nuclear accident
1953 Views

GC: n

CT: In nuclear energy, we refer to nuclear accident to those incidents that emit a certain level of radiation, which could harm public health.
Nuclear accidents are classified as nuclear accidents and incidents depending on the severity´s level. In this classification nuclear accidents and radioactive accidents are included. To understand the difference between these two types of accidents, a nuclear accident could be the failure of a reactor of a nuclear power plant and a radiation accident could be when pouring a radiation source to a river.
Despite the known nuclear accidents have occurred at nuclear power plants, they can also happen in other places where nuclear energy is used to work; for example hospitals or research laboratories.
To determine the severity of an accident, an International Nuclear Event Scale (better known by its acronym INES) has been established.
Due to the secrecy of governments and the companies that own nuclear plants, in some cases it is difficult to determine the severity or extension if a nuclear accident as well as its impact.

S: http://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-accidents (last access: 30 October 2015)

N: 1. nuclear (adj): 1841, “of or like the nucleus of a cell,” from nucleus + -ar, probably by influence of French nucléaire. Use in atomic physics is from 1914; of weapons, from 1945. Hence nuclear physics (1933), nuclear energy (1941), nuclear war (1954). Nuclear winter coined by Richard Turco, but first attested in article by Carl Sagan in “Parade” magazine, Oct. 30, 1983. General sense of “central” is from 1912. Nuclear family, originally a sociologists’ term, is first attested 1949 in “Social Structure,” by American anthropologist G.P. Murdock (1897-1985). Alternative adjective nucleal is recorded from 1840.
accident (n): late 14c., “an occurrence, incident, event,” from Old French accident (12c.), from Latin accidentem (nominative accidens), present participle of accidere “happen, fall out, fall upon,” from ad- “to” + cadere “fall”. Meaning grew from “something that happens, an event,” to “something that happens by chance,” then “mishap.”
2. Any unintended event, including operating errors, equipment failures or other mishaps, the consequences or potential consequences of which are not negligible from the point of view of protection or safety.
3. Historical nuclear accidents:

  • 1986 – Nuclear Accident in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine. In April 1986, there was the largest nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power in Chernobyl by a several human errors in the course of a previously planned test. It was classified as level 7 (“major nuclear accident”) on the INES scale.
  • 2011 – Nuclear accident in the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan. In Fukushima, on March,11 2011 witnessed one of the worst nuclear accidents in history after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale near the northwest coast of Japan and a subsequent tsunami affected severely the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

S: 1. OED- http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=nuclear&allowed_in_frame=0 (last access: 30 October 2015); http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=accident&allowed_in_frame=0 (last access: 30 October 2015). 2. IAEA – https://www.iaea.org/ns/tutorials/regcontrol/intro/glossarya.htm (last access: 30.10.15). 3 NUCENG – http://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-accidents (last access: 30 October 2015).

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CR: nuclear energy, nuclear power plant.