[이현상의 퍼스펙티브]A fierce comparison of ‘1 gram of anchovy or 6 bananas’ suppressed the nuclear power plant ghost story

If you don’t know, be fooled. This is even more so in the scientific realm where unfamiliar concepts and terms appear. Instead of following the battles that experts unfold, they often fall into a confirmation bias to believe only what they want to believe. The result is the appearance of fake news and ghost stories that nourish fear. There was the mad cow disease wave, and the turmoil surrounding the deployment of THAAD missiles.

The recent controversy over tritium at the Wolseong nuclear power plant almost became the debut of mad cow disease and THAAD ghost story. A local broadcaster reported that tritium exceeded the standard level was found in a collection well on the site of the Wolseong nuclear power plant. However, the atmosphere was a little different from the past mad cow disease wave or THAAD controversy. Although the controversy did not completely go away, such as the public-private joint investigation team decided to conduct an on-site investigation, the post-nuclear camp’s arguments are not unilaterally amplified. The inclusion of nuclear experts in the investigation team is evidence. The tritium controversy has moved not from vague horror to the realm of scientific verification and discussion. What was the early suppression of the ghost story? This is a noteworthy topic regarding the effective response to prevalent fake news.

Reported’violation of emission standards’ in the water

The start was a continuous report by Pohang MBC in the early and mid last month. Pohang MBC reported that 710,000 becquerels (Bq) of tritium per liter, 18 times the “emission management standard,” were detected in about 2 tons of water accumulated in the groundwater collection well under the turbine building of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3. The wavelength was great. Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon insisted in the Supreme Council that “we should check whether the’nuclear mafia’ was involved in concealing the leak of radioactive hydrogen.” It was a few days later that members of the Democratic Party’s Special Environment Committee visited the Wolseong nuclear power plant. The offensive of post-nuclear organizations has also begun. “The groundwater around the nuclear power plant was contaminated with tritium.” “Tritium was detected in the bodies of residents near the nuclear power plant.” “Tritium continues to destroy DNA.”

Let’s start with the facts. The water in question had no reason to be a problem. The water with 710,000 Bq detected was not’discharged’ but’swelled before discharge’. When discharged, it is diluted with seawater to reach a level of 13 Bq, much lower than 40,000 Bq per liter, which is the standard of discharge concentration. The suspicion that tritium mixed with groundwater and left the nuclear power plant is unlikely to be true. The concentration of tritium in nearby groundwater or seawater was lower than that of rainwater. The Media Arbitration Committee accepted the request for a counter objection by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, saying, “The concentration of tritium cannot be expressed as 18 times the emission standard, and it is difficult to say that groundwater contaminated with radioactivity has spread outside the site of the nuclear power plant.”

The question remains. The reason why the concentration of tritium soared so much. KHNP believes that there is no possibility of leaking the facility. This is because no such phenomenon was observed afterwards. Professor Jeong Yong-hoon of KAIST explained, “In the process of evaporation of stagnant water, the concentration of tritium in the air melts and can increase.” Wonheung University Han Su-won, head of Wolseong Nuclear Power Division, said, “While looking for the cause, I found a related paper. Based on this, an evaporation test was conducted in which 1 liter of water was left in the atmosphere for 75 days. As a result, we found that the concentration of tritium was up to 1800 times higher.” Of course, this is a part that requires further investigation. It’s not something to jump in excitement while ignoring rational reasoning.

The offensive of the post-nuclear powers

The offensive of the post-nuclear forces did not attract much response. The phase quickly shifted due to the suspicion of the North Korean nuclear power supply. Why didn’t their’horror marketing’ work?

First of all, it is the active response of nuclear scientists. Immediately after the report, nuclear power majors pointed out the unscientific and irrationality of these arguments through social media and media outlets in the wake of political and post-nuclear forces. Although not a scientist, President Jeong Jae-hoon, Han Su-won, also refuted, “There should be no spread of irresponsible content claimed by very few (environmental) activists without being based on facts and scientific evidence.” The appearance of President Han Su-won, appointed by the current government, against the ruling party is unusual. The best part is ‘1 gram of anchovy or 6 bananas’. Professor Chung Yong-hoon of KAIST said, “The maximum amount of tritium radiation detected in residents’ urine is 0.0006 millisieverts (mSv), which is the same as the amount of exposure received when eating food.” It was the moment when the noisy offensive inciting fear turned into laughter.

Second, it is the poor knowledge system of post-nuclear forces. Shortly after the tritium report, the Democratic Party and post-nuclear activists made a lot of their own goals. Representative examples are comments such as “tritium is an artificial element that does not exist in nature” or “1~2g of tritium is produced from the body of one resident near the nuclear power plant”. Tritium is produced more than 200 grams per year by the interaction of high-energy particles from space, cosmic rays, and atmospheric matter. Professor Jeong said, “Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant produces 0.4g of tritium per year, and how does 1g come out of one person?” Remarks below common sense lowered the credibility of post-nuclear forces.

Third, it is because of doubts about political intentions. The offensive of the ruling party and the post-nuclear powers was a war of public opinion to attack the audit and investigation surrounding the Wolseong nuclear power plant. The remarks of the’smell’ of former presidential secretary chief Lim Jong-seok to the chief auditor, and comments from a ruling party spokesman’s attack on the auditor and prosecutors raised doubts. It was difficult to get recognition for the’sincerity’ of raising the issue.

Learning effect of mad cow disease and THAAD incident

The keyword that penetrates through the three reasons is’learning effect’. The experience of a scientific and rational discourse kneeling helplessly before irrational agitation served as a teacher. At the time of the beef wave, rational and scientific debate was helpless in front of the slogan of’throwing out. The same was true of’Melon ripened by electromagnetic waves’ that came out of THAAD. The perforated brain image made the calculation of the risk probability pointless. It was futile to measure the angle or separation distance of the radar in front of the image of the body and the melon that boils after receiving electromagnetic waves.

‘1g anchovy, 6 bananas’ deserves to be called a’counter punch’ by the science camp after a long time in the face of emotional propaganda. It was not a simple image, but an intense’copy’ (phrase) that combines fact and emotion. Professor Jeong Bum-jin of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Kyung Hee University said, “It is an effective metaphor that allows the general public to be able to compare the radiation exposure dose in daily life, and a blow that shocked forces that exaggerated the risk of nuclear power plants.”

The main thing to note is the way to convey professional scientific knowledge to the public. It is natural to be’exactly’, but that alone is not enough. In the era of’post-truth’ where fake news is prevalent, an effective way of conveying facts and knowledge is a concern for reason and the scientific camp. The line between true and false is becoming increasingly blurred. When science, a system of complex numbers and concepts, is intertwined with politics, the danger increases. That’s why the scientific community trying to keep the truth must find an effective way to breathe with the public. If you don’t know, be fooled.

Lee Hyun-sang, JoongAng Ilbo columnist