Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power in Usa

NUCLEAR POWER geographics HOMEWORK 10/27/2012 DAISY SOWAH FORM 5W PROS AND CONS OF NUCLEAR POWER IN THE USA Worldwide, there ar 441 atomic part whole caboodles that supply virtu sole(prenominal)y 16 percent of the worlds electricity. There are currently 104 operating U. S. nuclear power plants that produce over 20 percent of U. S. electricity. ADVANTAGES a) thermonuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green home plate gases and thusly the contri providedion of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. USA is currently responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions an average of 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen all(prenominal) year the highest of any country in the world, and more than than China, India and Japan combined, the increase utilise of nuclear power will do well to substantiation these emissions. b) High Load Factor Nuclear abili ty Plants bedevil rattling high load factors in excess of 80%.They house ease up power almost 24/7 and only require close for periodic maintenance c) Huge authority Nuclear zipper Potential is almost infinite compared to the limited and peak features of other forms of button exchangeable Wind,Geothermal,Oil,Gas and others. Only Solar talent can be said to have more potential. d) Low Electricity Cost The Electricity produced from Nuclear Power is quite low at around 3-5c/Kwh making it very hypnotic to construct hydro plants e) Low Fuel Cost Large amounts of Nuclear Energy can be produced from the fission on radioactive elements like uranium.The be of nuclear fuel is relatively very low compared to other energy stems like coal and gas. Also uranium prices currently are quite low making the nuclear electricity price even lower. just about $100 a poundof uranium but a barrel of brant goose crude oil is $114 a barrel but lasts for a overmuch shorter period of time CHALL ENGES 1. Nuclear and Radiation Accidents This is the biggest con for Nuclear Energy and has been repeated 3 times in the last 30 age in Japan, Russia and USA.The fear of a repeat is so great that disrespect all the safety arrangements touted by the nuclear equipment operators and suppliers, Nuclear Energy faces an mutable future The worst nuclear accident in U. S. history took target on abut 28, 1979 at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. A cooling system failed, causing a partial meltdown, but a full meltdown was averted and there were no fatalities. However, despite the confirmatory outcome and despite the passage of more than 30 years, the incident trunk fresh in the minds of those who are old enough to remember it. 2.Nuclear decompose Disposal Again a massive problem as the spend Nuclear Rods of Nuclear Reactors are prohibitively costly and difficult to lock of. Spent nuclear fuel is initially very highly radioactive and so must be handled with great care an d forethought. (10000 years fit in to United States Environmental Protection Agency standards). There is no goof-proof way to dispose nuclear waste fuel after it is used in the Nuclear Reactors. The area around Nuclear Waste Sites can be dangerous to humans for hundreds of year as complex nuclear elements have half lives running into many years.The United States had accumulated more than 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors. everlasting storage underground in U. S. had been proposed at the Yucca but that project has this instant been effectively cancelled. There is presently no adequate safe long storage for radioactive and chemical waste produced from early reactors, such as those in Hanford, Washington, some of which will need to be safely soaked and stored for thousands of years. 3. Regulations The Regulations for Nuclear Energy Power Plants are many and cumbersome collect to the massive risks of a failure of a nuclear reactor.This greatly increa ses the be of generating nuclear power. It also leads to a long time in the tangible start to the completion of a Nuclear Plant . 4. Fuel endangerment Uranium which is the main fuel used in Nuclear nuclear fission Power Plants is limited to a few countries and suppliers. Its use and transport is adjust by international treaties and groups. 5. Nuclear power is reliable, but a mete out of money has to be spent on safety if it does go wrong, a nuclear accident can be a major disaster. scorn a generally high security standard, accidents can still happen.It is technically impossible to build a plant with 100% security. A diminutive prospect of failure will always last. The consequences of an accident would be perfectly devastating both for human being as for the nature. The more nuclear power plants (and nuclear waste storage shelters) are built, the higher is the probability of a disastrous failure somewhere in the world. People are increasingly concerned about this in the 1 990s nuclear power was the fastest-growing origination of power in much of the world. In 2005 it was the second slowest-growing. 6. The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium.Uranium is a scarce resource, its supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand. March 11, 2010 nightmare scenario Terrorism at a nuke power plant. Nuclear meltdown. Level 7 core damage blows through the 6 human foot thick reinforced containment structure releasing highly radioactive elements into the melody and surrounding environment. 7. Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be preferred targets for terrorist attacks. No atomic energy plant in the world could withstand an attack similar to 9/11 in New York. Such a terrorist act would have ruinous effects for the whole world.