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Nuclear power industry to fear or not to fear, that is the question

GLOSSARY:

nuclear power industry energe-

tyka jdrowato stir up controversy wzbu-

dzakontrowersje

nuclear plant/nuclear power

station elektrownia atomowa/

jdrowa

clean tu: bezpieczny dla rodowi-

ska, niezanieczyszczajcy rodowiska

naturalnego

threat zagroenie

nuclear weaponry bronuklearna

(nuclear) ssion rozszczepienie

jdra atomu

violent gwatowny

highly enriched uranium (HEU)

wzbogacony uran

the matter in question (also

the point of issue) sporna

kwestia

waste management utylizacja,

zagospodarowanie odpadwto dispose (i.e. nuclear waste)

unieszkodliwia(np. odpady

radioaktywne)

to pollute zanieczyszcza, skaa

fossil fuel paliwo kopalne

long-term dugofalowy

to estimate szacowa, okrela

w przyblieniu

up to a point do pewnego stopnia

great unknown (also the joker

in the pack) wielka niewiadoma

hazard zagroenie, niebezpie-

czestwo

greenhouse gases gazy cieplar-

niane

to renounce wyrzekasi

legislation ustawodawstwo

remote area odlege, odosobnio-

ne miejsce

containment structure tu: zbior-

nik osonowy

There is no denying that nuclear power industry invariably provokes

strong emotions and stirs upconsiderable controversyamong scientists,

politicians and, above all, among the general public all over the world.

Especially recently, in the aftermath of the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear

plantin Japan last March, there has been a great deal of heated debate

about the future of nuclear energy in Europe. Its supporters insist that it is

a relatively cheap and cleansource of energy (compared to oil, gas and

coal), whereas its opponents argue it is a real threatto the mankind.

THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY?To understand the controversies about

building nuclear reactors, lets exa-

mine some arguments put forward by

both sides of the issue.

1. A nuclear reactor can explode like

a nuclear bomb. Some people be-

lieve its true as they associate nuclear

power industry with nuclear weap-

onry, or dramatic incidents such as

bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Supporters of nuclear energy highlight,

however, that the fundamental differ-

ence between a nuclear reactor and

a bomb is in their design. While thession chain reactions in the former

are monitored and controlled, in

the latter they are extremely violent

and totally uncontrolled. Additionally,

the fuel used in a reactor is not capable

of causing an explosion. It generally

has 3 to 5 per cent of U-235, while

highly enriched uranium for atomic

bombs more than 90 per cent.

2. Nuclear power plants are harm-

ful for the environment. The matter

in questionis radioactivewaste mana-

gement. In fact, by-products of nu-

clear reactions, such as plutonium,

are difcult to dispose of and, in

consequence, may stay active even

thousands of years. The other view

is that almost 96 per cent of the

waste can be recycled. Additionally,

in comparison with coal and oil, nu-

clear power plants do not pollutethe

natural environment since there is no

burning of fossil fuels.This solve, in

a sense, the problems of greenhouse

gas emissions and climatic changes.

3. The cost of building a nuclear plant

is incredibly high. Without any doubt,

it is a costly, long-termand time-con-

suming undertaking. What is worse,

it is even hard to estimatehow much

it will all cost. Still, there are those who

claim that the higher initial costs are

compensated by relatively low ope-

rating costs as well as lower fuel costs.

WHAT IS A HAPPY MEDIUM, THEN?

Basically, both sides of this debateare right up to a point. On the

one hand, nuclear power industry

seems to be a great unknown and,

consequently, a potential hazard to

the environment, economy or human

life and health. On the other hand,

nowadays, when we are dealing

with growing oils and coals prices,

as well as more rigorous limitations

of greenhouse gas emissions, we

cannot renouncenuclear energy and

opportunities it offers altogether.

Therefore, assuring the safety of nu-

clear programs is a must. This may

be achieved by determining ap-

propriate energy security standards

in international legislation. For in-

stance, all nuclear plants should be

located in remote areasand reactors

either placed deep enough under-

ground or protected by containment

structures.

Magdalena Marcinkowska

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