Persuasive Essay Against Nuclear Power

A major earthquake on 11th March 2011 triggered a 15-meter tsunami to disable the power supply and cooling of the Fukushima Daiichii reactors in Japan, hence causing a major nuclear accident. Nuclear power is energy produced in a nuclear reactor through fission or fusion of atomic species. The generation of nuclear energy has led to opposing views today. Most governments and individuals believe that nuclear power is a solution to our worldwide pollution problem. However, our nuclear plants and storage sites are only a disaster away from causing a catastrophic nuclear accident. The radioactive emissions can harm lives of people as well as damage the environment. Thus, nuclear power only adds to our world problems by jeopardizing the lives of people and property. Therefore, nuclear power should not be considered an option for solving our global problems since the risks involved in its generation outweigh the benefits.

Unlike other forms of energy, nuclear power is one of the most expensive sources of energy. The average cost of setting up a nuclear power plant is quite high. Research

The storage of nuclear wastes hinders the expansion of nuclear technology. Since these wastes are non-biodegradable, the cost of maintaining nuclear wastes is potentially high. The Nuclear Monitor (2005) states that, “the production of 1,000 tons of uranium fuel typically generates 100,000 tons of tailings and 3.5 million liters of liquid waste”(p.15). However, the main problem here is not the amount of nuclear waste produced; in fact the main problem associated with wastes is their radioactivity. Radioactive waste takes years to completely fade. The main problem is that high-level waste remains dangerously radioactive for 240,000 years or more (Greenpeace, 2005, para. 5). A permanent solution to storing nuclear wastes has not been devised. Underground storage repositories are the only solution that has been