technologies. There is a wide spectrum of concerns over
and it remains a controversial area of public policy. Many studies have shown that the public perceives
disaster. Anti-
as a dangerous way to generate electricity. Opponents of
from uranium mining, radioactive waste disposal remaining dangerous for thousands of years,
and the vulnerability of
nuclear reactors. Anti-
nuclear groups also favour the use of renewable energy, such as hydro, wind power, solar power, geothermal energy and biofuel. Of these concerns,
nuclear accidents and disposal of long-lived radioactive waste have probably had the greatest public impact worldwide. Anti-
nuclear campaigners point to the 2011 Fukushima
nuclear emergency as proof that
nuclear power can never be 100% safe. Costs resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear disaster are likely to exceed 12 trillion yen ($100 billion) and the clean up effort to decontaminate affected areas and decommission the plant is estimated to take 30 to 40 years.
Risks of
Nuclear Power:
-
Nuclear accidents: a safety concern that the core of a
nuclear power plant could overheat and melt down, releasing radioactivity.
-
Nuclear Fuel Mining: mining waste of
nuclear fuels like uranium and thorium, results in its radioactive decay. That causes radium
pollution and radon
pollution in the
environment and ultimately affects public health.
- Radioactive waste disposal: a concern that
nuclear power results in large amounts of radioactive waste, some of which remains dangerous for very long periods.
-
Nuclear proliferation: a concern that some types of
nuclear reactor designs use and/or produce fissile material which could be used in
nuclear weapons.
- High cost: a concern that
nuclear power plants are very expensive to build, and that clean up from
nuclear accidents are highly expensive and can take decades.
- Attacks on
nuclear plants: a concern that
nuclear facilities could be targeted by terrorists or criminals.
- Curtailed civil liberties: a concern that the risk of
nuclear accidents, proliferation and
terrorism may be used to justify restraints on citizen rights.