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First and Last Name

Ms. Ayala

EN 102-104

March 10, 2019

Annotated Bibliography

Chico Harlan. Japan battles Fukushima water leaks. Washingtonpost.com, September 4, 2013

Wednesday. https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?

collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:598P-34X1-JCDY-T36V-00000-

00&context=1516831. Accessed February 25, 2019.

[This news report includes the reactive measures being taken by the Japanese government

two years after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This

news article is important in providing the effects of the nuclear disaster, in this case water

contamination, and the drastic measures being taken to lessen the damage. Groundwater

contamination has necessitated action in the form of freezing the soil in order to deter

further spread of radioactive contaminants into the ocean. This article briefly reviews the

means in which the groundwater becomes contaminated and glazes over the international

criticism of the Japanese government’s actions so far. This article will be helpful to me in

expressing how the disaster has and continues to impact the environment and the actions

being taken concerning this calamity.]

Mahaffey, James A. Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: from the

Ozark Mountains to Fukushima. Pegasus Books, 2015.

[This book goes in-depth into the developments and progression of nuclear research and

discoveries involving nuclear energy. In doing so, the author thoroughly investigates an
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assortment of nuclear meltdowns and disasters as you’d expect from the title. The

explanation from each incident is analyzed determining exactly what happened and why

and where scientists may have gone wrong. Included in this book are the Chernobyl and

Fukushima disasters, which are considered large-scale disasters. The analysis of each

incident and their causes provides an understanding of how mankind can learn from the

mistakes made and further advance nuclear science. This book provides an extensive

understanding of several nuclear disasters providing me with information to reference in

researching and explaining my own topics. Also included are the specifics of both

subjects of my research, Chernobyl and Fukushima, which presents me with more

information and content to compare the aspects of each nuclear disaster within my essay,

as well as yet another point of view.]

Querfeld, Rebecca, et al. “Anthropogenic Radionuclides in Water Samples from the Chernobyl

Exclusion Zone.” Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, no. 1, 2018, p.

423. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10967-018-6030-y. Accessed March 4, 2019.

[This article provides an experimental determination of the concentration of radionuclides

still residing in the waterbodies of the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl over 30

years after the disaster. The article provides an introduction to the study as well as an

explanation for doing the experiment. That explanation being the Ukrainian

government’s decision to no longer sustain the water level of the cooling pond which is

an artificial body of water near the power plant. The choice to discontinue sustaining the

water levels may cause a secondary release of radionuclides that will affect the

surrounding aquatic environment. This action prompted an experiment to determine the

concentration of remaining radionuclides in the waterbodies of the exclusion zone. An

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extensive experiment was performed on different aquatic locations. The experiment is

explained in-depth within the article with images provided as well. This article also

contains a clear conclusion of the experiment which includes a definitive result of

radionuclides remaining in waterbodies at an easily detectable level. This article provides

me with scientific data to include in my essay that supports the aquatic environment was

not only affected by the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl but continues to be affected over

30 years later and that secondary effects are a possibility.]

Steinhauser, Georg, et al. “Review: Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima Nuclear

Accidents: A Review of the Environmental Impacts.” Science of the Total Environment,

vol. 470–471, Feb. 2014, pp. 800–817. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.10.029.

Accessed February 25, 2019.

[This academic article thoroughly compares the impacts of Fukushima and Chernobyl.

All important aspects of each disaster are mentioned including cause, types of

contaminants released, area of evacuation and contamination, environmental impacts,

health effects, and projected mortality. Meticulous studies revealed that Chernobyl’s

impacts were far worse than that of Fukushima for several reasons. Fukushima had

smaller contaminated and evacuated areas compared to Chernobyl and response time at

Fukushima was much quicker leading to less contamination and projected health effects

being lower than that of Chernobyl. Mutual characteristics between Fukushima and

Chernobyl are included as well. This article is thorough and technical providing me with

any exact and scientific information I may want to include in my article such as the type

of contaminants and diagrammed information about the area affected.]

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“4/28/1986: Chernobyl Disaster.” ABC News, ABC News Network, 27 Apr. 2015,

abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/chernobyl-disaster-nuclear-plant-soviet-1986-9843882.

Accessed February 25, 2019.

[This video is a news report following the Chernobyl disaster. Considering the Chernobyl

disaster occurred over 30 years ago this video introduces the point of view and

circumstances directly following the accident. This video provides information about the

Soviet Union’s hesitation in admitting the accident had occurred and only doing so

following reports of radiation moving past soviet borders and into northern Europe. This

video also establishes the Chernobyl power plant, it’s location, and the population

potentially affected. The report continues by comparing Chernobyl’s facilities to

American facilities and demonstrates the flaws that could have contributed to the

magnitude of this nuclear catastrophe. This video depicts important viewpoints and will

be useful in establishing necessary background information within my essay.]