EAP2, Writer’s Workshop
Heidi Wright


Good Bye, Nuclear Power!

Now nuclear power has received nationwide media attention. France, according to Bollaert (2001), uses nuclear power plants which account for 80 percent of electrical production of the whole energy (2001, para.1). However, I am just afraid of nuclear power because in 1945, The war were dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. during the Second World War. The lethal weapon killed over 200,000 people (Miller, 1994, p.99). Even now, many old people are still suffering from illnesses caused by the nuclear bombs. So using nuclear energy will lead to a catastrophic situation that will rock the whole world. Therefore, people should not adopt the use of nuclear energy because it is harmful for economy, environment, politics, and safety.

The definition of nuclear power is a force that is produced from the nucleus. Nucleus means “the central part of an atom which consists neutrons, protons, and other elementary particles” (Longman Advanced American Dictionary, 2000). As a nucleus splits, it releases energy that is converted largely into the heat. A nuclear reactor is a system in which a controlled nuclear chain reaction is used to liberate energy” (2005, para.1). Nuclear power is a relatively new resource. According to Eardley, “the nuclear reactor was invented by Enriko Fermi in 1942. The world relies on nuclear power, with 28 new reactors under construction. There are 442 nuclear plants operating in 30 countries and producing one-sixth of the world’s electricity (Brown, 2006,para.4). Until now, some countries such as China, France, and Russia acknowledge nuclear weapons (Countries with Nuclear Weapons Capability, 2005, p.1). People who have a progressive way of thinking like politicians forward the development of nuclear energy for their countries' prosperity. However, many ecologists and people who live near nuclear plants oppose the use of nuclear power because of several negative points.

The first nuclear power problem is the high cost. Elston states, “nuclear power is financially unsustainable in an open electricity market. It cannot compete with coal, natural gas or some renewable sources of electricity” (2007, para.7). Initial costs for yielding nuclear power are expensive. It costs more money to build a nuclear facility because nuclear power is so strong and dangerous. The problem is to decommission nuclear reactors in the early twenty-first century. It will cost more than one billion dollars per a plant (“Nuclear Power”, n.d., p.7). This energy is not economical for the expense. Moreover, it is hard to select places to build the facility because citizens opposed to build it. In “Nuclear Power”, the author said, ”the federal government has encouraged political controversy and public opposition when it has sought to identity potential permanent nuclear waste sites. Since 1986, it has been unsuccessful in finding an acceptable site” (n.d., pp.6-7). It is doubtful whether nuclear power should be used even if it will happen a fiscal crisis.

Second, nuclear power pollutes the whole earth including creatures. My opponents say that nuclear power does not produce carbon dioxide (Cohen, n.d., p.1). Certainly, it avoids various environmental problems such as global warming, acid rain, coal mining, and spilled oil. However, Bradford (2006) states that “Nuclear power cannot be a magic bullet answer to climate change. Even if it is scaled up much faster than anything now in prospect, it cannot provide more than 10 per cent of the greenhouse gas displacement that is likely to be needed by mid-century. Not only can nuclear power not stop global warming, it is probably not even an essential part of the solution to global warming” (para.3). In addition, radiation which is a substance coming from nuclear structure pollutes the environment because shortwave radiation passes easily through the earth's atmosphere. Once it strikes and warms the earth's surface, longwave radiation is emitted and goes back into the atmosphere. While some of this longwave radiation or heat escapes into space, most of it is absorbed or held by carbon dioxide that exist a little bit in the atmosphere (Collins, 2001, p.1). As a result, nuclear power pollutes the environment. Another example, the forest near the Cernobyl plant is called Red Forest, where dead pine leaves turned rusty brown. This is because all woods died from radiations that fall out from the accident (Connor, 2000. para.11). Moreover, many people point out the difficulty of how to dispose nuclear wastes. Nuclear wastes are semi permanent. It takes a thousand years to disappear because the proponent is not a natural element. In the article, “Nuclear Power,” the author states, “Nuclear material is contained in fuel rods. When spent fuel rods and other waste products fill storage capacity at utility plants, the plants must either expand their storage capacity or find permanent off-site storage”(1998, p.6). Nuclear waste is semi permanent. Thus, it cannot be denied that nuclear power destroys environment.

Third, there is a much possibility that nuclear power can be used for weapons. Cohen claims that nuclear power is not like oil that only Middle Eastern countries have. Thus, it contributes to avoidance of nuclear warfare (n.d., p.5). However, it can also cause a war or a conflict. North Korea and Iran try to turn nuclear power into nuclear weapons for domination of the world. Therefore, nuclear power can cause struggles like the big war. For example, Calabresi said that “With war in Iraq looming and North Korea defiantly pursing its own nuclear program” (2003, para.1). In the article, “Red Scare,” the author claims, ”On February 10, the North Korea government announced that it had “manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration’s ever more undisguised policy to isolate and stifle [North Korea]”, an official statement read”(2005, para.4). Actually, North Korea launched Taepodong, a missile nuclear warhead to the Sea of Japan in 2006(North Korea test-fires 7th missile, 2006, para.1). In “Nuclear Power,” the author explains about a new concern that it became apparent that terrorists commandeering airplanes might crash into a nuclear power plant or might try to damage such a plant with conventional explosives. Therefore nuclear power can influence an international situation (n.d., p.7). Nuclear power is the link to the weapon.

Finally, nuclear power causes the worst accidents. Bernard claims that “nuclear accidents are not an important problem, and their very low probability is a great advantage of nuclear power” (para.18). However, if the nuclear accidents happen, the influence of it has a significant impact on the earth. For example, The Mile Island, where there is a nuclear plant in Pennsylvania of the United States, happened nuclear accident by either a mechanical or electrical failures. According to “Nuclear Power”, the author states, “a serious accident art Three Mile Island in 1979 proved to be a major turning point for nuclear power in the United States, and nuclear generators have been ordered since”(n.d., p.4). Remember the Chernobyl disaster. It was an accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986 resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. The radiation that caused by the accidents had bad effects on human body. It led to illnesses such as cancer, leukemia, and sterility (Bollaert, 2001, para.2). The immediate cause of this accident was mismanaged electrical- engineering experiment. Furthermore, according to Rhodes, “radioactive gas and dust high into the atmosphere, where winds dispersed it across Finland, Sweden, and central and southern Europe”(n.d., para.26). After explosion, the sarcophagus was built to cover the plant and even now the surround was kept out. There is a little radiation near villages still. The problem is that it is possible to escape a massive does of radiation when the sarcophagus collapses. It causes the increasing incidence of cancer (Nuclear Power, n.d.). According to “Is Nuclear Power Ethical?,” the accidents was expensive in dollars as well as in loss of public confidence (2007, para.5). If reactor accidents happen, it will be radioactive contamination. Obviously, this accident that influenced neighbors was knew around the world that nuclear power is very dangerous.

Therefore, it is difficult to work on nuclear power because this is a delicate energy. Nuclear energy is expensive in several ways. Likewise, nuclear energy causes environment pollution indirectly. Moreover, there are difficulties to restore and dispose the energy, and to find places for the industrial waste. Besides, nuclear power can lead to dangerous troubles about nuclear weapon and cause the worst accidents like the Chernobyl disaster for human. Fossil fuels that people use are running up and nuclear power is expected to be alterative energy instead of fossil fuels. However, there is much risk to use nuclear power. When people invest new energy for the future, understanding of citizens and security are required. We need consider how energy and environment match and invest a new energy to cope with change of international situation because the most important thing is not convenient but safety.