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Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Environmental Impact

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Rodney C. Ewing
Rodney C. Ewing
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, USA

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Every energy source has environmental impacts—positive and negative. Nuclear power is a carbon-free source of energy that can reduce CO2 emissions by displacing the use of fossil fuels. The present level of carbon displacement is approximately 0.5 gigatonnes of carbon per year (GtC/year), compared to the nearly 8 GtC/year emitted by the use of fossil fuels. However, there are three major negative environmental impacts of nuclear power: catastrophic accidents, nuclear weapons, and nuclear waste. The last two, weapons and waste, are directly tied to the type of nuclear fuel cycle (Figure 4 in the main nuclear article by Raj et al. in this issue). The different fuel cycles refect different strategies for the utilization of fssile nuclides, mainly 235U and 239Pu, and these different strategies have important implications for nuclear waste management and nuclear weapons proliferation.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 33 , Issue 4: Harnessing Materials for Energy , April 2008, pp. 338 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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