The Negative Effects of Nuclear Energy :: Nuclear Energy Negative Essays

In 1950, the first commercial nuclear powerplants were constructed. The public was promiseda non-polluting and re witnesserful type of energy, notwithstandinghow safe was, and is, nuclear energy? Althoughthere are less than 500 licensed nuclear powerplants in the world, many nuclear accidents havealready been endangering civilian lives. Moreserious accidents are not just likely, but inevitable(Fairchild 29). Nuclear energy may appear to bethe ideal source of energy for the future however,there are many negative effects of nuclear energythat can lead to very dangerous situations.Energy has forever and a day been among the basic humanconcerns, along with food and shelter. It takespart in all activities, from walking to the operationof even the most complicated equipment. Mankindhas been faced with the challenge of meeting itsenergy needs without risking human health and theenvironment. The many types of energy are mechanical, thermal,chemical, electrical, radiant, and atomic (Micros oftEncarta). In 1987, oil supplied 32% of the energyworldwide. Coal was bordering in line with 26%, thennatural gas with 17%, biomass 15%, and nuclearenergy with only 4% (Galperin 19). With the mainsources of our energy footrace low, nations look tonew sources to provide our society with power.Nuclear energy, the newest type of energy, wasresearched to see if it would be the mostpromising type of energy for the future. Surprisingly, nuclear energy was sight byaccident. In 1896, the French scientist, AntoineHenri Becquerel, conducted an experiment withuranium salts and found that these salts gave offtheir own light when exposed to sunlight. Marieand Pierre Curie were fascinated by thepossibilities of Becquerels rays. The Curiesdiscovered exactly what the rays were and thennamed the phenomenon radioactivity (Halacy 6). During World War II, many scientists from aroundthe world came to the United States to work onnuclear reactors and weapons. With muchsuccess, they move after World War II andconcentrated more on nuclear energy. Thescientists instantly saw that nuclear energy wouldbe a ample source of power because of the amountof power it released. Splitting an amount ofuranium equal to one penny would produce asmuch energy as seven and a half tons of coal(Lilienthal 85). A nuclear power plant is where energy is formedwhen nuclear fission or merger takes place. So far,however, only the power of fission has beencontrolled and used for energy. There are manyparts of the nuclear power plant, including thereactor, generator, control room, cooling systems,and the electrical, air, and water lines. The flavor ofthe nuclear power plant is its reactor core, whichcontains a few hundred fuel assemblies. Thereactor core is encased in a pressured steel cooler