BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
THE DEVELOPMENT of nuclear technology to power electricity generation was hailed as a triumph of modern technology.
But we can never forget and not be on our guard from the history that nuclear power was first used in the atom bomb that wiped out two Asian cities in World War II. The horrific death of almost a million people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the world realize that nuclear war is one that no one can win.
It gave rise to the MAD doctrine that a nuclear war would be a war of âMutual Assured Destructionâ that would result from an exchange of nuclear missiles with nuclear warheads. The bombing of Japan by the United States immediately brought about the capitulation and unconditional surrender of Japan.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia is making a similar threat to Europe over Ukraine. Whatâs his game plan to threaten Europe to get Ukraine to surrender, lift sanctions and stop supplying arms to the Ukraine military?
Russian troops are occupying the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Europe and shelling the areas close to it and blaming Ukraine. Itâs absurd that Ukraine would destroy its own nuclear power plants and contaminate Europe.
Russian shelling even knocked out the power line that fed electricity to the plant to maintain its cooling system. The backup generators kicked in just in time to prevent a very dangerous situation. If the cooling fails in a nuclear power plant, it explodes. Nothing can stop it. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Arrived at the plant last Thursday and made a safety inspection, it is hoped that this UN agency has the influence to bring about the demilitarization of the plant.
Nuclear power plants are very dangerous and it takes 100 thousand years for the dangerous cancer-causing radiated waste material to decompose. One more reason the Philippines should stay away from the crazy notion of building modular nuclear power plants. Human error, conflict, terrorist attacks is what causes disasters. Enemies could capture one plant and hold the nation to ransom. If they are Islamic extremists, they might do it like they did to the Twin Towers in the 9/11 attacks, the anniversary of which is coming close.
This is a reminder that humans can do the most horrific acts of destruction without respect for human life. That is the extremist thinking, or non-thinking, of Vladimir Putin.
His forces cannot defeat Ukraine so he has unleashed the most horrific shelling, bomb and missile strikes at civilian targets all over Ukraine. He has no respect for human life and the human suffering it is causing. He is a leader with great power and no empathy. Such a human is a very dangerous one and threatening to unleash nuclear radiation in desperation for him to win the war by shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant bit by bit until he achieves surrender is madness. He would be like a petulant child holding the dinner plates and smashing them one by one until he gets what he wants. It would be like what happened at Chernobyl, a cloud of deadly destructive radiation could blow across Europe.
When power stations fail, they can bring widespread death and destruction and nuclear radiation that goes on killing people and animals for decades. The Chernobyl Nuclear Plant that exploded when the cooling failed has left a vast area uninhabitable. The power plant in Japan also exploded due to a tsunami. (To be continued)/PN
