Nuclear Energy

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the explosion of Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Ukraine in 1986, has left a legacy that the risks of the using of nuclear power are so negative and so intense that it is often overlooked as the powerful tool. The author points out that the public concern about the use of nuclear power is that an uncontrolled accidental nuclear chain reaction can create so much heat that it resembles some of the most destructive bombs ever made. The paper relates that, although nuclear weapons are certainly the most commonly perceived use of nuclear power, nuclear science also is used to power nuclear vessels and for medical uses such as tumor treatment and tracer techniques.

From the Paper:

"Of course, there are other medical uses. The benefits must be weighed in relation to the risks when deciding whether to use these medical tools. Although these benefits are clear to some, the effects of nuclear power and their resulting health hazards cause confusion for others. For example, radioactive waste is extremely toxic and is so poisonous that it can affect people 1,000 years into the future. It can damage the kidneys or lungs, and children are especially vulnerable because their cells divide rapidly as they grow. In pregnant women, it can cross the placenta into the bloodstream of the fetus. In plants and animals, the effects can be passed through the food chain. Humans take in these radioactive materials chiefly from drinking water and from plant and animal foods, including milk. Many fallout isotopes that reach the sea and inland waterways eventually end up in concentrated form in the bodies of waterborne animals and plants, becoming a source of concern when they are part of the human food chain."

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