Author: Adam Higginbotham
Higginbotham outlines the buildup of the soviet power grid and nuclear technology. Along the way there were accidents, cost cutting measures that had disastrous effects, mismanagement, poor training and flawed maintenance. All the mistakes culminated in the explosion at Chernobyl on April 25, 1986.
Higginbotham gives details about the people involved, the plant itself, the history of Soviet nuclear power, the accident, the evacuation of Pripyat, and the continuing aftermath of the accident. It's a very interesting, and concerning, story. Many countries have nuclear power plants now. It's an awesome way to generate electricity, unless there is an accident. In recent years, the Fukushima accident shows that an earthquake or other natural event can cause modern nuclear plants to become quite dangerous. But with mismanagement, bad maintenance, lackluster employee training and shoddy parts/construction, any nuclear plant can be potentially dangerous. With more countries around the world turning to nuclear power, the chances of an accident increase.....
I remember news reports in 1986 about the event. I can remember initial reports stating that it was known there had been some sort of nuclear event in the Soviet Union but scientists were not sure what had happened and no information was being released by USSR officials. When the full truth came out, it was horrifying. An entire city evacuated. Firemen and emergency response personnel dying. The struggle to prevent a melt-down. 33 years later, many are still interested in the accident and the lasting damage it caused. Pripyat is becoming a tourist attraction even. Yikes! I can think of much better vacation sites than one that is completely irradiated. Pripyat, and the surrounding region, will be not be safely habitable for more than 20,000 years.
Nuclear power is safe when handled responsibly by properly trained people. Most plants operating in the modern world are quite safe, and managed/maintained properly. But, a nuclear power plant can be potentially deadly if proper safety protocols are not strictly adhered to and the potential effects of natural disasters and other catastrophes are not properly taken into consideration. I hope it is a very, very long time -- or never -- that our planet ends up with another uninhabitable, radiation soaked region from a nuclear accident. The effects are long lasting, and far reaching.
Great book! Lots of highly researched information presented in an interesting manner. The audio book is about 14 hours long and narrated by Jacques Roy. Roy reads at a steady pace. His voice is easily understandable. Very enjoyable listening experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment