Pros and Cons

1) Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore relatively little. Between mining the uranium, refining and enriching fuel, and finally to building and operating the plant, a big 1,250 250-megawatt nuclear facility produces an estimated 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide during its lifetime. In contrast, coal-fired plants produce close to 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year in the U.S. alone while also emitting lots of other pollution: soot that causes lung diseases; sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause smog and acid rain; and mercury that contaminates fish. In fact, coal kills 4000 times as many people as nuclear power, according to one analysis.

2) It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant.

3) This technology is readily available.

Disadvantages

1) Uranium Waste- The chief danger lies with the mining waste; it contains radium, which is highly radioactive. Radon gas (one of the products that occur after radium undergoes radioactive decay) can expose workers and nearby and nearby communities to an array of health risks like lung cancer, bone cancer and lymphoma.

2) The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium, which is a scarce resource. It’s supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand.

3) Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be preferred targets for terrorist attacks.

4) Risk of Catastrophe- Fukushima has joined Three Mile Island and Chernobyl in the vocabulary of dangerous nuclear mishaps. The explosion at Chernobyl’s nuclear plant in the Ukraine showed how nuclear energy could just as easily destroy us as it nurtures our everyday needs.

While nuclear power would allow Singapore to achieve energy self sufficiency, the risks