DISADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

The Disposal of Nuclear waste

Used nuclear rods are a health hazard. Nuclear rods are the materials making up the nuclear reactors. They are arguably the most radioactive items that are often hard to dispose. Being highly radioactive, the rods need to be handled with utmost care to contain its deadly capabilities. The Ways of disposing nuclear rods are often difficult and there is not sure way of disposing these materials. This implies that there is likelihood that there is a probability that it might come to contact with human beings and animals. For example, the United States of America has developed ‘permanent’ points of disposing these nuclear materials beneath their soil. This is a catastrophic move because these storage areas are not immune to natural disasters i.e. earthquakes and other calamities that might tamper with the nuclear rods and expose the public to danger (Tyler &Spoolman, 2008).

Huge Capital Investments

Construction a nuclear plant is an expensive venture. Despite it calling for high levels of investment, construction of an individual plant often takes a long period of time i.e. between 6 – 12 years (Troon, 2010). This long periods of constructions leads to cost overrun. In addition, it does not guarantee safety. Twelve years is a long period of time to ascertain the safety of a facility. That is, it is easy for it to develop leakages during this time which can be of a negative impact to the environment.

Nuclear Proliferation

Breeder reactors have been misused by a number of countries. A good number of countries are using nuclear energy to develop weapons of mass destruction i.e. nuclear bombs. Iran is an example of a rogue economy that is enriching uranium to make nuclear bombs.

Expulsion of Radiation

Expulsion of radiation is a major con as far as nuclear energy is concerned. Nuclear radiations are very disastrous to human beings and life in general. For example, a nuclear radiation has the ability to damage body cells. An exposure to large amounts of nuclear is catastrophic as it can lead to long term illnesses or even death. Moreover, since radioactive wastes are unable to decompose for a long period of time, they are very harmful to the environment.

Contamination problems

Recent nuclear research and testing has proved that there are acute contamination issues that are yet to be contained as far as the production of nuclear energy is concerned. Recently, for example, there was this nuclear reservation plant in the United States of America that shows tendencies of contaminating Columbia River. Nuclear contamination is a tragic environmental disaster as it destroys the aquatic and its effects live on for long durations.

Nuclear Accidents

In the same breath a nuclear energy benefits and expansive region, a single nuclear reactor accident spreads its particles over a wide area. Its results are catastrophic. A number of nuclear scholars have argued that accidents related to nuclear reactors are more acute than those of nuclear energy itself. An accident may lead to genetic modification, an ailment that interferes with body operations. A common form of disaster resulting from a nuclear reactor is called meltdown. This is a disaster that occurs when fission reactions cannot be contained leading to a massive explosion of nuclear and subsequent release of harmful nuclear pieces to the environment.

Nuclear Plants a target to terrorism

Terrorists have already set targets in Nuclear energy plants and its waste storages. More often, nuclear plants are not designing to stand terrorism aggression. That is, most nuclear plants cannot withstand a terror attack. Given terrorists single out a nuclear plant for an attack, the effects will be catastrophic to not only the attacked country but also to the entire world.

Nuclear Decommissioning

The production costs of nuclear energy and the associated environmental costs still accrue way after a nuclear plant produces its form of energy. The process of containing the negative effects of an already closed nuclear plant is often expensive. Moreover, trying to return already used nuclear machinery to its original safe mode is tedious and time consuming. In addition, it exposes employees to health risks while spreading its tragic effects to the environment. Nuclear decommissioning is a sensitive process that often leads to accidents, mainly caused by people’s error (Fridell, 2010). The process of decommissioning calls for much more energy than the one used during the construction process. Despite the financial costs incurred, this process is hazardous to the environment.

The scarcity of Uranium

Uranium, the raw material used in the production of a nuclear energy is a non-renewable resource. With the ever increasing demand of nuclear power, uranium is fast depleting. This therefore implies that its supply may last for not more than 70 years going by its all-time demand. The depletion of uranium implies that sooner than later, the world will be heading back to greenhouse gas emitters. The return to traditional sources of energy i.e. coal, petroleum and gas is disastrous to the environment (Bodansky, 2004).

A number of people observe that nuclear energy is a permanent source of energy in the world. Some of them assert that, nuclear power is the cure of global warming. While others are of a contrary opinion, a group of persons who are against nuclear i.e. they own a discerning opinion in regard to nuclear plants and weapons of mass destruction. Both the aforementioned sides have a firm backing of their observation as postulated by the pros and cons above. From the discussion, it is apparent that nuclear energy is never a sustainable form of energy. First, nuclear wastes and reactors are life threatening to both the current and the future generations. Secondly, uranium is a non-renewable resource. This implies that as demand for energy power increases, uranium sources are fast depleting. In addition, it can be argued that the resource will not be available for use by the future generation (Deal, 2010).