Beginner's Tournament, Nuclear Power Plants

Rules: No forfeitsNo kritiks BoP is sharedCitations can be in commentsR1 StatementsR2 RebuttalsR3 Rebuttals and SummaryDefinition: A nuclear power plant is a facility that converts atomic energy into usable power. In a nuclear electric power plant, heat produced by a reactor is generally used to drive a turbine which in turn drives an electric generator. Resolution: Nuclear power plants are not cost effective, pose risk to the populations in the event of accident and from power plant waste products. Cost: There are 435 nuclear power plants in the world, with the average age of 25 years in operation [1]. 75% of the plants in Europe are half way through their operating lifespan. Of the 104 in the US one half are over 30 years old, the rest 20 years in operation [2]. In the US, there is a high cost affiliated in keeping these aging plants running. Many are being decommissioned as a result; before the end of their expected life span of 40 years. It takes several decades to decommission a nuclear power plant. In light of these financial considerations, along with the cost of new construction, even with new technologies, outcomes are predicted to be similar. The investment is not cost effective [4]. With the down trend in natural gas prices and declining costs of alternative energy, nuclear power is no longer competitive in pricing per megawatt-hour [3]. Citing only 3 of the more recent nuclear power plant accidents and their cost: • 2011 Fukushima Daiichi, 30 billion dollars in has been paid out in compensation to evacuees for loss wages; pain & suffering, and property contamination; 207 billion in decommission costs [5]. Full cost effect over long term has yet to be determined.• 1986 Chernobyl, Ukraine, 15 billion to shelter the plant, 2.2 billion for infrastructure to maintain [6], Economic Damages 500 billion [7].• 1979 Three Mile Island plant, Pennsylvania, 973 million [8]. These are cost are affiliated directly by accidents and do not include individual cost of the aftermaths such as cancer rates or relocation expenses not covered by nuclear, property or home owner insurance. Dangers & Wastes: Since 1952 there have been 32 nuclear power plant accidents [9]. With the ageing of Nuclear power plants combined with weather pattern changes and a better understanding of seismic activity, nuclear power plants and their waste products pose a risk. The decommissioning of Nuclear power plants and what to do with the radioactive bi-products of active plants has been unresolved since the 1980’s in the US. Currently, the nuclear wastes are stored on plant sites [10]. Waste storage is in the form of pools or dry casks which are now, or will soon to be at full capacity [11]. From 1999 through 2014 a number of reports and filings have been conducted with regards to pool storage and dry casts not meeting NEPA and AEA standards with no resolution yet made. Essentially this is a ticking time bomb where spontaneous combustion or melt down in storage pools, as well as land contamination from dry cast storage is at a breaking point [12, 13]. Def: http://stats.oecd.org...1. http://www.finfacts.ie...2.http://money.cnn.com...3. http://articles.chicagotribune.com...4. http://thebulletin.org... 5. http://www.world-nuclear.org... )6. http://www.world-nuclear.org...7. http://www.ratical.org...8. http://www.world-nuclear.org...9. http://www.dianuke.org...)10. http://news.nationalgeographic.com...11. http://www.nirs.org... 12. http://www.nirs.org...13. http://www.nirs.org...