Why are we not building more nuclear power plants ?
By xkenzo
@xkenzo (56)
Singapore
December 20, 2010 1:01am CST
I can't find any reason why countries are not building more nuclear power plants. Its safe, clean and cheaper compared to existing energy sources. I don't really understand, nuclear energy benefit both the environment and the people, and most country do not have a nuclear plant
2 responses
@lucky119 (643)
• India
20 Dec 10
Hi,
I am sorry but I think you are wrong in saying that nuclear power plants are safe.
They are safe only when you take extreme caution and do continuous monitoring and maintenance for them.
Yes, they are good source of energy but the risks involved with them are very high.Thats the reason why we don't see much of them being built. Their effects are devastating and long lasting.
@xkenzo (56)
• Singapore
20 Dec 10
But recent recent reports claim that coal power actually results in more radioactive waste being released into the environment than nuclear power, and that the population effective dose equivalent from radiation? from coal plants is 100 times as much as nuclear plants.
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
20 Dec 10
Guess you are too young to remember the Nuclear power plant disaster in Chernobyl in the former U.S.S.R., nuclear energy although a cheap source of power is not that safe, a leak can cause massive damage to the environment which is very hard to clean and would take a long time as well as a huge toll on human lives.Not to mention that it could also be a target of terrorism. Maybe we should look the other way towards Solar or wind power, what do you think?
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
20 Dec 10
I agree that it is clean and cheap, but then again I beg to disagree that it would be safer than coal or oil. If every nation would build a nuclear reactor right now what guarantee does the world have that they won't slip into the same mess as the USSR as we had seen the sudden change of fortune during the down turn. Many people die because of oil and coal because it is used more,do we still need to find out what mass nuclear power can do? An oil leak is bad enough, how about a massive nuclear leak,what guarantee do we have that enriched plutonium or uranium does not fall into wrong hands while in transport or fall into hands of maritime pirates? What guarantee do we have that rogue nations won't develope nuclear weapons in the guise of creating energy?Are we not through or finish with oil because once upon a time we all thought it was the safest and the most convenient?
The sun and wind is there , no harm if we pursue that way, perhaps nobody really cares because nobody will get very rich there since everybody can do it on their own once tech is available, no nation would monopolize anything....
@xkenzo (56)
• Singapore
20 Dec 10
Actually, test have been carried out such as a truck carried diesel oil crashing onto another truck carrying 25 tons of nuclear waste and other dangerous scenario anyone can think of and it was safe and nothing to worry about.
Right now, nuclear engineer has design much better plants, much safer, much more efficient and even much cheaper to build. But because to people who are "oh, I'm afraid of nuclear bombs" and other short-sighted people, not much reactors have been built in the world.
By stopping new power plants being built, we are actually left with the older nuclear power plants which a perfectly safe but not as safe or as efficient as the new generation of nuclear plants
