Nuclear Energy: The New Green Energy Alternative?

The nuclear energy debate has persisted for decades. Those who strongly oppose it argue that its benefits, such as carbon-free emissions and low fuel costs, are almost irrelevant when the risk posed by radioactive waste and reactor meltdowns are factored in. The problem revolves around how little waste storage is prioritized in the planning stages of a reactor, including the locations of waste storage, leading to a surplus of radioactive waste at reactor sites. With the progress being made to advance waste disposal methods and increase public participation in countries that need storage for accumulating waste and developing countries considering nuclear energy, nuclear energy could be the new "green" energy alternative.

For nuclear energy to be accepted by politicians of developed and developing countries and individuals that will live near reactors, the planning stages for the final step, the repository, should be prioritized. A repository, a facility which successfully houses highly radioactive waste for thousands of years, needs proper planning in order to avoid long-term problems. However, common misconceptions such as that repositories sites may leak radioactive material into the environment make up one of the reasons why nuclear energy is rejected as an energy option. In fact, "Sweden is currently the country closest to realizing a final solution for spent fuel" and, along with Finland and France, is close to begin construction on a geological repository (MacFarlane). However, all of this starts with the prioritization of the planning and siting stages of nuclear waste repositories.

According to Allison McFarlane in her research paper "It's 2050: Do you know where your nuclear waste is?", countries developing t...

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...cipation is increased, multinational host sites are seriously considered, and nuclear states are supportive of developing countries and their strive for economic, renewable energy then the solution to the nuclear energy debate may already be here.

Works Cited

Forsberg, Charles., "The real path to green energy: Hybrid nuclear-renewable power." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nov/Dec. 2009, Vol. 65, No. 6

Idei, Yas. "Japan's Other Nuclear Disaster." Forbes, 25 March 2011, vol. 187, Issue 7

McCombie, Charles, "Evaluating solutions to the nuclear waste problem," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, November/December 2009, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 42-48.

McFarlane, Allison, "It's 2050: Do you know where your nuclear waste is?", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, 2011

Wald, Matthew L., "What Now for Nuclear Waste?" Scientific America. Aug 2009, vol. 301, no. 2.