The Type of Plant Required
Nuclear is the best way to solve energy problems and reduce pollution. A nuclear plant will be safer and more efficient than a coal-burning power plant. A coal-burning power plant burns coal to produce electricity. Coal contains sulfur, which is not suitable for the environment and can cause acid rain. It also contains mercury, which can pollute lakes and streams (Sadekin 515). A nuclear plant uses uranium to produce electricity, so it does not emit sulfur or mercury into the air. And since they need no fuel, they are more efficient than coal plants. If people want to live in a healthy world where they do not have to worry about pollution caused by coal plants like those in the town or anywhere else, they need to start using nuclear energy instead of coal energy.
This argument is because of the following reasons: First, nuclear power is a renewable resource that can be used over and over again, unlike coal, which burns up and must be replaced. Second, a nuclear plant produces fewer harmful emissions than a coal-burning plant, which means people can reduce their dependence on foreign oil without sacrificing their living standards or damaging the environment. Third, a nuclear plant can be built in locations that are currently unsuitable for coal plants, such as near bodies of water or in earthquake zones, which would allow us to use these areas for other purposes if the nuclear plant is not built there.
Another reason is that nuclear plants produce no carbon dioxide emissions when they operate. They generate electricity from heat released during fission reactions; the atomic nucleus breaks apart into smaller particles (Sadekin 516). It means that when a nuclear plant operates, it does not create any new pollution; it simply replaces existing pollution with another type of pollution: heat. In addition, a nuclear plant produces electricity with little or no noise or smell. Therefore, it will not cause any adverse effects on the quality of life or local communities around it.
My Opinion on the Death of People During the Three Mile Island accident
I disagree that more people died due to the Three Mile Island accident from the extra coal that had to be burned when the damaged reactor went offline than from the nuclear effects of the accident. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has reported that the Three Mile Island accident resulted in 0.5% of all deaths in the United States from cancer and genetic mutations (Sills, 35). It is much less than other types of accidents, such as plane crashes or car accidents, which have been shown to cause more deaths overall. Additionally, this doesn’t account for any deaths related to nuclear accidents in other countries. The NRC also reports no increase in congenital disabilities from radiation exposure during this accident or any other nuclear power plant incident since then (Sills, 47). Most importantly, it is essential to note that the NRC classifies a death as “all causes” when they report on incidents like this; they are not just counting deaths directly caused by radiation exposure.
The Three Mile Island accident occurred in 1979, and no deaths or injuries were attributable to its effects. However, if one looks at the data carefully, one will see an increase in mortality rates among those who lived near the plant. It is called “social stress,” and it is a well-known side effect of any natural or artificial disaster (Tsitsimpelis 111). The evidence that the death toll from the Three Mile Island accident was higher than the nuclear effects of the accident is inconclusive. While there are some reports that more people died due to the extra coal that had to be burned when the damaged reactor went offline than from the nuclear effects of the accident, these reports have been criticized for being faulty and incomplete. I do not believe these numbers accurately reflect how many people were affected by this event. It is essential to go beyond simple statistics to understand how many lives were affected by something like this.
Works Cited
Sadekin, Sirazam, et al. “Nuclear power as foundation of a clean energy future: A review.” Energy Procedia 160 (2019): 513-518. Web.
Sills, David L., ed. Accident at Three Mile Island: the human dimensions. Routledge, 2019.
Tsitsimpelis, Ioannis, et al. “A review of ground-based robotic systems for the characterization of nuclear environments.” Progress in nuclear energy 111 (2019): 109-124. Web.