Dear readers,
I know I have posted previously opposing to nuclear power. This post is to support nuclear power. This is provide a different point of view. :)
And here it is:
I stand here today to convince all of you that nuclear power definitely have a future, as it is very safe. I am here to convince you that modern nuclear plants are no longer using the outdated design, and thus would be much safer. I know many of you would bring up the examples of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and the recent Fukushima accidents. However, I want to make it clear that these are just exceptions and should not be used as excuses to reject nuclear energy. If we fall down, do we not stand up again? We should learn from these mistakes and design safer models for nuclear plants, and not just give up so easily.
The Three Mile Island accident which happened in the United States was all caused by failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve (PORV) in the primary system. This made large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. The plant operators, due to a lack of adequate training, did not realise that there was a loss of coolant. In fact, they thought that there was too much coolant water in the reactor. Therefore, the tragedy happened.
The Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine happened during a test. The test was complicated, but they were trained enough to perform it. At that time, another power plant on the circuit went down, so Chernobyl was producing more power than usual. The day staff did not perform the test, but no one told the night staff not to do so, and thus they did. That was when things started to get out of control, and the emergency shutdown mechanism failed, thus leading to the disaster that happened. In this case, the problem can be said to be caused by a lack of communication to inform them that Chernobyl was producing more power on that day and it was more risky to perform the test.
The Fukushima Daichii nuclear disaster was all caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which caused many disorders and the subsequent meltdown. This is an extremely rare case, and does not happen most of the times. However, by improving technology, we can improve the designs of nuclear power plants to make them less susceptible to such events. Moreover, thousands and thousands of people have died, entire towns have been destroyed and none of that was because of the nuclear problems. Therefore, this shows that everybody is just being too paranoid about nuclear energy production.
Moreover, we should also look at success stories. In France, nuclear power accounts for more than three-quarters of all electricity, and in six other countries, it’s 40 percent or more. France is a country which has been using nuclear energy for a very long time now and does not have any major accidents so far. This shows that nuclear power is not necessarily dangerous.
Therefore, in my opinion, new nuclear plants would not be as vulnerable to accidents as mentioned above. We have to ensure that the plant operators have to be properly trained before allowing them to enter the industry, and also ensure that there is better communication among workers in the nuclear plant. With modern technology, better training for workers and better communication, I believe that the nuclear power would definitely have a future.
Other than the increasing safety of nuclear power, nuclear power is cheaper than oil too. Oil prices have been increasing and oil is extremely expensive now. It was already nearly $60 in 2005, and has increased to more than $80 recently. I strongly believe that the prices would continue to rise, since demand is continually increasing. The only way to make the prices drop, is to decrease its demand. And one good way is to start using nuclear energy. This can largely decrease the price of oil and make it more affordable for everyone. Moreover, although nuclear power stations are hugely expensive to build, it is very cheap to run. Therefore, I have a vision that countries all around the world would start using nuclear energy, and there is a future for nuclear power.
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In my opinion, I disagree that nuclear power would be viable in Singapore to a large extent. Your point on the success stories for other countries, like France, is a little shaky, as it is not a matter of if an accident is going to take place. It is when. The root cause of nuclear disasters is that humans cannot understand the uncountable types of disasters, and they can never be prepared for all of them.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you improve security measures, mother nature will catch up one day, as seen from the rapidly changing severity of natural disasters such as the Japanese 9.0 magnitude quake.
I know you have already mentioned the severity of a nuclear disaster in case of an accident, so I shall not mention that. However, I would like to raise one more point.
According to researches carried out near nuclear plants, nuclear power plants not only pollute the environment, but is continuously discharging a small amount of radiation, which makes people living near them have an increased risk of cancer.
I think the government should think twice if they were to build a nuclear power plant in Singapore, or we might have an increased chance of getting cancer too, as Singapore does not really have enough space to separate citizens from nuclear power plants.
Regards,
Nicholas(2I122)
Dear Kee Xuan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say about the importance of nuclear plants.
Nuclear plants can provide one with an unlimited source of energy, perfect for use! As long as controlled properly, I am sure a nuclear plant will have no problems generating electricity safely. People have quoted examples of mass destruction, such as Chernobyl, or the recent events at Fukushima. People who are opposed to the use of nuclear power can only look up to these few incidents. However, I would like to ask: If we fail, do we not try again? If we fall down, do we not get up? We cannot let a few failures ruin a special industry with limitless potential to generate power, for the convenience and comfort of mankind.
Wen Hong
Hi Kee Xuan,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you. Nuclear energy is a effective way of harnessing energy to provide energy to the masses, and there is indeed a huge potential too. However, there may be risks at time too, for example the Hiroshima incident that happened, and thus in my opinion, nuclear plants should be built at areas which have a lower natural disaster rate or should be built to withstand these disasters, and only then do I feel that it is feasible to use nuclear energy as the other factor such as safety as well as training of workers have been taken of. As for the hiroshima incident, people could learn from the mistakes and create a better nuclear plant.
Gordon