Zhou 1

Molly Zhou

Ms. Gardner

Honors English 10 / Period 6

5 May 2017

Nuclear Power Plants Are Key For the Future:

They Should Not Be Banned

When France transitioned from burning fossil fuels to nuclear power plants for

electricity, the speediest drop in greenhouse gas pollution on record occurred (Biello). Electric

power generated by nuclear reactors are an alternative source of clean energy, and can be highly

beneficial for any country. Nuclear power greatly impacts our society in the U.S., and in 2016

the Nuclear Energy Institute reported that 19.7% of U.S. electricity came from nuclear energy.

Drastic consequences will occur if nuclear power plants are banned, such as a rise in

environment pollution and a shortage of energy. These scenarios will be devastating for our

society, our economy, and our country. Although there are several dangerous aspects regarding

nuclear power plants, they should not be banned because they are the most reliable, efficient, and

clean source of energy.

Many people are concerned that nuclear power plants are too dangerous. For example,

people believe terrorists will target these nuclear power plants and steal radioactive material. The

US Department of Energy, warns:

The most urgent unmet national security threat to the United

States today is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons usable material in

Russia could be stolen and sold to terrorists or hostile nation states and used against
 Zhou 2

American troops abroad or citizens at home (Could worse be yet to come?).

Also, people are worried that the effects of a nuclear meltdown are too disastrous. The

Chernobyl accident in 1986 caused the deaths of 30 power plant employees and firemen

(Chernobyl). Clearly, many believe nuclear power plants are too dangerous because they could

become targets and lead to terror attacks, and the effects of any nuclear meltdowns could lead to

deaths.

Admittedly, nuclear power plants are a more dangerous energy source when compared to

wind and solar. Nevertheless, the Nuclear Regulatory Commision says the risk of a major

nuclear plant meltdown like Fukushima is 1 in 1,000,000 years. For example, according to the

World Nuclear Association, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima are the only major

accidents to have occurred in over 16,000 cumulative reactor-years of commercial nuclear power

operation in 33 countries, (Safety of Nuclear Reactors). Today, the use of thorium to fuel

nuclear power plants is under development, and the UN Nuclear Agency states, there is limited

radioactive debris when thorium is used. And in terms of chemical stability and resistance to

radioactivity thorium is a safer alternative compared to uranium (Is Thorium an Alternative to

Uranium?). The risk of a nuclear meltdown is extremely low. Similarly, the possibility of a

terrorist getting their hands on nuclear fuel and creating a dirty bomb is just as unlikely. The

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commision defines a dirty bomb is a nuclear weapon

improvised from radioactive nuclear waste material and conventional explosives. This nuclear

material, before use, would need to be enriched to make a nuclear bomb, which is highly delicate

and complicated process (Fact Sheet on Dirty Bombs). There has never been a documented

case in the past where terrorists have successfully stolen radioactive material from a nuclear
 Zhou 3

power plant, and started the process of building a dirty bomb (Nuclear Terrorism). Terrorist

attacks using nuclear power plants are not a realistic threat. Finally, Nuclear waste is safe and

can be handled efficiently, because it is recyclable. Nick Touran, a nuclear engineer, says, Once

reactor fuel is used in a reactor, it can be treated and put into another reactor as fuel (Touran). In

conclusion, nuclear power plants are not dangerous because the risk of a meltdown are less than

one percent, terrorists cannot easily make bombs or access radioactive material, and nuclear

waste is recyclable.

Furthermore, Nuclear Power is key to solving global warming. For example, the

electricity produced by U.S. nuclear reactors provide 20 percent of the nation's power (Nuclear

Energy Institute). James Hansen, climate scientist from Columbia University, estimates nuclear

power avoided 64 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution. By switching nuclear fission

for electricity, France lowered its greenhouse emissions by roughly 2 percent per year (qtd.

Biello). However, Germany, until March 2011, obtained one-quarter of its electricity from

nuclear energy. It then tried to take steps in banning nuclear power. Now, as a result, almost

half of Germanys electricity is generated from coal, which has been scientifically proven to

harm the environment (Nuclear Power in Germany). Elizabeth Kolbert, a scientific journalist

dedicated to researching the effects of global warming, claims,

There is little doubt that the recent rapid increase in carbon dioxide is linked to human

activities such as burning of fossil fuels. Scientists worldwide have been observing the

gathering of this threat and an international panel predicts brutal droughts, floods and

violent storms across the planet over. Earths warming climate is estimated to contribute

to more than 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses each year (David).
 Zhou 4

Nuclear power helps solve global warming by avoiding greenhouse gas pollution, which will

save countless lives. Germany provides a good example to show that if we do ban nuclear power,

we will almost certainly revert to coal, which will further damage the environment. The effects

of global warming are devastating, so we must do everything we can to prevent it. Nuclear power

plants accomplish this.

Of course, others will argue that other renewable sources of power such as wind or solar

are cleaner. However, there are more benefits to nuclear power compared to these other sources

of clean energy. Linda Brook, the author of the December 2014 issue of industry journal

Conservation Biology, concludes that nuclear performs better, in all arenas evaluated in the

paper (land use, emissions, climate and cost) than renewables. She also explains, You only need

a really tiny amount of it to generate a lot of energy" (qtd. Nuclear Power - Good For

Biodiversity?). Nuclear power is the most efficient source of electricity. Furthermore, it is the

most reliable. Marvin Fertel, president and chief executive officer at the Nuclear Energy

Institute, reports, Nuclear energy plants maintain a national average reliability between 85 and

90 percent. No other electricity source can match this level of reliability. Americas 104 reactors

produced 806.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity last year (2010) (qtd. US Nuclear

Power Plants). Alternate forms of clean energy take up huge amounts of space, for example,

wind energy requires about 500 times more land than nuclear (Bryce). An unnecessary loss of

precious land would cost many homes and worsen our overpopulation crisis. The United States

produces about 20 times as much zero-carbon electricity from nuclear sources as it does from

solar, and four times as much as it does from wind, according to Lord Hutton, a low-carbon

energy researcher and scientist. The U.S. needs nuclear power in order to sustain society.
 Zhou 5

Therefore, nuclear power should not be banned because it is the most efficient and reliable

source of energy, and it prevents land loss, thus saving the earth and its people.

Because nuclear power plants are the most reliable, efficient, and clean source of energy,

they should not be banned. The potential dangers of nuclear power plants entail very low risks of

actually occurring. Nuclear power plants power are a major portion of the energy used by the

U.S., and we need it if we want to fight global warming and continue to use electricity. We need

energy to sustain our quality of life, and nuclear power plants will do so efficiently, reliably, and

environmentally. If we ban nuclear power plants, lives will be lost, due to global warming and

shortages in energy. To sum it up, Dave Levitan, a journalist focusing on science, health, and the

environment, proclaims, Nuclear power is the only way forward (Is nuclear power our energy

future?). Forward leads to a future with a healthy environment, low carbon emissions, and

sustainable homes powered by nuclear energy.

 Zhou 6

Works Cited

Biello, David. How Nuclear Power Can Stop Global Warming. Scientific American, 11 Dec.

2013,

www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-nuclear-power-can-stop-global-warming/.

Bryce, Robert. &quot;We Need Nuclear.&quot;<i> Los Angeles Times</i>, 16 Jun, 2016, pp.

A.17<i>, SIRS Issues Researcher</i>, <a href="https://sks.sirs.com"

target="_blank">https://sks.sirs.com</a>.

Could worse be yet to come? The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 3 Nov. 2001,

www.economist.com/node/842483.

Chernobyl Accident 1986 Chernobyl | Chernobyl Accident | Chernobyl Disaster - World

Nuclear Association, www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security

/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx.

David Waltham Reader in Mathematical Geology, Royal Holloway. Three simple reasons why

climate change is real, and humans are causing it. The Conversation, 11 May 2017,

theconversation.com/three-simple-reasons-why-climate-change-is-real-and-humans-are-a

sing-it-28350

"Fact Sheet on Dirty Bombs." United States Nuclear Regulatory Comission. N.p., 12 Dec. 2014.

Web. 06 Aug. 2016. <http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets

/fs-dirty-bombs.html>.

Hutton, Lord. &quot;We Need Nuclear Now to Ensure Right Mix of Low-Carbon

Energy.&quot;<i> Telegraph.co.uk.</i>, 11 Sep, 2015<i>, SIRS Issues Researcher</i>,

<a href="https://sks.sirs.com" target="_blank">https://sks.sirs.com</a>.

 Zhou 7

Is nuclear power our energy future - or a dinosaur in a death spiral? Ensia,

ensia.com/features/is-nuclear-power-our-energy-future-or-a-dinosaur-in-a-death-spiral/.

Is Thorium a Cleaner, Safer and Cheaper Alternative to Uranium? Miljnytta,

advantage-environment.com/future/is-thorium-a-cleaner-safer-and-cheaper-alternative-to

uranium/.

Nuclear Energy Institute - Advancing Clean, Reliable Energy. Nuclear Energy Institute -

Advancing Clean, Reliable Energy, www.nei.org/.

Nuclear power good for biodiversity? Power Technology,

www.power-technology.com/features/featurenuclear-power-good-for-biodiversity-45839

04/.

Nuclear Power in Germany Nuclear Power in Germany - World Nuclear Association,

www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/germany.aspx

Nuclear Power in the USA. Nuclear Power in the USA - World Nuclear Association,

www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/usa-nuclear-po

wer.aspx.

Nuclear Terrorism Fact Sheet | Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Harvard

Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,

www.belfercenter.org/publication/nuclear-terrorism-fact-sheet.

Safety of Nuclear Reactors. World Nuclear Association, www.world-nuclear.org/information-

library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/safety-of-nuclar-power-reactors.aspx.

Sanger, David E. &quot;Nuclear Facilities in 20 Countries may be Easy Targets for..&quot;<i>

 Zhou 8

New York Times</i>, 15 Jan, 2016, pp. A.12<i>, SIRS Issues Researcher</i>,

href="https://sks.sirs.com" target="_blank">https://sks.sirs.com</a>.

Touran, Nick. Recycling Nuclear Waste and Breeder Reactors. What is nuclear recycling?,

whatisnuclear.com/articles/recycling.html.

US Nuclear Power Plants. U.S. Nuclear Power Plants - Nuclear Energy Institute,

www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Statistics/US-Nuclear-Power-Plants.