In the wake of the tragic tremblement de terre (earthquake) that devastated Japan a few days ago, an overheated debate has re-emerged on the international scene concerning the risks associated with the development of l’énergie nucléaire for civilian purposes.
Many opponents of the use of this form of energy are undoubtedly well-intentioned, and are quick to point out previous nuclear-related accidents, such as the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania (an accident that, eerily enough, seems to have been announced to the “grand public“ 12 days before its occurrence, in the famous American thriller “The China Syndrome“, starring Jane Fonda and Jack Lemon), or the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the only of such accidents to be classified as a niveau sept (level seven) on the “Échelle internationale des événements nucléaires” (“The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.”)
But, in the same time, and beyond these very legitimate fears over the safety of our planet and its environment, several leaders of emerging countries, such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa, suspect less laudable motivations behind re-launching the “nuclear debate”, as was the case with the “CO2 cap-and-trade” issue, whose true designs, in some powerful circles, had less to do with l’environnement per se than with issues of domination géopolitique and économique.
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But before going further into this topic, which can be the subject of a separate post here on the French Blog, you are invited today to watch a very valuable documentaire français called “les dessous des cartes” (literally and figuratively, “The Lower Side of the Cards“), which I trust you will find very insightful.
“Le Dessous des Cartes“—”Le civil nucléaire” (“Civilian Nuclear”)
And whether your French level is “beginner” or “intermediate”, here is for you a list of some key terms and expressions translated in English that can help you understand this documentaire:
- Réacteur nucléaire: Nuclear Reactor
- Centrale nucléaire: Nuclear power plant
- Fission de l’atome: Atomic fission
- Liquide caloporteur: Heat-transfer fluid
- L’eau d’une rivière: The water of a river
- La réaction en chaîne: Chain reaction
- Génération de réacteurs: Reactor generation
- Réacteur “EPR”: For “European Pressurized Reactor”
- Combustible: Fuel
- Pays reserves: Reserve countries
- Pays producteurs: Producing countries
- Compagnie minière: Mining company
- AREVA: The leading French company in nuclear energy
- Uranium enrichi: Enriched Uranium
- Usine nucléaire: Nuclear factory
- Déchet radioactif: Radioactive waste
- Demi-vie: Half-life
- Fût en acier: Steel barrel
- Radioactivité naturelle: Natural radioactivity
- Site de stockage: Stockpiling site
- ANDRA: “L’Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs” (The French”National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management“)
- Sûreté: Safety
- Enfuissement: Burrying
- Séisme majeur: Major earthquake
- Enjeu: What is at stake; issue
- Dépôt radioactif: Radioactive deposit
- Geler un programme nucléaire: To freeze a nuclear program
- Charbon: Coal
- L’éolien: Wind-born
