What are 5 positive things and 5 negative things about a nuclear reactor?

Question

Any kind of nuclear reactor

Answer 1

I will start with the negative things (and I will make it mostly about commercial reactors).

Negative:
1. Costly to build and maintain
2. Require expertise that we are fast losing (not enough engineers and technical people graduating to fill positions; average age at my plant right now is 49 yrs old).
3. Terrorist target - may not be high on the list but you can imagine
4. Problem of what to do with the spent fuel. Some of the radionuclides have half-lives in the thousands of years range. Everyone seems to say "Not in my back yard."
5. Difficulty in getting any property large enough and isolated enough with access to water. Water is needed to cool the plant.

Positive:
1. Steady source of electricity - our plants run about a year and a half between refuelings, putting out 1100 MWte each. We have run 481 days without a single shutdown.
2. No greenhouse gases. We do not burn carbon, so no CO-2.
3. Employment for many workers at well-above minimum wage. We have about 1400 workers steadily here for a two unit plant. This kicks in lots of money to the tax base. .
4. No need to be dependent upon Middle Eastern energy deposits. Uranium is pretty worldwide.
5. The folks that work at a nuclear power plant are well-educated, community-minded, healthy (drug and psychologically screened, as well), and give back to their community. Many work with Scouts, Little League and other programs. Pretty good family values in general.
6. There is the Megatons to Megawatts program that takes the former Soviet Union weapons' grade uranium and dilutes it out to burn in US reactors. Pretty much beating swords into plowshears.

Answer 2

I'll start with the negative things so that we end up on a positive note!

1) Insanely expensive! Too construct, maintain, repair and staff even a ***shutdown*** Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is very VERY costly

2) Radioactive waste generation and storage. It's one of those things you have too deal with that no one really likes too talk about.

3) Heath Physics programs are exceptionally challenging in terms of compliance.

4) Getting permission too construct one is challenging beyond belief!

5) No matter what NNP you design. No matter what procautions are put in place. No matter what you do too make it "safe"... their is always the threat of a nuclear accident.

Now for the good stuff!

1) Insanely clean with zero emmissions.

2) Very stable power generation in high volume.

3) Lots and lots and lots of spin off industry. (Think about it! The sources that are used in medicine come from ***some*** where!)

4) Great potential too further the understanding of the subatomic world.

5) They are much safer too opperate and live near than a fossil fuel plant.

Answer 3

The second answerer comes closest to hitting the mark. The user named nukemann reminds me of a cartoon character: Hank Hill with his unintentionally humorous fealty to all things propane. Making your daily bread for 30 years from an industry builds loyalty and gives you all those quaint rehearsed responses nukeman has, obviously, but what it doesn't give you is the clear-eyed, clear-headed neutrality needed to decide what is best in terms of public policy. Translation: Just as I don't want an insurance company employee deciding for me what health care bill now before congress is best, I don't want an hourly employee from a nuclear facility deciding for me that nuclear power is so safe he'd let his little grankids play with a bucket of plutonium any time. That's pretty sick, actually.