The US is ill-prepared for emergency radiation but yet many want to build MORE nuclear power plants?

Question

Most American states are not prepared to cope with a major nuclear radiation event, said a study published Monday that happened to coincide with a feared nuclear disaster in quake-hit Japan.

The survey of state health departments was conducted in 2010 and found that almost half of the 38 states that took part had no plan for protecting public health in the event of a radiation emergency.

"Most states had completed little to no planning for public health surveillance to assess potential human health impacts of a radiation event," said the study in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, a journal of the American Medical Association.

Few states said they had the resources to test the public for radiation exposure.

"The results of this assessment indicate that in many measures of public health capacity and capability, the nation remains poorly prepared to respond adequately to a major radiation emergency incident," said the study.

"With nearly half of the responding states not having a response plan, a large portion of the US population is at increased risk should a radiological event occur within the country's borders," it said.

"Without a comprehensive plan, states in which a radiation emergency occurs are likely to mount inefficient, ineffective, inappropriate, or tardy responses that could result in (preventable) loss of life."

The survey included 38 state health departments -- including 26 of the 31 states that have nuclear power plants -- or about 76 percent of the United States.

The report included a series of recommendations for state to improve preparedness, such as "substantially" increasing education in radiation emergency response among public health personnel, boosting strategic planning and exercise scenarios for radiation release events.

State health departments also need to forge closer ties with federal agencies so that they can coordinate plans for dispensing anti-radiation drugs and testing people for radiation exposure, it said.

Japan has been grappling with a nuclear emergency since a massive earthquake and tsunami battered its northeast coast Friday.

The nuclear plants shut down automatically, as they are designed to do. But the loss of power in the area and tsunami damage to back-up generators apparently crippled reactor cooling systems.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/japanquakeusnucleardisaster;_ylt=AuyHxTAswtUAXE4_hUwNnSlv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTNnanZ1b2JxBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDExMDMxNC9qYXBhbnF1YWtldXNudWNsZWFyZGlzYXN0ZXIEY2NvZGUDbXBfZWNfOF8xMARjcG9zAzYEcG9zAzYEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNzdHVkeXVzaWxsLXA-

Is It WISE To Build More Nuclear Power Plants When States Are Not Even Ready For a Very Real And Possible Radiation Leak?????

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

nuke plants are too risky to use, they should be phased out 

if you are hoping the govt will rescue you if there is a disaster like japan had you will regret it for sure. i'm in NY and my state cant handle 12 inches of snow what will they do when a nuke plants burns out

car05161967 · Answer

Quite frankly, I feel that ALL nuclear power plants should be dismantled.

I know it would fly in the face of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, the father of the 'nuclear navy'.  But, The movie 'K-19: Widowmaker', has a couple scenes in it where the reactor core on the submarine is getting hot, so the have to cool the reactor core.  Several men that work on the core, end up with radiation sickness and die.

While a good movie(in my opinion), it does show the inherent risk in the use of nuclear power.

I remember going on a protest march with my mother, to the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, in Seabrook(NH).  I was only 10yrs.-old or so, at the time.  But it reminded that the Atom Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to hasten the end of World War II, were minor compared the disaster at Chernobyl disaster in 1986.  Now something is happening in Japan and it continues to get worse and it is getting worse by the day.

? · Answer

Well, you can rest assured that this disaster has been a huge blow to any effort to put more nuclear power plants in the U.S. even though its more of a knee-jerk fear reaction than anything else.  The reactor that blew was the oldest one (built with 70's technology) and it took the most powerful earthquake/tsunami in recent memory to destroy all its primary and backup protections.  You'll notice all the other reactors were shut down without a problem.  Now, I wouldn't advise building one on the San Andreas fault, but nuclear power still has its place.  France generates 80% of its electricity from nuclear power.

Annabelle Lee · Answer

All we have to do is avoid areas that can be hit by a tsunami, or areas where a major earthquake can occur.  That leaves 90% of the US safe for nuclear power.
Europe can handle nuclear power, is America too stupid?

Anonymous · Answer

Obama: Radiation from quake-hit Japanese nuke plant won't reach US
http://economictimes.feedsportal.com/c/33041/f/534036/s/136549e9/l/0Leconomictimes0Bindiatimes0N0Cnews0Cpolitics0Cnation0Cradiation0Efrom0Equake0Ehit0Ejapanese0Enuke0Eplant0Ewont0Ereach0Eus0Eobama0Carticleshow0C77162910Bcms/story01.htm

Radiation 'extremely high' at Japan nuclear plant
The top US nuclear regulator warned on Wednesday in a dire assessment that radiation levels were "extremely high" at a Japanese nuclear power plant that has been in danger of a meltdown since last week's massive earthquake.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/372093,high-japan-nuclear-plant.html

US troops banned from 50-mile area around stricken nuclear plant
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/asia_pacific/view.bg?articleid=1323844

U.S. sending Global Hawk drone to Japan over Crippled Nuclear Plant For Closer Look
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20110317x1.html

US citizens in Japan should consider leaving the country, the State Department said,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-17/u-s-says-citizens-in-japan-should-consider-leaving-amid-nuclear-crisis.html

Japan Asks US To Help Stop Reactor Meltdown
Japan has asked the US for help to stop a quake-damaged nuclear reactor plunging into uncontrollable meltdown.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20110314/twl-japan-asks-us-to-help-stop-reactor-m-3fd0ae9.html

smsmith500 · Answer

When was the last fatal accident in the US that was  caused by a Nuclear power plant? It took a 9.0 quake to cause this, how many of those have we had?

Anonymous · Answer

Here's an idea: let's not build them on a fault line or an island.  Power placement can be allowed to make sense, you know that right?

goldspursx3 · Answer

Haven't we answered this a million times over? Don't build a plant next to a fault line.

Wylie Dun · Answer

If the country can stand to house someone as annoying as you, then nuclear fire should not be a problem.

JerryJ · Answer

Please get your ideas from someone who knows what they are talking about rather than the media, which is out for ratings. http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/

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The US is ill-prepared for emergency radiation but yet many want to build MORE nuclear power plants?

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