Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

After more than 50 years of development, enormousgovernment subsidies, and an investment of $2trillion worldwide, these goals have not been met. Instead,by 2002, 441 commercial nuclear reactors in 30countries were producing only 6% of the world’s commercialenergy and 19% of its electricity.Since 1989, electricity production from nuclearpower has increased only slightly and is now theworld’s slowest-growing energy source. According tothe U.S. Department of Energy, the percentage of theworld’s electricity produced by nuclear power will fallto 12% by 2025 because the retirement of aging existingreactors is expected to exceed construction of new ones.No new nuclear power plants have been orderedin the United States since 1978, and all 120 plants orderedsince 1973 have been canceled. In 2004, therewere 103 licensed and operating commercial nuclearpower reactors in 31 states—most in the eastern half ofthe country (Figure 17-25). Is there a nuclear reactor inyour vicinity? These reactors generate about 21% of thecountry’s electricity and 8% of its total energy. This percentageis expected to decline over the next two to threedecades as existing plants wear out and are retired.According to energy analysts and economists,there are several major reasons for the failure of nuclearpower to grow as projected. They include multibilliondollarconstruction cost overruns, higher operatingcosts and more malfunctions than expected, and poormanagement. Two other major setbacks have beenpublic concerns about safety and stricter governmentsafety regulations, especially after the accidents in 1979at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvaniaand in 1986 at Chernobyl (p. 350).Another problem is investor concerns about theeconomic feasibility of nuclear power that take intoaccount the entire nuclear fuel cycle. At Three MileIsland, investors lost over a billion dollars in one hourfrom damaged equipment and repair, even though the1Wash. 11Ore.1Nev.Calif.212IdahoUtah3 Ariz.Mont.Wyo.1Colo.N.M.N.H.MaineVt.N.D.1Minn.11 11 Mass.11 21 1Wis. 1N.Y. 1S.D.21 R.I.21Mich.1 222Conn.2 1 1 1 Pa. 1 1Iowa 22 1 21222 1 1 N.J.Neb. 12 2 1 Ohio2Ind.2Del.12Ill.12W.Va. Md.Va.2Kan. 1 1Mo.Ky.121N.C.Tenn.2 32 2Okla. 21 1Ark.S.C.32Ga.Miss. Ala.221La.2Texas1 1 1Alaska2Fla.22HawaiiReactors1 Operational Yucca Mountain high-level1 Decommissioned nuclear waste storage siteFigure 17-25 Locations of the United States’ 103 operating commercial nuclear power plant reactors, 14 decommissionedreactors (with highly radioactive used fuel stored on site), and the recently approved site inNevada for storage of highly radioactive used fuel from operating and decommissioned nuclear reactors.Numbers refer to the number of reactors at each nuclear power plant site. There are at least 30 other sites(mostly in the West) containing high-level nuclear wastes produced mostly by making nuclear weapons that willalso ship wastes to Nevada’s Yucca Mountain underground storage site. (Data from U.S. Nuclear RegulatoryCommission and U.S. Department of Energy)http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14369