The Responsibility of Nuclear Energy

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and at the Three-Mile Island plant to explain why people are so concerned about the impact of a nuclear disaster. The paper then reveals that the responsible and safe use of nuclear power can have tremendous benefits as well; it is relatively inexpensive and low on pollutants. The paper asserts that the use of nuclear energy should therefore be classified according to its use, rather than for any of its inherent characteristics.

From the Paper:

"When one hears the word "nuclear," the image that springs to mind is one of destruction. After all, the world was first introduced to nuclear energy in the form of the atomic bomb, two of which were used to devastate Japan, ushering in the conclusion of the Pacific part of World War II. Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced such tremendous devastation that it was probably impossible, at that time, for people to envision any responsible use of nuclear energy. These feelings grew during the Cold War; the United States and the Soviet Union both increased their nuclear arsenals, hoping to prevent the other Super Power from using nuclear weapons against them. Other major nations developed their nuclear capabilities as well. This proliferation of weapons helped ensure that humanity would never again know a world without the threat of nuclear war. However, the proliferation of nuclear weapons may also have been substantially responsible for preventing another war on the scale of World War I or World War II. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kinley, D, Ed. Chernobyl's Legacy: Health, Environmental, and Socio-Economic Impacts and
• Recommendations to the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Chernobyl Forum: Vienna, 2006.
• TXU Energy. "Nuclear FAQS." TXUCorp.com. 2008. TXU Energy. 8 June 2008 <http://www.txucorp.com/power/faqs.aspx>.
• United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident."
• United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 2007. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 8 Jun. 2008 <http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html>.

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• Research Paper # 109248 : "Nuclear Weapons and Moral Choices"

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