Nuclear Waste
Nuclear energy is by far the most efficient and environmentally friendly of all the sources of electricity. Nuclear power provides economic and environmental benefits; "in particular, it can make an important contribution to what is likely to be the dominant environmental imperative of the twenty first century - limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide" (Nuclear Energy Agency [NEA], 3). The greatest advantage of nuclear power is its ability to produce so much energy from such a small fuel volume. One kilogram (2.2 pounds) of coal generates four kilowatts of electricity, as does a kilogram of oil, but a kilogram of uranium generates 400,000 kilowatts of electricity (Spun, 2002). One of the greatest problems with nuclear energy is the waste produced. Nuclear reactors produce tons of radioactive waste each year and there is always the question of what to do with it. Nuclear waste is sometimes referred to as the Achilles' heel of the nuclear power industry and in order for the industry to keep expanding; an effective solution needs to be found on how to permanently dispose of the nuclear waste produced.The main rationale for permanent disposal is the need to safeguard high-level wastes, to isolate th
Whenever an issue such as nuclear waste disposal comes up, there are always the ethical and moral concerns that come with it. Not only does this cause a concern for the local residents, but it is also only a temporary solution to a permanent problem because the site can only accommodate for a set amount of waste. Uranium is the parent of the Department of Energy's nuclear materials and this slightly radioactive element occurs naturally in the Earth's crust at an average concentration of about two parts per million (National Research Council, 60). The most feasible solution that I have found for the disposal of these high-level nuclear wastes is the use of an advanced particle accelerator to speed up the half-life of the waste. Second, if you're completely against the use of nuclear power and think we should completely eliminate it, then you should be aware of the affects of the other power sources. Right now, most all of the wastes from nuclear reactors are either stored underground in storage tanks or are stored on site in nuclear waste storage facilities. Fission is the process by which the nucleus of an atom is split and causes two different reactions to happen. In nuclear medicine, they virtually use the exact same elements in their practice as those that are created in the waste produced by nuclear reactors. Their current plan for permanently disposing the highly radioactive waste is to contain them inside a geological site such as Yucca Mountain in Nevada. To the government and the environment, the nuclear waste that is building up is expensive to handle and it is dangerous to use. Nuclear waste keeps building up from year to year and inventories are growing at a rate of approximately 1,800 to 2,200 metric tonnes of uranium annually (Nuclear Energy Agency [NEA], 1998). On the contrary, the use of an advanced particle accelerator to control the decaying of radioactive elements eliminates any moral or ethical concern. So I believe that if we were to implement the use of advanced particle accelerators to speed up the decay of the radioactive waste at multiple locations, we would then be able to get rid of the huge amounts of waste that are currently in storage and would not have a problem with nuclear wastes again. First off, by using a particle accelerator, we would essentially be reusing the wastes caused by nuclear reactors which in turn would eliminate the need to find a geological location to store the waste. These wastes and spent fuels have many affects on the lives of people today.
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Acceptance Essays
