10:30. The bomb arrives in New York City. 2:45. The wires are set in place. 3:00. Children run through the park. 3:01. The city is obliterated; a smoldering pile of ashes. The threat of nuclear terrorism is authentic, as well as the threat of nuclear accidents and environmental disruption. Nuclear energy, otherwise known as nuclear fusion, is the process used in nuclear reactors to provide energy using a highly radioactive element called uranium. The energy produced in a uranium atom is approximately ten million times greater than a burning fossil fuel atom. In the process of nuclear fusion, highly radioactive waste is produced and must be cooled for a certain time. Currently, there are 450 nuclear power plants around the world, 99 of them
…show more content…
S, but nuclear accidents are also a hazard. The worst nuclear accident in history occurred in 1986, in Chernobyl, Ukraine where, “estimates conclude somewhere between 15,000 and 30,000 people lost their lives in the Chernobyl aftermath.”(Energy Informative: Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons) This shows of the 49,400 people living in the town of Chernobyl, up to 61% of everyone living there died due to a flawed reactor design [the cause of the accident.] Just one mistake in the reactor design, and boom, 30,000 people die. Although this event could have been prevented, it still occurred, proving the dangerous and explosive nature of nuclear energy. Unfortunately, the engineers did not learn from the Chernobyl accident, because 27 years later, another nuclear meltdown occurred. According to NCBI, “An earthquake in March 2011 triggered a tsunami that hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, leading to loss of the plant’s core cooling capacities, followed by hydrogen explosions and subsequent radiation leakage.” (NCBI: The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident-- an Overview.) Nuclear power plants should be built to withstand natural disasters because one of the most powerful substances in the world is stored in the reactors. Some may say that nuclear power plants are not safe, however although “Nuclear power plants are designed to be safe and to be operated without significant effect on public health and safety and the environment, …show more content…
Many people believe that nuclear energy is considered one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy just because it emits few greenhouse gases. While this is true, it does not mean that is a clean source of energy. According to Conserve Energy Future, “the process of mining uranium [the element used in nuclear fusion] hasn't been a clean process. Actually transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants presents a pollution hazard. Once the fuel is used, it can't simply go to a landfill.”(Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons).From the time uranium is mined to the time nuclear waste is disposed of, these radioactive materials are dangerous. They would not have to spend millions of dollars trying to store radioactive materials in large cement cases. Furthermore, “nuclear energy is not a renewable resource. Uranium, the nuclear fuel used to produce nuclear energy is limited and cannot be used again… the earth has enough uranium for 70-80 years.” (Energy Informative: Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons) This demonstrates we only have enough energy for 75 years. This is not renewable, it is not any better than fossil fuels if we are going to run out of it. Some say “if we can learn to control atomic fusion… we can have almost unlimited energy. At the moment though, these methods have serious challenges
S, but nuclear accidents are also a hazard. The worst nuclear accident in history occurred in 1986, in Chernobyl, Ukraine where, “estimates conclude somewhere between 15,000 and 30,000 people lost their lives in the Chernobyl aftermath.”(Energy Informative: Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons) This shows of the 49,400 people living in the town of Chernobyl, up to 61% of everyone living there died due to a flawed reactor design [the cause of the accident.] Just one mistake in the reactor design, and boom, 30,000 people die. Although this event could have been prevented, it still occurred, proving the dangerous and explosive nature of nuclear energy. Unfortunately, the engineers did not learn from the Chernobyl accident, because 27 years later, another nuclear meltdown occurred. According to NCBI, “An earthquake in March 2011 triggered a tsunami that hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, leading to loss of the plant’s core cooling capacities, followed by hydrogen explosions and subsequent radiation leakage.” (NCBI: The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident-- an Overview.) Nuclear power plants should be built to withstand natural disasters because one of the most powerful substances in the world is stored in the reactors. Some may say that nuclear power plants are not safe, however although “Nuclear power plants are designed to be safe and to be operated without significant effect on public health and safety and the environment, …show more content…
Many people believe that nuclear energy is considered one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy just because it emits few greenhouse gases. While this is true, it does not mean that is a clean source of energy. According to Conserve Energy Future, “the process of mining uranium [the element used in nuclear fusion] hasn't been a clean process. Actually transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants presents a pollution hazard. Once the fuel is used, it can't simply go to a landfill.”(Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons).From the time uranium is mined to the time nuclear waste is disposed of, these radioactive materials are dangerous. They would not have to spend millions of dollars trying to store radioactive materials in large cement cases. Furthermore, “nuclear energy is not a renewable resource. Uranium, the nuclear fuel used to produce nuclear energy is limited and cannot be used again… the earth has enough uranium for 70-80 years.” (Energy Informative: Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons) This demonstrates we only have enough energy for 75 years. This is not renewable, it is not any better than fossil fuels if we are going to run out of it. Some say “if we can learn to control atomic fusion… we can have almost unlimited energy. At the moment though, these methods have serious challenges