Why Is Nuclear Waste Bad For The Environment

Attention Getter: When most people think of nuclear energy, the first thing that comes to their minds is a devastating bomb explosion or a nuclear power plant meltdown. But, in reality, nuclear energy is a sustainable energy source that has an enormous variety of uses.

Fossil fuels are a primary source for providing energy throughout the United States. These sources of energy are causing many problems involving environment, health, and pollution. The solution? Nuclear power. Nuclear power is seen as a green energy that can improve global warming. However, there a more issues that can result from using nuclear power. Even though there are a lot of people who support it, nuclear power can result in world threatening problems. Nuclear waste, expense and time, and the threat regarding to war and terrorism are constant issues related to nuclear power.

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

Firstly, the usage of nuclear power is consistent and plentiful. As we know, the reaction of nuclear can emit a great power of energy, it can support vast of families’ and enormous plants’ working. In addition, unlike solar energy and wind power, which depend on external factors, nuclear power is consistent generate at anytime and anywhere. Secondly, since the nuclear power is easy to produce and it also can generate a huge amount of power, it is much cheaper to use it. What’s more, like Hill’s saying, “with the cost of natural gas and oil soaring”, the nuclear plants have return back to work and produce massive energy. Lastly, nuclear power benefits to environment: not only because it does not produce the carbon emissions, which can alleviates the global warming; but also it reduces the noxious byproducts, like sulfur dioxide, which is main reason of air pollution. Therefore, using the nuclear power is an ideal energy resource for human

The use of fossil fuels as a primary source of power is poisoning our world, and nuclear power is just the way to stop this. Nuclear power is using the process of nuclear fission to create electricity. Nuclear fission is the splitting of a uranium atom to release massive amounts of energy. When this process takes place in a nuclear reactor, the energy is used to superheat water which is pumped through pipes also submerged in water which then boils. The pressurized water vapor is used to turn turbines that produce electricity. Nuclear power is one of the cleanest, safest, most reliable and economically beneficial sources of power, and it needs to be considered as a substitute for fossil fuels. Nuclear power unfortunately has been given a bad name, but is actually an important resource that should be utilized by the U.S. and the rest of the world.

We have come up with some contentions that contribute to our argument. These are that, nuclear energy is very expensive. There is a low supply, and even if there is enough, it is difficult to clean up the radioactivity. Nuclear power is definitely wanted by many terrorist groups. And lastly, but definitely one of the most important reasons, is the unknown risks.

The Nuclear energy path can lead to gargantuan devastation, colossal costs, and possible terrorism threats, hence Nuclear Energy should be abandoned.

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.

Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island — all known as major nuclear power disasters. Nuclear power might be a good source of power, but in the long run it can be a real hazard and should be banned. If we rely on nuclear power to be our primary power source, it will cause major problems to humans and the environment. Nuclear power is hard to dispose of, expensive to run, and the reactors can easily be disrupted and cause the release of massive amounts of radiation.

Storing nuclear waste is a political problem as no one wants it stored near them, so there is a dispute about where radioactive waste should be stored. But after all the advantages of using nuclear energy outweigh its disadvantages as nuclear plants emit less than one-hundredth of carbon dioxide gas compared to coal or gas-fired energy plants so there is a very little effect on the environment. Humans living next to coal-fired power plants are exposed to higher radiation doses than those living near nuclear plants, where the former is harmful to human health and may be responsible for acid rain. On the other hand dependence on nuclear energy is now increasing in most countries as nuclear reactors use uranium as a fuel which is found everywhere on earth. It is inexpensive and easier to transport than other fuels which makes them less dependent on oil and foreign fuel from other countries.

Another reason why nuclear power is bad, it can be used to create nuclear weapons. nuclear power can be turn into nuclear weapon. In Article 3 in the last paragraph states “In the same way U.S nuclear power plants have not eliminated the threat of nuclear weapons despite 20 years.” Just because we have not seen nuclear weapons in the past 20 years does not mean that they can not make a comeback. Moreover, “Spent fuel, if not disposed of properly could contaminate water supplies or be used by terrorist to create a dirty bomb”(1,8). Terrorist could use this against us causing a lot of damage. Lately with all the craziness happening around us it will not be the best decision.

Nuclear energy is a green source of energy and power that is been used by many developed and powerful countries in the world. This energy is used to satisfy the need for electricity in many major cities around the world. They are usually built near seas, rivers and oceans, because they would need continuous supply of water to keep the reactor cool and produce steam to run the turbines. Energy is produced by using a radioactive material called Uranium or Plutonium that undergoes a process called as fission. This process involves the spilling of the Uranium atom into lighter elements, which produces a lot of energy in the form of heat that is used to turn water into steam. The steam is then passed through a turbine which is connected to a generator that yields to electricity. However, the byproducts of this process are for example Cesium-137 that has a half-life of approximately 30 years. These by products are being dumped into the environment that pollute marine life and are also a threat to human life as radioactive materials can mutate genes and cause cancer. In my opinion, Nuclear power plants should be closed, as they are a threat to both humanity and the marine life.

Although nuclear energy has many upsides, there is one most commonly worried about problem with these facilities, the danger of radiation. Radiation poisoning can severely handicap people, animals, plants, and with bad exposure to high radiation it can cause death. A good example of the dangers of nuclear energy is Chernobyl. This was a place in the Ukraine where there was a steam explosion which in turn lead to a fire in the nuclear reactor. This produced a cloud of deadly radioactive gas which is a called a plume. This plume can get into waterways, get in the rain cycle, and be taken by weather all over the

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'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.