The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power Plants

One of the key issues with fossil fuels is the fact that they are non-renewable. Humans consume fossil fuels at a faster rate than it is produced. With humans consuming more and more fossil fuels as more countries develop and increase their energy needs, the need for renewables like nuclear energy becomes greater. One of the large

A continual struggle of humanity is the search for a stable foundation of resources. With

“No one in the United States has become seriously ill or has died because of any kind of accident at a civilian nuclear power plant.” says Joe Barton. This is a highly controversial topic where there are many conflicting opinions. Some people believe that these plants are too dangerous to exist while other think that they are the edge of tomorrow. When analyzing it from a purely statistical and analytical standpoint, nuclear energy is clearly worth the possible risks they pose.

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.

There are many advancements being made to make nuclear power not only safer for use and the environment, but also to make it more efficient. There is still a lot of work to be done to accomplish these goals set forth by the Nuclear Generation 4 project, but the future seems to be very promising. Only so much work can be done during a phase of research and development. It will take global cooperation to continue to move forward and be able to conclude the research and start a new phase of test sites. With the worldwide demand to find more efficient and sustainable energy sources for the future, nuclear power should remain a front runner for available

TMI has provided electricity since 1979. The Exelon Corporation might shut down the plant. There are many pros to nuclear power and many cons. I think we should keep the plant open. Here’s why, if we close the plant, employees will lose their jobs. Also, nuclear energy is clean energy. If we close TMI down, then it would take years to build a new kind of energy source.

Nuclear power requires high safety level as demonstrated by the commercial operation and accumulated experience of nuclear power plants. Over the years, three serious accidents, the Chernobyl in 1986, Three Mile Island in 1979, and the Fukushima leak 2011 have characterized the industrial use of nuclear energy

Nuclear energy also produces dangerous radioactive waste which has to be stored on the nuclear plant site. The use of Nuclear power leaves behind an enormous amount of waste to be dealt with by a later generation. Without an increase

As nuclear energy employs similar technology as those in city-destroying weapons, the possibilities for danger are abundant. The breakdown of atoms creates other, new atoms called daughter isotopes. Many of them are also radioactive, but need to be removed from the reactor since they don’t break down fast enough to be used as fuel. In addition, the unused nuclear fuel and Uranium-238 must also be removed, forming what is collectively known as “nuclear waste”. It is both chemically toxic and radioactive, and must be stored away from anything living. In addition to creating toxic waste, reactors require water to cool the reactor. The used hot water is dumped back in lakes and rivers, and the temperature change can harm wildlife. Not only does nuclear power create dangerous materials during every second of operation, but nuclear plants can become extremely dangerous if something goes wrong. Look no further than the Chernobyl incident. The Chernobyl nuclear plants were a set of four nuclear reactors in what is now Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. On April 25, 1986, unauthorized tests were done on one of the reactors, and the safety features were disabled. “Engineers initiated an uncontrolled chain reaction in the core of the reactor” (Chernobyl), and the following day, a massive explosion in the reactor destroyed the

It all started in the 1940’s, when two atomic bombs, “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” were dropped onto innocent Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the aftermath of the catastrophic attacks, nuclear energy was being rebranded as a clean and safe energy option for a brighter future. The country was split. On one hand, nuclear energy was the key to a more green future, but on the other hand, it was a potential weapon of mass destruction. Today, over 439 nuclear reactors are operating in 31 countries. The energy from these plants provide more than 14% of the world’s electricity.

Well, we are here at the end of our journey, which it helped us to learn a lot more about nuclear energy and some the drawbacks that comes with it. We also learned about the tragic event that happened in Japan’s catastrophe the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. “What is going on with the Japanese nuclear reactors is, without question, a terrible event that can possibly add more hardship onto an already unspeakable tragedy. The explosions and the threat of a radiation leak are troubling, and Japanese engineers and scientists are doing everything humanly possible to contain the situation. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)

Plutonium was discovered in 1940 by a team of scientists at the University California. The World Nuclear Association says "plutonium is toxic and therefore must be handled in a responsible manner". They also say, "Over one-third of the energy produced in most nuclear power plants comes from plutonium." Currently there are 99 nuclear reactors in America and they only provide for 20% of the electricity in the United States. But this comes with a price. 99% of the nuclear waste that comes from the reactors is spent fuel. The fuel that is used to power the reactors is extremely radioactive and still stays that way even after it has been used. The amount of waste produced by the reactors is nothing compared to the amount of waste made by electricity plants and other forms of gathering electricity and dispensing it to powerlines. Another good thing about nuclear reactors is that they don’t release hazardous chemicals and fumes in the air like power plants and factories (World Nuclear Association). According to Duke Energy (duke-energy.com) atomic plants are the most reduced cost supplier of huge scale power in the United States.

For many decades, Nuclear Power Plants have become a growing argument between the educated and uneducated. Some have grown towards the growth of these plants for their technological innovations and environmental benefits. Others have walked away from the deal, repeatedly exclaiming the risks and money that builds up over time. Though these problems remain open for everyone to see, those arguments are outdated and overstated. In addition, there are far more positives than the eyes can see, the negatives, however, are an eyesore. Nuclear power plants will benefit towns for the strict safety standards, the pricing of a nuclear power plant, promotional factors, and land requirements.

Firstly, nuclear fission power plants are often placed near cities and water bodies. This is an inherent risk to civilian life and puts them at a higher probability of flooding. By placing a plant near cities, governments save money spent in making infrastructure to transmit electricity to the cities. In addition, cooling nuclear cores can be expensive if a water body is not nearby. Hence, most nuclear plants are placed near water bodies to make the plant more efficient at producing energy. However, the Fukushima disaster in 2011 has shown that by placing plants close to oceans they are at a greater risk of tsunamis and flooding. Also by placing them close to cities, the radiation threat to population is increased.

One of the pros of Nuclear power is that, if we use Nuclear Power then we will use Fossil Fuels a lot less than we normally use them, and this would help stop the greenhouse gases from going into the air. (CO2 and others.) Also another good thing about Nuclear power is that it is low operation costs, nuclear power produces very inexpensive electricity. Also, even though the expense of setting up nuclear power plants is moderately high, the expense of running them is quite low. These Nuclear plants can be shut down if other resources are to be very high and when they are not in high demand then the Nuclear plant can be up and running again. But then agian, Nuclear power gives us new ways to defend ourselves for wars for the future since we have used it in the past. However the normal life of nuclear reactor is anywhere from 40-60 years, depending on how often it is used and how it is being used. Even if we run out of Nuclear power then we might be able to still use the fission reaction to make more reliable resources in the