Risks and impact of nuclear energy

In Japan, the third country with most reactors after the USA and France, nuclear power stations were not built near the big energy consuming metropolises like Tokyo, but in less prosperous cities. In the 60s, the local governments blindly accepted the arguments that supposedly guaranteed the safety of these nuclear stations, seduced by the subsidies and ideal of economic development.

Following the Fukushima accident, caused by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, the debate on the risks, efficiency, dependence upon and imbalances of nuclear energy when compared to the development of renewable energies has gained new strength in Europe. Over and above economy-related criteria on costs and the amortisation of investments in one or another energy model, the tragedy highlights the impact of nuclear energies and their radiotoxicity on health and the environment, a situation that remains in place for tens of thousands of years, and the cost of which for present and future generations cannot be calculated on a simple balance sheet.

Film: Nuclear Nation