2008 Woodie Awards
Tell Nuclear Power to Spilt
Scott Bianconi
Issue date: 10/21/05 Section: Opinions
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For those of you who haven't heard, Progress Energy, in an effort to keep up with the expected demand for power in the Central Florida region, is in the process of obtaining approval to build a nuclear power plant somewhere in Central Florida. The proposed counties include Polk, Seminole, Highlands, and yes, even Osceola.
I applaud Progress Energy for recognizing the future need for power in the Central Florida region and for proposing to build a power plant in the area that would produce many construction and plant operation jobs.
However, I am appalled at the fact that Progress Energy is even considering to build a nuclear power plant in Central Florida. Proponents of nuclear power seem to focus on one key issue; that nuclear power produces no emissions. This is true in a sense. Nuclear power generates electricity by surrounding radioactive rods of uranium pellets in contained pools of water. This water turns into steam which turns turbines to produce electricity. The excess steam is the only immediate byproduct which is then released into the atmosphere. Sounds great right? Wrong. What many proponents of nuclear power fail to mention is the obvious dangers that nuclear power poses to both humans and the environment.
Few can forget the tragedy of Chernobyl in which over fifty civilians died, and we cannot forget the near tragedy of the partial melt down of Three-Mile Island. A nuclear core melt down could easily make all of central Florida uninhabitable for several thousand years, not to mention burn a hole to the core of the earth. Of course, proponents of nuclear power claim that current safety measures make a Three-Mile Island incident (caused by a faulty pressure valve) or the Chernobyl incident (caused by human error) impossible to re-occur.
Boy, I wish these proponents could enlighten the world as to how we can prevent all forms of human and mechanical error. But let us give these proponents the benefit of the doubt and agree that mechanical failure and human error can somehow be completely weeded out. Sept. 11 reminded us all of the unexpected threat of terrorism within our boarders. Thankfully, no attack has ever been attempted against a nuclear power plant in U.S. borders.
I applaud Progress Energy for recognizing the future need for power in the Central Florida region and for proposing to build a power plant in the area that would produce many construction and plant operation jobs.
However, I am appalled at the fact that Progress Energy is even considering to build a nuclear power plant in Central Florida. Proponents of nuclear power seem to focus on one key issue; that nuclear power produces no emissions. This is true in a sense. Nuclear power generates electricity by surrounding radioactive rods of uranium pellets in contained pools of water. This water turns into steam which turns turbines to produce electricity. The excess steam is the only immediate byproduct which is then released into the atmosphere. Sounds great right? Wrong. What many proponents of nuclear power fail to mention is the obvious dangers that nuclear power poses to both humans and the environment.
Few can forget the tragedy of Chernobyl in which over fifty civilians died, and we cannot forget the near tragedy of the partial melt down of Three-Mile Island. A nuclear core melt down could easily make all of central Florida uninhabitable for several thousand years, not to mention burn a hole to the core of the earth. Of course, proponents of nuclear power claim that current safety measures make a Three-Mile Island incident (caused by a faulty pressure valve) or the Chernobyl incident (caused by human error) impossible to re-occur.
Boy, I wish these proponents could enlighten the world as to how we can prevent all forms of human and mechanical error. But let us give these proponents the benefit of the doubt and agree that mechanical failure and human error can somehow be completely weeded out. Sept. 11 reminded us all of the unexpected threat of terrorism within our boarders. Thankfully, no attack has ever been attempted against a nuclear power plant in U.S. borders.