by Mark Harrington

Created on: July 07, 2008

Nuclear energy, a new and improved way of generating electricity that leaves all the former ways of lighting up the world in the dark ages. But even though it sounds great it has its ups and downs. One good thing about nuclear energy is that there's less pollution in the air as well as less radiation, that's right less radiation, it can be hard to believe that a nuclear energy plant actually emits less radiation than any other type of plant. Coal burning plants emit carbon dioxide which makes the ozone more and more unprotected from being depleted. Our supply of fossil fuels is being depleted more each year and the sulfurous coal being used today by most plants is even more pollutant than the former type of coal used. Nuclear power plants are more reliable than other plants because they use very small amounts of fuel to operate which leaves them less vulnerable to natural disasters and fuel shortages. By mining uranium from the ground we can reduce exposure of radon to the general population while burning coal can increase the exposure to the public. Using nuclear energy is by far safer than using coal burning plants because compared to coal burning plants which thousands of people die each year from respiratory problems as a result of burning coal nuclear energy plants have a low casualty rate because of all the precautions put in place. No earthquake or any other type of disaster can stand up to a nuclear reactor it's so strong and reinforced nothing can stand the test of time better. A nuclear reactor is backed up by a steel pressure vessel that is nine inches thick which is surrounded by a thick wall of concrete. All of this is inside a containment structure made of steel, which is inside a concrete dome four feet thick reinforced by steel.

Beauty can be ugly on the inside; there are several issues about nuclear energy that need to be addressed before we can make it practical enough to replace old forms of generating energy. There is always the danger of a meltdown in nuclear plants if there is a loss of coolant in a reactor. The down side of nuclear power is that it produces a lot of toxic waste. They are still working on the issue of how to store radioactive waste. There are some companies that are actually trying to recycle nuclear waste, which seems like a good idea if they can make it practical. Nuclear waste remains radioactive for a few thousand years and trying to keep the danger at bay is a huge issue, putting it in under ground bunkers of some sort is a great idea as well. It might be several years before nuclear power is practical. I hope that day comes soon because if all the flaws are worked out nuclear power is for sure a better way to generate energy than any other way of powering our world.

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