The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power Plants

Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the Fukushima Daiichi plant, are a few of the many nuclear power plants around the world. At some point in time, these three plants have been more dangerous than imaginable. Nuclear power plants are a danger to all living things on earth, and should no longer be in use. The radioactive gases inside these plants have detrimental effects to the body and to the environment. They are dangerous because they can have a meltdown or crack, release radiation. The radiation leak can do damage to the environment and the people living nearby. Abolishing the necessity for power plants would alleviate potential catastrophes. Nuclear power plant’s radioactive gases can cause numerous fatalities and damage to surrounding

One way for the radiation to be released is a meltdown. When uranium (the energy source in nuclear power plants) gets too hot, it can melt and release radioactivity. In March of 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Middletown, PA, was experiencing that exact situation. A water pump had stopped working, and water is what keeps uranium cool so without it, the uranium became too hot. Scientists were able to fix the pump before the uranium was hot enough to become deadly. If the meltdown would have occurred, the radioactive gas could have killed DNA cells, causing cancer, deformities, and even death by exposure to such radiation. Any meltdown releasing radioactive particles to the environment and community will cause the areas to be uninhabitable for all living organisms. Another reason why nuclear power plants are not

Ionized radiation (nuclear radiation) causes the seeds of plants to weaken which can lead to mutations. For example, when Chernobyl, located in Pripyat, Ukraine, had its meltdown, “a huge cloud of radiation was formed which resulted in a massive amount of destroyed plant life; particularly pine trees in that area” (Reggiel). If radioactive particles were to get into water systems, it will do more long term damage than imaginable. “Those particles can stay in water for 800-1,000 years” (Marples). When effecting humans and other living species, radiation can cause cancer, physical defects and can kill lymph nodes and nerve cells in any living object. When a thyroid is exposed to I-131 (radioactive iodine), it can lead to decreased thyroid function and thyroid cancer as well. When the heart is affected, cells in blood vessels that feed the heart are damaged and will reduce the cardiac function as well. Radiation can also cause rapidly dividing lymphatic cells, which die and can damage bone marrow. This leads to trouble of replenishing the immune-boosting cells, which leads to increasing the risk of infection. The dangerous effects of radiation can leave places uninhabitable for years. Chernobyl happened over 30 years ago and still, no one lives