Why Banning Nuclear Power is Bad (and Ignorant) for Public Health in the U.S. and Elsewhere

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 02/15/16

Emmanuel K. Glakpe, Professor at Howard University, reports that 16 states restrict the construction of power plants that produce the U.S. largest source of pollution-free energy. Professor Glakpe opines that this might please some people who do not care about air quality, but banning nuclear power is clearly bad for public health. Ohio, fortunately, is not one of these states. It is among a number of states with existing nuclear plants that are keeping their options open. Ohio relies on coal-fired plants for almost 67% of its electricity, and that spells trouble at a time when it must comply with U.S. EPA regulations for clean air and carbon mitigation. The answer needs to be a shift to low-carbon energy sources, including additional nuclear-generating capacity. Quite simply, the 2,134 megawatts of baseload power supplied by the Perry and Davis-Besse reactors of about 12.1% of Ohio's electricity-generating capacity is just not enough. The record shows that nuclear power is an essential element of a low-carbon energy portfolio. It is safe (no one has died in the U.S. or Japan over the past 40 years), reliable (24/7), and environmentally benign (zero CO2). According to the U.S. EIA, the U.S. fleet of 99 nuclear plants is responsible for a dramatic reduction in acid rain, pollution from toxic particulates and ozone smog, and accounts for 63% of the U.S. zero-carbon electricity. Other so-called clean energy sources are not nearly as effective as nuclear power in improving air quality. Yet nearly 33% of the states restrict the construction of new nuclear plants, which is absurd. A study shows that nuclear power globally has saved nearly two million lives that would have been lost from the burning of fossil fuels, and that it will save many more lives in the years ahead. The study was co-authored by James Hansen, a leading atmospheric scientist, who was longtime director of NASA Goddard Institute and the first scientist to warn Congress about the danger years ago.