Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power Plants

For my topic I choose to do nuclear power plants and according to the European Nuclear Society their definition of a nuclear power plant is “thermal power plant, primarily used for electricity generation, in which the nuclear binding energy released during the nuclear fission in a reactor is converted to heat and subsequently into electrical energy via a water-steam circuit using a turbine and generator”. Nuclear power plants operate in most states and can produce up to 20 percent of the nation’s power. Enrico Fermi won a Nobel Prize for creating the first nuclear chain reaction in all of the world. Nearly almost 3 million Americans live within the 10 miles of an operating nuclear power plant in the world. Nuclear power plants began sprouting …show more content…
On June 27, 1954, the world's first ever nuclear power plant generated electricity to a power grid therefore it started operating in Obninsk. Also the world’s first ever power station was in Calder Hall, England which opened in the year 1956. Nuclear power plants provide many uses for nuclear energy that include medicine, weapons, electricity and many more. When it comes to nuclear power plants there are many dangers that come along with it including safety and security risks. Safety risks include a very dangerous accident where large amounts of radiation is let off causing the environment to be at risk and also may cause cancer if exposed to the radiation. Some security risks are sabotage or terrorist attacks on the nuclear power plant and the risk of materials being stolen that may result in the making of dangerous weapons. About a fifth of the US electricity is generated by nuclear power, which means that nuclear power would be the third's largest electricity coming in after coal and natural gas. In Arco, Idaho on December 20,1951 the nuclear power plant Experimental Breeder Reactor EBR-I used electricity for the first time to power four light bulbs by nuclear