Should Nuclear Power Be an Important Part of Our Energy Mix for the 21st Century?

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Should Nuclear Power be an important part of our energy mix for the 21st Century? Nuclear power is seen by many as the future for energy production. With fossil fuels producing gases which pollute the environment and at threat of running out and other more renewable resources not being reliable and being overly expensive, nuclear power has the potential to be affordable, renewable and can produce masses of energy. The main reason nuclear power is being invested in globally by governments is its ‘clean’ profile; unlike other fossil fuels, which are currently used to produce most energy, nuclear energy production produces no smoke or carbon dioxide. Nuclear fission only produces steam from the power plants, causing no harm to the environment. However nuclear power is less clean before and after production. Uranium atoms are split in a series of nuclear reactions to produce a surge of heat energy which boils water, to produce steam which turns turbines, powering generators to form electricity. The uranium must be mined from other sites however and be transported to the plants, which can mean expensive importing costs, and the environmental cost of carbon dioxide produced in the transport of uranium. After production, the radioactive waste produced in nuclear power is incredibly harmful and can take years to decay and no longer be radioactive. Finding space, and specific materials which radiation cannot go through is difficult and if nuclear power became a mass provider of energy, it is unclear of whether or not there would be enough space to store the radioactive matter. If waste is not disposed of correctly, it can cause widespread destruction. The events of Chernobyl are a huge example of the major risks taken in the production of nuclear power. Currently radioactive waste is stored in steel lined concrete basins in water, or far underground in geologically

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