Questions & Answers

This page is maintained by the University of Texas at Austin ANS student chapter. Be sure to visit our homepage if you have not already done so. You may request answers to questions not addressed here via email (UT-ANS) or through the national 1-800-NUCLEUS phone number.

Nuclear Energy's Importance

  • How important is it to have more energy- and more electricity?
  • Do we really need nuclear power to generate electricity?
  • Can we rely on other energy sources such as solar and wind power?

    Costs of Nuclear Energy

  • How does the cost of nuclear power compare with that of other sources?
  • Won't better energy management of the electricity now available reduce and postpone the need for new power plants?
  • What effect will the disposal of spent fuel and decommissioning of nuclear plants have on the price of electricity?
  • What happens to the price of electricity when any new plant is built?

    Radiation

  • What is radiation and how are we exposed to it?
  • What are the health effects of radiation?
  • How much radiation do I get from nuclear power plants?
  • What guidelines are followed for the release of radioactivity from nuclear plants?
  • What measures do U.S nuclear plants take to be certain they are having minimal effects on the environment?
  • How do we know how much radioactivity is released from a nuclear plant if an accident happens?
  • What is the risk to the public from radioactivity released during nuclear plant operations?

    Safety

  • How good is the safety record of nuclear plants?
  • What actually caused the accident at Chernobyl?
  • How are U.S. reactors different from the reactor at Chernobyl?
  • What would be the effect of a Chernobyl-type accident if it occurred in the U.S?
  • What are the health impacts of Chernobyl?
  • Why are nuclear plants located near large cities?
  • How is the public protected from potential hazards of operating nuclear power plants?
  • How are nuclear plants licensed and regulated?
  • How would an earthquake affect a nuclear power plant?
  • What was learned from the accident at Three Mile Island?
  • Is sabotage of a nuclear plant likely?

    Risks and Benefits

  • Are the risks involved with nuclear power more or less than other risks in our lives?
  • How is the pubilc protected by insurance covering personal injury or property loss that might result from nuclear accidents?
  • Are benefits of nuclear worth the risks?
  • What other uses are there for nuclear?
  • Why hasn't the waste disposal question been resolved before now?

    Nuclear Waste and Transportation

  • How much nuclear waste is there?
  • What are low-level wastes and how are they disposed of?
  • What happens to nuclear fuel that comes out of a reactor?
  • Why are nuclear wastes transported and how are risks avoided?
  • How are nuclear material shipments regulated?
  • Will radioactive waste hazards be left as a "legacy" for future generations?
  • What is our responsibility concerning nuclear energy?

    References

  • References

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