LUMEN:

Concerns and Solutions: Fighting the stigma against nuclear energy

Concerns

● Safety: There have been three particularly notorious failures of nuclear power. They are the disaster at Three Mile Island, the catastrophe at Chernobyl, and the tsunami induced failure at Fukushima.

● Waste disposal: Nuclear waste remains radioactive for thousands of years. It has to be disposed of in a place that can not be exposed to the environment.

● Cost: Nuclear power plants are expensive to build and and they are expensive to operate.

Solutions

● Advanced reactor designs: Modern nuclear power plants have increased the number of containment loops, minimizing exposure of hazardous materials with the environment.(11)

● Improved waste disposal methods: Research is ongoing into new ways to dispose of nuclear waste more safely and effectively. An option currently in use is deep geological disposal. That means the waste is buried deep in hard rock, far from seismic activity.

● Public education: It's difficult to promote safe nuclear power when the public has cartoon images of three eyed fish. Public education is important to help dispel myths and misconceptions about nuclear energy.

● Investment in research and development: Recent technologies have matched the electrical production of nuclear power with the water desalinization power as well. The dual uses increases the return on investment, making the technology more affordable.