Is Nuclear Power An Sustainable Energy

To a large extent, I agree that the nuclear power is an unsustainable energy resource.

Environmentally, water for cooling process of the nuclear plants is released into the sea. This causes thermal pollution and reduces water quality. Moreover, the radioactive wastes in the nuclear plants will release radioactive substances and contaminate the surrounding areas. Even if the waste is buried underground, there may be leakage, polluting the underground water and soil. Serious damage is done to the environment and ecology when nuclear plants dispose nuclear wastes during their daily operation.

Economically, a lot of money must be put in for investments and experiments since the technology in developing nuclear power is not mature enough. A high construction cost is spent on using specially made materials to build the nuclear plants, in order to avoid radioactive leakages. High operation cost is also needed for handling the nuclear waste, conducting regular check-up and maintenance of the nuclear power station.

Socially, health of human beings will be affected due to the radioactive substances released during nuclear power generation. The accidents of nuclear power plants in Chernobyl of Ukraine, the Three Mile Island in the US and Fukushima in Japan in the past have proved that radiation leakage poses a long-term threat to human beings and the natural ecosystem. Moreover, citizens may suffer from high electricity costs, since the costs of nuclear power production are extremely high, as a result of the low nuclear energy efficiency and inefficient generation of nuclear energy in each station.

However, nuclear power is a clean and low-carbon power. Nuclear power generation does not directly release carbon dioxide or air pollutants, thus will not cause air pollution. Instead of burning fossil fuels, using nuclear power is more efficient in alleviating global warming. From the successful example of France, we can see that countries with high population density can also fully utilize the advantages of nuclear power to maintain a sustainable use of energy resources.

Since people have been fearful of nuclear power, instead of developing nuclear power, countries can use other renewable energy in order to reduce people’s concern on safety and at the same time alleviating global warming. Therefore, I agree that nuclear power is an unsustainable energy resource.