THE LAST NUCLEAR PLANT (Short story)

THE LAST NUCLEAR PLANT

It was a fine afternoon in the last week of October, 2013. Dr Tamilarasu was about to leave his psychiatric clinic a bit early as it was the thirteenth birthday of his elder daughter. Usually, he used to be there in the clinic till eight’o clock in the evening. But, he was suddenly stopped by the father of a very beautiful girl, hardly fifteen, who stood beside him with a doomed face.

“Sir, are you leaving early?” asked her father.

“I have some urgent work at home... That’s why; I didn’t fix any appointment in the afternoon. Will you please come tomorrow? I will recommend them to issue you the first token...”

“Sir… Will you please prescribe for some sleeping pills?" said her father.

"What?"

"Medical shop owners will not supply them without any prescription,” the other man’s face grew grim.

“What?”

“She hasn’t slept for the past ten days.” 

“Ten days?” 

♠

Dr Tamilarasu switched on the air conditioner and chilled air started moving in the room. Within the next twenty or thirty seconds, the young girl turned quite uneasy as her lungs started choking.

“Dad... Please ask him to switch it off...,” the young girl started pleading her father.

“O.K... O.K... Don’t worry,” the doctor consoled her while turning the knob of the air-conditioner.

“This child is quite unsettled...” thought the doctor... “She is knitting her beautiful eyebrows continuously... What could be the reason?”

Recurring thoughts... Yes... I got it!

Though, Dr Tamilarasu was a practicing psychiatrist, he was quite known for his capabilities as a psychologist. He used to conduct regular workshops in schools and colleges to improve the life skills of students as well as teachers.

“Even I too have a beautiful daughter like you...” Dr Talmilarasu started the conversation with her. He used the words as well as the tone cleverly to step into her zone of comfort. An unusual smile appeared on her face. “Now... Please tell me your name?”

“Tamil Selvi,” replied the young girl.

“Beautiful name... and we have something in common... what’s that?”

“Tamil...,” replied the young girl while going through the metal plate which bore his name as well as educational qualifications. 

“Intelligent girl...”

“Thank you...Sir...”

“Very good... Now, will you please wait in the next room? I would like to have a chat with your father... alone... Is that O.K, dear Selvi?”

“She is very afraid to sit alone...” said her father painfully.

“Don’t worry Selvi... One of our nurses will give you company...Is that O.K?”

“Yes,” she nodded her head. 

♠

“Where do you come from?” Dr Tamilarasu started the conversation.

“Sir, I am from here only… the same city?” replied Mr Selvan, her beloved father.

“Tirunelveli?”

“Yes Sir…”

“So… Please tell me what had happened?”

“Sir, my daughter is a very bright girl. To be very precise, she used to adjust the top ranks in her class from the very first standard itself.”

“O.K… then what happened?”

“There was a seminar program in her school with the participation of students from all over Tamilnadu state, last month. Unfortunately, she was the leader of her school team and they got the first prize.”

“What was the main topic of discussion?” the doctor became curious as he used to publish various research papers in prestigious medical journals. 

♠

“The need for conservation of energy, various energy sources, alternate energy sources, hazards and challenges and so on… these are the main topics for discussion during the seminar,” said Miss Jaya Andrews, her beloved teacher, who is a source of constant encouragement for every student. "Are you comfortable with the subject?"

 “Surely Miss,” Selvi replied happily. 

“So, from where do you start your research?” asked the teacher.

“Shall we start it with nuclear fission?” asked Selvi.

“Surely… You can use the internet connection in our staff room for further information... But?"

“But! Information is not knowledge!” the girls shouted. 

"Yes!" 
♠

“Let’s go through Wikipedia,” said one of her friends.

“Never believe upon the complete authenticity of websites like Wikipedia,” said Miss Jaya Andrews.

“Why do you say so, Miss?” one of the girls asked politely.

“Encyclopedias like Wikipedia are peer edited. The authenticity of many of its articles, are still under the cloud of doubt. But, the articles about science and technology are more authentic than that of history. Peer re-writing of history is very dangerous. It will misguide the future generations!”

“O.K. Miss.”

♠

They went through more than thirty different websites on that day itself and the information collected started piling up in various folders within her personal computer. Selvi wrote an elegant paper for presentation in the seminar and her elder brother created a very dynamic power-point for the same. 

♠

“Then, what happened?” Dr Tamilarasu asked Tamil Selvi.

“Sir, we did the best presentations and emerged as the best participants in that seminar.”

“That sounds great! Congratulations Selvi,” said the doctor. “Will you please tell me about your presentation?”
♠

Miss Jaya Andrews sat in the front row, carefully listening to the presentation by Tamil Selvi. 

“A nuclear and radiation accident is defined as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility." Lethal effects to individuals, large radio-activity release to the environment are the major hazards.

The worst example of a "nuclear accident" till date is the Chernobyl Disaster, which occurred in 1986. It was said that the accident killed 30 people directly, as well as damaging approximately $7 billion of property. A reactor core was damaged and significant amounts of radioactivity were released, which left a large geographic area uninhabitable. Radioactive fallout from the accident was concentrated in areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. Approximately 350,000 people were forcibly resettled away from these areas soon after the accident. The radioactivity had reached even Canada, nearly six thousand kilometers away!

A Nuclear meltdown is a term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in reactor core damage from overheating. It has been defined as the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor, and refers to the core’s either complete or partial collapse. A core melt accident occurs when the heat generated by a nuclear reactor exceeds the heat removed by the cooling systems to the point where at least one nuclear fuel element exceeds its melting point." 

And she continued her presentation based on many technical aspects. Later she switched over to Fukushima Disaster, in which a nuclear power plant in Japan collapsed due to earthquake and the Tsunami followed by. 

“People evacuated from places adjacent of Fukushima, Japan, are facing either not returning to their homes forever, or if they do return to their homes, living in a contaminated areas. And the major problem associated with every nuclear power plant, is the disposal of burnt out nuclear waste. If it gets mixed with drinking water sources, it will be detrimental to human life.”

Let me wind up this session with a simple question – “electric power or a radiation free life, which is more important?” 

♠

“I really wish, I could have attended your seminar,” Dr Tamilarasu told Selvi. “Your presentation skill is exceptionable. Then, what made you so uneasy?”

“Sir, do you know something… Power generation from first nuclear reactor at Koodankulam started on 22/10/2013.”

“From where?”

“Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. It is just sixty kilometres away from here, our home town.”

“So what? Nuclear power is the only remedy for the 12 hour long power-cuts in Tamilnadu. Still, we are in short of hundreds of megawatts of power.” 

“Sir, are you aware of something? It seems, the combustion chambers inside of the reactors are made of recycled steel. They are not supposed to have any welded joints. Activists are saying that in broad daylight…  Sir, every moment, I am very much worried about a possible nuclear meltdown. I am worried about the environmental pollution it may produce…And knowing that whatever food we eat, it might be contaminated… and always living with this sort of shadow of fear over us… that we will die early because of Cancer...” she was getting excited. “I am worried about the biggest man-made catastrophe in future…”

“Calm down Selvi…Calm down…”

“Doctor… It doesn’t just kill now, it kills later, and it could kill centuries later...it kills generations...”

“Nothing will happen… it is designed by the Russians.”

“Sir, More than 1.6 million people died of Cancer in and around Chernobyl since 1986… Media around the world ignored the matter very cleverly…They won’t write a single word against the international nuclear lobby, who are busy selling obsolete nuclear technology to nations like India. Sir, you must be aware of one more thing, that the density of population in Ukraine is almost one third of Tamilnadu.”

"Is it?"

"If a meltdown happens, who will bear the liabilities? What will happen to the victims? What will happen to the young wombs?" 

“So, you mean to say that it is not safe enough to stay in Tirunelveli?" asked the doctor. 

"Yes"

"Is there any practical solution?"

"Either they should stop functioning of the plant or we should move away at least a thousand kilometers away from here," said Selvi. 

"Do you have any relatives in Bangalore?" Dr Tamilarasu asked purposely as Bangalore city was almost 600 kilometers away from Tirunelveli.

"Yes... my aunt stays there... But, she is childless."

"You can be her child... I will recommend it to your Dad."

"Is it?"

"You can stay with her...  I assure.” He smiled happily. “Tonight, you will sleep happily..."  

They left happily and case was closed for ever! 

♠

"Psychological disorders of victims of nuclear disasters" Dr Tamilarasu typed in the search box of Google. His weary eyes started reading the following information appeared on the screen.

The consequences of low-level radiation are often more psychological than radiological. Because damage from very-low-level radiation cannot be detected, people exposed to it are left in anguished uncertainty about what will happen to them. Many believe they have been fundamentally contaminated for life and may refuse to have children for fear of birth defects. Forced evacuation from a radiation or nuclear accident may lead to social isolation, anxiety, depression, psychosomatic medical problems, reckless behavior, even suicide. Such was the outcome of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine. Such great psychological danger does not accompany other materials that put people at risk of cancer and other deadly illness. 

♠

"Happy b’day to you...Happy b’day to my Sweety, Happy b’day to you..." Dr Tamilarasu sang beautifully, while hugging his elder daughter tightly.

"Thank you... Dad!"

"We will celebrate your next b’day in Bangalore."

"Waw...Daaad...You are great...Can we spend three days there?"

"Three days? We are going to shift our hospital to Bangalore... Your Dad can have better prospects there!"

November 2013

♠ 

PREMJI