Question

Is nuclear energy clean?

Answer 1

Hint: Recall that nuclear energy is essentially produced in nuclear power plants that employ processes of incessant and controlled nuclear fission and nuclear decay and exothermically produce heat that can be used to heat water and run steam turbines to produce electricity. In such a case, determine the emissive products of such processes and the risks they may or may not pose to the environment. To this end, arrive at a stance determining the relative cleanliness of nuclear energy in comparison with other energy sources.

Complete answer:
Nuclear energy is the energy released when processes that affect the atomic nuclei, such as nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and nuclear decay are carried out. Presently, a vast majority of nuclear energy is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium and the heat released in this process is used to power steam turbines to produce electricity.
Like all energy sources, nuclear energy has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Since the energy is produced via fission rather than chemical burning of fossil fuels, there is zero carbon emission, and hence there are no greenhouse gases formed and hence do not contribute to global warming. But nuclear power plants release greenhouse gases from the ancillary use of fossil fuels during their construction, mining and maintenance, just like any other energy power plant.
Nuclear energy is a reliable source of energy since it is always available and produced all day every day, contrary to other plants where the sun might not always shine, or the wind might now always blow, or sufficient water might not always fall through the turbines. But this means that there is a lot of radioactive waste that is produced, which remains active for hundreds and thousands of years. Additionally, nuclear power plants usually use water cooling systems to prevent overheating. This water is drawn from oceans and rivers. Once the power plant is cooled, the water which is now about 25 degrees warmer is returned back. The warmer water becomes unsuitable for many fish and aquatic plant life, eventually killing them.
Lastly, nuclear energy releases less radiation into the environment than any other major energy source, since it does not produce any fly ash. But the risk of nuclear power plant accidents runs high since any serious leaks can have threatening ecological consequences. This in turn raises the operating costs of nuclear power plants.
It is thus impossible to say whether nuclear power is ecological or not just by itself. But nuclear power is a relatively clean source of energy since it practically emits no carbon dioxide compared to other energy sources and is one of the least harmful energy sources from a climactic point of view, provided proper radiation care is taken.

Note:
It is essential to understand that no source of energy is 100% clean or ecological. Even if the production process may entail zero emission of harmful gases or particles, the processes of construction, maintenance and transportation directly or indirectly contribute towards harming the environment. Nuclear energy might be the cleanest energy source, but it is also by far, the riskiest source of energy since radioactive accidents and serious contaminations may completely wipe out large populations or cause harmful diseases for generations, as history has seen in the case of the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters.