Fact Sheet Nuclear Power Plant
According to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, 104 commercial nuclear power plants exist in the United States and are responsible for 20 percent of America's energy. These power plants are scattered throughout 31 states at 64 separate sites. More than 70 percent of emission-free electricity in the United States is produced at nuclear power plants.
Global Statistics
Worldwide, more than 400 nuclear power plants produce 16 percent of the world's electrical energy, according to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. These power plants reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 billion metric tons each year.
Radiation
As long as a meltdown does not occur, nuclear power plants do not pose a radiation threat. According to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, living next to a nuclear power plant for 2,000 years would result in the same amount of radiation exposure as getting a single medical X-ray.
How They Work
Nuclear power plants use uranium to generate energy. The process of fission splits uranium atoms and produce energy in the form of heat. This heat boils water that then spins turbines, thus producing electricity.
Countries With Nuclear Power
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, France gets 77 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, and Sweden 52 percent. France produces so much nuclear energy that it exports electricity and makes a profit from it. According to the Nuclear Energy Agency, Belgium gets 54.1 percent of its energy from nuclear power, and the Slovak Republic 54.9 percent. According to the World Nuclear Association, 30 countries use nuclear power plants.
Chernobyl
According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the largest nuclear power plant meltdown was in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26, 1986. A sudden surge of power destroyed the reactor, releasing enormous amounts of radioactive substances. After the Chernobyl accident, an area with an 18-mile radius was deemed off limits to the public, and hundreds of thousands of people eventually were evacuated.
Two workers died within several hours of the explosion, and 134 others suffered severe sickness from radiation poisoning. About 200,000 workers were involved in initial cleanup work and were exposed to radiation. About 4,000 cancer-related deaths are thought to have been a result of direct radiation exposure from the Chernobyl meltdown.
Five million residents lived in the contaminated area, most of whom received very low doses of radiation. Aside from a separate case of children drinking milk contaminated with radioactive iodine, no increases in radiation-related illnesses caused by the Chernobyl accident have been reported in that area.
Nuclear Waste
According to the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, high-level nuclear waste contains highly radioactive elements including strontium, technetium, cesium and neptunium. If this waste is not disposed of properly, it can cause major health problems such as cancer. The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management says that the best way to dispose of radioactive waste is to bury it deep underground in a place also known as a geological repository.
Tags: power plants, nuclear power, Clean Safe, Clean Safe Energy, Energy Coalition
