This presentation discusses the positive and negative aspects of nuclear energy. The positive points are that it reduces pollution compared to fossil fuels, is reliable since it is not affected by fuel shortages, and is safe with various fail safes to prevent accidents. The downsides include potential meltdowns if cooling is lost, radiation exposure, and challenges with long-term waste storage and transportation. The future of nuclear energy could see one new reactor starting up every 5 days by 2015, and scientists are working on nuclear fusion. Technical communicators play an important role in the nuclear field by educating the public.

1. Nuclear Energy – Presentation 3 7 December 2009 Tyler Bowers Amanda Lavergne Michael Sadler Leticia Sandoval

2. Positive Points to Nuclear Energy10 Reduced Pollution – The demand for electricity continues to rise, which increases the use of non-renewable fossil fuels significantly. Burning coal emits more pollution than nuclear reactors. Reliability – Reactors run on less fuel, which means strikes and shortages won’t affect them as intensely as other energy sources. Natural uranium deposits are fairly evenly distributed across the globe. Safety – Despite public fears, nuclear energy remains one of the safest ways to produce energy. Many fail safes to prevent meltdowns and accidents. Current safety designs and specifications ensure survival of reactors from earthquakes and airline crashes.

3. Downsides to Nuclear Energy Meltdown11 - The loss of coolant water in a fission reactor could cause fuel rods to overheat, causing the uranium fuel pellets to dissolve, thus leaving the fuel exposed. Radiation12 - If all power came from nuclear plants, humans would receive an extra 2/10 of a millirem a year. Cancer, radiation sickness, and genetic mutation, the three major effects of radiation, are nearly untraceable at levels below about 50 rems. Waste Disposal11 - The byproducts of the uranium fission process remains radioactive for thousands of years. Storage facilities are not sufficient to store the world’s nuclear waste, which limits the amount of nuclear fuel that can be used per year. Transportation of the waste is risky, as many unknown variables may affect the containment vessels.

4. The Future of the Nuclear Industry On average, one new nuclear reactor started up every 17 days in the 1980’s. By the year 2015, this rate could increase to one reactor start up every 5 days13. Scientists are working diligently to replicate the fusion process14. Those in the nuclear industry are focused on educating and informing the public to ease concerns regarding the safety of nuclear energy production. Technical communicators are a critical part of the nuclear field. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt9a3PMVcE0

5. References 1http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf01.html 2http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf34.html 3http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41.html 4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EIA2007_f4.jpg 5http://www.ne.doe.gov/pdfFiles/History.pdf 6http://www.icjt.org/an/tech/zgod/zgod.htm 7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power 8http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/intro.html 9http://nuclearinfo.net/Nuclearpower/WebHomeCostOfNuclearPower 10http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/myths/ 11http://nirs.org/nukerelapse/background/toptenreasons.htm 12http://www.lbl.gov/abc/wallchart/chapters/appendix/appendixd.htmlbr />13http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf17.html 14https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/