LECTURE  REVIEWS

 ”SIZEWELL  TWINNED WITH CHENOBYL”

 On a cold wet February afternoon our speaker, Len Green, brought us back to life with the promise of no after lunch siesta.  He was proved right. 

 We were all enthralled by his passion for the chosen subject “Sizewell twinned with Chenobyl”, the title apparently used by a group who gather annually on the A12 near Leiston on April 26th, the anniversary of the Chenobyl disaster. The explosion actually happened on that day in 1986.  My scientific studies took place many years ago so I am in no way going to attempt to emulate Len, but I think his lecture was so fascinating it well deserves a review on our website however intellectual it may or may not be. Having said that, he was able to get the basics of why the Chenobyl disaster happened over to us by the use of some excellent slides.

 We were first introduced to Nuclear Physics by the use of 2 magnets where like poles attract, thence describing how all elements are made up of atoms.  Sizewell B, built on the coast near Leiston, is a pressurized water reactor where the nuclear fuel rods are submerged in water, the seawater being used as the moderator.  The reactor is also sealed in a concrete casing.  Chenobyl was a nuclear power plant situated in Priyat, Ukraine.  The explosion was apparently due to an experiment which plant operators were carrying out, unfortunately at the one time of the year when many people were out enjoying the spring sunshine, and was a direct result of defective reactor design. The fuel rods were in pressure tubes and graphite was used as a moderator. Unlike Sizewell the reactor was not sealed in concrete.  The area was evacuated. 

In the years following the disaster many cases of thyroid cancer have been reported, but many of the children, now adults, still remain healthy.  The exclusion zone, now abandoned, has become a haven for wildlife, and we were shown may interesting slides to this effect.  This is proof in itself that the presence of humans has a direct influence on the natural environment, not always beneficial.

 Kate Harrison. 19. 02. 09.