The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

Today, as much as we know about nuclear power is one of the most powerful and fresh energy, compared to any carbon dioxide producing fuels like coal or oil. It is a very cost effective “cheap” source, but with a major downside. Obtaining it is a rather complex chemical procedure, and the outcome is not only precious power, but also hazardous waste. This

Though, only 20,000 people were killed during the Fukushim Daiichi nuclear reactor accident, there is no garantee that many more people may not die from long term impact of radiation exposure.”And that’s the problem with radiation—you often don’t see most of the impact for decades.”

There have been lots of nuclear accident around the world. One of the accident that had a major impact on the world was the Chernobyl disaster. The disaster took place on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The disaster was caused by a reaction explosion induced by design faults and staff application errors. The accident took place in the course of scheduled tests to check the power supply mode in the event of external sources loss. Even after 10 days, explosions and ejections of radioactive substances continued. The release of radiation and radioactive substance polluted the places within 30 km of Chernobyl, and those areas have been closed for a long period of

When asked about the number of active nuclear power plants most people in the United States would probably guess a like ten or twenty when in actuality “there are currently sixty one commercially operating nuclear power plants with ninety nine nuclear reactors in thirty states in the United States. Thirty-five of these plants have two or more reactors.”(eia.gov) In America nuclear power has a stigma of just negative effects among these is ,“radioactive waste produced by nuclear reactors which needs to be disposed of at a safe place since they are extremely hazardous and can leak radiations if not stored properly. Such kind of waste emits radiations from tens to hundreds of years. The storage of radioactive waste has been major bottleneck for the expansion of nuclear

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission, splitting atoms in two, which releases energy in the process to generate heat and electricity. Heat created by fission drives the turbines that generate electricity. When nuclear power was first created it was predicted that it would be very successful. It was also predicted that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter,” that is electricity would be very cheap so either consumers would not be charged for electricity at all or the prices would be very low (Cohn, 1997). Although nuclear power is still in use today the initial success of nuclear industry eventually declined. Nuclear industry and its supporters claim that nuclear power is environmentally friendly, inexpensive, and safe,

The Union of Concerned Scientist state that “Nuclear power is vulnerable to public rejection” Referring to the devastating Fukushima Disaster of 2011. Where is after a serious earthquake a “15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident”.(World Nuclear Association)

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

A large contributor to those arguments are the environmental effects. The plants require a large amount of uranium, which have to be mined from other countries, stripping them of one of their natural resources. As far as the water collecting goes, the filters only prevent large fish from being sucked up. Many tiny animals such as plankton are sucked up with the water. Larger wildlife such as seals and sea turtles can become entrapped in the filters and drown. The plants also produce nuclear waste, which takes up a ton of land and water space to store. And to top it off, the area where the power plant is can’t be used again. Economically, there are also many issues. It is very costly to build a nuclear power plant, and the cost to maintain and run one is extremely high, due to all the security, workers and technology needed. The nuclear waste that comes out of the plants is very expensive, due to the length of time it needs to be stored, and all the materials required to store it. Ethically, it also has many risks. Although safety is large priority, workers still die from being exposed to radiation. Also the radioactive water can go into the ground, contaminating the ground and water sources around it. These arguments are just the very basics of all the reasons why a nuclear power plant shouldn’t be built.

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.

The world as we know today is dependent on energy. The options we have currently enable us to produce energy economically but at a cost to the environment. As fossil fuel source will be diminishing over time, other alternatives will be needed. An alternative that is presently utilized is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is currently the most efficacious energy source. Every time the word ‘nuclear’ is mentioned, the first thought that people have is the devastating effects of nuclear energy. Granting it does come with its drawbacks; this form of energy emits far less pollution than conventional power plants. Even though certain disadvantages of nuclear energy are devastating, the advantages contain even greater rewards.

While many of these may be true, the costs are quickly paid for, and can be paid for even more quickly if the extent of the subject be studied and updated. Between 1995 and 2008, Nuclear power production costs have remained at the same level, while other power plants production costs have gone up. Nuclear power plants can produce a lot more electric per unit of fuel than other methods. This electricity can be sold cheap because it is plentiful and the upkeep is less. Nuclear plants do not need constant upkeep as do other methods. There, a cost is cut, putting more money back in a person’s pocket. Much of the costs paid for are the continued cost of safety concerns, as these reactors must be continuously watched in case of any dangerous leakages.

The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. As these resources diminish, people will be seeking alternative sources by which to generate electricity for heat and light. The only practical short-term solution for the energy/pollution crisis should be nuclear power because it is available, cleaner and safer.

There are tons of issues with nuclear energy. Some bad stuff that happens are the high cost to build a nuclear power plant, it’s not a renewable source of energy, the nuclear waste it produces, and nuclear accidents. The question to ask is do the pros outweigh the cons?

​ The first con is analyzing accidents. They are threatening. Chernobyl is an example of an accident. When Chernobyl occurred, people died, while others were injured severely. Another disaster like Chernobyl is life costing. There is no room to have major disasters to kill innocent people. Marisa Fernandez once said “The Chernobyl accident is the most serious accident in the history of the nuclear industry… led to huge amounts of radioactive materials being released into the environment and a radioactive cloud spreading over much of Europe”. Her quote refines that she is attentive of how dangerous the accident was. She talks about that no other accident was as atrocious as Chernobyl. This standard is a reason why nuclear power cannot happen.