Imagine a city thriving on reliable energy and suddenly being destroyed, both the city and the energy source. This is a risk that the nuclear industry takes. There is a risk of nuclear catastrophe every day. How big is the risk really? Contrary to popular belief, he is rather thin. Nuclear power is safe and continues to become safe due to changes in plant design, improvements in technology and safety, and advances in technology and research. Background Information People are more concerned than ever about nuclear security. 31 nuclear accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl reactor meltdown (Nuclear power plant accidents: listed and classified since 1952 Theguardian.com). Most of these accidents have had a significant impact, adding to nuclear and fusion safety concerns. In Chernobyl, for example, residents had to flee the city in 1986 and cannot return today. In fact, the explosion radius of the Chernobyl reactor meltdown was 30 km, affecting the city and the environment. And even more recently, the Fukashima reactor in Japan melted down. These two crises had historic effects on society. They have also led to growing merger concerns. Meltdowns affect people who live near reactors, but they also affect other people. For example, the Chernobyl meltdown was larger than most other meltdowns, with an explosion radius of 30 kilometers. However, because the reactor was so close to the city, people had to evacuate because the plant was within an explosion radius of about 20 miles. Regular meltdowns have an explosion radius of 16 km, but the aftereffects affect up to an 80 km zone around the reactor (“Nuclear Meltdown Survival”. Disaster Planning and Survival). This can easily...... middle of paper ...... Listed and classified since 1952." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, March 18, 2011. Web. March 12, 2014. .World Nuclear Association "The Nuclear reactors are one of the safest ways to produce electricity." Ed. Debra A. Miller. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Current "Nuclear Reactor Safety" Controversies. in Web Context. March 14, 2014. URL from the document http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&dviSelectedPage=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results =&p=OVIC&action=2&catId=&activity. Type =&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010706212&source=Bookmark&u=wauc1781&jsid=55d5adadee32aa915afb2aa49ff43d20