Nuclear Energy: A Powerful Source with Significant Risks

By: Austin, Malana, Prottoy, Ryan, and Shania

WHAT IS NUCLEAR ENERGY?

Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus, or core, of an atom. Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms (nuclear fission) in a reactor to heat water into steam, turn a turbine, and generate electricity. A nuclear reactor, or power plant, is a series of machines that can control nuclear fission to produce electricity.

HOW IS NUCLEAR ENERGY CREATED?

1. Nuclear reactors use pellets of the element uranium

2. Atoms of uranium are forced to break apart

3. Atoms release tiny particles

4. Fission products cause a chain reaction

5. Energy released creates heat

6. Heat created by nuclear fission warms water

7. The heated water produces steam

8. The steam turns the turbines or wheels 

9. The turbines drive generators or engines

10. Electricity is created! 

ADVANTAGES:

There are a number of huge advantages to nuclear energy, though these are often overshadowed by the negative perceptions in the public mind. Nuclear energy creates many high-paid jobs; in the United States alone, 100,000 people are currently employed in well-paid long-term nuclear energy careers. Even more importantly, nuclear energy helps tackle climate change with carbon-free electricity and does not emit any air pollutants during the energy generation process. Another significant positive is its potential to power developing countries in particular, because of the low operation cost and high energy density. As well, there is highly sufficient fuel availability while we search for even greener energy technology, an estimated 200 years of uranium supply. Last, but certainly not least, it is a reliable source of energy that does not depend on weather conditions, unlike wind and solar power. Moreover, nuclear energy can be used in conjunction with other forms of renewable energy; nuclear energy output can be increased or decreased depending on how sources like wind and solar are performing and how the weather conditions are at that time.

ECONOMICS

The economic revenue for 104 nuclear units in electricity sales, are around $40-$50 billion dollars each year, with well over 100,000 workers contributing to the production of the nuclear units.  Currently there are around 440 nuclear power plants around the world.  In 2019 these plants provided over 10% of the world’s electricity.  The global market for nuclear products, services, and fuel was around $500-$740 billion dollars in the past 10 or so years.  

DISADVANTAGES:

As no system can be perfect, nuclear energy comes with a few disadvantages. The first one is that it is expensive. It costs over 9 billion American dollars to build one plant. Another disadvantage to nuclear energy is that it is often not given a chance to be used due to negative public perceptions. Much of the general public sees nuclear energy as dangerous and unstable. This is due to the incorrect direct association with nuclear weapons and nuclear energy portrayal in media and television. Nuclear energy also poses the opportunity for a negative environmental impact. As previously mentioned, nuclear energy plants use uranium. The uranium has to be mined, which can affect the environment through the release of uranium mine gases such as radon and arsenic. Thermal pollution can occur when bodies of water are used to cool down plants. Once the water cools down the plant, it is released back into the original body thus increasing the temperature. Additionally, radioactive waste is produced. This stays contaminated for thousands of years after it is created and there is currently no way to neutralize it; instead it is stored in facilities. It is also a non-renewable source of energy since Nuclear energy relies on finite resources such as uranium. It is estimated that uranium will be depleted from the earth within the next 200 years but this is being expedited as nuclear energy progresses. Lastly, there is a risk for nuclear accidents. Nuclear meltdowns such as Chernobyl can cause death and long and short term health problems, especially thyroid cancer. Nuclear energy has several disadvantages but is still a viable and mostly safe method to produce energy.

NUCLEAR SAFETY AND PAST INCIDENTS:

The public is often very wary of nuclear energy programs, and for good reasons, as one might argue. From Chernobyl to Three Mile Island, the world is no stranger to nuclear disasters of catastrophic scale. Ever since the conception of the first nuclear reactor in 1951, we have braced a grand total of 30 nuclear accidents to date, with the very first taking place barely a year after 1951 right in our homeland of Canada. Needless to say, any ambitious environmentalist looking to establish even a temporary nuclear program has to fight an uphill battle against a skeptic society. 

However, the story changes completely once we take public perception out of the picture. Despite what the people have been led to believe, nuclear energy is an extremely safe, if not sustainable, source of energy that can be the key to transitioning out of a fossil fuel based economy into one reliant on renewable resources. Even if nuclear energy does not provide us with the solution to the centuries-old problem of energy, it is still bound to buy us valuable time required to conduct the research necessary to ensure a smooth transition. This is knowledge that we desperately need but potentially do not have the time for, due to the dire nature of the climate crisis. 

But setting aside the endless potential of a nuclear world, we must first tackle the question of safety. Surprisingly, most experts agree that a country reliant on nuclear energy is not necessarily an unsafe one, given that the respective administrative bodies, like the local government, invests in up-to-date technology and allows for civilian oversight. To understand this sentiment, we must first understand the three worst nuclear disasters in human history: Chernobyl, Fukushima Daiichi, and Three Mile Island. 

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was arguably the worst nuclear accident of the 30 in the list. The blast alone claimed the lives of 31 individuals and its effects on the surrounding environment is still visible to the naked eye. But before we delve any further into this issue, we must first acknowledge that due to the authoritarian nature of the government that oversaw Chernobyl, a lot of information available on the disaster is often very speculative and therefore is subject to a great deal of uncertainty. However, this report will do its best to do justice to each point and nuance that has been made available. That said, the exact death toll of the disaster is still being heavily debated among experts. According to the TORCH-Report as commissioned by the European Green Party and published in 2006, the disaster will be responsible for the deaths of anywhere between 30,000 to 60,000 individuals by 2065. However, the World Health Organization, in a joint investigation with the UNDP, the World Bank, the IAEA, and several East European governments, concluded that the disaster will not claim any more than 4000 lives in a similar time period. Most estimates fall in the middle of these two numbers, with most agreeing that the death toll should approach 12,000 by 2065. However, it must be noted that deaths may have been easily avoided had the accident occurred under the governance of a democratic society. This is a point that can be illustrated through the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. 

Many consider Fukushima to be a fierce contender to Chernobyl for the worst nuclear disaster in human history. But that is a terrible comparison. They are not alike in any way, shape, or form whatsoever. For starters, unlike the Chernobyl disaster, the direct blast did not result in any verifiable deaths. Researchers have pegged the combined death toll of the incident to anywhere between 0 to 573 deaths. However, as many will point out, these 573 deaths were the result of the stress caused by the evacuation in the elderly population, rather than a direct result of the accident. Moreover, most experts believe that the incident will result in anywhere between 0 to 1000 fatalities over the next couple of decades. 

As one might rightfully point out, that is a death toll that does not come even close to the disaster that was Chernobyl. This, as mentioned earlier, is a direct result of the governing bodies of these respective regions. Where Chernobyl was ruled by the Soviets, Fukushima was overseen by the democratically elected Japanese government. Due to the autorotative nature of the USSR, the government’s immediate course of action was to maintain a steady image rather than investing in damage control in the region. In contrast, the Japanese government immediately deployed extensive measures to assist Fukushima without merely attempting to hide the damage. Moreover, Chernobyl was being operated with outdated and poorly maintained technology by poorly trained personnel. Japan, on the other hand, was operating with state-of-the-art nuclear technology and with experienced engineers that were able to bring the situation under control. Similarly, the Three Mile Island incident saw 0 casualties, due to the swift actions by the United States government. 

Though almost no nuclear disasters have been as disastrous as Fukushima or Chernobyl (other than Kyshtym, which also occurred inside USSR territory), one might still be reasonably wary of nuclear energy. After all, even 1000 deaths is not an unignorable amount. However, to understand this metric, we must first understand the casualties caused by our current systems of energy production. According to estimates from the WHO, an approximate 4.2 million people around the world die prematurely due to air pollution. The number of people losing their lives to pollution becomes a lot higher when we account for the numerous oil spills and oil rig explosions. Compared to that, a one-in-a-million chance that a region might see slight casualties is a risk that we believe is worth considering. 

CLOSING REMARKS ON  SUSTAINABILITY: IS NUCLEAR A GOOD SOURCE OF ENERGY?

Sustainability involves responsible interactions with the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources while allowing for long-term environmental quality. Therefore, we agree that, although nuclear energy might present itself as a “good” source of energy, it is not the best option for the future as there are more sustainable options available for energy production. 

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