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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

4 Myths About Nuclear Energy

/ On : 9:14 PM/
ShoutBloger: In the aftermath of the tragedy of nuclear disasters in Japan, Such concerns arose about this unlimited energy.

The reason for this is, nuclear power is still causing pro and cons related to the threat of nuclear radiation that caused when it exploded and leaked. Concerns are increasingly becoming, after the danger posed by the leaking of nuclear power plants in Japan, due to the earthquake and tsunami.

Here are 4 myths about nuclear energy, which often develops in the community. quoted by the Washington Post on Thursday 25 March 2011.

1. The biggest problem with nuclear energy is the security?

Safety of critical issues, such as the nuclear tragedy in Japan which makes it even more clear. But over the years, the biggest challenges for sustainable nuclear energy is not a safety, but cost.

In the United States, new nuclear construction has been slowing even before the crisis at Three Mile Island partial in 1979. The last nuclear power plant completed in 1996, but construction began in 1972.

Today, nuclear power is far more expensive than coal or gas fired electricity, especially because nuclear materials are very expensive to build. Estimated cost of these materials reached $ 5 billion. An MIT study in 2009 estimated that the cost of nuclear energy production (including construction, maintenance and fuel) is about 30 percent higher than coal or gas.

Of course, cost and security are not related. Concerns about safety led to extensive regulatory approval process and increase uncertainty for developers to plant calculations.

2. Nuclear power plants into weapons to terrorists.

It's easy to get scared about the terrorist attacks on nuclear. After the September 11 attacks, a cottage industry emerged menjasi a threat, with analysts never imagined way more gruesome and creative-that terrorists could attack the nuclear energy facilities and free up large consequences.

Of course there are real risks: nuclear expert Matthew Bunn of Harvard University have shown that terrorists are planning teror attacks.

But in fact much more difficult to target nuclear power plants than one might think, and the terrorists will have great difficulty replicating the physical impact.

This also would be difficult for them to break through the dome of concrete and other barriers that surround the U.S. reactor. And though the attacks have been attempted in the past, most notably by Basque separatists in Spain in 1977, but did not cause extensive damage.

3. Nuclear power is the key to energy independence.

When people talk about energy independence, they think about oil, which we mostly used in vehicles and industrial production. When they talk about nuclear, though, they think about electricity.

More nuclear power means less coal, less natural gas, hydroelectric power less and less wind energy. But if we begin to put a nuclear power plant in our cars and semis, more nuclear will not mean a little oil.

This is not always the case during the heyday of nuclear power, the early 1970s. oil is a source of great power, and nuclear power increase is the real way to push oil out of the economy. Unfortunately, we had to replace virtually all fossil fuels in power sector, the opportunity to replace oil with nuclear power is lost.

4. Better technology can make nuclear power safe.

Technology to improve safety, but there will always be risks with nuclear power. Japanese people amid the current crisis using the old technology that increases their vulnerability.

Generation of reactors would be cooled passively, meaning that if the backup power failed as had happened in Japan, the leak would be more easily avoided.

But what happened in Japan reminds us that unexpected vulnerability that can not be avoided in any system that is very complex. carefully engineered to minimize the possibility of disaster, but can not eliminate them.

Operators and authorities should ensure that they are ready to deal with unanticipated failures even as they work to prevent them.

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