The Advantages and Disadvantages of UsingNuclear Power Plants as an Energy Source

Mila Djurkovic 10b

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Nuclear Power Plants as an Energy Source

Nuclear power is the use of continuous nuclear reactions to do practical work. It is produced by nuclear fission reactions which occur when adequate quantities of Uranium-235 are restricted to a small area. Nuclear fission is the process of nuclei being split. In this case a heavier nucleus splits up into two or more lighter nuclei, then this moves on by a chain reaction when the emitted neutrons go on to split the other nuclei. Heat is produced by the reaction, which is then converted to Kinetic energy by a steam turbine and finally by a generator to produce electricity.

There are several advantages with using nuclear power. One advantage is that the fuel isn’t expensive, which allows large amounts to be bought and used. Also a great amount of energy is created from a extremely small quantity of fuel. An additional benefit is that the fuel is readily accessible. This means that if more energy needs to be produced, then more fuel can be used immediately. Furthermore, nuclear power doesn’t give out substances to the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides or sulphur dioxide. Another advantage is that nuclear power doesn’t contribute to global warming or acid rain. Also the quantity of waste produced by nuclear power plants is rather small which makes the chance of diseases for humans less.

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On the other hand, nuclear power plants have several disadvantages. One is that by using nuclear power, poisonous waste is produced which is in some cases extremely radioactive and can cause sicknesses and diseases like cancer to humans. The discarding of this nuclear waste is not accomplished until now. Nuclear power waste has very long half lives most of them are thousands of years which means that radioactive wastes are in the atmosphere for this amount of time. Careless disposal of nuclear waste leads to pollution of rivers, lakes, land and ocean. A further disadvantage is that the nuclear power stations can be dangerous to some parts of the world. Despite reassurances that nuclear power plants are safe, serious accidents have happened. A good example of this is the accident that occurred in Chernobyl, 1986. The accident was a result of a defective reactor design that was operated by improperly trained employees, without suitable regard of safety. This caused the immediate death of 40 people and 130 getting radiation sicknesses. A different strong reason for the disadvantage of nuclear power plants is that the power station is extremely expensive to build. Once the power station is built, the costs for electricity throughout the station are tremendously high.

The topic of using nuclear power plants is controversial. As written before, there are several disadvantages and as well advantages that contribute to the building of nuclear power plants. So the question asked is if people should use nuclear power to produce energy or not. It is obvious that nuclear energy has several advantages, for example it is cheap and makes a large amount of energy with a small amount of fuel. Energy can be provided immediately since there is enough fuel. On the other hand, the disadvantages make people think twice if nuclear power is superior for producing energy. It may be inexpensive and in a large quantity, but people shouldn’t forget the risk of their health by the consequence of using nuclear power. Waste is produced that has a long half life and can cause diseases like cancer to humans. As well, disasters like in Chernobyl cannot be excluded. Overall, although this topic is controversial and many things can be discussed, nuclear power is necessary to humans since it provides essential energy for our every day lives. The risk of getting cancer is more or less low, so the usage of nuclear power for providing energy can be seen as not too harmful for humans. That is why nuclear power should be used to provide energy.

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