1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to investigate the different views and opinions on the safeness and cost effectiveness of nuclear power compared to other forms of energy. This report will explain the issues and background of the debate, the importance of the issue, and the parties who are involved in this debate with their thoughts.
2.0 The issues and background of the debate
Nuclear energy is produced during the process named nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. The development of nuclear energy started in the 20th century and there is now worldwide recognition for using nuclear energy. Popular countries that operates nuclear power are United States, France, Japan, and Russia, the nuclear energy generates up to 6% of the world’s electricity supplies. Even though the energy is mostly used by many countries, but it may causes side effect to the living things in the environment. (WNA, 2012)
3.0 The social significance of the debate
The world needs renewable energy because no currently favoured energy sources are boundless. At the rate that people use fossil fuels, they will be worn out one day, so there is a need to come up with alternatives now, before it’s too late. The world needs a type of energy which does not cause pollution to the environment. Instead of burning fossil fuels to generate energy, nuclear power is produced during nuclear reactions. Thus, it has a leading advantage against the traditional coal-fired plants. (Pandita, 2011) Hence, should nuclear energy be used to generate electricity?
4.0 The participants in the debate
The main parties who is associated with the debate are governments, experts, and the country people. These people have given out their opinions regarding the effects of nuclear ene...
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...r more than a hundred thousand years. (Lindsay, 2002) The Chernobyl Accident in 1986 which has not taken the right safety measurement by the power plants operator caused the nuclear power plant to release radiation. There were more than 30 people found dead in this accident impute to radiation exposure. (WNA, 2012; U.S.NRC, 2011)
6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, there are different opinions on the issue of the use of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is only one of many energy options. Nuclear power can decrease pollution to the environment because it does not produce harming gases like other plants do. However, there are also drawbacks that can influences human health by emitting radioactive substances. Thus, all parties should make a deeper research and analysis based on the argument to decide the use of nuclear energy as a safe and cost effective source of energy.
The April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor designed with a couple of serious mistakes made by the plant operators. Luckily, the capital Kiev was not affected due to the help of the wind that was blowing North West. This major Nuclear Reactor Disaster stole the lives of over 200 workers on impact (World Nuclear Association). The disaster caused thousands of residents that were momentarily living around Chernobyl to immediately evacuate, causing Chernobyl to seem as if people still lived there. Undeniably the damage the Reactor had caused the city around the Reactor is to this day, Radioactive. (World Nuclear Association)
Nuclear power has no place in having a safe, clean, sustainable future. Today, the manufacturing of nuclear power plants has become a critical topic throughout the world that many strongly believe should be stopped. Nuclear Power is not safe anywhere in the world nor is it environmentally friendly. Nuclear power plants are truly something that could cause mass destruction in the world and has the potential to wipe out a whole country with ease. Despite proponents’ that claim that nuclear power is safe, there is a history that proves otherwise and marks a number of disasters caused by nuclear power plants.
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
Not only is nuclear power friendly to the environment, but it is almost always available, and many countries are starting to use it more. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind en...
Though expensive to construct, and potentially dangerous, nuclear energy is also a cheap and reliable source of energy. Compared to conventional energy types, it produces less green house gasses, and uses less fuel, but has the potential cause life-threatening disasters.
Should nuclear power be used as the main source of energy? This is a very controversial topic that will be discussed here. People from both sides of this issue all care about the environment, but have different opinions on nuclear energy. Before getting into the debate, it is important to know how nuclear power plants work. The nuclear reactor, which is usually twelve meters tall, is enclosed in a dome like building made up of meter thick reinforced concrete walls. Nuclear fission produces heat which is used to heat up water which then turns into steam. The steam then turns turbines that are connected to generators which in turn produce electricity. The steam then goes through a condenser where it is turned back into liquid and goes back into the reaction chamber to repeat the process. So the question that faces everyone is: should nuclear power be used as the main source of energy? Some say yes, because nuclear energy is clean energy that does not pollute the air, it is safer and cheaper than any other method; yet others say no, because the capital costs are too high, they produce nuclear waste if there is an accident, the consequences are disastrous.
Nuclear energy is a very powerful source of energy. Just a little bit is required to make large amounts of electricity, which powers 1 in 5 households in the U.S. Nuclear energy has been advanced over the years and has been relied on heavily by many countries today.
To begin, nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission, which is the splitting of an atom to start a chain reaction (“11 Facts”). This chain reaction produces massive amounts of heat. Nuclear reactors take advantage of this heat by pumping water into the reactor, which in turn produces steam. The steam then becomes pressurized through a pipeline and exits into a turbine (“How do Nuclear”). The pressurized steam causes the turbine blades to spin, producing power which is linked to a generator for use in the main power lines. When the steam passes the turbine blades, it goes past cooled pipes and condensates (“How do Nuclear”). After the condensation process is finished and the steam reverts back to water, it is pumped into the reactor again, thus completing the process of producing nuclear-based power.
In nuclear energy there are many benefits. One benefit is that nuclear energy is the world’s largest source of emission-free energy. This is because of the U.S. Clean Air Act of 1970 regulates limits on the emission of certain pollutants. 20% of the nation’s electricity is, and will be, produced by non-emitting nuclear energy. Nuclear energy in place of other types of energy impacts the environment by keeping the air clean, preventing acid rain, preserving the Earth’s climate, and much more. Nuclear energy also has the lowest bad impact on the environment and is the most eco-efficient energy source because it produces the most electricity relative to its environmental impact. On the other hand, nuclear energy can have inherent risks. Nuclear energy has health effects of radiation containing subatomic particles traveling at the velocity of light. This radiation can penetrate deep inside the human body and can result in cancer or even genetic diseases. This radiation can be produced during routine plant operation, accidents in power plants or in transporting radioactive ...
Around 1894, scientists discovered that by bombarding a radioactive substance with neutrons, a highly powerful energy could be produced. This is ionizing radiation, which is strong enough to rip the electrons from the nucleus of an atom, hence the name “nuclear energy.” over a century later, nuclear substances are harnessed in order to provide energy. However, nuclear energy is not only discussed amongst scientists, but anyone fearing the safety and future of the environments surrounding the area where a nuclear power plant is implemented.
The use of nuclear power in the mid-1980s was not a popular idea on account of all the fears that it had presented. The public seemed to have rejected it because of the fear of radiation. The Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in April of 1986 reinforced the fears, and gave them an international dimension (Cohen 1). Nevertheless, the public has to come to terms that one of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. The current largest sources of energy are the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fear of radiation may push nuclear power under the carpet but another fear of the unknown is how costly is this going to be? If we as the public have to overcome the fear of radiation and costly project, we first have to understand the details of nuclear energy. The known is a lot less scary then the unknown. If we could put away all the presumptions we have about this new energy source, then maybe we can understand that this would be a good decision for use in the near future.
The greatest disadvantages of nuclear energy are the risks posed to mankind and the environment by radioactive materials. ‘On average a nuclear plant annually generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel cla...
There are many viewpoints on this topic, however, with the evidence that I have gathered and the reaction of other countries, nuclear power plants bring more harm than benefits to the human population. Compared with other sciences, nuclear science is still generally young and new, in fact, scientists only began to delve into nuclear physics during the World War II era (“Atomic Physics”). Nuclear power can come from two sources, nuclear fission, which is the splitting of atoms, and nuclear fusion, which is the union of two atoms.... ... middle of paper ...
Nuclear power, the use of exothermic nuclear processes to produce an enormous amount of electricity and heat for domestic, medical, military and industrial purposes i.e. “By the end of 2012 2346.3 kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity was generated by nuclear reactors around the world” (International atomic energy agency Vienna, 2013, p.13). However, with that been said it is evident that the process of generating electricity from a nuclear reactor has numerous health and environmental safety issues.
Media coverage of such cases have made the public less comfortable with the idea of moving further towards nuclear power and they only opt for reducing human activities to reduce global warming. It is true that there have been some notable disasters involving nuclear power, but compared to other power systems, nuclear power has an impressive track record. First, it is less harmful and second, it will be able to cater for the growing world population. Nuclear power produces clean energy and it delivers it at a cost that is competitive in the energy market (Patterson). According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are currently 65 such plants in the Unite States (National Research Council). They produce 19 percent of the total US energy generation.