Nuclear Power Plant Explosions and the Environment
Nuclear power pants are in general thermal power station in
which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. Not only do these explosions cause
obvious physical damage from the fire and explosion itself, the radioactive
material that is released can cause much more harm. Humans can be exposed to
acute radiation syndrome, which affects most of the body. It has the ability to
give you skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhea, to coma and death depending on the
does.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion inUkraine in 1986, more than 6000 people developed thyroid cancer, probably afterdrinking contaminated milk as children, according to an investigation bythe UN released in February. Radiation
damages DNA and can even be fatal. In terms of the environmental effects, plant
and animal health becomes at risk. After the Chernobyl explosion, many were
killed by acute radiation. The dead pines were removed from the forests and
buried and livestock was removed during the human evacuations. Oxidative stress
and low levels of antioxidants have a had severe consequences on the
development of the nervous system, including reduced brain size and impaired
cognitive abilities. Invertebrate populations (including bumblebees, butterflies,grasshoppers, dragonflies, and spiders) have significantly decreased. Nuclear power plant explosions release
