MACINTOSH 5.0

NUCLEAR POWER

A form of energy produced by an atomic reaction, capable of

producing an alternative source of electrical power to that

supplied by coal, gas, or oil.

DEFINITION

• Lowers Greenhouse gas emissions• Powerful and efficient• Reliability and adoptability• Cheap electricity• Low fuel cost• Supply• Easy transportation

ADVANTAGES

Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which is a metal mined in various parts of the world.

The first large-scale nuclear power station opened at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England, in 1956.

Some military ships and submarines have nuclear power plants for engines.

Nuclear power produces around 11% of the world's energy needs, and produces huge

amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel, without the pollution that you'd get from burning

fossil fuels.

NUCLEAR ENERGY

1. Economics• Cost effectiveness

Increasing fossil fuel prices have greatly improved the economics of nuclear power for electricity

now. Several studies show that nuclear energy is the most cost-effective of the available base-load

technologies. In addition, as carbon emission reductions are encouraged through various forms of government incentives and trading schemes,

the economic benefits of nuclear power will increase further.

ARGUMENTS

2. Environment

Increased awareness of the dangers and effects of global warming and climate change has led

decision makers, media and the public to realize that the use of fossil fuels must be reduced and

replaced by low-emission sources of energy, such as nuclear power, the only readily available large-scale alternative to fossil fuels for production of

continuous, reliable supply of electricity.

Carbon and hydrocarbon resources have many other uses that generating power on a large

scale. Coal and other fossil fuels are required in much larger quantities than uranium to produce

the equivalent amount of electricity – nuclear power is very energy-dense, an extremely

concentrated form of energy. Nuclear power already has substantially reduced the use of fossil fuels. There are particular questions of

ethics and opportunity cost in the use of gas to generate base-load power.

USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

3. SafetyThe transport of radioactive materials is carried

out under strict regulatory controls, and an excellent safety record has been maintained in

this highly specialised field. The highest possible safety standards, covering all modes of transport,

are enforced at all times, in accordance with internationally agreed requirements.

Since the start of the nuclear industrial era some 40 years ago, there has never been a transport accident resulting in the injury or death of an individual as a result of the radioactive nature of the cargo. Nor has

there ever been any impact on public health or the environment.

There are more than 10 million transports of radioactive material around the world

each year. Most involve packages containing radioisotopes used in medicine, industry, agriculture or scientific research.

In the past 40 years, about 30,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel have

been transported safely around the world, across distances totalling more than 25 million kilometres – by road,

rail and sea.

Regulations applied to the transport of radioactive materials are designed to

ensure that the risks to public health and the environment are negligible. The prime objective is to protect people, property and

the environment against the direct and indirect effects of radiation during

transportation.

4. Waste Management

Nuclear power is the only large-scale energy-producing technology which takes full

responsibility for all its wastes and fully costs this into the product.

The amount of radioactive wastes is very small relative to wastes produced by fossil fuel

electricity generation.Used nuclear fuel may be treated as a

resource or simply as a waste.Nuclear wastes are neither particularly

hazardous nor hard to manage relative to other toxic industrial wastes.

Safe methods for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste are technically proven;

the international consensus is that this should be geological disposal.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Nuclear-Wastes/Radioactive-Waste-Management

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https://www.euronuclear.org/1-information/energy-mixes.htm

http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/nuclear.htm

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/nuclear-fuel-cycle/power-reactors/nuclear-power-reactors

/

http://www.nei.org/Issues-Policy/Economics/Cost-Benefits-Analyses

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-pros-cons-nuclear-power.htm

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-pros-cons-nuclear-power.htm

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Advantages_NuclearEnergy.php

SOURCES