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The Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Power

533 Words3 Pages

Nuclear power is nuclear reactions that releases energy. Although it has no greenhouse gas emissions and is a relatively clean fuel source compared to fossil fuels it is not perfect. This energy source is highly dangerous to the environment, animals and humans. The byproduct that nuclear power creates is radioactive waste and will kill you if you come into contact with it. We can contain the harmful waste, but if something was to go wrong it could destroy cities and kill thousands. To create nuclear power you use water and turn it into steam, which then drives turbine generators to create electricity. Because a lot of water is used there is a higher chance of the water becoming contaminated. The heat that is used to create the steam is created when uranium atoms split. In the United …show more content…

This heated water is circulated through tubes in steam generators, allowing the water in the steam generators to turn to steam, which then turns the turbine generator. Water from the reactor and the water that is turned into steam are in separate systems and do not mix. In Boiling Water Reactors (also known as BWRs), the water heated by fission actually boils and turns into steam to turn the turbine generator. In both PWRs and BWRs, the steam is turned back into water and can be used again in the process. ("How Do Nuclear Plants Work?" -Duke Energy. Web. 20 May 2016.) These power plants recycle water, but if the water becomes contaminated it can cause, “programmed cell death, genetic mutations, cancers, leukemia, birth defects, and reproductive, immune and endocrine system disorders. There is no safe threshold to exposure to radiation.” according to Riverkeeper Inc. an organization dedicated to keeping New York’s water clean. If something was to go wrong the effects it would have on whoever comes into contact with it would not be worth us using this cheaper energy

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Worldwide, millions of people are consuming fast food, unaware of the mental and physical consequences it can cause to their body. The fast food industry lacks to label the food they advertise, leaving individual’s clueless and with little, to no choice. In the article An Equal Shot: Big Fat America the author claims that “The real solution here is to give people the choice to eat organic foods that are in season and are locally produced. But that can only work if people are informed, and that means more labeling.” On the other hand, if the fast food industry informed people about the ingredients they are putting into their bodies and labeled more of their food items, it would be no one, but the individual to blame.

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In a boiling water reactor, the heat from fission causes the water to boil. That boiling water produces steam which then drives a turbine. The steam is converted back to water and returned to the reactor core. To prevent overheating, control rods are inserted in a nuclear fuel bundle. The control rods are made out of a metal that absorb small atomic particles.

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