Why Is Nuclear Waste Bad For The Environment

     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

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.

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

From an environmental standpoint, environmentalists feel that nuclear energy would be a good thing for the world. Mark Lynas, a British environmental activist said, “Anyone who still marches against nuclear today is in my view just as bad for the climate as textbook eco-villains like that big oil companies” (Van Munster 789). Ever since the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the power of atomic energy, the words ‘atomic’ and ‘nuclear’ have been Janus-faced prefixes. To people on the outside looking in, they match atomic and nuclear up to be danger, death, and destruction. Then there is other people that have the more positive perspective and see it as a strong sense of achievement and a promise of energy abundance. Nuclear energy and its positive utility could serve humans in many ways, such as in the medical, agricultural, industrial fields, and last but not least, the electricity through the nuclear power plants. Energy resources are important in any country, but nuclear electricity is one of the best ways to strengthen a country’s energy security by diversifying its resources and increasing energy supply options (Durrani 183). In developing countries like Pakistan, they desperately need ways to develop and secure their energy resources to sustain their economic growth. Unfortunately, the sustainability of their economic growth is at risk due to the energy

In the case of Nuclear energy there are more disadvantages as compared to advantages. One of the most concerning problems about nuclear energy is its waste disposal. The wastes that are produced by nuclear reactors are extremely hazardous and needs to be disposed of properly otherwise any form of contact with these radiations can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and at times even paralysis. The only way these radiations can be disposed are that they should be buried under ground. Even after almost 50 years of the disaster that had occurred during the end of World War 2 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki certain children are born with defects. This shows the radiation of this energy can be so fatal. This shows that they can provide political instability and also threaten the world if fallen into wrong

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.

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.

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.

Nuclear energy to create power has been used for hundreds of years. Today nuclear energy powers almost 11% of the world. It produces nearly no greenhouse gases or co2 emissions. But it does leave behind nuclear waste that stays radioactive for decades. Nuclear energy has been used for many years, but there are goods and bads to Nuclear power from nuclear energy.

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.

Yes, nuclear power does not release greenhouse gasses into the environment, but it does release other harmful substances. First, the process of mining and transporting uranium can be very dirty and even dangerous. Second, the waste that nuclear power produces can be very dangerous. If we build more power plants, more radioactive waste will pile up, since it lasts between 200-500 thousand years. If too much of this waste piles up, where are we going to put it? We can't just put radioactive waste anywhere. Third, one of the biggest problems with nuclear power is nuclear accidents. Yes, they may not happen often, but if more power plants are being built, the more at risk we are for a nuclear accident. Nuclear accidents can be solved with quick actions, but if not dealt with right away, nuclear accidents can poison the surrounding land for miles and make it uninhabitable for thousands of years. Fourth, nuclear power plants are a potential target for terrorists. Terrorists could use ground attacks on equipment which could lead to a reactor core meltdown or external attacks such as an aircraft crash into a