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U.S. produces the most nuclear energy in the world.

  

20 % of the electricity in the U.S. is from nuclear power plants.

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A nuclear reactor is very expensive to build, but can produce a lot of electricity. 
One nuclear reactor can supply enough electricity for almost a million households.

Our electricity in North Alabama comes from Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, about 30 miles away.

 

Is Nuclear Power a Green Energy or not ???

BUT, we (the world) don't know how to dispose of the nuclear waste they produce.

As of now, the US can’t agree on how to store it.  We are not properly storing it to make it safe to be around.

Nuclear waste is the “spent” radioactive Uranium rods that no longer produce energy in our current nuclear reactors. 

In the United States, alone, we have 71,000 tons of nuclear waste. 
If we tried to fit all that in an area the size of a football field, it would be 20 feet high.

NO

  

Nuclear power plants do not burn anything.  

They produce no Carbon Dioxide (a greenhouse gas), so they don't increase Climate Change.

Nuclear is much greener than burning fossil fuels.

 
And that’s

a good thing.

BUT . . .

What’s the big deal?

  

  

This waste is still VERY radioactive AND will be for a very long time. 
It will take billions of years for the spent rods to become harmless. 
Until then, they hurt all life around them.

Nuclear Power - Is it Green Energy ?
- for Kids

How does it Work ?

  • fission (splitting) of the Uranium atom in a nuclear reactor produces a lot of heat

  • the heat turns water into steam

  • the steam turns the turbine

  • the turbine turns the generator which

  • converts motion into electricity

How Does a Nuclear Power Plant Work ?

The nuclear reactor is housed in a special building, called the containment building.

Since so much heat is produced in the nuclear reactor, a large water source is needed to supply lots of cool water to the power plant.

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