every 17,000 reactor thousand reactors will be in use...
power and take up perspective on this relatively new technology.
JOHN BORAN reviews "The Nuclear Elliott and others, published by Pluto.
The Nuclear Disaster is a useful guide to the nuclear industry and examines some of the main issues of the nuclear debate: the economics nuclear-generated electricity; the role of private capital in nuclear power; the operations of the nuclear establishment; the nuclear fuel cycle, safety.
The Politics of Nuclear Power looks more closely at why the state has chosen this method of generating electricity and the effects it has on employment in the energy supply industry, on trade union rights, and the benefits of an alternative energy strategy.
Nuclear power is providing private industry with a new source of profit which, Britain, is guaranteed by the In the USA, industry had to be lured into the nuclear market by large state grants research and development, because of the massive capital costs involved.
REFUSAL Even with guaranteed profit on power station contracts, the margin is not enough for firms like GEC, which has recently reduced its stake in Britain's National Nuclear Corporation because of the government's SECUS to opt American-designed pressurised water reactor (PWR).
GEC has the rights to this design the US-owned Westinghouse Corporation and will only consider nuclear contracts likely to include large scale ordering of the PWR, accident can be expected in a nuclear reactor once years. By the year Two new books continue the debate on nuclear the question of a socialist and involves lower capital costs since much of the plant can be mass produced.
The current British system — of the advanced Factor - is largely fabricated on site, and therefore cannot easily be mass produced.
An important factor in the and decision to develop nucleargenerated electricity desire on the part of many governments to have an energy source independent of coal and oil.
This is because of miners' strikes, and the 1C201 ot Third countries to restrict supplies of their oil and at the same time raise its price.
Since such restrictions could be extended to the mining and export of uranium, a number of • especiany britain France and Germany - want to develop fast breeder reactors which, given enough of them, for will extend uranium supplies by La factor of 60.
Can achieve
producing fissionable nium cine non-fissionable uranium 238 in natural uranium ore.
As well as threatening the employment of miners, development of nuclear power has made a number of inroads into democratic rights.
In Britain, civil and military nuclear technology have always been closely linked. vorkers at the Atomic Energi Authority and British Nuclear Fuels are covered Official Secrets Act, example.
The threatened; and on production of a certificate from the Home which generates higher profits Office, management can veto 'WOULD you like to say a few words for the viewers?: a radioactive cow, contaminated after an accident at Windscale. 2000 a Disaster', gas-cooled reEne macrcasin workers' this by health and bulk pluto- of legislation and Protection "classified information' is likely to be brought up.
The two Special Branch officers present throughout the Windscale inquiry were presumably not there to check on those in tavour or extenang tne processing facilities...
Many the nuclear industry in support An argument often used by of nuclear power is the number of jobs created by increasing by the the amount The argument is totally strike The argument fallacious.
The number of jobs created and the skills required are much greater with renewable energy techniques and energy conservation programmes.
This tive technologies is only just menting, ment radical mists, engineers, scientists, and political groups.
Another subject taken up in both books is nuclear safety.
Apart from the problems proliferation, number of atom bombs in the world and the possible theft of bomb material, there are the problems of routine low-level rights under the safety at work power stations and fuel.
Act, possibility accident.
maustry is very good In Britain, "possibly of nuclearassessment of alternathe involveeconoof increasing the emissions of radioactivity from but nuclear coal The effects of these plants will not be known for 15 to 20 years, and there is always the FAILURE large-scale Until now, the health and safety record of the nuclear scale British Nuclear radioactivity Fuels has settled out of court with the widows of two men who died of cancers which were caused by contact accident. with radioactive materials'. Failure In the USA, a larger number of deaths have been recorded, complex, This is a comprehensive guide for the political activist.
It explains in detail:
* How the police can operate on the streets, on private premises, in the station How to cope during demonstrations, pickets, squats, occupations and meetings * How to defend yourself, or get yourself well defended, * What your rights are in prison How you can fight back How, in fact, to have less trouble with the law Pluto Press Ltd, Unit 10 Spencer Court, / Chalcot Road, London NW1 8LH Telephone 01-722 0141 ROBB once can NUCLEAR these small SarC comparison with deaths in the and OuTe energy producing industries.
The problem, however, is the of a possible nuclear accident where the release of could caust thousands of deaths and not be limited in time and space, as is the case with any conventional analysis of highly engineered nuclear stations is CHLu while large Press gies that less occur.
Official statistics show that a serious may be expected in a nuclear reactor every 17,000 reactor Given that there will be a thousand reactors in the world by the year 2000 this represents a serious accident once every 17 years. (There are presently 477 reactors built construction.)
The assessment of this risk is finally a political question, but for many on the left this lack of safety is unacceptable.
The possibility of engineering a higher safety level is especially given the subjective factor of fallibility among the engineers who design the plants.
But the anti-nuclear move ment should not negate the advances of technology that to liberate humanity.
Without wishing to draw up a blueprint of socialist society, It Is tne case that nuclear. generated electricity will liberate many more people from energy producuon than possible with labour intensive, renewable, and conservation technologies.
The same argument applies also to coal and oil stations and in general to so-called 'mega' and microtechnologies.
The argument for renewable energy options and Sane created in the aerospace, shipbuilding, plumbing, and building industries their skills being compatible with wind, wave solar, and conservation technologies — is tactically useful in relation to a struggle against capitalism the above industries continue to face widespread unemployment.
But large scale 'mega' technology offers possibilities of reducing boring, repetitive, and someuime dangerous jobs, and can be subject to popular control in a socialist democracy.
The argument of many environmentalists is that only small scale 'micro' technolo offer the possibility of popular control - an argument conceived almost entirely within the framework of capitalist social relations.
The relationship between these opposing of technological development and incorporation Marxist analysis is something that still largely remains to be done by the left.
Both books are available from The Other Bookshop, Upper Street, London N1. Add 10% if ordering by mail. IT IS with great regret that we heard of the death last week o Joseph Hansen, a longstandin tenter the America Socialist Workers Party and editor Intercontinental Press/Inprecor.
We shall be publishing an appreciation in next week's issue.
Editorial Board Socialist Challenge 25 January 1979 page 15
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published by Counter Information Services (65p), and "The Politics of Nuclear Power' (£1.95), by Dave
Pluto AA TROUBLE WITH THE
Joseph Hansen