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Jordan Miller

McLaughlin

English 12

15 February 2021

Atomically Powered - Ushering in the New Atomic Age

On December 8, 1953, president Dwight D. Eisenhower presented the following “Atoms

for Peace” speech to the UN General Assembly: “...using the power of the atom to supply

electrical power-represents what can be done, not only in America, but throughout the world, to

put the atom to work for the good of mankind ”(“What Is Nuclear Energy?”). Nearly seven

decades later this quote still affects the way the world views nuclear power. Nuclear power is a

reliable energy source as well as a very clean one too. According to the Office of Nuclear

Energy, 28 US states are powered by nuclear power plants(“Office of Nuclear Energy”). Nuclear

energy is the future of energy because nuclear energy is very effective at combating climate

change, promotes economic growth, and fulfills the world's desperate need for more dependable

energy.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints defines some of the terms and processes used in

nuclear reactors. Nuclear fission occurs when bombarding an atomic nucleus with additional

neutrons, with the resultant collisions causing atoms to split and release tremendous amounts of

energy(“Nuclear Energy”). Nuclear fusion, the polar opposite of nuclear fission, is achieved by

forcing lighter atomic particles of one element(in this case Hydrogen) to collide, which fuses

them into heavier particles that form the nuclei of another element(the resultant being Helium) in

a process that releases even larger amounts of energy. Nuclear fission reactors are the most
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prominent types of reactors as of 2020. Nuclear fusion reactors however are mostly

experimental due to the unknown reactions of the reactants. According to the Youtube video “3

Reasons Why Nuclear Energy is Awesome,” Thorium reactors are the future of the reactors

industry. A big perk of using Thorium rather than Uranium or Plutonium, is that thorium is only

radioactive for a few hundred years, rather than a few thousand years like uranium(3

Reasons…”.) One ton of thorium produces the same amount of energy as two hundred tons of

uranium or 3,500,000 tons of coal.

Nuclear reactors work by submerging the reactor core into water and this creates steam

that evaporates upwards to spin turbines and generate electricity(“Nuclear Energy”). Other

machinery used in reactors are control rods which are also lowered into the water to absorb

flyaway neutrons in the reactor core, thus stabilizing the chain reaction caused by the

bombardment process of nuclear fission(“Nuclear Energy”). Nuclear energy produces an isotope

called Cobalt-60, that is used in medical imaging, specialized cancer treatments, and medical

equipment sterilization(What Is…?”). According to the CDC, more than 47 million Americans

are affected by foodborne illness each year, and more than 3,000 die. Nuclear radiation is used

to treat food, kill bacteria, and eliminate insects/parasites that cause illnesses. Also, it helps

explore the depths of our oceans and propels the US Navy around the globe. Nuclear powered

submarines and aircraft carriers help provide the globe with national security, all without using a

single tank of gas(What Is…?”).

Nuclear Energy aides in the fight against climate change by greatly reducing the amount

of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1976, about 64 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions have

not been pumped out thanks to nuclear energy(“3 Reasons….”). Just in 2018, nuclear power
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facilities in Pennsylvania prevented more than 57 million metric tons of greenhouse gas

emissions, saving an estimated $2.6 billion annually in social costs according to an analysis by

the US federal government. 20% of the energy in the US was derived from nuclear energy in

2019. Transportation is the largest contributor to carbon pollution(“Office of NE”). Nuclear

energy, just in the US, generates more than 800 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year,

thus avoiding 470 million metric tons of carbon, which is the equivalent of removing 100

million cars off of the road. Meanwhile, nuclear energy would help ready the infrastructure for

electric vehicles and electric vehicle production plants. According to nei.org, electric vehicles

could capture up to 50% of the new-car market by 2040(“What Is…?”).

The nuclear energy industry not only benefits the electric industry, but it also promotes

economic growth as well. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, running a single nuclear

power plant requires employing five hundred to one thousand workers and creates almost $40

million per year in labor income(“What Is…?”). Nuclear plants employ nearly half a million

jobs in the US alone, thus contributing an estimated $60 billion to the US gross domestic product

each year, according to the Office of Nuclear Energy. The reason most renewable energy plants

are solar and wind rather than nuclear, is because governments are mostly drawn to fund solar

and wind farms because of the massive upfront costs of a nuclear power plant.

The dependence on energy sources is growing year by year, and by the year 2050

statistics state that just the US alone will require 28% more energy. This highlights the need for

more renewable sources such as nuclear energy. China will add the equivalent of a new-MW

coal plant every ten days for the next ten years. Not only does this release gigatons of carbon

into the atmosphere, but it also is not as reliable as nuclear energy.

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Nuclear power facilities inevitably produce extremely dangerous radioactive waste. The

waste, which consists mostly of Uranium, Plutonium, and Curium, stays radioactive for

extremely long periods of time, presenting major problems in regards to storage of this

waste(“Wilkserson”). Yucca Mountain in Nevada, USA is the only proposed storage facility for

this waste. Due to some political unrest in 2010, this facility was shut down due to the security

and uneasiness of the people in the surrounding residential areas(“Nuclear Energy”).

Electromagnetic radiation is emitted as a result of nuclear fission, these are also known as

gamma rays. Gamma rays have 100,000 times more energy than visible light, making them very

harmful for any organic life exposed to it(“Wilkerson”). Radioactive material also emits alpha

and beta particles that cause reactions in the molecules in our body which can be very damaging,

and sometimes deadly.

Fear is what mostly drives the idea of nuclear energy from society because of incidents at

previous nuclear facilities like Chernobyl or Fukushima. In Fukushima, Japan on March 11, 2011

15,893 deaths were recorded because of the Fukushima energy plant. An earthquake occurred in

the morning which sent the operators of the power plant into a frenzy, because they were trying

to shut down all fissile reactions occurring in the reactors at the time. They completed this task

and managed to evacuate all the staff from the plant, but after the earthquake, a tsunami hit the

coast, causing massive property damage not only to the neighborhoods around, but to the plant

itself. In order to shut down the reactions, generators were powered to help cool down the

reactor using coolant alongside fans. The downside to this is that the generators were located in

the basement of the plant, below flood level. The incoming water flooded the basement levels

which contained the generators, shutting them down, causing an inability to cool the reactor,
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causing the reactors to melt, releasing radioactive material along with several chemical

explosions. All of this information came from Jordan Wilkserson on SITNFlash.com.

According to world-nuclear.org the Chernobyl accident was a result of two things, the

first thing being the very poor design of the reactor, the reactor design was the result of the Cold

War isolation. The second reason being that the operators of the reactor were seriously untrained

in what to do in case of an emergency. On April 25, 1986, the crew at Chernobyl reactor 4 began

prepping for a test to determine if long turbines would spin and supply power to the main

circulating pumps following a loss of main electrical power supply. Along with these tests, new

voltage regulator designs were to be tested as well. The operators of Chernobyl 4 made a series

of fatal errors including the disabling of automatic shutdown mechanisms, preceding the test

early on April 26th. By the time the operators moved to shut down the reactor, the reactor was

extremely unstable, meaning that nothing could help the reactor meltdown that was to come.

The design of the control rods were just as flawed as the reactor itself. The control rods

themselves were made of boron carbide, a material known for slowing down fission reactions,

which would have reduced the severity of the meltdown. The control rods however were tipped

with graphite because of the lack of budget. Graphite is a material that speeds up fission

reactions which in normal circumstances would not be that harmful but in this case, pushed the

reactor into a state known as “going critical”. Following this, steam production was increased

drastically, and an increase in pressure caused the thousand ton cover plate of the reactor to

become partially detached, rupturing the fuel channels and jamming all the control rods, which

were stopped halfway down. Steam also spread through the entire core which caused a massive

explosion, and released fission products into the atmosphere. A second explosion then occurred
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two to three seconds later, which threw out fragments from the fuel channels, and the most

deadly of all, smoldering graphite(“World Nuclear”).

Two operators were killed as a result of the explosion, and 28 more died within a few

weeks as a result of acute radiation syndrome. It took around 5000 tonnes of boron, dolomite,

sand, clay, and lead, to extinguish and reduce the size of the blaze. Even today, the reactor is still

radioactive. After almost three and a half decades, efforts are still ongoing to stop the production

of gamma rays(“World Nuclear Association”).

Nuclear energy is the future of the energy industry, and it can help combat climate

change. Nuclear plants also provide greatly for economic growth, along with providing jobs for

thousands of members of society. The dependency on energy is increasing every single year and

the future of energy depends on nuclear power. To aid in the fight against climate change and

bring light to the dependency, world governments should be passing legislations to help ease the

transition into nuclear power.

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Works Cited

“Chernobyl | Accident 1986” - World Nuclear Association.” World

Nuclear Association, Apr. 2020, www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety

-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx. Accessed 2 Feb. 2021

"Nuclear Energy." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999227/OVIC?u=pl2127&sid=OVIC&xid=df30339e.

Accessed 28 Jan. 2021.

Office of Nuclear Energy. “Advantages and Challenges of Nuclear Energy.” Energy.Gov, Office

of Nuclear Energy, 26 Jan. 2021,

www.energy.gov/ne/articles/advantages-and-challenges-nuclear-energy. Accessed 2 Feb.

2021

“3 Reasons Why Nuclear Energy Is Awesome.” Youtube, uploaded by Kurzgesagt – In a

Nutshell,

1 Apr. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbLlnmxIbY. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021

“What Is Nuclear Energy.” NEI.Org, NEI, 22 Sep.2019,

jjjjjnei.org/fundamentals/what-is-nuclear-energy

Wilkerson, Jordan. “Reconsidering the Risks of Nuclear Power.” Science in the News, 26 Oct.

2016, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2016/reconsidering-risks-nuclear-power. Accessed 2 Feb.

2021