Of The Movie 'Uranium: Twisting The Dragon's Tail'

Uranium is a naturally occuring chemical element that can be mined from ore in many parts of the Southwestern United States where

Natural uranium consists of three isotopes: uranium-238, uranium-235 and uranium-234. Uranium 236, 233 and 232 are also produced by reactors from uranium-235 and thorium – these are the artificial isotopes. The three natural isotopes and the three artificial isotopes are all alpha emitters. Also, all isotopes of uranium are radioactive, with most having extensive half-lives.

An example is that nuclear power emits more energy than fossil fuels. In an article called “The Pro and Cons of Nuclear Power”, Jeremy Smith states that Uranium, which is used to make nuclear energy, can produce 20,000 times as much energy than fossil fuels (2011). This means that a small amount of Uranium would be used to make an abundant amount of energy. On the other hand, the process of acquiring the Uranium may be more dangerous that predicted. According to Jeremy Smith, uranium mining exposes workers to radium, a highly radioactive element, which then turns into radon gas. “Radon gas… can expose workers and nearby communities to an array of health risks like lung cancer, bone cancer and lymphoma” (Smith 2011). In conclusion, although uranium gives an immense amount of energy, it would not be worth it if thousands of workers become ill and possibly die.

During the war, the United States started developing a weapon that would prove to be devastating to its enemies. The creation of the atomic bomb was made when a group of scientists discovered that splitting uranium atoms could cause massive destruction. President Harry Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt made the executive decision to use this atomic weapon against Japan in hopes of bringing the war to an end sooner. On August 6th, 1945, the atomic bomb was loaded on the Enola Gay. The plane left the Mariana Islands in search of Hiroshima about six hours away to drop the first atomic bomb. The bomb devastated the city, killing between 90,000 and 146,000 people. Three days later, a second

Energy- Everyone needs it. The major challenge for the 21st century however, is generating this energy with the lowest impact on human and ecological health. A number of differing production methods have been derived in response to this, one of the most controversial of which is Nuclear energy supplied through Uranium mining. This is a uniquely topical issue in Australia, on account of the sheer amount of Uranium held in Australia’s borders (30% of the world’s reserves) and its potential impact on Australia’s economy (4), the politicised and partisan nature of nuclear debate, along with longstanding opposition associated with such striking international disasters as the Chernobyl and, more recently, Fukushima events (1). With such significant

Uranium can be used to produce nuclear energy, it's renewable, and it means less pollution which in turn helps the environment.

That is true, nuclear plant uses uranium to get energy, normally one gram uranium can generate 8000 times’ energy comparing to traditional fuel like oil or gas. According to Moore (2007), hydroelectric is largely built to capacity; meanwhile wind and solar power are unreliable to provide “baseload” energy especially in large city with huge demand. According to nuclear energy’s efficiency, proponents strong believe government should build nuclear plant to meet the increasing demand of electricity. Also, this group people say not only can uranium provide so much energy but also with no greenhouse emission.

If they see or locate any Uranium, the mine will continue to excavate soil and find Uranium in that area. Uranium is extracted, especially in two different ways. Open Pit Mining, one of the most common extraction techniques for uranium, is used by stripping away the excess soil near the mineral, and then, after cutting away the sides of the ore, pumping the Uranium ore out of the rock or soil. Another excavation technique, Underground Mining, is a technique used when Uranium ore is too deep for Open Pit extraction. When Uranium is too deep to mine by hand, the soil or rock will be drilled and the sediments are taken away to a mill to separate. Once this debris has been taken to a mill and the soil has been separated from the Uranium, a significant amount of waste is exported into rivers and natural

When a uranium nucleus splits, energy is released (as steam). This steam turns generators and creates electric energy. One pro is that nuclear fission does not release as many pollutants as fossil fuels. Two cons are that it nuclear waste is hard to dispose of and also can be harmful for humans.

Today uranium is mostly used for nuclear properties. It’s used in nuclear power plants to generate heat. Uranium’s effect on Saskatchewan is good and bad, to mine uranium you have to destroy the land so that you can mine it, mining Uranium is costly put it makes you good money to. This reflects to Saskatchewan because we have the richest deposit of uranium.

I think to an extend it is environmental racism. We need Uranium to protect the United States which includes to protect the Native people. We have to look at the big picture as what is going to help the country. Also, it creates more miners jobs. The use of Uranium is not only use for nuclear weapons, but also to produce energy. In the other hand, the Native people from New Mexico are taking a big hit because since it is a big Uranium mining site and the water is not being dispose properly and the water is seeping into the local aquifers (Earthworks, 2011). I think the government should look an alternative ways to dispose the 12 million gallons a day or other alternative ways to substitute the use of Uranium.

Even though the mining of uranium can cause environmental pollution, the power plant itself does not actually produce pollution. Yes, there is also nuclear waste we have to take care of, but it is stored in Yucca Mountain.On the contrary, people may be afraid of the nuclear waste having an accident while transporting it to the mountain, but it hasn’t happened yet. This is why we should help keep TMI open.

Uranium was discovered by Martin Klaproth in 1789. Klaproth was a German Chemist that discovered Uranium in a mineral call pitchblende. It was named after Uranus, the planet, which had been discovered eight years earlier. Uranium occurs in most rocks in concentrations of 2 to 4 parts per million and is common in the Earth’s crust. This highly density element is used in keels of yachts and as counterweights for aircraft control surfaces, as well as for radiation shielding. This element principal uses is in fuel for nuclear reactors and the main raw material for nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium is the waste product of uranium enrichment in nuclear reactors. It is the residue left in massive quantities when bomb-grade uranium is

It is not until recently that people have become dependent on this element, and not necessarily for the good of it, and the world. There is an obsession with uranium because of its unique properties. Uranium is extremely powerful because of its radioactive properties and unstable nuclei, especially that of Uranium-235. It is able to break down and release high frequency radiation through alpha and beta decay. It is because of these characteristics that Uranium has such a craze on the population of the world (Cox, 1995; Scerri, 2007). The properties of uranium allow people to create powerful plants to produce electricity, and weapons strong enough to destroy the world.

A competitive, safe and environmentally sustainable energy source can be established anywhere on earth. Essential, all that is needed to create a nuclear power plant is a water source to cool down the reactor and uranium. Uranium can be found virtually in every country on earth. Even though it might be harder for certain countries to obtain uranium, there would be no problem in finding it around the world.