Short-Term and Long-Term Health Risks of Nuclear-Power-Plant Accidents

Christodouleas, John P.; Forrest, Robert D.; Ainsley, C.; Tochner, Zelig; Hahn, Stephen M.; Glatstein, Eli

doi:10.1056/nejmra1103676

Cited by 161 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In addition to the routine risks of nuclear power, reactor accidents pose potentially significant health risks (28). Major nuclear power reactor accidents to date include those at Three Mile Island, United States, in 1979, Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986, and Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.…”

Section: Nuclearmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy and Human Health

Smith

Frumkin

Balakrishnan

et al. 2013

Annu. Rev. Public Health

239

146

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Energy use is central to human society and provides many health benefits. But each source of energy entails some health risks. This article reviews the health impacts of each major source of energy, focusing on those with major implications for the burden of disease globally. The biggest health impacts accrue to the harvesting and burning of solid fuels, coal and biomass, mainly in the form of occupational health risks and household and general ambient air pollution. Lack of access to clean fuels and electricity in the world's poor households is a particularly serious risk for health. Although energy efficiency brings many benefits, it also entails some health risks, as do renewable energy systems, if not managed carefully. We do not review health impacts of climate change itself, which are due mostly to climate-altering pollutants from energy systems, but do discuss the potential for achieving near-term health cobenefits by reducing certain climate-related emissions.

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Section: Nuclearmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy and Human Health

Smith

Frumkin

Balakrishnan

et al. 2013

Annu. Rev. Public Health

239

146

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, some adverse effects accompany the therapeutic benefi t as a consequence of the unavoidable exposure of the surrounding normal tissues to radiation. In this sense, besides the skin being irradiated directly, other internal radiosensitive organs also cannot escape from being injured to different degrees (3), which become an impediment, counteracting the efficacy of radiation therapy (RT). In order to minimize these undesired side effects, many efforts have been made to improve the RT technology, such as image-guided radiotherapy, proton radiotherapy, and intensity-modulated radiotherapy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research progress in the radioprotective effect of superoxide dismutase

et al. 2012

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Irradiation from diverse sources is ubiquitous and closely associated with human activity. Radiation therapy (RT), an important component of the multiple radiation origins, contributes significantly to oncotherapy by killing tumor cells. On the other hand, RT can also cause some undesired normal tissue injuries that afflict numerous cancer patients. Although many promising radioprotective agents are emerging, few of them have entered the market successfully due to various limitations. At present, the most accepted hypothesis for the radiation-caused injury involves reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), the unique enzyme responsible for the dismutation of superoxide radicals, is expected to occupy an indispensable position in the treatment of ROS-mediated tissue injuries originating from exposure to radiation. This review focuses on the mechanism of radioprotection by SOD at the tissue or organ level, cellular level, and molecular level, respectively, in order to provide references for further investigation of radiation injury and development of new radioprotectors.

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“…Public prejudice against nuclear power is strong because accidents are intolerable [34]. Yet, even after Fukushima, Japan is coming to terms with the need for better nuclear technology as is evident from the Fuji reactor.…”

Section: Developing the World's First Mass-producedmentioning

confidence: 99%

A suggested roadmap for world-wide energy resource planning and management

Boothroyd¹

2015

Int. J. EQ

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In the near future, we will need an internationally based system for worldwide planning of future energy resources and their effect on the world environment. Logically, this should be a responsibility of the United Nations, which already possesses much of the infrastructure needed and is already active in this area. Because different nations have different resources, different problems and different needs, it is reasoned that a flexible and diplomatic approach is also called for. We will need to try to secure support from all nations, and the economies and cultures of many nations differ considerably. This calls for special skills in negotiation. This is complicated by the varied, uncertain and changing technological facilities, which we have at our disposal. After a brief and comparative review of these facilities, an outline of the structure of the internationally coordinating organisation is suggested, followed by examples of the different types of issues which are likely to be encountered. These are: reintroducing improved technology to a nation, which has suffered grievous environmental harm from inadequate similar technology such as the Fukushima incident; nations with especially difficult transport problems; nations with perceived overpopulation problems; using UN and other expertise for nations still undergoing development; applying persuasive pressure by peaceful means. Finally, by outlining a large-scale cooperative venture by several nations, the mode of operation of the suggested U.N coordinating body is outlined. The example used is the choice of thorium-based molten-salt reactor technology using both fast and thermal neutron spectra. This appears to be the only choice we have, as other sustainable systems cannot accommodate the size of our problems. The only exception is using the Desertec solar project, which appears to be disadvantaged by being significantly more expensive. Molten-salt reactors would give a 1000-year energy security for industrialised energy-hungry nations on the Far East/Pacific Rim, which is the example considered. This system would use modern actinide burn-up technology to make nuclear-waste disposal a more acceptable proposition. Thus, nuclear waste can become a lowlevel and disposable hazard after only about 300 years of storage. After this storage, the waste becomes a valuable resource due to production of rare transmuted elements.

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Short-Term and Long-Term Health Risks of Nuclear-Power-Plant Accidents

Cited by 161 publications

References 32 publications

Energy and Human Health

Energy and Human Health

Research progress in the radioprotective effect of superoxide dismutase

A suggested roadmap for world-wide energy resource planning and management

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