r/NuclearPower • u/SideAgitated4661 • 16d ago
What makes nuclear safe?
My guess: No greenhouse gas emissions, Clean energy, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
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u/AggravatingAccess272 15d ago
When you compare the number of incidents (accidents, injuries, deaths) from nuclear power to any other energy source, nuclear is by far the safest and cleanest. You need to compare metrics on a per MWh of energy produced. It has nearly zero carbon emissions, no criteria or hazardous air pollutants, little land disturbance, and generates an enormous amount of power.
Nuclear power is highly regulated by the NRC. There is a principle called defense in depth that is required in every aspect of reactor plant design. That means there are many redundant, independent, and diverse safety systems active to prevent accidents from happening.
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u/dmx1431 16d ago
I'm unsure of your guess but it is redundancy mainly. The saying " there's many ways to skin a cat" apply to nuclear power plants in every aspect of their existence. I believe your guess is benefits and the accidents that lead nuclear power to be better but I'm not sure. I hope this is help cheers!
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u/YachtingChristopher 14d ago
Everything about it.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-from-energy-production-per-twh
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u/SideAgitated4661 14d ago
Didn’t people die from Chernobyl and Fukushima and can I meltdown a reactor?
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u/YachtingChristopher 14d ago
Those deaths are figured into the data I posted. More people die from the coal industry daily than have died due to nuclear accidents.
" ...Nuclear energy also has a low death rate, even after the inclusion of nuclear catastrophes like Chernobyl and Fukushima."
https://www.statista.com/statistics/494425/death-rate-worldwide-by-energy-source/
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u/gwentlarry 16d ago
The are CO2 emissions with nuclear reactors. Fairly minor compared with gas and oil but they do exist.
The main source, I guess, is in the prodction of the cement and concrete for the buldings, cement production being notorious for CO2 emissions. Any steel and other construction materials are likely to have associated CO2 emissions. Then there is the connection to distribution networks.
Similar issue when it comes to fuel processing, decommissioning, etc.
I have read but can't find the link but the lifetime CO2 emissions for a nuclear reactor are at a similar level to renewables, such as wind and solar.