Consequences of Developing Nuclear Power Term Paper

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When compared to oil Uranium is more easily accessible and there is less likelihood of any political interferences because of the locations it is mined.

Nuclear power plants require far less space as compared to hydropower plants. This allows them to be placed in developed areas which in turn reduce the distance that electricity needs to be transported. Over short periods of time, the amount of electricity produced is very large as compared to hydropower, which requires constant turning of the turbines to produce electricity. When old reactors wear out, new ones can be created thus ensuring long-term production.

Conclusion

Nuclear power is quite safe, and the disaster that occurred during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was not caused by failure of nuclear plant or by human failure, but rather it was caused by natural causes. The tsunami of March 11, 2011 was the root cause of the disaster. The disaster occurred at the worst time as two coolers of the nuclear plant had been shut down for routine maintenance and one other had been de-fuelled.
If these reactors were in full operation, the disaster would have been averted. The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown was caused by power surge in reactor four. The power surge caused radioactive fuel to be dispersed in the atmosphere which ignited the graphite moderator. This accident was not caused by human nature rather by electrical faults. The accident also occurred when they were running test on the emergency cooling feature.

These are the two most significant disaster of nuclear power and both of them did not have significant human loss. There are risks faced in all energy sources, but nuclear power has resulted in fewer disasters and less loss of life, which makes it the most viable energy source. Considering the research been carried out regarding safety in the future such disasters can be easily averted.

References

Levendis, J., Block, W., & Morrel, J. (2006). Nuclear Power. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(1), 37-49.

Smith, C.L., & Ward, D. (2007). The Path to Fusion Power. Philosophical Transactions:….....

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