Nuclear Energy and the Environment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nuclear Energy and the Environment - Article Example It is worth mentioning that the government of the US, both at Federal and State levels, has formulated and implemented few regulations in order to protect the environment from the lethal consequences of nuclear energy production. The US had 104 commercial nuclear reactors located in different regions of the country, which supplies nearly 20% of its total electricity requirements. However, it cannot be denied that the radioactive emissions released during the process of nuclear energy production are indeed life-threatening, accompanied with water pollution and air pollution, often accounted for causing early aging and cancer like diseases. It other words, radioactive emissions seriously disrupt the overall balance of the ecosystem. The threat associated with the nuclear fission reaction, in terms of radioactive emissions has not been limited to the US only but has emerged as a serious problem across the globe. The recent incidents in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plan t that occurred in March 2011, owing to the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, have extensively raised questions regarding the environmental safety of nuclear plants. This particular occurrence in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has underscored many of the safety arguments advocated against establishing a nuclear plant. It can be number of incidents where environment and lives of human beings were under severe threat due to the nuclear disaster before the accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant occurred... However, it cannot be denied that the radioactive emissions released during the process of nuclear energy production are indeed life-threatening, accompanied with water pollution and air pollution, often accounted for causing early aging and cancer like diseases. It other words, radioactive emissions seriously disrupt the overall balance of eco-system2. The threat associated with the nuclear fission reaction, in terms of radioactive emissions has not been limited to the US only, but has emerged as a serious problem across the globe. The recent incidents in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that occurred in March 2011, owing to the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami,  have extensively raised questions regarding the environment safety of nuclear plants. This particular occurrence in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has underscored many of the safety arguments advocated against establishing a nuclear plant3. It can be number of incidents where environment and lives of human beings were under severe threat due to the nuclear disaster, before the accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant occurred. The US has also witnessed nuclear disaster over the last decades. Accordingly, it has been ascertained that the nuclear power plant have laid significant impacts on the nearby areas in the form of water pollution, air pollution and radioactive waste generation4. DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT IN CALIFORNIA AND ENVIRONMENT Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) is a nuclear power plant located at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo region of California in USA. This plant generates nuclear energy to meet the electricity demand for millions of customers. DCPP supplies nearly 9.3% of California’s