Natural Vs Manmade Disasters

 

Earthquakes are natural calamities that result in huge loss of life and property. They are caused by disturbances in earth’s crust that trigger sudden movement of plates inside the earth. Most of the earthquakes occur due to collision of giant rock slabs also known as tectonic plates that make the earth’s upper surface. These tectonic plates slide or collide against each other, and the impact between them beneath the earth’s crust is gradual and cannot be felt on the surface. However, this gradual stress gives rise to massive pressure between the plates, and when this energy is released quickly; massive vibrations referred to as seismic waves are sent. This causes earthquakes killing thousands of human beings and destroying billion worth of property. These massive vibrations are often generated deep within the earth’s crust, often hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

The largest earthquake ever recorded occurred on May 22, 1960 in Chile that killed 1655 people and injured nearly 3000 humans. Property damage worth $ 550 million was estimated and nearly 200, 000 people were homeless due to this earthquake that shocked southern Chile with a highest magnitude of 9.5 on Richter scale. Such higher magnitude catastrophes occur once in a century and cause tremendous loss of life and property. Earthquakes are measured by using a device called Richter scale that can accurately show their intensity and forecast possible amount of loss.

Japan Earthquake- 2011

A devastating earthquake of 9.0 magnitudes measured on a Richter scale hit Japan on March, 11, 2011 that triggered a massive tsunami of 23 foot high in northern Japan. The giant waves destroyed everything that came their way and caused massive irreparable loss to human lives and property. Cars, buildings, trains, boats, homes etc. were wiped out killing numerous human and animal lives. This earthquake caused serious concerns to Japanese nuclear plants namely the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on the east coast of Japan which failed immediately after the occurrence of disaster. It generated a nuclear crisis in Japan as the reactor failed to function and exploded causing partial meltdown in the two reactors. Three other nuclear facilities also faced problems due to the unprecedented earthquake and nearly 200, 000 people were evacuated from the affected areas of Japan. The country raised the assessment level to 7 at Fukushima Daiichi power plant, considered as the worst rating on the international scale

The cooling system failure in Fukushima Daiichi power plant released harmful radioactive materials in the environment causing serious health and safety threat to the surrounding inhabitants. 300 tons of radioactive water continues to leak each day into the Pacific Ocean that adversely affects the marine life and destroys the ecosystem.

Radioactivity

Radioactivity is defined as a phenomenon in which unstable atomic nuclei releases subatomic particles. Only heavy elements of the periodic table such as Uranium, Strontium, Actinium, Polonium etc. are said to be radioactive due to the fact that their atomic mass and number make them capable of undergoing radioactivity. In simple language of physics, radioactivity is nothing but decomposition of unstable nuclei of heavy elements that releases energy. Due to instability of atomic nuclei, the nuclei of unstable atoms breaks down, and this phenomenon is known as decay of atoms. Those elements which undergo decomposition to form stable atoms and release energy are known as radioactive elements. Half life of a radioactive element is defined as the time taken for half of the nuclei of radioactive atoms.

Nuclear power plants are massive generators or store houses that produce large amount of energy that can be utilized for the welfare of mankind. The energy produced by nuclear power stations is a clean form of energy and assures us independence from the shackles of fossil fuel dependence. Uranium is a primary and most important radioactive element used as fuel in nuclear power stations. The heat released during the process of nuclear fission is utilized to generate steam that in turn revolves the turbine in order to generate electricity. This energy is sufficient to serve human needs and can be used in various ways for the welfare of humanity.

Nuclear weapons are an absolute sign of being super power, and every nation today is ensuring its safety by developing weapons of mass destruction and wants to achieve supremacy over its rival nations. However, in this race of building nuclear weapons, there is a serious threat to the existence of human race and other species due to the fact that any single action between enemy countries can trigger a war that can lead to the use of weapons of mass destructions which is enough to wipe out mankind and cause long term serious consequences and irreparable damage to our civilization. Facts reveal that there are at least 23,000 nuclear weapons with different developed nations. A nuclear war can cause a blanket of particles in the atmosphere, blocking the sun’s rays and destroying the vegetation and various life forms. This is in addition to death of people, animals, and plants caused by the explosive power, the radiation & shockwaves.

This topic is important for research as it talks about the natural and manmade threats and also warns us of the unexpected as well as expected mishaps in future that may pose serious dangers to human race. Expected dangers occur due to human mistakes in the form of wars and use of nuclear weapons that can cause irreparable loss to our civilization. This topic teaches us to be careful about the use of nuclear power and nuclear weapons and ensure that world peace and harmony is maintained at any cost if we want to advance our civilization and progress.

The example of Fukushima Daiichi teaches us to take precautionary measures when need arises and be prepared for natural calamities like massive earthquakes and tsunamis to prevent leakages of radioactive materials that can cause serious threats to various animal and plant life forms that survive on land and in water.

Nuclear power stations are giant power generators and appropriate techniques to handle and efficiently run them need to be implemented to ensure safety in the surrounding environment. My overall impression and thoughts about this project is that we must learn to harness energy in an eco-friendly manner and use it to the best of human welfare. Natural calamities such as Japan earthquake are bound to occur as contemporary science & technology is inadequate to forecast place and timings of earthquakes and volcanoes. Therefore, understanding human limits we need insure we at the least can prevent avoidable mishaps such as radioactive leakage of Fukushima nuclear power plant that caused severe destruction of marine life. It is quite possible that manmade disasters resulting from use of nukes or any other technology could permanently wipeout diverse species on the planet than the nature's fury.