Is Nuclear Power Safe for the Environment
Is Nuclear Power Safe for the Environment
There are many controversies about whether nuclear power is really safe for the environment or not. This paper will put all doubt aside and inform the pros and cons of nuclear power to the environment. First look will be at the alternatives in America’s power supplies: coal, natural gas, and oil. They are not environmentally sound, as some people believe. Some countries use nuclear power as a primary source of energy, and almost all countries use nuclear power on some level. Where there is nuclear power there is radiation. There has been a misunderstanding on how dangerous radiation is. What people don’t realize is that they are exposed to radiation on a daily basis, but the radiation is so minimal that there is no medical proof that radiation is responsible for health problems. Nuclear reactors are the same way. No one has been able to prove that people become ill because they live near a nuclear facility. Other controversies are over the extensive nuclear waste that comes from power plants. Scientists have long known how to deal with radioactive waste, but so far, the U.S government hasn’t implemented these recommendations. Nuclear power is not destructive to the environment as some people say, but has beneficial qualities for America’s power supply needs.
Nuclear power is the most scrutinized power supply in the world. Environmentalists feel the use of nuclear power is too costly to the environment for humans to use. One allegation is that radiation leaks out of the reactor and into the air and water, causing thyroid disease. One fear was at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, Washington. Researchers found that conclusions of 3,190 people who apparently had thyroid disease because of the release of radioactive iodine from Hanford were false (Sternberg). All of these people were born between 1941 and 1957 when Hanford was built. Researchers showed that Hanford was not the result of the thyroid disease (Sternberg).
Since nuclear reactors need lots of water, they are always located on major rivers. This is another suspected problem with nuclear power. Environ-mentalists think nuclear power plants heat river waters and damage the aquatic life. They conclude that this isn’t only from nuclear power, but it is true from all...