Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power
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What's nuclear power's biggest advantage? It doesn't depend
on fossil fuels and isn't affected by fluctuating oil and
gas prices. Coal and natural gas power plants emit carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate
change. With nuclear power plants, CO2 emissions are
minimal.
According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the power
produced by the world's nuclear plants would normally
produce 2 billion metric tons of CO2 per year if they
depended on fossil fuels. In fact, a properly functioning
nuclear power plant actually releases less radioactivity
into the atmosphere than a coal-fired power plant [source:
Hvistendahl]. Plus, all this comes with a far lighter fuel
requirement. Nuclear fission produces roughly a million
times more energy per unit weight than fossil fuel
alternatives [source: Helman].
And then there are the negatives. Historically, mining and
purifying uranium hasn't been a very clean process. Even
transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants poses a
contamination risk. And once the fuel is spent, you can't
just throw it in the city dump. It's still radioactive and
potentially deadly.
On average, a nuclear power plant annually generates 20
metric tons of used nuclear fuel, classified as high-level
radioactive waste. When you take into account every nuclear
plant on Earth, the combined total climbs to roughly 2,000
metric tons a year [source: NEI]. All of this waste emits
radiation and heat, meaning that it will eventually corrode
any container that holds it. It can also prove lethal to
nearby life forms. As if this weren't bad enough, nuclear
power plants produce a great deal of low-level radioactive
waste in the form of radiated parts and equipment.
Over time, spent nuclear fuel decays to safe radioactive
levels, but this process takes tens of thousands of years.
Even low-level radioactive waste requires centuries to reach
acceptable levels. Currently, the nuclear industry lets
waste cool for years before mixing it with glass and storing
it in massive cooled, concrete structures. This waste has to
be maintained, monitored and guarded to prevent the
materials from falling into the wrong hands. All of these
services and added materials cost money -- on top of the
high costs required to build a plant.
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