This is a book which should be read by far more people who ever will as it provides a balanced, concise and very readable history of nuclear safety. This is an important subject, we live in a world where the environmental damage caused by combusting hydrocarbons is widely accepted yet where probably the most dependable low carbon means of generating large amounts of electricity, nuclear, is resisted by many. Nuclear safety tends to provoke a highly irrational response from the general public, people associate radioactivity with Hiroshima and Nagasaki and there seems to be an assumption that radiation is some sort of death ray with any exposure leading to death. This book treads the line between hysteria and white wash, recounting nuclear incidents and recognising the safety problems that led to the incidents considered whilst retaining a sense of perspective and rational analysis.
The book starts with the story of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric disaster in which 75 persons died and the US showmanship of staging head on steam train collisions in the late 19th Century. The aim of this is clearly to put what follows into perspective and to consider peoples perception of risk. The book then moves through the story of radium, developing the bombs, the post war golden age of atomics and the safety incidents (including the Windscale fire) and then reviews the stories of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima-Daiichi. Perhaps the most fascinating story is that of the long range nuclear power strategic bomber and the nuclear jet engines developed for this program. This is a story few will have heard of yet it is remarkable that the actual nuclear jet engine part of the program was on course to deliver a usable engine.
The three sections which may be most interesting are those on Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi. The Fukushima disaster effectively killed nuclear power in some countries and led many around the world to dismiss nuclear energy as a profound danger to humanity. Yet, a disaster in which three reactors went into melt down, probably the ultimate failure of a power plant, resulted in no fatal injuries and most estimates agree that long term deaths from radiation exposure are unlikely to be noticeable above normal incidences of radiation diseases. The world however remembers the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it doesn't seem to have remembered the more than 15,000 deaths caused by the Tsunami that led to the nuclear disaster. Similarly, for all the seriousness of Three Mile Island the health impacts (despite global notoriety) have been slight. Chernobyl was a much more serious accident and there is no doubt that a significant number will die as a result of radiation exposure quite aside from the immediate deaths however the reactor was a design with little relevance to safety elsewhere and the death count estimate is quite a contentious subject. Something that may surprise many who read the book is that the effects of radiation and susceptibility of people to radiation related diseases is highly variable, for example most radium girls lived a normal life after the radium scandal broke and most of those involved in nuclear power accidents live regular lives. However, it has to be said that the effects of massive radiation exposure leading to death is a particularly unpleasant way to die.
Probably the weakest part of the book is a chapter on nuclear weapons safety where it does feel that the risks were higher than acceptable. The great strength of the book is its scope, it provides a comprehensive over view. The weakness is that it is a series of brief episodes and quite a few times it led me to looking for more information. The book is very accessible, some may struggle with some of the explanations of nuclear reactions but with a little effort most should be able to follow the explanations offered. If not then I think the general narrative is still informative and useful. The book is written is a very engaging style and is extremely readable, it is suffused with a very witty, dry sense of humour.
Overall, the book highlights the risks associated with nuclear power but also demonstrates that the risks can be managed and that the hazards should be placed in perspective. Why is it that incidents like Three Mile Island and Fukushima are etched into a global conscience yet the Sayano Shushenskaya incident is all but invisible outside of Russia and where very few have any idea of that more died in the Deepwater Horizon blowout than both Three Mile Island and Fukushima. At a time when the world needs low carbon energy the emotional aversion to nuclear energy is not helpful.
Very highly recommended, 5*.
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lynnabeana
Fascinating and Accessible to the Lay Reader
Reviewed in the United States on 25 September 2020
