The Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy

1. The Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy Ms.Geddes 3rd period Demaucus Barnett

2. About Radiation • Radiation is energy that travels in the form of particles. • It can be both helpful and harmful to humans and is produced in many different ways; both natural and man-made. • Although radiation is also naturally made, there are ways that radiation can be man-made and one way that radiation is man-made is through nuclear energy. • Some of the pros of radiation include: medical uses, helping to retain historic articles and preserving food. • While radiation is used in many ways to benefit people, a radiation level that is too high can be lethal to human life.

3. Pros. • Contrary to what most people believe, making nuclear energy is actually very efficient. • It is a dependable source and is also good for the environment.

4. Three Mile Island Middletown • On March 28, 1979 there was an accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear power plant. • This was the only major commercial nuclear accident in U.S history. There were no deaths of injuries sustained.

5. Safety • Safety is an important issue when considering nuclear energy. There has to be a very high level of security to ensure that everything runs efficiently. This ensures that a nuclear energy facility, if operated correctly, would be a very safe and secure place.

6. Safety (cont.) • Although radiation can be dangerous and even deadly to humans, there are ways to keep yourself safe. • If a person is being exposed to radiation, the three main ways to protect themselves from poisoning is Distance (keeping as far away as possible), Shielding (wearing the proper protective clothing) and minimizing the time that they are exposed to it.

7. Benefits • Radiation has many impacts on our lives everyday and we sometimes don’t even notice. Everything from listening to the radio, or getting an x-ray or even using your cell phone emits radiation. • Radiation is greatly used in the medical field and has given scientists many advances in their technology such as : x-ray, CT scan, nuclear medicine, ultrasounds and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) just to name a few

8. Benefits (cont.) • More advances caused by radiation are some commonly used items in a household. Such as: cell phones, microwaves, smoke detectors, and even food preservers.

9. What is nuclear energy? • Nuclear energy is the energy released by reactions within atomic nuclei, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. • Over 15% of the worlds energy comes from nuclear power.

10. The effects of nuclear energy • A community powered by nuclear energy had numerous positive effects that are good for the environment and the people living in it such as : clean air, clean water, low greenhouse gases, no emissions, no harmful pollutants and low land use.

11. Effects of nuclear energy (cont.) • Nuclear energy also creates many jobs for people. • Some of these jobs include: all types of engineers, health physicists, information technicians, electricians, pipe fitters, machinists and many more

12. Works cited • Energy Information Association – www.eia.doe.gov • World Nuclear Association – www.world-nuclear.org • Nuclear Regulatory Commission – www.nrc.gov • Nuclear Engineering Institute – www.nei.org • Radiology Information - www.radiologyinfo.org • Maps – www.nationatlas.gov • DOE Energy, Efficiency and Renewable Energy– www.eere.energy.gov • American Nuclear Society – http://local.ans.org • Renewable Resource Data Center – http:rredc.nrel.gov