Agree / Disagree: We should stop using Nuclear energy to produce electricity because if there is an unexpected? : Eco Answers

See I am non stop on the
lookout for interesting videos on
Alternative Energy Sources. This morning, I
ran into a really
nice piece of content that talks
about Eco Energy Sources from a different
light. Today’s fun post is titled Agree / Disagree: We should stop using Nuclear energy to produce electricity because if there is an unexpected? .
Question by Sam: Agree / Disagree: We should stop using Nuclear energy to produce electricity because if there is an unexpected?
major earthquake, Hurricane or Tornado next to a company “producing electricity from nuclear energy”
it will break apart the Nuclear plant and cause Nuclear radiation to contaminate large areas of land
(like in Chernobyl and Japan)

Also the cost of the nuclear cleanup will be Much Much more than the $ saved from producing Electricity from Nuclear power

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/08/if-earthquake-hit-our-nuclear...

instead of investing money on Nuclear Safety that will never be foolproof We should invest the money in Green sources of energy that are guaranteed to be free of a Nuclear Disaster

Like
Wind Turbines
Solar Power
etc.

Best answer:

Answer by JerryJ
Disagree. Think about it. In Japan, forty year old plants were hit with an earthquake five times the strength they were designed for and yet they still shut down safely. The generators came on like they were supposed to when grid power was cut. Then the tsunami hit and the generators were wiped out. However, the battery backup still worked for the designed eight hours. The problem happened when no new generators could be put in. Even so the problems have been minimal–media scare mongering for ratings not withstanding. Not one person has been harmed by radiation, nor is anyone expected to be–despite the scare stories and urban legends.

Here is an informative article describing the situation:

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/13/fukushima-simple-explanation/

And here is where you find factual status information:

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/fukushimafull.html

And a slide presentation that describes the effects:

And here is a chart that helps make sense of the numbers:

http://www.xkcd.com/radiation/

Chernobyl was just a bad design waiting to blow up. It didn’t even have a containment vessel.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html

And before you come down on nuclear energy, take a look at coal. In the U.S. 20 to 60 coal miners die each year compared to zero nuclear power plant workers. Pollution from coal power plants kill over 20,000 people in the U.S. annually compared to about 100 people killed world-wide from nuclear power over the last forty years. The only thing coal has going for it is that it doesn’t have “nuclear” in the wording so therefore it must be safe. It seems that most people have learned about nuclear energy from sci-fi B movies rather than from studying the science.

http://frankwarner.typepad.com/free_frank_warner/2006/01/us_coal_mining_.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5174391/ns/us_news-environment/

And don’t think that coal power is radiation-free either:

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/tenorm/coalandcoalash.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive...

Everything else is the fuel of the future–the far future. Hydro has limited locations and environmental problems. Solar has cost, reliability, partial downtimes, and environmental problems. Geothermal has cost and limited locations where it can be used–it also tends to go out, sometimes for years, with no warning. Wind has limited locations and partial downtimes. All are far more expensive then nuclear and not nearly as green as the proponents would like to imagine.

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/05/15/solar-power-in-florida/-4588

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Agree / Disagree: We should stop using Nuclear energy to produce electricity because if there is an unexpected?

Best regards,
JamesGallo
ekonenargi@gmail.com