Nuclear Power Debate New

8/3/2019 Nuclear Power Debate New

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About the controversy which has surroundedthe deployment and use of nuclear fission

reactors to generate electricity from nuclearfuel for civilian purposes.

Peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, when it"reached an intensity unprecedented in thehistory of technology controversies", in somecountries.


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It is a sustainable energy source whichreduces carbon emissions and can increase energysecurity .

It reduces air pollution in contrast to use of Fossilfuels.

Only viable course to achieve energyindependence for most Western countries.


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Poses many threats to people and theenvironment. These threats include:

Health risks

Environmental damage from

Uranium mining

Processing and transport

The unsolved problem of radioactive nuclear waste


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Many studies have documented how nuclearpower plants generate 16% of global electricity,

but provide only 6.3% of energy production and

2.6% of final energy consumption. Thismismatch stems mainly from the poorconsumption efficiency of electricity comparedto other energy carriers, and the transmission

losses associated with nuclear plants which areusually situated far away from sources ofdemand.

Energy SuppliedEnergy Supplied


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The pictograph shows the use of different fuels for power.


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The primary environmental impacts of nuclear power come from uranium mining

radioactive effluent emissions

waste heat

As under normal generating conditions nuclear power does not producegreenhouse gas emissions [CO2, NO2] directly.

Nuclear generation does not directly produce sulfur dioxide,nitrogen oxides, mercury or other pollutants associated with the

combustion of fossil fuels.

Many experts believe that expanded nuclear generation is the onlyway to reduce green house gas emissions while providing for currentand future electricity needs.


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The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclearaccident that occurred on 26 April 1986at

the Chernobyl Nuclear PowerPlant in Ukraine. An explosion and firereleased large quantities of radioactivecontamination into the atmosphere, which

spread over much of Western USSR andEurope.

It is considered the worst nuclear powerplant accident in history


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Map showing Caesium-137 contamination in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine as of

1996.


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Following an earthquake, tsunami, and failure ofcooling systems at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plantin Japan on March 11, 2011, a nuclear emergency

was declared.

This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in Japan, and 140,000 residents within 20 km of the plant wereevacuated. Explosions and a fire have resulted in

dangerous levels of radiation, sparking a stockmarket collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets.

UK, France and some other countries advised theirnationals to consider leaving Tokyo, in response to

fears of spreading nuclear contamination.


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The map shows the countries around the world that have nuclearpower, nuclear weapons and nuclear free zones.Green- free zones ; Red- Nuclear weapon umbrella; Pink- former;Black- Nuclear weapons


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The impact of nuclear accidents has been a topicof debate practically since the first nuclear

reactors were constructed. It has also been a key factor in public concern

about nuclear facilities. Some technicalmeasures to reduce the risk of accidents or to

minimize the amount of radioactivity releasedto the environment have been adopted.

Despite the use of such measures, there havebeen many accidents with varying impacts.


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A major concern in the nuclear debate iswhat the long-term effects of living near or

working in a nuclear power station are.These concerns typically center around thepotential for increased risks of cancer.


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An additional concern with nuclear powerplants is that if the by-products of nuclear

fission (the nuclear waste generated by theplant) were to be left unprotected it could bestolen and used as a radiological weapon,colloquially known as a "dirty bomb".


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Nuclear Power Debate New