The environmental impact of nuclear power results from the nuclear fuel cycle, operation, and the effects of nuclear accidents.
The routine health risks and greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear fission power are small relative to those associated with coal, oil and gas and comparable to hydro power. As with hydro power, there is a "catastrophic risk" potential if containment fails, which in nuclear reactors can be brought about by over-heated fuels melting and releasing large quantities of fission products into the environment. The public is sensitive to these risks and there has been considerable public opposition to nuclear power.
The 1979 Three Mile Island accident and 1986 Chernobyl disaster, along with high construction costs, ended the rapid growth of global nuclear power capacity. A further disastrous release of radioactive materials followed the 2011 Japanese tsunami which damaged the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in hydrogen gas explosions and partial meltdowns classified as a Level 7 event. The large scale release of radioactivity resulted in people being evacuated from a 20 km exclusion zone set up around the power plant, similar to the 30 km radius Chernobyl Exclusion Zone still in effect.
Read more about Environmental Impact Of Nuclear Power: Waste Streams, Environmental Effects of Accidents, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Decommissioning
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