Do you like nuclear energy as an electricity source? Do you think nuclear energy should be used knowing it generates radioactive waste? Do you think nuclear energy is worth the consequences it has for the environment? I would suggest an informed answer to these questions by educated individuals would in fact be an emphatic yes, even if in a limited sense, and here is why.
If you think solar or wind energy is the right way to go and so avoid the use of coal, natural gas and oil, keep in mind that all of these originally obtained their energy from nuclear reactions in the sun (fossil fuels simply obtained this energy a very long time ago). That massive nuclear reactor in the sky is a daily reminder of nuclear energy (of the kind that happens to also be found in thermonuclear weapons). The sun converts most of this energy into gamma rays and a portion of it eventually comes out as visible light. Solar and wind energy is just one of many ways to further convert this nuclear energy into electricity. The same argument then obviously applies to biomass and hydro power.
You might be tempted to think that geothermal energy is not from a nuclear source, as this energy draws heat from the Earth’s core. Given the age of the Earth, it is not too difficult to show that the heat in the Earth’s core is not from its gravitational formation but rather from radioactive decay of the ubiquitous radionuclides including uranium, thorium, radium and potassium. So in a rather literal sense, all energy is just one form or another of converting nuclear reactions into useful energy.
As a result of the ubiquitous radionuclides that have been present since the Earth’s formation, along with those created by cosmic ray bombardment from outer space, everything on our planet is effectively radioactive (and yes, that includes you, the air you breathe, the food you eat and the water you drink). The waste created by making solar panels or wind turbines, maintaining them and their eventual disposal is, therefore, technically radioactive (although at background levels similar to the environment). There is clearly a massive difference in scale for the different metrics of waste and associated measures for energy generation. One key point is that these values are all relative.
So, any waste form from an energy source could be looked at as a kind of nuclear waste if it is recognized that it is both radioactive and is generated at some point in the process of converting energy from nuclear reactions into useful energy. Although that would be a pretty loose definition, it is still accurate. So, any current energy form we could now use to produce electricity originated in some way or another from nuclear reactions. Given these things, if you support electricity use, you do support nuclear energy to at least some extent, along with its effects on the environment, including its waste.
Robert Hayes is an associate professor of nuclear engineering.
