Nuclear Energy research paper (0)

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Running head: NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear Energy
U.S. Government
History of Nuclear Energy- Nuclear Energy
History of Nuclear Energy

• Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth. He was a German chemist, and named his discovery after the planet Uranus (" Outline history of," 2010)
  
• 1939-1945 Manhattan Project - atomic energy program to develop the first transportable atomic bomb ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1942- First self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1945- Hiroshima and Nagasaki - US. drops atomic bombs to Japan to end World War II ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1946- First nuclear energy in civilian use ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1954- Atomic Energy Act of 1954- allows the Atomic Energy Commission to license private companies to use nuclear materials and to build and operate nuclear power plants ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1955- First nuclear power plant that provides electricity to the whole town. ( Borax -III) ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1986- Chernobyl- nuclear disaster in Ukraine ("Nuclear technologies timeline," )
  
• 1986-…- The use of nuclear energy is growing all over the world
  

Nuclear Energy Pros and Cons
Pros:

• Less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere when nuclear energy is used, so it has lower impact on the environment (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Relatively low operating costs (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Developed technology is ready for market and doesn’t take much time to start producing (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Can produce large amounts of power and is able to “feed” industrial and city needs. It can create power for heavy manufacturing (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Nuclear wastes can be reduced through waste recycling and reprocessing (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Can be produced in very small amount of volume and that makes it easy to transport ("Pros of nuclear," )
  

• Nuclear power plants have a big income , it helps to create more jobs and the countries to overcome the struggle with its bad economy
  

Cons:

• High construction costs because of radiation and complicated procedures and long construction time (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Accident risks for example Chernobyl, Ukraine in 1986 or Fukushima , Japan in 2011 and radiation can cause serious health problems
  
• Nuclear weapons may cause tension between different countries
  
• Uranium is hard to get and expensive to mine, refine, and transport, and produce considerable environmental waste ( including greenhouse gasses) during all of these procedures (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Wastes lasts from 200 to 500 thousand years (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Shipping nuclear waste internationally increases the potential threat to terrorism (Buzz, 2009)
  
• Nuclear weapons may cause tension between different countries ("Cons of nuclear," )
  

Conclusion
I am not a supporter of nuclear energy, mainly because of the disasters that have happened throughout the years. In Ukraine some kids are still born with three legs and many people have cancer. Although it is not hundred percent proven that the cause of these conditions is the radiation from Chernobyl I still believe it cannot be a coincidence. Fukushima power plant has also caused a lot of trouble in Japan. As we saw nuclear power plants are not powerful enough to survive an earthquake. It might be good that nuclear power does not contaminate the atmosphere as much, but I don’t think it overweighs all the sick and dead people when an accident happens. Nuclear wastes last forever and the radiation is bad for us. The amount of radiation balances out the smaller amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. I also feel that it might cause a lot of trouble between countries and their need for power in the future. Nuclear power might be the reason for the next World War. I hope that nuclear power won’t grow much and that people understand different aspects of nuclear energy before they make a decision .
References:
1. Buzz, P. (2009, February 23). Nuclear energy: pros and cons. Retrieved from http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/02/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons/
2. Cons of nuclear power. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~azadini/group/website/
3. Nuclear technologies timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3691
4. Outline history of nuclear energy. (2010, June ). Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf54.html
5. Pro's and con's of nuclear power. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.greenenergyhelpfiles.com/articles/20.html
6. Pros of nuclear power. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~azadini/group/website/
7. Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/p/Iran_Economy.html