Nuclear Waste

S .NO HEADING PAGE NO

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY 3

3 NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL - CHALLENGES 5

4 WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF HAVING YUCCA MOUNTAIN AS PERMANENT WASTE REPOSITORY ? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR DANGERS 6

5 WHAT WOULD BE THE LONG TERM SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM ? SHOULD ALL NUCLEAR WASTE BE CONCENTRATED IN ONE SITE OR DISPERSED

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6 WHAT ARE OTHER VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO NUCLEAR ENERGY ? 8

7 CONCLUSION 9

8 BIBILIOGRAPHY 10 1 . INTRODUCTION

Atomic energy is

the force which is stockpiled within the heart of an atom . If the atom is stable , then no nuclear energy is released from it If the atom is unstable like radioactive atoms , then it releases a mass volume of energy . Atoms can be compared to solar system where atom is at the centre like a sun and electrons revolving round the atom like planets in the solar system . When the nucleus of an atom is barraged with a neutron , by a process of fission , nucleus is being split apart and enormous energy is released . Though , the atomic energy is the best alternative to conventional energies like coal based or oil based as there is little emission of carbon dioxide . However disposal and managing of nuclear waste is really challenging as it would trigger health hazards if not properly handled . This research essay focuses on the advantages of the nuclear energy , challenges facing the disposal of nuclear waste , viable alternatives to nuclear energy and potential danger if the nuclear waste is stored in a single site like Mount Yucca in U .S .A and finally arrives its findings

2 . ADVANTAGES OF NUCLEAR ENERGY

Nuclear energy offers many advantages and one of them being advantage to the environment especially air quality . Unlike the burning of fossil fuels results in the emissions of greenhouse gasses and carbon dioxide which creates serious health diss and global warming , nuclear energy does not emit carbon dioxide , nitrogen oxide and sulphur . For instance , in U .S , as per 2002 statistics , there were about 103 nuclear power stations which provided about 20 of the U .S .A 's power demand Further , these nuclear power plants had added about 8 more power on the yearly basis . It is to be observed that in U .S .A , nuclear power plants alone have added more than 23 ,000 megawatts which is equivalent to energy manufactured by the 24 mega power plants . One another advantage is that due to increase in the volume of production in nuclear power plants which has resulted in lowering the cost of nuclear power generation per unit

It is estimated that nuclear energy manufacturing in U .S .A has shunned the release of about 176 million tones of carbon in the environment annually if the same amount of energy was manufacture by burning fossil fuels like coal . Natural gas was regarded as cheap fuel for manufacturing energy previously when it price ruled around 2 /million BTU . Now the price has...