Processing of Used Nuclear Fuel, Essay Example

Not only is the reprocessing of nuclear fuel and extremely expensive procedure, but it is also known to be dangerous to the environment in which many individuals reside in. From this argument, there are many individuals who are in favor of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel while there are others who simply cannot stand the idea of putting human lives at risk simply to have energy. There are many commonly central ideas to the beliefs of individuals in regards to this argument and central to these ideas are Phillip Finck and Charles Ferguson. These individuals have opposing viewpoints in the manner in which they believe that nuclear fuel should be dealt with after it is used. (Biello, 2010)

Phillip Finck strongly believes in reproducing the energy in order to ensure a better future for the United States. He argues that this procedure would be able to greatly reduce the manner in which the United States spends billions of dollars on energy. In addition, he believes that the United States would be enabled to produce more energy if they were to share it with other countries. Furthermore, Finck talks about the great way in which nuclear reactors are able to yield large masses of energy with only a small amount of radioactive material as a result. (World Nuclear Association)

Despite Finck’s optimistic outlook on nuclear fuel reprocessing, Charles Ferguson greatly disagrees with his every point. He argues that the country would be put at risk because weapons could be formed from such kind of energy. Also, he states that these materials could be acquired by the wrong people and put the country at a potential risk for dangerous activity. Overall, Ferguson fears that the country will be put at risk and that radioactive materials could cause the deaths of millions of individuals. (Biello, 2010)

In my opinion, I believe that Ferguson is being a bit too paranoid about nuclear fuel reprocessing. While it is true that those things could happen, I believe that improving the economy should be prioritized over acute paranoia.

References

Biello, D. (2010, April 15). Is Reprocessing the Answer to Eliminating Fissile Materials from Bombs and Nuclear Waste? – Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-reprocessing-the-answer-to-eliminating-fissile-materials/

World Nuclear Association. (n.d.). Processing of Used Nuclear Fuel. Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Fuel-Recycling/Processing-of-Used-Nuclear-Fuel/