Environment Impact

Environment Impact: 

Cons: 

Meltdowns

Meltdowns are one of the biggest reasons why people would like to stop nuclear power plants.  many of them have caused catastrophic damage in areas in Japan, Russia, and Ukraine (among others). It has killed millions, and the meltdowns have made several landmasses inhabitable. There have been 7 major nuclear disasters over the last few decades. 3 of them were mostly contained, but 4 of them (e.g Fukushima and Cherynoble) spread radioactive dust and particles over many countries. Here is one of them.

Cherynoble:

Deaths: around 4100 people (many deaths contribute to exposure to radiation)

City: Cherynoble, Ukraine

Date: April 26, 1986

What happened: Workers were doing a test on reactor number 4 to make sure the turbine would provide enough energy to keep the water flow in the reactor going long enough before the emergency diesel generator kicked up again. They dropped the power to 25%, but instead, it dropped to 1% power, so they tried to make it rise it, but it went overboard, which led the water to dry up. This caused the now exposed fuel elements to meltdown, and then radioactive gas built up and exploded the containment building, causing an explosion and a leak. The air got into the leak which caused graphite, and the chemical zirconium split the oxygen and hydrogen, which then led to high levels of hydrogen and another bigger explosion. radioactive gas and particles then spread as far as the wind blows.

Radioactive Waste: 

Radioactive waste is what I consider the most annoying thing in the world, as its dangerous, but never disappears. Radioactive waste is very dangerous to humans because it contains radiation, which could cause radiation poisoning, cancer, and even death. There are 2 types of radiation: 

Low-Level Radioactive waste: 

low-level radioactive waste typically contains very low-level radiation, some of which are only a little higher than normal radiation levels. Low-level radioactive waste includes Uranium mill tailings and Other items used for/inside the reactor that would be contaminated. 

High-Level Radioactive waste: 

high-level radioactive waste typically containing very high-level radiation. Items include Plutonium and Spent Nuclear fuel. 

Pros:

Carbon Dioxide Emissions: 

Unlike The Coal and oil industries, Nuclear power plants produce virtually no carbon-dioxide, unless you include the fossil fuels used to mine the Uranium or other elements used within the Nuclear Power Plant.

Conclusion: 

In my opinion, although nuclear plants are very steady and do not produce any pollution, I still don't recommend using nuclear energy. The reasons is the fact that it's very dangerous and could lead to serious consequences, and with radioactive waste, there would be no more space at one point to store the radioactive waste, nevermind the fact it's not guaranteed that the waste would be stored safely, and the fact it takes almost 24 000 years to decay half of the plutonium. Another problem is where to put it and its cost. Since its super expensive to construct a nuclear plant (≈14 million), and that it has to be next to fresh-water lakes (which is very controversial, as many countries don't have safe drinking water). These problems definitely outweigh the Pros two to one, so I suggest ending nuclear power once and for all.