Nuclear Power: A Danger to our Environment and Health

     Nuclear power is, to many people, seen as unsafe and unstable much attributed to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl plant failures, Chernobyl actually having a meltdown releasing radiation into the atmosphere. What people fail to realize is that nuclear power is the cheapest and one of the cleanest ways of producing power. Nuclear plants create no greenhouse gases to pollute the atmosphere and are very reliable, not depending on solar cycle or rainfall to produce energy. Nuclear waste is also an issue most people bring up but in our advances in technology we now have proven and effective ways to dispose of the waste. With the amount of uranium we have on the planet and the amount used to create power we have virtually an unlimited supply of fuel. Though not abundant, as with most power generation processes there are adverse effects with creating nuclear

Nuclear power produces large amounts of toxic waste which can be harmful to the environment.

After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, nuclear power was once again brought into the spotlight with one burning question: Is it worth the risks? Well, I believe it is, and that we can avoid those risks altogether if we do it properly. One of our biggest upcoming problems is climate change, and with solar and wind power not able to provide enough clean power, nuclear is the safe, reliable, realistic, and clean option.

There are many different opinions on whether we should continue to create nuclear energy or we should stop it. Some of the positive aspects are there has been no fatalities at nuclear power plants. Another one is nuclear power plants generate 20% of today power. Also nuclear energy is a clean power source with no pollution. Some negative aspects are creating these plants cost a lot of money. Another problem is we are running out of places to store waste. The waste puts off nuclear radiation

Pollution is another topic with both pros and cons. Fossil fuels release harmful pollutants into the air such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Nuclear power does not release any of those toxins into the atmosphere. However, a pollution problem with nuclear energy is thermal pollution, where a plant’s “hot effluents” are put into a nearby body of water, and raise the temperature by a small amount but enough to cause a disturbance in the ecosystem of the lake or reservoir. Nevertheless, this could easily be solved by cooling the effluents before releasing them into the water. The other problem facing nuclear energy is waste disposal. Nuclear waste is radioactive and very dangerous. Therefore, it must be kept buried and sealed up for a long period of time until the radioactivity dies [Plasma-Material]. One positive fact about nuclear energy that is not disputed is its abundance.

Nuclear energy is much better than other sources of energy for many reasons. It is cheaper long-term than renewable energy, like wind turbines and solar power, safer than coal and has minimal atmospheric contamination. It is also much more efficient than coal, and genetic risks are minimal. The cancer risk increase of nuclear energy is next to nothing; it is only .002%, shortening life expectancies by less than one hour.

Nuclear Energy has many supporters around the world. The benefit of Nuclear Energy are clear to many. People who are for Nuclear Energy, support it for many reasons. The outcome of produced power can be changed, all you do is change the fuel entering the chain reactor (Page 11). One main factor that puts nuclear energy on top is it lets out little air pollutants, greenhouse gases, smog, slows global warming, and helps limit acid rain (Sally

The potential and economic effects of Nuclear power can be devastating. Just look at Chernobyl. And everywhere that has Nuclear power. Where does all the radioactive and toxic waste go? We just put it in a huge barrel, and bury them in deep caves. It doesn’t get rid of the problem, it makes a bigger one. What happens if there’s an earthquake, and all of that spills and gets into our water system, or our oceans, or kills off our animals? It’s not safe.

Nuclear power is a bad way to make more energy. What exactly is nuclear power? Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat. Nuclear power is an substandard way to make energy because nuclear power releases radioactive material and dangerous chemical elements such as plutonium, nuclear power has serious health/safety concerns and accidents keep occurring, and there are so many other energy sources that are less expensive besides nuclear power like natural gas, coal and oil.

While nuclear energy can generate plenty of electricity, it can easily be abused. Nuclear energy plants can unfortunately be preferred targets for terrorists, also producing nuclear waste. Nuclear waste is bad for the environment because it requires a dumping ground due to the fact that it cannot be processed. If this continues, there will eventually be no more

Building enough power plants to provide the world with energy would mean increasing our CO2 production in the process of making them. Once the power plants are built, although they don't use CO2 to produce energy, to keep the factories running and transport all of the waste releases more CO2 (1). Switching to renewable energy would progress us further into stopping climate change. We would be cutting down on CO2 emissions by a much greater amount. This would make a more significant difference on the climate change (1). This shows that using renewables would make a larger impact on the world and how to help save it. The Industry already has technology to switch to 100% renewables, they just don't want to let go of their nuclear technology (4). Another danger of nuclear power is the risk of terrorism and violence. People are worried that if violent protesters advance on nuclear technology, the amount of violences will increase. This is another reason to end our nuclear technology knowledge while we can (1). Furthermore, not only do nuclear plants harm the industry and economy, they also harm the people and the environment. The evidence is showing that being around nuclear radioactivity causes people to have cancer. Not only does the radiation cause people to have cancer, but it also damages their DNA. Additionally, it harms the environment, not just humans. Animal's are affected in several different forms. Some examples are, Diarrhea, vomiting, internal bleeding, anemia, exhaustion, permanent sterilization and death

From an environmental standpoint nuclear power plants are extremely clean when it comes to electrical power generation. However, there are a lot of ways where nuclear power plants can go wrong. Improperly functioning a nuclear power plant can create problematic situations. Take the Chernobyl disaster for instance, because of their poorly designed nuclear power plant it released tons of radioactivity which scattered across the atmosphere. This resulted in everyone leaving the city. Another recent incident was in Fukushima (Japan), a tsunami hit the nuclear power plants which caused the tins to break and release radioactivity as well. Still to this day there is radioactive dust scattered all over the ground. Moreover, mining and purifying uranium

A barren wasteland lies motionless and without life. Abandoned buildings strewn with dust and debris litter the landscape. Children’s playgrounds once strewn with laughter and smiles emits only the subtle squeak of a rusty swing floating back and forth. This land of nothingness is the result of the worst nuclear power meltdown of all time: Chernobyl. This was one of only three nuclear energy malfunctions in the last six decades. The other events are Fukushima and Three Mile Island. One might say that from these three events that Nuclear power is dangerous and should be abolished; however, consistent evidence provides us with knowledge that nuclear energy is the cleanest and most efficient form of energy around. Three Mile Island was an incident where the media took control of fairly subtle problem and turned it into mass hysteria. The media’s role in the Three Mile Island incident is alike that of Big Brother in George Orwell’s, 1984.

Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the Fukushima Daiichi plant are a few of the many nuclear power plants around the world. At some point in time, these three plants have been more dangerous than predicted. The radioactive gases these plants contain have detrimental effects to the body and the environment. In contrast, while the radiation is contained, nuclear power plants are healthy for the environment. Nuclear power plants are considered to be environmentally friendly because they produce the least amount of greenhouse gases. However, even though these power plants are better for nature, they can also damage it. Nuclear power plants are a hazard to all living organisms on earth and should no longer be in use. They are unsafe because they can have a meltdown, crack, or the reactors could explode, which will release radiation. The radiation leak can do damage to people and their habitat located nearby. Abolishing nuclear power plants will prevent potential catastrophes in the future.

Nuclear power plays a pivotal role in our lives. Nuclear power seems to be the only way to help human beings go through energy crisis and climate change. These two problems threaten global security and the stability of the environment. There are several advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power, so my essay is focusing on what British people really think of nuclear energy.