Atoms and Ashes - A Global History of Nuclear Disasters (Paperback)

Almost 145,000 Americans fled their homes in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in late March 1979, hoping to save themselves from an invisible enemy: radiation. The reactor at the nearby Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had gone into partial meltdown, and scientists feared an explosion that could spread radiation throughout the eastern United States. Thankfully, the explosion never took place-but the accident left deep scars in the American psyche, all but ending the nation's love affair with nuclear power. In Atoms and Ashes, Serhii Plokhy recounts the dramatic history of Three Mile Island and five more accidents that that have dogged the nuclear industry in its military and civil incarnations: the disastrous fallout caused by the testing of the hydrogen bomb in the Bikini Atoll in 1954; the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the USSR, which polluted a good part of the Urals; the Windscale fire, the worst nuclear accident in the UK's history; back to the USSR with Chernobyl, the result of a flawed reactor design leading to the exodus of 350,000 people; and, most recently, Fukushima in Japan, triggered by an earthquake and a tsunami, a disaster on a par with Chernobyl and whose clean-up will not take place in our lifetime. Through the stories of these six terrifying incidents, Plokhy explores the risks of nuclear power, both for military and peaceful purposes, while offering a vivid account of how individuals and governments make decisions under extraordinary circumstances. Today, there are 440 nuclear reactors operating throughout the world, with nuclear power providing 10 percent of global electricity. Yet as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change, the question arises: Just how safe is nuclear energy?

General

Imprint:	W W Norton & Co Inc
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	May 2023
Authors:	Serhii Plokhy
Dimensions:	210 x 140mm (L x W)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	368
ISBN-13:	978-1-324-06455-8
Categories:	Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Management of land & natural resources Books > Professional & Technical > Energy technology & engineering > Nuclear power & engineering Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > Central government policies Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment > Nuclear weapons Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > General
LSN:	1-324-06455-2
Barcode:	9781324064558

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!