Elements of Controversy

Elements of Controversy
Author: Barton C. Hacker
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 644
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780520083233

Unforgettable congressional hearings in 1978 revealed that fallout from American nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s had overexposed hundreds of soldiers and other citizens to radiation. Faith in governmental integrity was shaken, and many people have assumed that such overexposure caused great damage. Yet important questions remain--the most controversial being: did the radiation overexposure in fact cause the cancers and birth defects for which it has been blamed? Elements of Controversy is the result of a decade of exhaustive research in AEC documentary records and the full clinical and epidemiological literature on radiation effects. More concerned with uncovering the historical story than with assigning blame, Barton Hacker concludes that every precaution was taken by the AEC to avoid harming test participants or bystanders. And, he points out, the biomedical literature suggests that these precautions worked. Yet top officials in Washington--for whom the success of nuclear weapons was of overriding importance--had asserted that testing involved no risks at all. Discrepancies between unverifiable government claims and the revelations that some actual risk was present explain the origins and angry persistence of the controversies, Hacker argues. The Department of Energy delayed publication of Hacker's study for five years, and while his controversial book is sure to draw objections from both sides of the radiation-hazard debates, it will provide a much-needed guide to understanding their polemics. Unforgettable congressional hearings in 1978 revealed that fallout from American nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s had overexposed hundreds of soldiers and other citizens to radiation. Faith in governmental integrity was shaken, and many people have assumed that such overexposure caused great damage. Yet important questions remain--the most controversial being: did the radiation overexposure in fact cause the cancers and birth defects for which it has been blamed? Elements of Controversy is the result of a decade of exhaustive research in AEC documentary records and the full clinical and epidemiological literature on radiation effects. More concerned with uncovering the historical story than with assigning blame, Barton Hacker concludes that every precaution was taken by the AEC to avoid harming test participants or bystanders. And, he points out, the biomedical literature suggests that these precautions worked. Yet top officials in Washington--for whom the success of nuclear weapons was of overriding importance--had asserted that testing involved no risks at all. Discrepancies between unverifiable government claims and the revelations that some actual risk was present explain the origins and angry persistence of the controversies, Hacker argues. The Department of Energy delayed publication of Hacker's study for five years, and while his controversial book is sure to draw objections from both sides of the radiation-hazard debates, it will provide a much-needed guide to understanding their polemics.

Nuclear Energy Debate

Nuclear Energy Debate
Author: Justin Healey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 60
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING
ISBN: 9781921507687

The debate over the introduction of nuclear power in Australia has recently become more heated in light of safety concerns over the nuclear reactor meltdown emergency in Japan. Australia has also just committed to a carbon trading scheme to address its reliance on coal-fired energy and reduce greenhouse emissions. With 40% of the world's uranium located in Australia, the economic, environmental and health considerations are significant.This book contains an overview of global nuclear energy use and production, and presents a range of current opinions debating the pros and cons of Australia's expanded involvement in the nuclear power industry.Should Australia build nuclear reactors for its domestic power supply? How environmentally sustainable is nuclear energy, what are the costs, and how safe is the storage of radioactive waste? How does nuclear power compare to alternative sources of energy? What safeguards are there to ensure nations who purchase Australian uranium use it for electricity generation and not for nuclear weapons?Also includes: Worksheets and activities; Fast facts; Glossary; Web links; Index.

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons
Author: Scott Douglas Sagan
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Total Pages: 160
Release: 1995
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780393967166

Two scholars of international politcs debate the issue of nuclear proliferation beyond the superpowers, presenting arguments for "more will be better" and "more will be worse"

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate
Author: Daniel Salisbury
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2020-02-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000033333

This book constitutes an original archival history of government secrecy, public relations and the debate surrounding nuclear weapons in Britain from 1970 to 1983. The book contrasts the secrecy and near-silence of the Heath, Wilson and Callaghan governments on nuclear issues in the 1970s with the increasingly vocal case made for the possession of nuclear weapons by the first Thatcher government following a shift in approach in 1980. This shift occurred against a background of rising Cold War tensions and a growing public nuclear debate in the UK. The book seeks to contextualise and explain this transformation, considering the role of party politics, structures and personalities inside the government, and external influences: notably the role of investigative journalists and think tanks in cracking open official secrecy and demanding justification for Britain’s possession of nuclear weapons, and the peace movement in driving increasingly assertive public relations from 1980. The book draws on material from archives and interviews with key figures involved to provide an original and engaging account. It argues that this process of opening up saw significant disclosure of nuclear policy for the first time, and the most extensive public justification of the British nuclear capability to date, which has shaped public understanding of British nuclear weapons into the twenty-first century. This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, Cold War studies, nuclear politics and security studies.

Eisenhower, Science Advice, and the Nuclear Test-Ban Debate, 1945-1963

Eisenhower, Science Advice, and the Nuclear Test-Ban Debate, 1945-1963
Author: Benjamin P. Greene
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780804754453

Based on extensive research in government archives and private papers, this book analyzes the secret debate within the Eisenhower administration over the pursuit of a nuclear test-ban agreement. In contrast to much recent scholarship, this study concludes that Eisenhower strongly desired to reach an accord with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom to cease nuclear weapons testing. For Eisenhower, a test ban would ease Cold War tensions, slow the nuclear arms race, and build confidence toward disarmament; however, he faced continual resistance from his early scientific advisers, most notably Lewis L. Strauss and Edward Teller. Extensive research into previously unavailable government archival sources and collections of private manuscripts reveals the manipulative acts of test-ban opponents and other factors that inhibited Eisenhower s actions throughout his presidency. Meticulously analyzed, these sources underscore Eisenhower's dependence on the counsel of his science advisors, such as Strauss, James R. Killian, and George B. Kistiakowsky, to determine the course he pursued in regard to several components of his national security strategy. In addition to its comprehensive analysis of the test-ban debate, this book makes important contributions to the scholarly literature assessing Eisenhower's leadership and his approach to arms control. "

The Silent Bomb

The Silent Bomb
Author: Peter T. Faulkner
Publisher: Random House (NY)
Total Pages: 424
Release: 1977
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Nuclear Power: Both Sides

Nuclear Power: Both Sides
Author: Michio Kaku
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1983
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780393301281

The Early years--Underestimating the risks--Protecting the public--George Orwell understated the case--(etc.).

India's Nuclear Debate

India's Nuclear Debate
Author: Priyanjali Malik
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 355
Release: 2014-03-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 131780984X

Making the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party’s nuclear tests in 1998 its starting point, this book examines how opinion amongst India’s ‘attentive’ public shifted from supporting nuclear abstinence to accepting — and even feeling a need for — a more assertive policy, by examining the complexities of the debate in India on nuclear policy in the 1990s. The study seeks to account for the shift in opinion by looking at the parallel processes of how nuclear policy became an important part of the public discourse in India, and what it came to symbolise for the country’s intelligentsia during this decade. It argues that the pressure on New Delhi in the early 1990s to fall in line with the non-proliferation regime, magnified by India’s declining global influence at the time, caused the issue to cease being one of defence, making it a focus of nationalist pride instead. The country’s nuclear programme thus emerged as a test of its ability to withstand external compulsions, guaranteeing not so much the sanctity of its borders as a certain political idea of it — that of a modern, scientific and, most importantly, ‘sovereign’ state able to defend its policies and set its goals.

Nuclear Power Explained

Nuclear Power Explained
Author: Dirk Eidemüller
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2021-08-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030726703

From World War II to the present day, nuclear power has remained a controversial topic in the public eye. In the wake of ongoing debates about energy and the environment, policymakers and laypeople alike are once more asking the questions posed by countless others over the decades: What actually happens in a nuclear power plant? Can we truly trust nuclear energy to be safe and reliable? Where does all that radiation and waste go? This book explains everything you would want to know about nuclear power in a compelling and accessible way. Split into three parts, it walks readers through the basics of nuclear physics and radioactivity; the history of nuclear power usage, including the most important events and disasters; the science and engineering behind nuclear power plants; the politics and policies of various nations; and finally, the long-term societal impact of such technology, from uranium mining and proliferation to final disposal. Featured along the way are dozens of behind-the-scenes, full-color images of nuclear facilities. Written in a nontechnical style with minimal equations, this book will appeal to lay readers, policymakers and professionals looking to acquire a well-rounded view about this complex subject.

Nuclear Legacies

Nuclear Legacies
Author: Bryan C. Taylor
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780739119044

Although the Cold War is commonly considered 'over, ' the legacies of that conflict continue to unfold throughout the globe. One site of post-Cold War controversy involves the consequences of U.S. nuclear weapons production for worker safety, public health, and the environment. Over the past two decades, citizens, organizations, and governments have passionately debated the nature of these consequences, and how they should be managed. This volume clarifies the role of communication in creating, maintaining, and transforming the relationships between these parties, and in shaping the outcomes of related organizational and political deliberations. Providing various perspectives on nuclear culture and discourse, this anthology serves as a model of interdisciplinary communication scholarship that cuts across the subfields of political, environmental, and organizational communication studies, and rhetoric