Fossil fuels have been the lifeblood of the energy industry since its infancy. But in this day and age, fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas are simply not good enough to meet the energy demands of society while complying with the growing demand for a more environmentally safe means of production.
The American political system, as a whole, has long advocated for alternative energy production. In response, the U.S. Government has funded the development of wind, solar and hydro power generators. While these seemingly new ventures into alternative energy sources have cut into the dependence on fossils fuels, it's not enough.
The reason for this may be that these energy sources are not new at all. What is needed is something truly new for the advanced society that is our world today. And that new alternative power source is none other than nuclear power.
However, with the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, and the so-called nuclear crisis happening at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, anti-nuclear sentiment is once again racing across the United States.
The amount of radiation that leaked from the Fukushima nuclear power plant was not even enough to cause significant short or long term health problems. The worst case of radiation reported from the leak was found in a worker from the plant. This worker received twice the limit allowed by law for an American nuclear plant worker in one year.
Now, this may seem like a lot, but really, it isn't. At this level of radiation, the worst short term health effect is a decrease in white blood cells. This drop–off is no more than one sees when they fall ill with the common cold.
The worst long term effect is a 0.5 percent increase in the chance of cancer. Considering that today the average American has a 40 percent chance of being diagnosed with cancer, this amount is insignificant.
The United States currently has 104 nuclear plants in operation, and two of them, the Kewaunee plant and the Point Beach plant are in the UW-Madison backyard. These two plants have three reactors between them and are separated by only a few miles.
So what should the United States do with regards to our energy demands? Repeal all legislation that limits nuclear research and development. Nuclear power is the answer to the energy crisis of today's world,and all anti-nuclear power laws only hinder the United States and puts us further behind the rest of the world.
What hurts the U.S. is not being able to build any new generation IV reactors. To put things into prospective, the Point Beach and Kewaunee plants both use generation II reactors.
If legislation was lifted barring any new reactors from being built, the United States would benefit greatly. We would gain even more if we were to build Thorium High Temperature Reactors and Light Water Breeder Reactors. The advantages of these reactors are that they utilize Thorium.
Thorium reactors have the unique benefit that they produced less radioactive waste compared to other nuclear reactors. Thorium itself is not fissile, meaning it cannot produce energy alone.
What it is capable of doing is absorbing slow moving neutrons to breed uranium-233, which is fissile and has a half life much longer than the more commonly used uranium-235. Once the uranium-233 is irradiated, or burnt up, the reactor can be unloaded and any excess thorium can be fed back into the reactor and reused.
Thorium-232 is also more abundant than uranium-235 in the Earth and nearly all of the mined thorium can be used in a reactor compared to uranium, which only 0.7 percent is usable.
Another distinct advantage is that a reactor that utilizes thorium can be set up in a way that would make it more efficient than any current or near future reactor that uses uranium. Theoretically, a thorium reactor could produce 40 times the amount of energy per unit mass than uranium-235.
The use of thorium-232 is the future of nuclear power and energy generation in general. It produces less waste, is more abundant, more efficient and can be reused multiple times.
The answer is right in front of our eyes, but there is a wall between use and thorium's potential, and that wall is the United States current legislation regarding nuclear power.
For more information about nuclear power in the Madison area visit the Engineering Physics Department's website at: http://reactor.engr.wisc.edu.
