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Nuclear Waste
Just as we look back on history today and wonder how Japanese internment could have
been tolerated, 100 years from now people will look back on our time period in the history books
and ask how we could have used nuclear power. The waste generated from nuclear energy is
normally radioactive and can be extremely harmful for the natural environment if not disposed of
with extreme caution. If a corner is cut and the waste is disposed of too early or incorrectly then
any nearby organism, whether it be animal, tree, or human, can become sickly from the effects.
A human can lose their hair, ability to reproduce, and even life because of waste.
The ethical issues that are violated are protection of the environment, protection of
human health, and minimizing the burden of future generations. Although only a very small
portion of the waste is high level in radioactivity, it is still enough to harm the environment
significantly. Proper disposal usually requires waiting 40 years for the radioactive level to dip
below significantly harmful and 50 more for the waste to be safely handled and then disposed.
After the 90 years have passed, the waste must be put into thick containers, which are then
placed in landfills. It is possible for leakage from the waste containers to contaminate ground
water making it toxic. A mistake in the timing will harm any living organism in close proximity
violating the protection of humans and the environment ethical values. It is impossible to
minimize the burden on lesser generations, because of the necessary safe waiting period, causing
them to deal with our mess about 100 years from now while they receive no direct benefit from
the power generated.
When I first heard a statistic about nuclear waste I was led to believe that such a small
amount of waste, less than .01%, is harmful that it was a minor issue. I later found out that that
since so much overall waste is generated a small amount is significant and can have incredibly
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harmful effects on the environment, such as mutating organisms or causing severe health issues.
While looking over the current laws in place I came to believe that they are not as strictly
enforced nor serious as they need to be.
The ethical violations are justified by citizens because they believe the benefits outweigh
the harm presented. Nuclear power generates large amount of energy that powers many of the
necessities in America such as air conditioning or heaters. The corporations that run these
nuclear power plants justify it to the public with the benefits but justify it to themselves with the
profit that they make off of the sold power. Most of the time it is not even necessary for the
companies to justify the effects of the waste because it is buried far away from human dense
areas. The animals near it will experience the effects but they cannot complain and their sickly
condition will not normally be seen by humans.
It is too late to completely halt the use of nuclear power and generation of nuclear waste
but there are ways to lessen it. The simplest solution would be to create more strict laws about
the disposal of nuclear waste and to limit how much we generate each year. Another solution
would be to slowly shift away from nuclear power into clean energy sources such as solar power
or hydropower. Although they are not as effective in producing power they do not cause
anywhere close to the harmful effects on the environment.