Nuclear Power andIts Danger

Nuclear power'sdanger to health,safety,and even life itself can be summed up in one worD.radiation.Nuclear radiation has a certain mystery about it,partly because it cannot

be detected by humansenses.

It can't be seen orheard,or touched,or tasted,even though it may be all around us.There are otherthings like that.For example,radio waves are all around us but we can't detect

them,sensethem,without a radio receiver.Similarly,we can't sense radioactivity without aradiation detector.But unlike common radio waves,nuclear radiation is notharmless

to human beings andother living things.

At very highlevels,radiation can kill an animal or human being outright by killing massesof cells in vital organs.But even the lowest level of radiation can do serious

damage.There is nolevel of radiation that is completely safe.If the radiation does not hitanything important,the damage may not be significant.This is the case when onlya

few cells arehit,and if they are killed outright.Your body will replace the dead cells withhealthy ones.But if the few cells are only damaged,and if they reproduce

themselves,you maybe in trouble.They reproduce themselves in a deformed way.They can grow intocancer.Sometimes this does not show up for many years.

This is anotherreason for some of the mystery about nuclear radiation.Serious damage can bedone without the victim being aware at the time that damage has occurred.A

person can beirradiated and feel fine,then die of cancer five,ten,or twenty years later as aresult.Or a child can be born weak or liable to serious illness as a result ofradiation

absorbed by itsgrandparents.

Radiation can hurtus.We must know the truth.Radiation cancause serious consequences even at the lowest level______.

A.when it kills fewcells

B.if it damages fewcells

C.though the damagedcells can repair themselves

D.unless the damagedcells can reproduce themselves