LECTURE 4: NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGICAL DANGERS

Nuclear energy can be used as a source of massive energy or as a

weapon of massive destruction. Due to these polar opposite uses of Nuclear
energy, it is necessary to explore different strategies on how to manage such
technological danger. This discussion lays down several approaches in
making nuclear use safe.
One approach is the reliance on expertise. Technical experts have the
responsibility not just to design new weapons but also to think of other kinds
of public interest applications of nuclear energy. They also take into
consideration what would happen to the bombs and materials once they
exploded. A sample of relying on experts is the creation of Atomic Energy
Commission.

This

organization

was

where

the

expertise,

authority,

knowledge, resources and intellectual property rights were concentrated.

One downside to this approach was the concentration of several powers in
one organization as it tends to be prone to abuse and corruption.
Experimentation

control

is

another

approach

on

managing

technological hazards. Products in the marketplace should be only be

released upon adequate testing. Such testing will allow them to figure out
not only what the destructive power of different nuclear weapons would be
but also what would happen after. Public education is also important as it
gives the public understanding of what the government was doing, the
extent of the destructive power of nuclear energy and the danger not only to
the environment but also to the human health of the remnants of the
explosions. Another safety measure is to limit the potency of a technology by
attempting to design technologies, drugs or biocides that pose less risk but
are still effective in getting the job done. Minimize environmental release and
exposure which will result in lesser danger and hazard to health and
environment. However, theres a notion that different people have different

susceptibility and special vulnerability to the exposure of radiation because

of their behaviour and physiology.
The dangers and destructive powers of nuclear energy were shown in
the testing sites in Bikini Islands in the Pacific. During these series of testing,
it was observed that one new nuclear weapon has the power of fifteen
megatons, stripped islands clean of vegetation and would wipe out all
buildings within twelve-mile radius if it lands in Washington-D.C. It would
have made the area uninhabitable, irradiated the soil so that no crops could
grow and any vegetation that might grow will be contaminated with radiation
and could not be used for building materials and firewood. Inhabitants of the
Bikini Islands were forced to evacuate twice because of the dangerous level
of radiation on the underground waters that were creeping in soil they were
using for vegetation. They developed several sicknesses like thyroid disease.
Nuclear technology can be used as a source of unlimited energy but it
is also dangerous and volatile and may result in massive destruction of
property and population if not used with precaution and safety measures.