Nuclear Energy
During the early stages of nuclear power there were many accidents that resulted in several people?s deaths and the destruction of millions of dollars of property. The accidents at Chernobyl which killed over 30 people and the incident at Three Mile Island are just a few of the catastrophes that occurred. How could something like energy be more important than the lives of innocent people? The race to perfect nuclear power continued and although many countries rely on nuclear power to operate effectively, it does not mean that nuclear power plants are without faults. They have numerous flaws in design and are not only producing power but harmful radiation as well. Opponents of nuclear power argue that the waste that is produced is harmful and can persist for thousands of years. Today, thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear waste are constantly being moved through several states (Arnold). Robert K. Musil, PSR Executive Director, stated, ?Even one severe accident in this transporting of nuclear waste would cause up to 18,000 latent cancer deaths and cost over ten billion dollars to clean up?(Arnold). Not only is transportation of nuclear waste a problem but there are also decisions being made on where to store it
Collum, Hugh. 20 Feb. 2000. BNFL. 29 Sept. 2003 http://www.bnfl.com/website.nsf/s2/7F65C8EA0C84538280256B9E0065AF56?OpenDocument Murari, Andrea. Fusion Energy. 8 April 2003. Jet. 29 Sept. 2003 http://www.jet.efda.org/ McCarthy, John. FAQs About Nuclear Energy. 11 March 2002. Stanford University. 29 Sept. 2003 http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/nuclear-faq.html Keeny, Spurgeon. Plutonium Reprocessing. 22 Sept. 1998. Frontline. 29 Sept. 2003 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/readings/keeny.html Nevertheless, nuclear waste can become less harmful than the waste produced in other power production methods. Direct contact with nuclear waste can cause cancer, but so can breathing smoke from the burning of coal and oil. The waste can also be easily contained in many areas. Canada is looking into proposed plans to store nuclear waste in the ?Pre-Cambrian Canadian Shield? (McCarthy). There are also many other places that are uninhabitable to humans that are suitable for dumping the waste, such as Antarctica.
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Approximate Word count = 1976
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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