IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457)

Individual Report
Component 2
Y9-10

Candidate Name: Deevesh Sunil Adwani

Candidate Number: 0244

Topic: Biodiversity and ecosystem loss

Research question: Have the damages caused by nuclear

power plants on our ecosystem far outweighed their benefits
to mankind?

Word Count: 2000

Introduction

“A nuclear power plant is a type of power plant that uses nuclear fission to help
generate electricity.” Nuclear fission is the splitting of large nuclei, in this case,
uranium-235, which helps create electricity. The waste of these nuclear power plants
and reactors are poisoning the water, air and lands with large numbers of nuclear
waste. A lot of this harm is usually inflicted on people of colour, indigenous or
low-income white communities and various other animals (“NIRS", 2021) which shows
injustice and clearly shows that this is a global issue.

Cons of nuclear power plants

Nuclear power plants and reactors produce radioactive waste which is a big concern in
regards to the environment due to the fact that the waste can remain radioactive for
thousands of years (“U.S. Energy Information Administration", 2020). Not only does
radioactive waste pose a threat to humans, but it also poses a major threat to animals.
Even though most animals can respond to radioactivity better than humans can, it still
can be very harmful to animals. Some side effects of radioactivity on animals are
diarrhoea, vomiting, cancer, internal bleeding, anaemia, exhaustion, permanent
sterilization and in some cases, death (Brennan, 2017). This is not the full list of side
effects as there are many more in an unfortunate case of a reactor or even a power
plant disaster. In case of a meltdown, a nuclear reactor would generally explode and
toxic nuclear fuel could be potentially released into the atmosphere rendering the
surroundings uninhabitable for thousands of years, just like Chernobyl. While nuclear
energy itself can be considered renewable, the substances used, specifically uranium,
isn’t renewable and is a finite material (Morse, 2013) meaning that one day there is a
possibility that we will run out of uranium which means nuclear energy won’t be able to
be produced anymore. With that, the question of how much uranium do we have left
arises.

Pros of nuclear power plants

On the other hand, nuclear energy produces way fewer carbon emissions which can
help combat global warming. Using nuclear energy helps us avoid “470 million metric
tons of carbon” which are the same as “removing 100 million cars from the roads”,
("Various Pros, Cons of Nuclear Energy", n.d.), which would be a major help to counter
global warming and try and save the earth while we still can. Out of all the ways we can
get energy, nuclear is one of the ways which is least harmful to the earth as it doesn’t
release toxic gasses such as carbon dioxide and methane. According to the WNA
(World Nuclear Association), the average carbon emissions for nuclear energy is 29
tonnes/GWH (per giga-watt hour) compared to wind energy with 26 tonnes/GWH, solar
energy with 85 tonnes/GWH, and coal with 888 tonnes/GWH (McIntyre, Berg, Seto &
Borchardt, n.d.), according to those stats, only wind energy produces fewer carbon
emissions but there is a big problem which is that we cannot control the wind so for
example on less windy days, there might not be enough energy for a city or even a
country which could be a major problem.

As of 2019, the world still has 6,147,800 tonnes of uranium ("Uranium Supplies: Supply
of Uranium - World Nuclear Association", 2020) and it is predicted that with the current
rate of utilization of uranium, we have enough uranium for another 70-80 years. While
uranium isn’t renewable, it's predicted we will have enough for up to 80 years whereas
fossil fuels have a much shorter expected lifespan. “The world is estimated to run out of
oil by 2052, gas in 2060, and coal in 2088”("Various Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy",
n.d.). Nuclear energy also has economical benefits, according to NEI (Nuclear Energy
Institution), each nuclear plant generates around 500-1000 permanent jobs and also
thousands more for the construction of the power plant and most nuclear sites have at
least 2 power plants compared to 90 jobs for a coal plant and 50 jobs for a natural gas
plant (Nuclear fuel- Nuclear Energy Institution, 2020). Each nuclear power plant brings
around 500 million US dollars per year and more workers mean more money can be
spent ("Various Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy", n.d.).

When has having a nuclear powerplant backfired?

There have been a couple of times when having a nuclear power plant has backfired.
One of the occasions would have to be when the 4th reactor in the Chernobyl power
plant famously exploded on April 26, 1986, near the city of Pripyat located in the north
of the Ukraine SSR. The disaster was a consequence of the lack of any safety
measures. ("Chernobyl Disaster - World Nuclear Association'', 2020). According to the
official death toll, this disaster caused 31 immediate deaths and later in 2005, the United
Nations predicted that another 4,000 might die due to the radiation exposure caused by
Chernobyl. A report from the Russian Academy of Sciences states that there could’ve
been up to 830,000 people on the cleanup crew and an estimated 15% or
112,000-125,000 people had died by 2005(Gray, 2019). Another occasion where having
a nuclear power plant has backfired is the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident was the result of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that
caused a tsunami with waves recorded at heights of 30 feet. The tsunami damaged the
backup generators. Even though all reactors were successfully shut down, the cooling
systems failed due to the lack of power and in turn, the heat started to increase. On
March 12, March 14 and March 15 explosions happened in the three reactors due to the
buildup of pressurized hydrogen gas. ("Fukushima accident'', 2021). There were no
direct deaths as a result of the explosions nevertheless 16 people suffered injuries.
("Fukushima disaster", 2021).

Global Perspectives

Currently, there are only 32 countries in the world that possess nuclear power plants,
most of which are in Europe, North America, South and East Asia. There are many
reasons why many countries don't currently own power plants, the main one being that
it's simply too expensive.

Countries that are pro-nuclear power, such as the US, Canada and many others say
that nuclear power is essential as they strive to lower carbon emissions and to take a
stance against climate change. The United States government website also mentions
that they are pro-nuclear power as it can help enhance national security. ("Nuclear",
2021)

The IAEA is an autonomous international organization within the United Nations system.
Without significantly increasing the use of nuclear power worldwide, it will be difficult to
achieve the goal of reducing harmful emissions and fighting climate change, the head of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ("Ramp up nuclear power to beat
climate change, says UN nuclear chief", 2019). This shows that the UN are in support of
nuclear energy as it can help combat climate change in the way that is needed.

However, Greenpeace has a different opinion.“Nuclear energy has no place in a safe,

clean, sustainable future. Nuclear energy is both expensive and dangerous, and just
because nuclear pollution is invisible doesn’t mean it’s clean. Renewable energy is
better for the environment, the economy, and doesn’t come with the risk of a nuclear
meltdown.” Greenpeace also mentions that they feel that the potentially catastrophic
risks far outweigh the benefits that nuclear power offers. ("Nuclear Energy", n.d.)

National Perspective

According to the Indonesian Kementerian PPN/Bappenas (Ministry of VAT/National

Development Planning Agency) website, an article written by Hanan Nugroho mentions
that Indonesia, unlike Greenpeace, is pro-nuclear power and is a part of the IAEA.
However, Indonesia is currently home to 0 nuclear power plants due to “unproductive
debates,” which are delaying the start of construction of Indonesia’s first-ever nuclear
power plant.

The Indonesian government states on their website that, “The development of nuclear
power would be the best answer to overcome this severe long-term problem which is
already holding back the economy.” Nuclear power will soon become a necessity to
Indonesia as some islands, such as Java, need to start being independent for their
energy supplies. (Nugroho, 2010)

The Indonesian national electricity company, PLN, maintains that nuclear power should
remain the last resort for electricity obtainment, only to be considered when renewable
energy sources fail to meet the desired target of 23 per cent by 2025. It’s very clear in
their statements that nuclear energy will be the last option, he told The Jakarta Post. But
even if it is the last option, we have to be ready. (Salim & Singgih, 2017)

Greenpeace Asia Tenggara’s climate change and energy head Tata Mustafa showed his
rejection of nuclear energy, stressing that the country needed to focus on the
development of other renewable energy resources. “The potential of solar energy is 207
gigawatts (GW), while the potential of wind farm energy reached 66 GW,” he said as
quoted by kontan.co.id, adding that he doubted the safety of nuclear energy, particularly
because of the country’s position on the Ring of Fire that was frequently hit by
earthquakes. ("Jakarta Post", 2019)

Course of action
At Hiroshima and Fukushima, the failures occurred when the reactors failed when the
plants could no longer keep the reactors cool enough. “Luckily, the next generation of
reactors could provide the answer. With more in-built safety systems and a way to
recycle old fuel, they are set to make nuclear power safer and, probably, cheaper.” The
new modern reactors prevent overheating even if some systems fail, through to
so-called “core catchers” that would contain the reactor core in a worst-case meltdown
situation. (Fitzpatrick, 2017) I believe all reactors worldwide should be replaced with
these new modern reactors which would drastically increase safety although they won’t
be cheap; however, in the long run, they could prove to be cheaper as more and more
power plants are produced.

Some countries, such as the U.K. have high standards of safety as mentioned on the
EDF Energy website. Their website mentions they practise something called “safety
redundancy”, which means they rely on multiple systems that allow us to shut the
reactors down, so they don’t rely on a single system. They also have diesel generators
and gas turbines on-site if they lose all external power to the site. They also regularly
and rigorously train and retrain all their employees so that the safety systems and
procedures are always fresh in the employee’s minds. ("Is nuclear power safe?", n.d.)

Evaluation of sources

Throughout this report, I have taken information from various sources. I have used
sources such as National Geographic, BBC, Britannica, Greenpeace, The Conversation
and others including a few government websites. I believe some websites such as the
IAEA may have a bias as they are the main advocates for nuclear power and hence
they wouldn’t say anything to discourage people from it. Most sources I have used are
fairly recent however I have taken information from a few sources that date up to 16
years back. Overall the majority of my information was extracted from credible sources
and are not influenced by opinion.

Personal Perspective & Conclusion

Going back to my research question, I personally do not think that the damages caused
by nuclear power plants far outweigh their benefits to mankind. In this report, I have
mentioned the benefits, consequences, statistics and courses of action that could be
implemented worldwide. I feel nuclear power will become a necessity in the future as
the earth’s supply of non-renewable energy will slowly deplete. As more safety
measures are incorporated over the years, I feel more people will start accepting
nuclear power as an energy alternative.

In conclusion, the damages caused by nuclear power plants on our ecosystem far
outweighed their benefits to mankind is a highly debatable answer. John C. Maxwell
once said “there is no success without failure,” and I believe that Chernobyl and
Fukushima were the two failures that will guide nuclear energy to succeed.
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