In the world today, there is a constant debate on what to do about the growing issue of global warming. Ultimately, the issue can be correlated with the production of energy using nonrenewable resources, fossil fuels. Countless companies have made an effort to make the world ‘cleaner’, by using innovative and contemporary processes of creating energy. Energy sources have sprouted up in morals of creating energy efficiently and does not provide any harmful effects on the environment. One of these various sources of new energy is Nuclear Energy. Nuclear energy is made by nuclear fission, which is the process of splitting the nucleus of an atom and taking the energy that is released during the reaction. Nuclear energy does create an immense amount …show more content…
The safety of the production of nuclear energy has not yet to be constant. As the quantum mechanics behind the nuclear particle, gamma, can be very unpredictable. As the field of study is predominantly revolved around the theoretical processes of the principles regarding the mechanisms of quantum particles. “[R]adiation is not just a concern in a nuclear accident. Each link in the nuclear fuel chain releases radiation, starting with drilling for uranium; it then continues for generations because nuclear waste includes plutonium that will remain toxic for thousands of years. Despite years of research, countries with nuclear energy programs such as the United States have failed to solve the challenge of finding safe and secure storage for 'spent ' nuclear fuel... There are presently over 400 nuclear power plants in the world - many, in places at high risk for natural disaster or political upheaval.” (Lama 2011) There are also hypothetical situations that can occur in regards to a nuclear power plant. Living by or miles away from a nuclear power plant presents a great safety concern for the general population. The waste produced by the power plant has the ability to seek into the main water supply and the soil, evidently making the sources radioactive. Threats have also presented itself of possible attacks on a nuclear power plant. The dangerous and lethal effects that if a nuclear power plant were to have a meltdown are extreme. The radioactive material has the ability to travel and expand further than a uranium nuclear blast. The death toll will increase as radiation will travel for miles and miles reaching places that are not in near of the power plant. “The 2011 accident at Fukushima was a wake-up call reminding the world of the vulnerability of nuclear power plants to natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. However, nature is not the only potential threat to
When the nuclei of Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 undergo nuclear fission, they produce waste as a by-product, which is known as nuclear waste or “fission fragments”. (Leslie Corrice, 2015) This waste contains radioisotopes, which are radioactive isotopes that have long half-lives. This means that the radioisotopes are able to stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of thousands of years, which is extremely hazardous to the earth’s environment. Very commonly this waste contaminates water and ruins the quality of both air and soil, which in turn devastates the planet.
Contrary to popular belief, nuclear power plants are unable to explode. Power plants use fuel that is thirty to ninety times too diluted to explode.
However, mostly due to fear and the lack of knowledge, many are adverse to the use of nuclear power. Nuclear energy comes from two methods, fusion and fission. Fusion brings together tritium and deuterium to create heat energy, helium, and a neutron (Duke Energy, 2013). Nuclear fusion releases more heat energy than fission, however it is more difficult to control, so it is not currently a viable energy process (Duke Energy, 2013). However, the sun is an example of nuclear fusion, in how it produces heat.
The general attitude by the public towards nuclear reactors is that of fear or disapproval simply due to its name or the rumors. Nuclear reactors are merely devices that sustain chain reactions, in which only one of the emitted neutrons hits another nucleus to create fission. Though nuclear reactors cannot become a weapon or a bomb, some of the dangers relate to our lives to the extent that we may need to seek alternatives, as demonstrated by the reactors in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Nuclear reactors operate on chain reaction, which does not grow due to neutron multiplications of 1. They depend on slow neutrons—in explosion, they are only as powerful as TNT.
Nuclear power produces fewer carbon emissions than traditional energy sources because energy is not produced by burning molecules but splitting atoms. ‘An energy mix including nuclear power has the lowest impact on wildlife and Ecosystems’ as shown by a Conservation Biology paper. Consequently, greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by nearly half which shows the benefits and popularity of nuclear power use. Nuclear power has many environmental benefits such as small waste production, leaves no adverse effect on water, land or any habitats. By reducing fossil fuel consumption and switching to Nuclear Energy, we will sustain the environment, quality of air, improving the overall quality of
Fukushima and Three Mile Island “Nuclear power is not a miracle key for the future.” According to Tarja Halonen, the use of nuclear power, although it may seem perfect in theory, will not be perfect in practice. Such examples can be seen in the Fukushima and Three Mile Island disasters. When comparing these catastrophes, both similarities and differences arise. There are numerous similarities and differences between the Fukushima and Three Mile Island disasters.
Many fear that the high number of earthquakes in the region could cause a possible leakage. This would most definitely harm not only our environment but also eventually infiltrate our drinking water. What if a big earthquake released a portion of the nuclear waste before we could contain it again? This is where Muller does a great job of explaining to the reader that more research must go into leakage prevention rather than absolute containment. Muller uses mathematics and science to show how we have the possibility of being exposed to less radioactivity with the toxic waste, than if we never dug the uranium up in the first place.
Depicted in Bethesda’s game series, Fallout, we see how our future plays out. They have cars, buses, and locomotives all powered by nuclear energy. What if I told you that this could become a reality? As oil prices go up and the looming danger of greenhouse gasses and global warming increases, many people are looking for an environmentally safe option to produce power without having to expel greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Some say that we should use hydroelectric power because we have a large amount of water.
Nuclear energy may be the solution that eliminates our concern for energy production in the future, but it still remains a huge issue for the environment. Despite its wide use in many developed countries, nuclear energy poses many threats to both the
Speaker Credibility Now, it’s obvious that I’m no nuclear engineer, but it has always fascinated me. Growing up very close to Turkey Point nuclear plant in Miami and having a father that worked there, I was able to see things normal people wouldn 't have seen. I got to go into the training room where they train the new reactor operators. And this interest lead me to do more research on the other sources of energy and what I found lead me to this conclusion.
It is true that there have been major accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. However those are the only accidents that have occurred in a total of 16,000 cumulative reactor years (“Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors”). The actual amount of accidents that happens are quite low. Moreover, even when those accidents happen, the radiation that you would receive would (normally) be the same or less than what you would receive from natural sources (Lynas). Thus, if those accidents happen, and it is very unlikely that they will, they will not give you any adverse effects when handled
"(Erwin). From this knowledge one can see that U-235, found by Niels Bohr, can react and explode in very harmful ways. Now without this
Every time we plug a device into a powerpoint usually we do not think about where does that electricity comes from. I used this example to demonstrate that nuclear energy is something everybody should care about because, even if we don't want to, it belongs to our reality and not thinking about an issue will not solve it. Nuclear energy in itself it is not an issue but the consequences of an accident will affect seriously our lives so, since prevention is better than cure, it is better to solve possible issues by limiting the factors that can made them happen. The main objective of this thesis is to make people aware about the nuclear issues in a more detailed
However one of the biggest issues pertaining nuclear power is the chance of a nuclear accident in which large amounts of radiation is leaked to a wide area. Although rare, many people fear the chance of a nuclear accident due to uncontrolled chain reactions and thus they oppose the idea of nuclear power plants. At first when nuclear power plants were built humans liked the idea but after the first nuclear accident/meltdown in Chernobyl, 1986, people began to oppose and protest against the use of nuclear power. A meltdown is when the fission reactions in the nuclear power plant go out of control due to uncontrolled chain reactions which need to be controlled by a moderator. A nuclear accident leads to the exposure of harmful radiation to thousands of people, creating detrimental effects on the body’s physiological and psychological state.
Not only is the radiation harming people, it is also harming are environments as well. On top of all that, nuclear power plants are just cutting into the wealth of some countries due to the fact that they are ridiculously expensive to build and also expensive to run. A. Economy Now a day’s countries are beginning to use nuclear power plants for an efficient source of electrical energy,