Is the Generation of Nuclear Energy Sustainable?

From all accounts I have read, the world is nearing an energy crisis. Oil supply has peaked, compelling oil companies to last-resort, environmentally-disastrous measures, such as steam blasting bitumen out of the Canadian oil sands. Water supply is of increasing concern. National Geographic’s April 2010 edition focused on dwindling sources of clean water, and The Economist is poised to follow suit next week with a special report on water…”finite, vital, much wanted, little understood.” http://www.economist.com (print edition for week of May 15th-21st 2010). Despite its toxic profile, nuclear energy is increasingly at the top of many countries’ energy agendas.



But is it sustainable?

The trouble with nuclear is that every step in its production chain is severely toxic to wildlife and human life. From the uranium fuels nuclear generators to the water-intensive cooling towers used at the power plant, and from the disposal of spent uranium to the ultimate decommissioning of the plant, nuclear business is deadly business.

This is a topic worth exploring in detail. As a starting point, let’s take the first step in the process of nuclear fuel cycle – uranium mining. Uranium is a radioactive material that fuels nuclear power plants. Uranium mines operate in 70 different countries, with a majority of operations in developing countries, where hazardous waste regulations are relatively lax. http://www-nfcis.iaea.org/UDEPO (registration required).

The uranium mining process unsheathes high concentrations of radioactive elements and other elements that can wreak havoc on people’s health near the mines. These elements include uranium decay products such as radon, thorium-230 and radium-226, as well as heavy metals (copper, manganese and cadmium) and poisons including arsenic. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to these materials has been linked to cancer, leukemia, birth defects and genetic mutations. www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/understand/health_effects.html.

One detailed example of how a uranium mine has poisoned human habitat is featured in Greenpeace’s recent report titled, “Left in the dust: AREVA’s radioactive legacy in the desert towns of Niger.” www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/Left-in-the-dust/. This report leaves the reader begging the question, “Why? Why nuclear?” For those of us who engage our elected officials on the topic of energy, and certainly for our elected officials, this report should be recommended reading.

More of the nuclear fuel cycle could be explored, but the basic point is this. Before we choose nuclear—whose fuel cycle is proven to be disastrous to human health—it is vital that we exhaust all other options. The ongoing health and sustainability of humankind depends on such well-reasoned policy choices.