6 ms·

Oh, come one! I spent most of my childhood in Minsk, 380km north-west to Chernobyl. Now in Europe my only worry is the blackout plan in case of power shortages,

Oh, come one! I spent most of my childhood in Minsk, 380km north-west to Chernobyl. Now in Europe my only worry is the blackout plan in case of power shortages, not the nuclear plant 60km on the east. I am always amazed how Germans are irrational about nuclear while nearby countries have a mostly pragmatic attitude. Even in Belgium the nuclear phase out is fake and every politician knows it can not be enforced until Netherlands build two new nuclear powerplants 20 years from now.

dougmwne 5y ago
Nearly all the people I know in Poland who were children at the time of Chernobyl have thyroid issues, including my partner. It’s not accurate to say that it had zero health impact. Of course, coal has plenty of health impact, just not a good look to be so flippant about a major nuclear disaster.
- rollcat 5y ago
  Chernobyl was also a political/PR issue, and in typical USSR fashion, the general public wasn't even informed until over a week after the incident. Consider the half-life of iodine-135, by the time people were being recommended and provided with the necessary medication most of the damage was already done.
  - dougmwne 5y ago
    Indeed. I know people who found out because they had friends in the university physics department. General population was not told immediately.
- wwtrv 5y ago
  How do you know those issues thyroid issues were not caused by fossil fuel pollution? Many more people have serious health issues or die every year due pollutants emitted from burning coal (and other fossil fuels but coal is by far the worst) than the total death count related to Chernobyl was, its not even comparable. Poland is especially bad in this regard. It consistently has one the highest PM10 and PM2.5 levels in Europe (and I assume it should have been much worse in the 80's)
  - sam_lowry_ 5y ago
    Indeed. We should also not forget that coal ash significantly contributes to radiation exposure in humans. Every winter it's the same all over Poland. There are places like Krakow that consistently rank among the most polluted towns in the world during winter [1]. [1] https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/12/15/polish-city-records-worst-air-pollution-in-the-world-as-winter-smog-descends/ https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/12/15/polish-city-records-w...
  - dougmwne 5y ago
    Because there is a well studied link and a clear biological pathway has been identified. [1] I’m not in favor of coal, I know it has health consequences, but the existence of coal pollutants does not negate the existence of health consequences from nuclear disasters. I’m also not against nuclear, but it is clearly dangerous, both to health and environment and for proliferation. Considering and balancing these risks as well as climate risk is good governance. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626541/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626541/

dougmwne 5y ago

Nearly all the people I know in Poland who were children at the time of Chernobyl have thyroid issues, including my partner. It’s not accurate to say that it had zero health impact. Of course, coal has plenty of health impact, just not a good look to be so flippant about a major nuclear disaster.

rollcat 5y ago
Chernobyl was also a political/PR issue, and in typical USSR fashion, the general public wasn't even informed until over a week after the incident. Consider the half-life of iodine-135, by the time people were being recommended and provided with the necessary medication most of the damage was already done.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  Indeed. I know people who found out because they had friends in the university physics department. General population was not told immediately.
wwtrv 5y ago
How do you know those issues thyroid issues were not caused by fossil fuel pollution? Many more people have serious health issues or die every year due pollutants emitted from burning coal (and other fossil fuels but coal is by far the worst) than the total death count related to Chernobyl was, its not even comparable. Poland is especially bad in this regard. It consistently has one the highest PM10 and PM2.5 levels in Europe (and I assume it should have been much worse in the 80's)
- sam_lowry_ 5y ago
  Indeed. We should also not forget that coal ash significantly contributes to radiation exposure in humans. Every winter it's the same all over Poland. There are places like Krakow that consistently rank among the most polluted towns in the world during winter [1]. [1] https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/12/15/polish-city-records-worst-air-pollution-in-the-world-as-winter-smog-descends/ https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/12/15/polish-city-records-w...
- dougmwne 5y ago
  Because there is a well studied link and a clear biological pathway has been identified. [1] I’m not in favor of coal, I know it has health consequences, but the existence of coal pollutants does not negate the existence of health consequences from nuclear disasters. I’m also not against nuclear, but it is clearly dangerous, both to health and environment and for proliferation. Considering and balancing these risks as well as climate risk is good governance. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626541/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10626541/