Nuclear Power Means Clean Air

Tag : living plant

(NAPSI)-A growing number of people, particularly environmentalists,are taking a second look at nuclear power as a clean, sustainableand safe source of electricity that can significantly reduce globalwarming, pollution and energy dependence-and meet ourever-increasing demand for energy.
One woman, a staunch environmentalist and skeptic about nuclearpower, made it her mission to find out the truth about this energysource. Gwyneth Cravens spent nearly a decade immersing herself inthe subject.
“When I began my research, I had assumed we had many choicesin the way we made electricity, but we don’t,” saysCravens, author of “Power to Save the World: The Truth AboutNuclear Energy.” “Wind and solar have a role to play,but nuclear is the only large-scale, non-greenhouse-gas-emittingsource of electricity that can be considerably expanded whilemaintaining only a small environmental footprint. About 20 percentof our electricity comes from nuclear power, but about 75 percentcomes from plants burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and naturalgas. In contrast, nuclear plants do not burn anything nor do theyemit harmful, heat-trapping gases into our atmosphere andpollutants that kill 24,000 Americans annually.”
Despite these facts, a 2007 survey found that fewer than half ofAmericans strongly associate nuclear power with clean air. Manymisperceptions and fears persist. Here are a few of the most commonmyths and facts:
Myth: The “smoke” coming from nuclear plants is harmfulto health and the environment.
Fact: The “smoke” that people see coming out of nuclearpower plant cooling towers is water vapor like you see when youbreathe out on a cold day.
Myth: Living near a nuclear plant is dangerous due to radiationcontamination.
Fact: A little-known fact is that natural background radiation fromrocks, soil and water is around us all the time. In fact, a personliving within 50 miles of a nuclear plant receives less radiationfrom it in a year than from eating one banana. In addition, surveyshave shown there is no increase in radiological-induced cancer inpeople living near nuclear facilities.
Myth: Nuclear energy is not safe.
Fact: All U.S. nuclear plants-for example, Indian Point EnergyCenter in Buchanan, N.Y.-are regulated by the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission (NRC) and are designed with numerous safety systems,each with multiple, redundant components-first to prevent accidentsand second to minimize accidents should they occur. In the 40-yearhistory of the industry, there has never been a death or injury toany member of the public due to an accident at a U.S. nuclear powerplant.
Nuclear power is seen by many as a safe, clean-air solution toAmerica’s growing energy needs.


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