Advantages of Nuclear Energy
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
- Nuclear reactions release a million times more energy, as compared to hydro or wind energy. Therefore, a large amount of electricity can be generated. Currently, 12%-18% of the world's electricity is generated through nuclear energy.
- One of the biggest advantages of this energy is that there is no release of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbon) during the nuclear reaction process. Greenhouse gases are a major threat in the current situation of our planet, seeing as they cause global warming and climate change. There is no emission of these gases, so there is very little effect on the environment.
- Nuclear reactors make use of uranium as fuel. Fission reaction of a small amount of uranium generates a large amount of energy. Currently, the high reserves of uranium found on Earth, are expected to last for another 100 years.
- Large amounts of energy can be generated from a single nuclear power plant. Also, nuclear fuel is inexpensive and easy to transport.
Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
- This energy can be used for production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are used for destructive purposes. They are a major threat to the world as they can cause a large-scale of devastation.
- Though large amounts of energy can be produced from a nuclear power plants, it requires large costs. Around 15-20 years are needed to develop a single plant. Therefore, it is not very possible to build a nuclear power plant. The nuclear reactors will work only as long as uranium is available. Its extinction can result in a serious problem.
- The waste produced after fission reactions contains unstable elements and is highly radioactive. It is very dangerous to the environment as well as to human health. It remains dangerous and active, for thousands of years. It needs professional attention and must be kept isolated from any living environment. The radioactivity of these elements reduces over a period of time, after decaying. Therefore, they have to be carefully stored. It is very difficult to store radioactive elements for a long period of time. The Chernobyl disaster that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 in Ukraine, was the worst nuclear power plant disaster. One of the nuclear reactors of the plant exploded, releasing high amount of radiation into the environment. It resulted in thousands of deaths, mostly due to exposure to harmful radiation. We cannot avoid the idea of possibly repeating similar disasters in future.