Many people despise the thought of using nuclear energy to power our country. They believe that it is very dangerous and bad for the environment. Even though the waste bi product of nuclear power takes hundreds of years to dissolve, there is no carbon emissions from these power plants. This makes nuclear power a new option for energy and has got many people thinking that this could dramatically help the spread of global warming.
Whether you view nuclear power as the promise for a better tomorrow, or as a tremendous hazard to our environment, there's a good chance you won't be easily converted to the other side. After all, nuclear power boasts a number of advantages, as well as its share of downright depressing negatives.
As far as positives go, nuclear power's biggest advantages are tied to the simple fact that it doesn't depend on fossil fuels. Coal and natural gas power plants emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. With nuclear power plants, CO2? emissions are minimal.
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the power produced by the world's nuclear plants would normally produce 2 billon metric tons of CO2 per year if they depended on fossil fuels. In fact, a properly functioning nuclear power plant actually releases less radioactivity into the atmosphere than a coal-fired power plant. By not depending on fossil fuels, the cost of nuclear power also isn't affected by fluctuations in oil and gas prices.
As for negatives, nuclear fuel may not produce CO2, but it does provide its share of problems. Historically, mining and purifying uranium hasn't been a very clean process. Even transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants poses a contamination risk. And once the fuel is spent, you can't just throw it in the city dump. It's still radioactive and potentially deadly.
On average, a nuclear power plant annually generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel, classified as high-level radioactive waste. When you take into account every nuclear plant on Earth, the combined total climbs to roughly 2,000 metric tons yearly. All of this waste emits radiation and heat, meaning that it will eventually corrode any container and can prove lethal to nearby life forms. As if this weren't bad enough, nuclear power plants produce a great deal of low-level radioactive waste in the form of radiated parts and equipment.
Eventually spent nuclear fuel will decay to safe radioactive levels, but it takes tens of thousands of years. Even low-level radioactive waste requires centuries to reach acceptable levels. Currently, the nuclear industry lets waste cool for years before mixing it with glass and storing it in massive cooled, concrete structures. In the future, much of this waste may be transported deep underground. In the meantime, however, this waste has to be maintained, monitored and guarded to prevent the materials from falling into the wrong hands.
Obviously, nuclear power plants are not good for the environment. So next time you take into consideration supporting "no emission nuclear power plants," think about all the other harmful biproducts of nuclear power plants.
Sources
"Key World Energy Statistics 2007" (PDF). International Energy Agency. Retrieved on 2008-06-21.
Bernard L. Cohen. "THE NUCLEAR ENERGY OPTION". Plenum Press.
