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Introduction

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. ...read more.

Middle

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. ...read more.

Conclusion

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. Sources: * http://www.uic.com.au/introduction.htm * http://people.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm * http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_plant * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_plant * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_plant * http://www.answers.com/topic/nuclear-power-plant * http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/n/nu/nuclear_power_plant.htm ?? ?? ?? ?? Mila Djurkovic 10b ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.