‘All of Ireland had been wiped out’: Irish Nuclear Anxiety and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s The Bray House

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-262
Author(s):  
Val Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Old Irish ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Narrative Structures ◽  
Energy Politics ◽  
Narrative Forms ◽  
Near Future

The Bray House (1990) is Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's curious and contested first novel, the story of a near-future archaeological expedition to an Ireland devastated by a British nuclear disaster. It is a book which has offered much analytical fodder to readers and critics alike, with the question of the novel's genre continually in flux since its publication. This article argues that, in The Bray House, Ní Dhuibhne consciously inverts Old Irish narrative forms to create a work of speculative writing which yokes together the seemingly contradictory concerns of the Gaelic literary tradition and contemporary Irish anxiety about vulnerabilities to the British nuclear energy industry. It examines how the author combines unease over international energy politics with native narrative structures to create a work which sits comfortably within the genre of science fiction. It considers how The Bray House brings to light what Darko Suvin calls the ‘congeneric elements in the cognitive and marvellous bias of the voyage extraordinaire’, in this case the Old Irish Echtra form. Particular attention is paid throughout to how science fiction (specifically the techno-Robinsonade model) allows Ní Dhuibhne to vividly express Irish national concerns over the presence of the Sellafield nuclear power plant in the late 1980s.

Muon Tomography for Measuring Amount of Nuclear Materials in Fuel Debris

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsukasa Sugita ◽  
Haruo Miyadera ◽  
Kenichi Yoshioka ◽  
Naoto Kume
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Nuclear Materials ◽  
Material Control ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Muon Tomography ◽  
Debris Removal ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
Near Future

A method to measure an amount of nuclear materials in fuel debris by using muon tomography has being developed for proceeding with decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. As a result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the molten fuels were mixed with reactor structures and accumulated as fuel debris in the reactor buildings. There is still a large amount of fuel debris remained in each reactor. Fuel debris removal is planned in the near future and the debris will be taken out in this process. The debris need to be inspected from a viewpoint of nuclear material control. Since the debris is a mixture of fuel and other structures, it is hard to quantitate nuclear materials in debris by existing measurement method. Muons are cosmic-ray particles which have high energies, therefore, they are highly penetrative. This feature makes muon tomography sensitive to find heavy materials such as uranium or plutonium. We conducted a simulation study of applying muon tomography to measure fuel debris by using a Monte-Carlo method. A simulation model which includes muon detectors, shielding container and fuel debris was constructed to reproduce a measurement situation at the site. In conclusion, muon tomography quantitate the nuclear materials, therefore, this method should be useful for the fuel debris removal of Fukushima Daiichi reactors.

Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning in Germany: Projects, Regulation and Experience

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leopold Weil ◽  
Bernd Rehs
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Radioactive Decay ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Interim Storage ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Selection Of

In Germany, altogether 19 nuclear power plants (NPPs) and prototype reactors have been permanently shut down. For 15 NPPs the dismantling is in progress with “green-field conditions” as planning target. Two units were completely dismantled and two are in safe enclosure. The main legal provision for all aspects of the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Germany is the Atomic Energy Act (AtG), which also contains the basic legal conditions for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. It stipulates that decommissioning is subject to a licence by the regulatory body of the respective Federal State (Land). An emerging decommissioning practice in Germany is the removal of complete undismantled large components and their transport to interim storage facilities. During the period of storage, the radionuclide inventory of the components will decrease due to radioactive decay and the subsequent segmentation of the components can be done with less radiation protection effort. The commissioning of the Konrad repository in the near future might have consequences on planning of decommissioning, regarding the selection of a decommissioning strategy and the waste management.

Facing a Crisis with Calmness? The Global Response to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUICHI KUBOTA
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Level Of Economic Development ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

AbstractLiterature expects that an attitude toward nuclear power is in direct proportion to the perceived risk of accidents at an operational nuclear power plant; that is, the oppositional attitude is based on the view that nuclear technology is risky and support for nuclear power is related to a perceived low risk and/or potential benefit. However, it is misleading to assume that individuals’ risk perception alone can linearly explain their position after such an accident. The association between risk perception and attitude toward nuclear power varies significantly according to country but, until now, has been largely unexamined. This article takes into consideration the effects of structural factors on that relationship by examining public attitudes toward nuclear energy after the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011 and reveals that the need for the efficient production of electricity (i.e., nuclear energy) outweighs concern for the potential danger of a nuclear incident. Although a country's dependence on nuclear power for the production of electricity engenders anti-nuclear attitudes, it is evident that a level of economic development largely alleviates any negativity relative to that energy source.

Post-Fukushima discourse in the US press: Quantified knowledge, the technical object, and a panicked public

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 670-687
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tollefson
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Technical Object ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Many thought that the 11 March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan might be the end of the “global nuclear renaissance.” In Europe, mass media after Fukushima increasingly presented negative framing of nuclear energy and highlighted declining support for the nuclear industry. In the United States, however, nuclear production and public support for the industry remained steady. This article analyzes US media documents to understand the construction of public discourse on nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Through a content analysis of US newspapers, it demonstrates that post-Fukushima media framed the crisis in a way that privileged expert knowledge and opinion, while delegitimizing non-expert engagement with nuclear energy issues. A comparison between national newspapers and newspapers located in two regions with controversial nuclear plants and active anti-nuclear citizens’ movements additionally demonstrates the power and reach of the identified framework across the spectrum of views on nuclear power.

Africa and the Nuclear World: Labor, Occupational Health, and the Transnational Production of Uranium

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 896-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Hecht
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Nuclear Proliferation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Internal Radiation ◽  
Government Report

What is Africa's place in the nuclear world? In 1995, a U.S. government report on nuclear proliferation did not mark Gabon, Niger, or Namibia as having any “nuclear activities.” Yet these same nations accounted for over 25 percent of world uranium production that year, and helped fuel nuclear power plants in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Experts had long noted that workers in uranium mines were “exposed to higher amounts of internal radiation than … workers in any other segment of the nuclear energy industry.” What, then, does it mean for a workplace, a technology, or a nation to be “nuclear?” What is at stake in that label, and how do such stakes vary by time and place?

Nuclear Energy in Eastern Europe and the Former Sovient Union: How Safe and How Much?

1995 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Sinyak
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Nuclear Reactors ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Nuclear Policy ◽  
Near Future

Nuclear power in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (FSU) is one of the mostly debated issues. There are many controversial opinions around this topic, but lack of data and unstable economic and political climate have prevented the situation from guaranteed improvements in the near future. The goal of this study is to look for a reasonable nuclear policy in the region based on numerical estimates of expected risks and economic assessments of possible options of phasing-out unsafe and obsolete nuclear reactors. A long-tern future of nuclear energy is analyzed for three main energy scenarios with a different impacts to the response to climate change. The study creates a good background for the negotiations on nuclear energy in Eastern Europe and the FSU between Western investors and local states.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF NUCLEAR POWER: LAW AND POLICY MEASURES IN INDIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Singh ◽  
Nalnish Chandr Singha
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Regulatory Measures ◽  
The Impact

Healthy and clean environment is a fundamental right in India, simultaneously in modern time energy requirements are increasing. It is required that dependency on traditional source of energy should be decreased because of environmental and other reasons. Nuclear energy undoubtedly a present day hope for the energy requirement due to rich and eco-friendly source of energy. But this source also contains some danger for human health and wellbeing.It is a basic question before every nation that what safety and regulatory measures should be adopted to secure the safe use of nuclear energy. This article is an attempt to analyse the impact radiations caused by nuclear accidents on human health and environment. It also analyse the international regulatory measures and national legal and policy measures, adopted to combat the nuclear disaster. The article enumerates the liability issue arise due to the enactment of new law in 2010, it analyse the controversy and provide concluding remarks on the issue.

The Energy Politics of Japan

2020 ◽  
pp. 561-589
Author(s):  
Trevor Incerti ◽  
Phillip Y. Lipscy
Keyword(s):  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Energy Politics ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Japanese energy policy has attracted renewed attention since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. However, Japan’s energy challenges are nothing new; as a country poor in natural resources, it has long struggled to meet its energy needs. This chapter provides an overview of Japanese energy politics, focusing on three broad topics: Japan’s modernization and energy security challenges, the politics of the utilities sector and nuclear energy, and the politics of energy conservation and climate change. In addition, the chapter discusses factors specific to Japan, such as state-business relations in the utilities sector and institutional changes since the 1990s. Japan offers both compelling puzzles—several transformative shifts in energy conservation policy, limited emphasis on renewables despite persistent energy security concerns, and reinvigoration of nuclear energy despite the Fukushima disaster—as well as important empirical opportunities for theory testing. The chapter concludes by calling for additional research that integrates insights from Japan into broader theoretical and cross-national scholarship, examines Japanese energy policy within an international context, and uses rigorous causal identification strategies to evaluate Japanese energy policy. Finally, it identifies the politics of decarbonization in Japan as a critical area for future research.

THE USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PURPOSES SAFETY IN THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY

2017 ◽  
Vol 185 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-123
Author(s):  
Roman JÓŹWIK
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Power Industry ◽  
Nuclear Power Industry ◽  
Basic Information ◽  
Safety Assurance ◽  
Emergency Shutdown ◽  
History Of ◽  
Energy Formation ◽  
Near Future

The purpose of the article was to gather the basic information about the mechanism be-hind nuclear energy formation and the types of reactors, already built worldwide or poten-tially planned for construction in the near future, and to present the history of the begin-nings of nuclear power in Poland. The issues of the safety of reactors, independent safety assurance systems and systems for emergency shutdown of a reactor are discussed in more detail. The problem of responsibility for the safety of nuclear equipment is also ex-amined, including the relevant authority and method for such safety inspection. The initia-tives taken in Poland in connection with the programme for the nuclear power industry are also described.

A Compact Embodiment of Pluralities and Denial of Origins: Atwood’s The Year of The Flood

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Rana Sağıroğlu
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Margaret Atwood ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The World ◽  
Narrative Techniques ◽  
Why Questions ◽  
Near Future

Margaret Atwood, one of the most spectacular authors of postmodern movement, achieved to unite debatable and in demand critical points of 21st century such as science fiction, postmodernism and ecocriticism in the novel The Year of The Flood written in 2009. The novel could be regarded as an ecocritical manifesto and a dystopic mirror against today’s degenerated world, tending to a superficial base to keep the already order in use, by moving away from the fundamental solution of all humanity: nature. Although Atwood does not want her works to be called science fiction, it is obvious that science fiction plays an introductory role and gives the novel a ground explaining all ‘why’ questions of the novel. However, Atwood is not unjust while claiming that her works are not science fiction because of the inevitable rapid change of 21st century world becoming addicted to technology, especially Internet. It is easily observed by the reader that what she fictionalises throughout the novel is quite close to possibility, and the world may witness in the near future what she creates in the novel as science fiction. Additionally, postmodernism serves to the novel as the answerer of ‘how’ questions: How the world embraces pluralities, how heterogeneous social order is needed, and how impossible to run the world by dichotomies of patriarchal social order anymore. And lastly, ecocriticism gives the answers of ‘why’ questions of the novel: Why humanity is in chaos, why humanity has organized the world according to its own needs as if there were no living creatures apart from humanity. Therefore, The Year of The Flood meets the reader as a compact embodiment of science fiction, postmodernism and ecocriticism not only with its theme, but also with its narrative techniques.

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