PROS AND CONS OF

NUCLEAR ENERGY
BY: TAYLOR WILSON
ENGLISH 1102
ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
1. RELATIVELY LOW COSTS
GENERATING ELECTRICITY IN NUCLEAR REACTORS IS CHEAPER THAN ELECTRICITY
GENERATED FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND COAL.

2. ADJUSTABLE
NUCLEAR PLANTS CAN WORK ALONG WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES SUCH
AS WIND OR SOLAR. THE ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION FROM THE PLANTS CAN BE
LOWERED WHEN GOOD WIND AND SOLAR RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE, AND RAISED
WHEN OTHER WISE.

3. LOW POLLUTION
NUCLEAR PLANTS DONT PRODUCE GREEN HOUSE GASES THAT EFFECT THE
ATMOSPHERE UNLIKE OTHER SOURCES OF ENERGY LIKE FOSSIL FUELS AND COAL.
ADVANTAGES CONTINUED
4. MULTIPLE FUEL TYPES
OTHER THAN URANIUM, POWER PLANTS CAN ALSO
USE THORIUM AND PLUTONIUM.

5. HIGH ENERGY DENSITY
IT IS ESTIMATED THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY
RELEASED IN A NUCLEAR FISSION REACTION IS TEN
MILLION TIMES GREATER THAN THE AMOUNT
RELEASED IN BURNING FOSSIL FUEL.

DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
1. ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
ESTIMATES CONCLUDE THAT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 15,000 AND
30,000 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIFES IN THE CHERNOBYL
AFTERMATH AND MORE THAN 2.5 MILLION UKRAINIANS ARE
STILL STRUGGLING WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS RELATED TO
NUCLEAR WASTE.

2. RADIOACTIVE WASTE
NUCLEAR WASTE IS DANGEROUS AND SOMETIMES LETHAL IN
LARGE AMOUNTS.


WHAT IS RADIATION?
RADIATION IS THE EMISSION OF ENERGY
AS ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES OR AS
MOVING SUBATOMIC PARTICLES,
ESPECIALLY HIGH-ENERGY PARTICLES
THAT CAUSE IONIZATION.