jeffwWhy Germany ditched nuclear before coal—and why it won’t go back
SigmarSternWhen I was a kid, Chernobyl happened. We weren’t that far away and although I was very little I still remember the fear and uncertainty in my parent’s faces. The following years were marked by research about what we can no longer eat, where our food comes from, etc
I also remember the fights about where to store nuclear waste.
I don’t want to burn coal. I am pretty upset about what happened to our clean energy plans. But I will also never trust nuclear again. And I think, so do many in my generation.
100which is funny because fossil fuels are everywhere poisoning the air and environment in general, not different from the nuclear radiation bogeyman
Especially when coal rejects a lot more radioactive materials in the air than nuclear power
TarteThere are still large areas in southern Germany where you’re not allowed to eat wild mushrooms and every boar that is hunted must be tested for radiation. That is because of the fallout from Chernobyl 38 years ago and 1400 km away.
Which is mostly due to fear(mongering) and not real residue.
And see another comment about coal emissions which are happening right now.
Please do note the official warnings of the BFS (Federal Office for Radiation Protection). Contamination of forests with Caesium-137 is a health risk in many southern Bavarian forests. It's half-life period is 30 years. The disaster was in 1986. That means it's still roughly half of it there and the layered forest grounds preserve radiation well.
If you're a mushroom forager on vacation in southern Bavaria - just don't do it. Or at least inform yourself which types of mushrooms you shouldn't eat in particular for radiation reasons.
General information and warnings (2022):
https://www.bfs.de/DE/themen/ion/notfallschutz/notfall/tschornobyl/umweltfolgen.html#doc6055566bodyText3
Specifically regarding mushrooms (2019):
https://www.bfs.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/BfS/DE/broschueren/ion/info-wildpilze.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=7
Umweltkontaminationen und weitere Folgen des Reaktorunfalls von Tschornobyl (russ.: Tschernobyl)
Der Unfall im Kernkraftwerk Tschornobyl (russ.: Tschernobyl) setzte 1986 radioaktive Stoffe in die Atmosphäre frei. In Europa ist für die Strahlung, der Mensch und Umwelt dadurch auch heute noch ausgesetzt sind, in erster Linie Cäsium-137 in regional unterschiedlicher Ausprägung von Bedeutung. In Deutschland können Waldprodukte wie etwa Pilze oder Wildschweine regional noch problematisch sein. Von touristischen Besuchen der näheren Umgebung des Kernkraftwerks Tschornobyl ist aus Strahlenschutzsicht abzuraten.
OK, thanks. That ends the argument on South German forests, but doesn’t end it on nuclear energy being more or less harmful than coal.