Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy - Essay Example

Nuclear energy Nuclear energy comes from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process known as fission, and it produces steam by cooling the fission chambers which is used for electricity manufacture. The process involves many steps, but the major processes are steam production and turning of the turbines to produce electric energy. Fission is basically separating an atom into two atoms and the energy produced during the separation is transformed in massive energy. The current issue of global warming has led to the popularity of nuclear energy since its mitigation is mainly focused on nuclear power. However, nuclear energy has both advantages and disadvantages that should be evaluated in order to gauge the worth of utilizing it. Advantages of nuclear energy Electricity production cost has proved to be a barrier to developing countries, and the nuclear energy could be a solution to this problem. Comparing uranium to other products of energy production such as coal and oil, it is evident that small quantities of uranium are needed to produce an equivalent amount of energy by either coal or oil. Uranium is available at cheap prices and the costs of procurement and transportation are relatively low. The costs of running and maintaining an industry manufacturing electricity using uranium are cheap as compared to those of coal that require regular maintenance and hence a high cost implication. Experts say that a nuclear plant that is in good functionality can run uninterrupted for up to 540 days (Beth, Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy, LoveToKnow, Green living). One of the major keys of marketing is the ability of the manufacturer to gain consumer confidence .in the year 1979 incident of a partial meltdown of a reactor was reported, and this gave rise to a lot of critics about the safety of nuclear plants. As compared to coal burning plants, the nuclear plant is safer since the reactors are contained in concrete structures of large thickness unlike those of coal that often burst. Another safety advantage of the nuclear energy industries is the availability of a passive system that does not require a person to shut it down in occurrence of a malfunction. Environmental conservation is of great priority to any project, and so is the nuclear project (Burgess, 10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power, Grab life by the globe, Energy). The process of power generation using the nuclear project releases relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide among other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere since nuclear power plants don’t smoke. Nuclear waste is environmental conservative since they can be reused through recycling. Nuclear power generating projects are built in such a way that they can store nuclear waste that includes radioactive matter for thousands of years without letting it go into the atmosphere. Nuclear energy production has been proposed as the best mitigation to the climate crisis since its environmental effects are relatively low. Research has proved that the life-cycle emissions of nuclear plants are at par with those of ‘safer’ projects such as that of wind power. Disadvantages of nuclear energy Building a nuclear power project has very high initial cost considering the formalities planning and the building process (Burgess, 10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power, Grab life by the globe, Energy). The complex radiation containment systems require a lot of costs alongside long periods of construction time. It would take 20-30 years for a country that is economically stable to come up with a nuclear power project and hence it is an illusion in the short time. Uranium being an unstable component requires special precautions during mining, transportation and storage and all these require heavy financial investment. Running a nuclear would require high skilled labor that will also require very high payments due to the risk involved. Nuclear energy plants are associated with high security standards but accidents still often occur. Technically, it is impossible to construct a project that is 100% safe and due to this, the nuclear energy plants pose a great risk to the people working in and around the project (Mathias, Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons, Energy Informative, Energy informative). The nature of the project would cause a devastating destruction in case an accident occurs. The available deposits of uranium can only run the world for the next 30-60 years and hence it poses a risk of the world being stranded when the deposits are all drained. Nuclear power plants and nuclear waste pose a security risk since they are a target by terrorists who use them in the manufacture of deadly weapons(Anonymous, Pros and cons of nuclear power /Time for change, Personal growth is the meaning of life | Time for change, Nuclear energy). The nuclear fission chambers are cooled using water that in turn evaporates turning turbines and upon cooling, the steam becomes water and is pumped to wetland areas. Heavy metals and pollutants are carried by the water, and this leads to pollution of both soil and water. In cases of faulty safety systems in the retention of radiations, the nuclear reactors could release radiations that are harmful to the environment and could be catastrophic if in large amounts (Burgess, 10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power, Grab life by the globe, Energy). Despite the minimal or no release of greenhouse gases from these industries, their constituent industries such as the mining and enrichment badly destroy the environment (Boynton, Nuclear Energy: Pros and Cons, Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit, Nuclear Energy). The radioactive wastes of the project are non-biodegradable and extremely dangerous to the environment. Conclusion In conclusion, despite the growing needs of energy that is expected to increase by 40% in the next decade, the world has to mind about the environment and the risks involved in the production of energy using nuclear. It would be of no benefit producing energy at the cost of damaging the environment that is the home for everyone. Despite such industries having the capability to produce large amounts of energy, they have a shorter life span due to the limited resources as compared to other sources of energy as wind, coal and fuel. The cost of installing new industries to cater produce nuclear energy could be readily used to expand the available environmental friendly industries for energy production. I strongly believe that there are better alternatives that are efficient and reliable rather than risky and cost ineffective nuclear energy production. Works Cited Anonymous. "Pros and cons of nuclear power | Time for change." Personal growth is the meaning of life | Time for change. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2014. Beth , Asaff. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy." LoveToKnow. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June 2014. Boynton, Jen. "Nuclear Energy: Pros and Cons." Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Nick Aster, 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 27 June 2014. Burgess, Joanna. "10 Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power: Discovery Channel." Grab life by the globe, 14.sept.2011. Web. 26 June 2014. Mathias Aarre , Maehlum. "Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons." Energy Informative. Energy informative, 3 May 2013. Web. 27 June 2014. Read More