Why are so many people anti-nuclear power when most don't even understand how it works. Same with radiation.

Question

Just curious since it isn't a broadly taught subject, and the fact that new construction in the US (which is way behind the rest of the world) is going to start in the next 5 years to replace some of the aging plants we have.

Just to clarify...nuclear power plants and nuclear bombs are so different in terms of physics that it is not possible for a commercial plant to explode like a nuclear bomb.

TMI had a meltdown of the core....in my opinion this event proved that the Western containment dome can contain the worst disaster...also all nuclear plants in the US have a missile shield directly above their core. Chernobyl had none of this.

I chose the best answer because I think it showed an unbiased look at it from both sides. I like the one calling me arrogant about radiation since I have been working with nuclear power for over 10 years and do so by choice not because someone told me it was safe. I am not ignorant by any means on safety as my job is to refuel these many aging reactors and have worked with the material. I think the terrorist scare is ludacris as they can't get a hold of any fuel or blow up the reactor as the media tries to scare you into thinking. I would recommend anyone living near a plant to go take a tour to get a first hand look at how they work, and the safety features built into these plants.

Answer 1

This is a hot-button, unreasoning issue with some people. They distrust science (and not without reason). The government has lied to them before. Look at Hanford and the Downwinders. I know, it is not the same.

I also agree that nuclear fission is the bridge technology to a hydrogen economy. I welcome something better, but for now it is what we have. Photovoltaic cells create heavy metal poison waste and require large amounts of surface area for low amounts of DC. Wind turbines people don't want in their backyards and they kill raptors. Geothermal is very limited and horrible on the environment. Nuclear does not produce CO2 and thus is one of the best we have.

Waste is an issue. Low level is easy and being handled now. The long half-life stuff (with plutonium and americium) is problematic. Used fuel is stacking up. Yucca Mountain was farmed out to the DOE, hardly the people one would trust after earlier botched projects. One does hope that some form of long term storage or at least a way of safe reprocessing can be accomplished. Trash is stuff we have not found a use for.

Do not dismiss those concerned as fools or uneducated. You will lose in arguments everytime with your bar charts and figures to a mother holding her child with leukemia. Radiation, like fire, can be used for good or evil. It takes sane and responsible people to be accountable for its handling.

I train a cadre of people who stand on the front line. Their job is three-fold: 1) not to let workers get unnecessary dose, 2) not to let workers take our radioactive material home with them, 3) convince the rest of the world that you are doing a good job of the first two. Fail any of those and you have failed them all. We all live locally. We are all involved in our communities.

My job during an accident is to go to the Emergency Operation Center and calculate the release amount, the release path, and the downwind dose. I advise the Recovery Manager so that she can advise the county which areas to evacuate. I am on-call 24/7 two weeks and then off for four. This is a collateral duty. We practice this.

I was part of the Three Mile Island Recovery Team. It was a shambles. We have learned from that and have grown dramatically better since then.

Answer 2

The two main reasons for anti-nuclear feelings are fear of a radiation accident and the lack of disposal facilities for spent fuel. Both concerns are valid but much has been done in recent years to improve the safety of nuclear power plants to the point that the chance of even a minor accident is extremely low. In looking back over the years at the radiation releasing accidents that have occurred, almost no lingering health effects are detectable from any, including the worst, Cher noble. What is amazing is that even all of the poorly designed and operated plants in the Soviet block of countries have operated without any serious accidents or effects on the local populations. In contrast, the pollution of all of the fossil fuel power plants is causing tremendous harm to the entire world. As far as the disposal of spent fuel goes, there is no good solution to the problem today so we should just continue temporary storage until a solution is found, which will certainly happen.

Answer 3

Well people response has something to do with Chernobyl,3 mile island in Pa that put a halt to nuclear plants building in the US.There were serious defects apparent to the company that created 3-mile island.We narrowly escaped the melt down of the core.Secondly,The byproducts of nuclear power need to be stored in a place where they will be safe to decompose without contaminating water or the air,geologically stable.So far no state has welcomed their land for this use.Yucca Mountain has angered the people living in Utah.Further the rock has fissures in it so it is probably not a safe place to house the byproducts of radiation.No one wants it stored in their backyard.Dumping at sea is not a sane choice.

Answer 4

Even I an not anti-nuclear power, but I understand that people are ill informed about the subject caused by the taboo of the textbook makers and the propoganda of the media people. But yes, it really scales to peoples fears if not handled properly. The nuclear attacks on Japan by your country and some tragic reactor breakouts prove the point. So it is quite a jumbling subject just like your name.

Answer 5

You need to educate yourself on the negative aspects of the production of nuclear energy, as well as the aftermath of radiation poisoning and all the terminal cases, birth defects, etc. resulting from the Chernobyl accident. Chernobyl is basically uninhabitable and probably unsalvageable, but the people are so poor and do not have the resources to leave. It is here that scientists discovered that sunflowers can extract, process and reduce nuclear byproducts. (The study continues, I believe).

Of course, we should be concerned about nuclear power plants' locations and proximity to large populations, and naturally, they are good targets for terrorist ideas. For instance, Indian Point (New York) is built on a fault line!

Anti-nuclear power is not about the process, but about its OVERALL power for good and evil.

Answer 6

I live in a major metropolitan area with numerous earthquake fault lines running through it. We also have a nuclear power plant-San Onofre. According to the original specifications it should not have been built within 500 miles of a population center or on a fault line. It is not nuclear power that scares me. I know it can be done with reasonable safety. It is the greed and carelessness of the power companies and polititians that frightens me.
With the advances in photovoltaics we can do away with this risk and be less vunerable with decentralized energy sources.

Answer 7

people are so anti-nuclear power because of the tremendous power nuclear energy has..For example the atom bomb..we dropped just 2 adam bombs on Japan and they killed millions of people..another reason people are so anti-nuclear power is what if their was some type of explosion at a nuclear power plant?? The results could be catastrophic..Also you don't want that type of technology to get in the wrong hands..they might make an atom bomb and try to blow up the world

Answer 8

Because they don't know that's yust it...
The media is always on top of nuclear war stories, and because we know nuclear weapons are the worst invention in history, some people are yust afraid because they don't know how it works. Nuclear power is safe when supervised, and non harmful.
To put in the simplest form, how it works is: when a plutonium attom is split it generates heat, when that hapens it boills water wich turns to steam wich turns a turbine!! Making power.
Some people think the waste is harmful, but controlled, it won't bother anybody. Nuclear plants insulate radiation. Radiation is harmful yes, but it is hard to create unless with chemicals or a microwave oven.
(microwaves use radiation to work)
And the radiation microwaves use will yust give you a small rash or you wont ntice it...

Answer 9

Your question is probably part of the answer: most don't understand it. What people do understand is Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl, and Three Mile Island, very visible examples of radiation and nuclear power gone awry. However, we shouldn't dismiss those who are anti-nuclear power simply because they aren't educated enough. There are serious, valid concerns about nuclear power that do need to be addressed; for example, what to do with the large amounts of waste they're generating.

Answer 10

Because you can't feel when radiation is killing you and people are afraid that they could be exposed at any time without knowing it. Also the association with nuclear bombs and of course the Chernobyl accident. And it is not a simple thing and most people don't really understand it. So, fear of the unknown mostly, I guess.