians have come to perpetuate apologetic parables like ‘Swedish line’ and ‘tradition’, respectively.

Nuclear Power and Public Opinion

OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency 1984 Paris: OECD 11 7 pp price £8 (paperback) ISBN 92 64 12608 2 A concise overview of the acceptance of nuclear power in OECD countries is the aim of this book. It contains reports from 17 individual countries, each giving a brief characterisation of the general energy situation and describing the history of nuclear energy, development of public attitudes and debates, and measures adopted to make nuclear energy more acceptable.

The Atomic Complex: A Worldwide Political History of Nuclear Energy

The Atomic Complex: A Worldwide Political History of Nuclear Energy