Nuclear Stigmatism
Abstract
With many more countries becoming more industrialized comes the added burden of more carbon dioxide. Countries such as China are extremely dependant on fossil fuel based energy. Here too in the United States, the primary sources for power are fossil fuel based. A new nuclear power facility has not been built since 1997 in the United States. Why is this? This paper will briefly discuss why, and what the stigma of nuclear energy is.
THE ADVENT OF NUCLEAR POWER
On June 27, 1954, the USSR built the first reactor for powering up an electrical system. The reactor produced 5 megawatts (electrical), enough to power 2,000 homes. In 1957, the United States followed suit by adding its first nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania. The United States currently operates 104 nuclear power stations throughout the country. They are operating at 100% capacity, and more new, more efficient models need to be built. (Hagen, R. (n.d.). Nuclear Power: 12 percent of America's Generating Capacity, 20 percent of the Electricity. Retrieved May 23, 2007, from http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/analysis/nuclearpower.html)
Despite this fact, the United States has not commissioned a new reactor since 1997. The main reason is the opponents to nuclear power. The "not in my backyard" people fight against the building of new power plants. They cite the safety problems at some of the oldest plants, as well as past problems.
Some of these people say that if a reactor exploded, it would be like a nuclear bomb going off. This is not true. In fact, according to Thinkquest, "This is not true because in order for an uncontrolled chain reaction to occur that is similar to an atom bomb, the uranium fuel must be extremely enriched, much more than the 4% 235U that is present in regular, commercial nuclear reactor fuel." (Nuclear Disasters and Accidents (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2007, from...
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