6
• 2011: An accident, comparable to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, occurred at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan initiated by the tsunami wave
reaching more than 10 m following the massive earthquake in the Pacific at the
distance about 130 km from Fukushima. The tsunami put out of the operation
backup electrical generators used for supplying power for the reactor’s cooling
system.
• 2018: In February, the total number of nuclear reactors in all countries which are
operating nuclear power plants reached 448 (Fig. 2). At present, there are altogether 58 nuclear reactors under the construction (most of them are in China with
18 reactors).
2.2 Early Mining Period
Jáchymov, before 1918 Sankt Joachimsthal or Joachimsthal (Saint Joachim’s
Valley), is situated on the Czech slope of the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory in Czech,
meaning cruel mountains). The town, near the present-day German-Czech border,
was founded in 1516. Its location is shown on the map in Fig. 3. This was in the time
when an ore rich in silver was found in its surroundings. The silver mines were
extremely lucrative with ore concentrations being very high.
This brought enormous prosperity to the town which in 1534, with a population
of close to 20,000, became the second largest city in the Kingdom of Bohemia after
Prague (then slightly above 50,000 inhabitants). At that time, more than 9000 miners lived and worked in over 900 mines in the Jáchymov area. The Jáchymov ore
deposit was one of the largest deposits of silver within Europe in the sixteenth
century.
Fig. 2 Number of
operable nuclear reactors
as of June 2018, by
country (based on
(STATISTA 2018))
J. Sabol
• 2011: An accident, comparable to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, occurred at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan initiated by the tsunami wave
reaching more than 10 m following the massive earthquake in the Pacific at the
distance about 130 km from Fukushima. The tsunami put out of the operation
backup electrical generators used for supplying power for the reactor’s cooling
system.
• 2018: In February, the total number of nuclear reactors in all countries which are
operating nuclear power plants reached 448 (Fig. 2). At present, there are altogether 58 nuclear reactors under the construction (most of them are in China with
18 reactors).
2.2 Early Mining Period
Jáchymov, before 1918 Sankt Joachimsthal or Joachimsthal (Saint Joachim’s
Valley), is situated on the Czech slope of the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory in Czech,
meaning cruel mountains). The town, near the present-day German-Czech border,
was founded in 1516. Its location is shown on the map in Fig. 3. This was in the time
when an ore rich in silver was found in its surroundings. The silver mines were
extremely lucrative with ore concentrations being very high.
This brought enormous prosperity to the town which in 1534, with a population
of close to 20,000, became the second largest city in the Kingdom of Bohemia after
Prague (then slightly above 50,000 inhabitants). At that time, more than 9000 miners lived and worked in over 900 mines in the Jáchymov area. The Jáchymov ore
deposit was one of the largest deposits of silver within Europe in the sixteenth
century.
Fig. 2 Number of
operable nuclear reactors
as of June 2018, by
country (based on
(STATISTA 2018))
J. Sabol