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Subject: Nuclear Waste Author: wally grobler [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 16:24:18 04/16/04 Fri Wally Grobler English 101 Nuclear Waste essay 4-16-04 Nuclear power, along with every other form of energy has at least one major problem that affects its surrounding environment. Crude oil is a limited resource, which dictates the amount of fossil fuels that the world has at their disposal. Hydroelectric power has its drawbacks and criticism due to the natural habitats around the world currently suffering from dams displacing water. Along with fossil fuels and hydroelectric power, nuclear fusion creates a radioactive waste that is nearly impossible to destroy. One definite drawback of nuclear waste is the simple fact that it is very toxic. Nuclear waste has many different agents that play major roles in spreading illness to the civilian population. Much of this controversy focuses around the belief that it causes cancer in the population within miles of the site where the waste is disposed of. Another negative to burying the waste, would be in the adverse affects it exposes the natural environment surrounding the site to. The burial of nuclear waste causes the local vegetation and animal life to be very desolate. Everything from trees to grass in a widespread area of the site appears to be practically dead. This gives a very dismal feel to the whole landscape which all in it self creates a whole new set of problems. Uranium, which essentially is nuclear waste, decays with time just the same as all other elements. Though Uranium is decaying, its half-life is still many years. This shows that nuclear waste, from years prior, will still be causing problems far into the future. In turn, this fact obviously poses the threat of excess waste all around the world. Having a constant increase in nuclear waste will also cause a constant increase in problems surrounding nuclear power. Transporting this waste from the reactor to the burial site also poses a threat to the general public. Although this may not be a widespread topic of discussion within the circle of problems facing nuclear waste, it is still worth taking a look at. Often enough the waste is being transported from reactor to site right along side your next door neighbor on the public transportation system. This practice is very dangerous due simply to the fact that the waste is very toxic and is subject to all the many possible dangers associated with driving. Safety precautions taken in the transport of nuclear waste are very good but accidents can happen. So to wrap it up nuclear waste is obviously a very big problem facing not only the United States but the entire world. Nuclear power is a really good source of energy due to the abundance of Uranium but is definitely not something to be taken lightly. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]