The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

Question 1

Nuclear energy has been identified as an effective source of electrical power that is being capitalized upon around the world. While nuclear power offers benefits, such as sustainable energy, the risks associated with it including nuclear accidents, proliferation, and terrorism make it a gamble. The probability of such events occurring is low, but the impact they could cause is immense. However, the irreversible effects of climate change override the concerns with nuclear power which can be alleviated by heightened security and international efforts. Nuclear power offers reliable, base-load electrical power, i.e. it can provide constant energy throughout the day and night, but natural gas plants are favored for peak power purposes

As fossil fuels diminish, relying on nuclear energy sources would reduce our dependence on such fuels and thus, enhance our energy security. However, there are other security concerns to address, i.e. nuclear terrorism, accidents, and proliferation. Commercial reactors depend primarily on nuclear fission to generate electricity, but these reactors utilize low enrichment uranium (LEU) which has a low concentration of fissile material, 3-5%, which cannot be used to make a bomb (Nuclear Power, April 8). Returning to the use of uranium-238 to manufacture plutonium: this would require the reprocessing of spent fuel and fast neutron reactors to meet long-term sustainability needs. These reactors would consume long-lived radioactive waste and produce more plutonium; however, this would increase the widespread commerce of plutonium and, consequently, raise the proliferation risks to unacceptable levels (Ferguson 206). Reprocessing concentrates high-level radioactive waste into a smaller volume which requires secure disposal, this presents the possibility that terrorists could gain access to radioactive materials to use in “dirty bombs”; further, commercial plants symbolize national and economic power, when combined with the sources of ionizing radiation they house, they are targets for terrorists looking to play upon the fears of radiation and cause serious financial and psychological impacts (176). Some terrorists have expressed interest in attacks on nuclear facilities; however, terrorist motivation would have to be extremely high and possibly be willing to risk sacrificing constituents support–the probability of a nuclear terrorist attack is rather low. If “commercial power” means to generate electricity for homes and business, this could be extended to research reactors which use higher enriched fuel that could be used to make a bomb. North Korea built a