NUCLEAR POWER

Nuclear Power



Nuclear power: a blessing or a curse

The nuclear power is relatively a latest source of energy which started around half a century ago with combined military and civilian applications. Currently, generation of nuclear energy is carried out through an atomic fission which helps in ensuring safety for the developments of nuclear technology. As compare to the fossil fuels, the carbon emission is relatively low in the nuclear energy and it's considered as a green source of energy. However, the accidents which occurred in 1986 known as the Chernobyl disaster and the problems associated with radioactive waste management has contributed towards fear among the people for nuclear power plants. The concerns of the public and even the low supply of uranium needed for the production of nuclear energy has made things further difficult. (Perin, 2005)

The single path has been followed by the scientists for the production of nuclear energy and it has been used for military and civilian purpose. There are famous scientists, politicians and experts who have contributed their efforts towards the development of nuclear energy but it has been done only for the civilian use. According to the statistics of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), 436 nuclear reactors in different parts of the world provides around 18,368 billion Kwh

electricity and it represents 14.2 percent share of electricity production that is being carried out in different parts of the world. Normally, the thermal power stations provide electricity through coal, petrol or gas. When the Second World War ended, there was an announcement by the US President Eisenhower in 1953 where he denounced the concept “the Atoms for Peace” which advocated the use of nuclear power for civilian use rather than for political purpose. There are certain advantages and disadvantages in the use of nuclear power which will be discussed in this assignment. (Leventhal, 2002)

The United States built a nuclear reactor in Dec 1951, which had capability of generating electricity but the nuclear power plant built by the Soviet Union known as Obninsk in 1954 was the first one to provide electricity. In 1957, the creation of IAEA took place whose role was to compile data on nuclear development. First, the curse of nuclear power is that there have been some examples of technological failures and some of them are well known accidents which are the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. The incident of Three Mile Island occurred in USA in 1979 and the other incident of Chernobyl occurred in Soviet Union in 1986. These incidents were a huge disaster for both the countries. (Henderson, 2000)

Due to the increase in demand for electricity because of the growing population, there has been an increase in the production of electricity by the nuclear power plants and even the costs of the fossil fuels has risen. During the 1970s, there was a campaign against the usage of nuclear power which started and extended mainly in the US and European countries because of the apprehensions for the safety of plants and ...