Does nuclear energy still have a part to play in the world?

Nuclear energy leakage from a nuclear plant had an important part to play in the recent disaster that struck Japan, and it also had to be held responsible for the pandemonium caused in the past few decades, namely the Three Island in 1979 and Chernobyl 1985. Nuclear disasters wreaked havoc and caused chaos in the economy flourishing Japan, resulting in a huge calamity of innocent lives and the plummet of Japan’s economy. However, though nuclear energy seemed dangerous and a precarious time bomb that may explode anytime, yet it still could be a very useful tool that aids us in everyday lives, thus the benefits and harms done by the usage of these useful and dangerous energy source is greatly dependent on the owner himself.

Nuclear material has a number of useful properties, including the smoke detectors. The research industry also uses radioactive waste in projects to discover information about the subatomic or otherwise undetectable parts of their project. The medical profession uses radioactive waste from nuclear plants in a large number of applications: X-rays, detection of cancer, fighting cancer, magnetic resonance imagining and thyroid treatment. Low-level radioactive waste however, could be developed and used in the production of clothing, hand tools and in water purifying resins.

Nuclear energy, after all these advanced and high-technology examples given, seemed to be very attractive and an indispensible daily necessity, or perhaps in the medical point of view. Yet, if the owner misuses it, it could be the most disastrous weapon ever on earth, for instance, the nuclear bomb, releasing a destructive force of approximately 10,000,000 tons of TNT, is definitely sufficient to cause devastation in any medium-sized country, using blast, fire and the aftermath effect – radiation, which could cause numerous diseases such as the fatal skin cancer.

Nevertheless, it is a source of power for nuclear plants to produce electricity in a much greener way, reducing the emission of the vast amount of toxic gases such as carbon dioxide and monoxide. Though efficient, decreasing the greenhouse effects and decelerating the rate of global warming, it is a ticking bomb and could shatter a country simply with any overwhelming force such as the natural disasters in Japan recently.

As the saying goes, better safe than sorry, in my point of view, although electricity is vital for a country’s growth and development, it is not compulsory just for living a simple life, therefore I feel that nuclear plants still have a part to play in the world, yet it is not a necessity in certain perspectives!