How Did a Nuclear Accident Happen in Turkey Without a Nuclear Power Plant?

Unlike many countries in the world, Turkey has not yet an active nuclear power plant no. The Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is under construction, is expected to be operational soon. Recently, Turkey’s second nuclear power plant It was announced that it will open in Sinop. However, although Türkiye has not produced any nuclear energy in the past, it has a high nuclear risk countries managed to get into the top ranks.

Istanbul in İkitelli With an event that took place in 1999, Türkiye; World-renowned radioactive disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima “The 20 most important radioactive accidents in the world” entered the list. This event, which was the result of important negligence and mistakes, took place before there was even a power plant, and increased the hesitations about Turkey’s turn to nuclear energy and the concerns about possible much greater dangers.

It all started when the Ilgaz family members, who were dealing with scrap business, accidentally found a radioactive substance.

A random family coincidence with radioactive material it could only be the result of gross mistake and negligence. resulting from nuclear power generation nuclear waste must be properly stored and disposed of. They cannot be thrown out randomly, as they pose dangers to human health and life that will last for many years. Therefore, nuclear waste management requires serious care and responsibility.

Ilgaz family with junk He was making a living, collecting waste materials in the environment and doing the necessary processes for recycling. From the container sold as scrap to the family in January 1999 radioactive substance output. This substance was among the materials sent for recycling unconsciously.

After coming into contact with the substance, Murat Ilgaz’s fingers melted, Hüseyin Ilgaz got cancer in 2004 and died at the age of 57.

13 people Ilgaz family they had been exposed to radiation from items discarded as scrap. Family members exposed to radiation only test tube baby was able to have children. Naki Ilgaz, who had a 6-month-old daughter on the date of the incident, was unable to have children again. early menopause entry.

Ilgaz family and other victims in the incident Turkish Atomic Energy Authority. violations and other human rights violations caused by the nuclear accident. European Court of Human RightsThey applied to TAEK (Turkish Atomic Energy Authority) and received compensation. However, as family members later stated, all these expenses were only enough to cover the health problems caused by the nuclear accident.

The Turkish Atomic Energy Agency was found to be severely flawed in the nuclear accident.

Inadequacy of safety standards, deficiencies in inspection and control of radioactive materials serious negligence It was determined that he did not fulfill his responsibilities due to reasons such as:

Thus, Türkiye, which has no nuclear power plants, without supervision randomly thrown away radioactive waste It took its place in the list of the world’s worst nuclear accidents in the last 50 years.

Turkey was included in the classification of “serious accidents”, which is classified as 3rd degree, because the contamination took place in places where it should not have happened, 10 times more radioactive material was released than a person could legally be exposed to, and the accident resulted in death.

the event it wasn’t a simple omission and raised significant concerns about Turkey, which is a candidate to own a nuclear power plant. safety standards and control mechanisms It came to the agenda that it should be strengthened seriously, otherwise there is a risk of repetition of similar events and serious consequences.

nuclear accidents today potential risks and concerns about waste management cause serious reactions in the world public opinion. Environmental concerns, health and safety concerns are increasing against the use of nuclear energy, and many countries are therefore to alternative energy sources is heading.