The Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy Are a fairly common debate in today's society, which is clearly divided into two sides. Some argue that it is a reliable and cheap energy, while others warn of disasters that can lead to misuse of it.
Nuclear energy or nuclear energy is obtained by the process of nuclear fission, which consists of bombarding a uranium atom with neutrons to divide it into two, releasing large amounts of heat that is then used to generate electricity.
The first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in 1956 in the United Kingdom. According to Castells (2012), in 2000 there were 487 nuclear reactors that produced a quarter of the world's electricity. Currently six countries (USA, France, Japan, Germany, Russia and South Korea) concentrate almost 75% of nuclear power production (Fernández and González, 2015).
Many people think that atomic energy is very dangerous thanks to famous accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima. However, some people consider this type of energy as"clean"because it has very few emissions of greenhouse gases.
Advantage
1- High energy density
Uranium is the element that is commonly used in nuclear plants to produce electricity. This has the property of storing enormous amounts of energy. Only one gram of uranium is equivalent to 18 liters of gasoline, and one kilo produces approximately the same energy as 100 tons of coal (Castells, 2012).
2- Cheaper than fossil fuels
In principle, the cost of uranium appears to be much more expensive than that of oil or gasoline, but if we take into account that only small quantities of this element are required to generate significant amounts of energy, eventually the cost becomes even lower than That of fossil fuels.
3- Availability
A nuclear power station has the ability to operate all the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to supply electricity to a city; This is because the refueling period is every year or 6 months depending on the plant.
Other types of energy depend on a constant supply of fuel (such as coal-fired power plants), or are intermittent and climate-limited Renewable sources ).
4- Emits less greenhouse gases (GHG) than fossil fuels
Atomic energy can help governments meet their commitments to reduce GHG emissions. The operation process at the nuclear plant does not emit greenhouse gases since it does not require fossil fuels.
However, the emissions that occur occur throughout the life cycle of the plant; Construction, operation, extraction and grinding of uranium and dismantling of the nuclear power plant. (Sovacool, 2008).
Of the most important studies that have been done to estimate the amount of CO2 released by nuclear activity, the average value is 66 g CO2e / kWh. This is an emission value higher than that of other renewable resources but is still lower than the emissions generated by fossil fuels (Sovacool, 2008).
5- Needs little space
A nuclear plant needs little space compared to other types of energy activities, it only requires relatively small terrain for the installation of the rector and cooling towers; While wind and solar energy activities would require large fields to produce the same energy as a nuclear plant during its lifetime.
6- Generates few residues
The waste generated by a nuclear plant is extremely dangerous and harmful to the environment. However, the amount is relatively small compared to other activities, and appropriate safety measures are used, they can remain isolated from the environment without posing any risk.
7- Technology still in development
There are many problems yet to be solved with regard to atomic energy. However, in addition to fission, there is another process called nuclear fusion, which consists of joining two simple atoms to form a heavy atom.
The development of nuclear fusion, intends to use two hydrogen atoms to produce one of helium and generate energy, this is the same reaction that occurs in the sun.
For nuclear fusion to occur, very high temperatures are required, and a powerful cooling system, which means serious technical difficulties and is still in the development phase.
If implemented would imply a cleaner source since it would not produce radioactive waste and would also generate much more energy than that currently produced by fission of uranium.
D Are benefits
8- Uranium is a non-renewable resource
Historical data from many countries show that, on average, no more than 50-70% of uranium could be mined in a mine, as uranium concentrations below 0.01% are no longer viable, as it requires a greater Rocks and the energy used is greater than what could generate in the plant. In addition, uranium mining has a mean extraction time of 10 ± 2 years (Dittmar, 2013).
Dittmar proposed a model in 2013 for all existing and planned uranium mines until 2030 in which a global uranium mining peak of 58 ± 4 kton is achieved around 2015 and then reduced to a maximum of 54 ± 5 kton By 2025 and to a maximum of 41 ± 5 kton around 2030.
This amount will no longer be enough to power existing and planned NPPs over the next 10-20 years (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Peak of uranium production in the world, and comparison with other fuels (Fernández and González, 2015)
9- Can not Replace Fossil Fuels
Nuclear energy alone does not represent an alternative to fuels based on oil, gas and coal, as 10 thousand nuclear power plants are needed to replace the 10 terawatios generated in the world from fossil fuels. As a result, there are only 486 in the world.
It takes a lot of investment of money and time to build a nuclear plant, it usually takes more than 5 to 10 years from the start of construction to commissioning, and delays are common in all new plants (Zimmerman , 1982).
In addition, the operating period is relatively short, approximately 30 or 40 years, and an extra investment is required to dismantle the plant.
10- Depends on fossil fuels
Possessions related to nuclear power depend on fossil fuels. The nuclear fuel cycle not only involves the process of electric generation in the plant, it also consists of a series of activities ranging from the exploration and exploitation of uranium mines to the decommissioning and decommissioning of the nuclear plant.
11- Uranium mining is harmful to the environment
Uranium mining is a very harmful activity for the environment, because to get 1 kg of uranium it is necessary to remove more than 190,000 kg of land (Fernández and González, 2015).
In the United States uranium resources in conventional deposits, where uranium is the main product, are estimated at 1,600,000 tons of substrate from which recover 250,000 tons of uranium recover (Theobald, et al., 1972)
Uranium is extracted on the surface or subsoil, crushed and then leached in sulfuric acid (Fthenakis and Kim, 2007). The waste that is generated pollutes the soil and the water of the place with radioactive elements and contributes to the deterioration of the environment.
Uranium carries significant health risks to the workers who harvest it. Samet et al. Concluded in 1984 that uranium mining is a higher risk factor for developing lung cancer than smoking cigarettes.
12- Very persistent waste
When a plant finishes its operations, it is necessary to start with the dismantling process to ensure that future uses of the land do not pose radiological risks to the population or the environment.
The decommissioning process consists of three levels and requires a period of about 110 years for the land to be free of contamination. (Dorado, 2008).
At present there are about 140,000 tonnes of radioactive waste without any type of surveillance, which were discharged between 1949 and 1982 in the Atlantic Trench, by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Holland, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany and Italy (Reinero, 2013, Fernández and González, 2015). Considering that the useful life of uranium is thousands of years, this represents a risk for future generations.
13- Nuclear disasters
The nuclear power plants are built with strict safety standards and their walls are concrete of several meters thick to isolate the radioactive material from the outside.
However, it is not possible to say that they are 100% safe. Over the years there have been several accidents that to date imply that atomic energy represents a risk to the health and safety of the population.
On March 11, 2011, a 9-magnitude earthquake occurred on the Richter Scale on Japan's east coast causing a devastating tsunami. This caused extensive damage at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, whose reactors were seriously affected.
Subsequent explosions within the reactors released fission products (radionuclides) into the atmosphere. Radionuclides were rapidly bound to atmospheric aerosols (Gaffney et al., 2004), and subsequently traveled large distances around the world next to the air masses due to the great circulation of the atmosphere. (Lozano et al., 2011).
In addition, a large amount of radioactive material was spilled into the ocean and, to this day, the Fukushima plant continues to release contaminated water (300 t / d) (Fernández and González, 2015).
The Chernobyl accident occurred on 26 April 1986, during an evaluation of the plant's electrical control system. The catastrophe exposed 30,000 people living near the reactor to about 45 rem of radiation each, roughly the same level of radiation experienced by survivors of the Hiroshima bomb (Zehner, 2012)
During the initial post-accident period, the most biologically significant isotopes released were radioactive iodine, mainly iodine 131 and other short-lived iodides (132, 133).
The absorption of radioactive iodine by ingestion of contaminated food and water and by inhalation resulted in serious internal exposure to the thyroid gland of people.
During the 4 years following the accident, medical examinations detected substantial changes in the functional status of the thyroid in exposed children, especially younger than 7 years of age (Nikiforov and Gnepp, 1994).
14- Warlike Uses
According to Fernández and González (2015) it is very difficult to separate the civilian and military nuclear industries since the waste from nuclear power plants, such as plutonium and depleted uranium, is a raw material in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Plutonium is the basis of atomic bombs, while uranium is used in projectiles.
The growth of nuclear power has increased the ability of nations to obtain uranium for nuclear weapons. It is well known that one of the factors that lead several countries without nuclear energy programs to express interest in this energy is the basis that such programs could help them to develop nuclear weapons. (Jacobson and Delucchi, 2011).
A large-scale global increase in nuclear power facilities can put the world at risk from a possible nuclear war or terrorist attack. To date, the development or attempted development of nuclear weapons in countries such as India, Iraq and North Korea has been secretly carried out in nuclear power facilities (Jacobson and Delucchi, 2011).
References
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