Nuclear Waste In Australia Essay

Words: 847
Pages: 4

The storage of nuclear waste in South Australia has been a large controversial issue recently raised and discussed in the media. Many professionals believe that the benefits of building a nuclear waste storage plant outweigh the detrimental effects that the plant could potentially have on the environment. Nuclear waste is the product that occurs after nuclear fuel is used in a reactor. The appearance is eerily similar after the process has been applied, however, there is a chemical change once the fuel has been used. It is dangerously radioactive and far more hazardous to the environment than nuclear fuel (Nuclear Waste, Nick Touran, 2016). On one hand, a nuclear waste plant would benefit society because the low-level forms of waste will no …show more content…
Royal Commissioner, Kevin Scarce, former South Australian governor is adamant that, “South Australia offers a unique combination of attributes well suited to being able to do this safely... Stable geology, relatively low levels of seismic activity... the arid environment... pre-existing sophisticated frameworks for securing long term agreements [building the plantation]” - (Max Opray, 20/02/16, The Saturday Paper, Nuclear Cloud). He reiterates that South Australia is the best option for storing the waste because the abiotic factors influencing the areas make it a stable environment for nuclear and radioactive waste to be stored. Furthermore, many people agree with the idea of a nuclear waste plant because of the fact that the plant is able to generate its own energy without harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Compounds that are capable of absorbing infrared radiation trap heat inside the atmosphere are known as greenhouse gases; these harmful chemicals in the atmosphere along with not abling the heat to escape Earth's atmosphere produce the greenhouse effect, which in turn, leads to global warming (Marc Lallanilla, 10/02/15, Greenhouse Gas Emissions). Numerous scientists and other professionals agree, that the attribute of a nuclear waste plant being able to generate its own energy, not at the expense of the environment, is a major tick in the column as to why this plant would be extremely