Nuclear energy production occurs by splitting uranium atoms, which generates heat, leading to steam production used by a turbine generator to generate electricity. Nuclear energy can be produced through nuclear decay, fusion, and fission. This nuclear energy production process leads to massive energy production that benefits human life. Nuclear-based solutions are being explored worldwide to ensure sustainable energy development and agriculture. This paper will discuss the production of nuclear energy in low-income communities, which has led to an improvement in air quality, and the disproportional building of nuclear facilities, leading to an increase in cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The goal of many countries is to reach net-zero emissions of carbon. This can be achieved through nuclear energy, and it has led to many countries adopting its production. While some countries debate the practicality of nuclear energy as a low-carbon energy source, other countries leverage it to meet the high energy demand. In 2015, the Paris Agreement, which is an international agreement on mitigating climate change and lowering the temperatures on Earth, was signed by nearly 200 parties. This shows that many countries have started to adopt new ways of sustainable energy production, including nuclear energy production (AKYÜZ 370). Nuclear energy serves various purposes, which include a high amount of electricity production and food treatments. Moreover, sterilizing of pests is done with nuclear energy, hence the reduction of pesticide use.
Impacts on Low-income Communities
Nuclear energy production in low-income communities has had both positive and negative impacts. This is because nuclear energy utilization is advantageous to many households, but its production process could negatively impact communities. Nuclear energy is advantageous to low-income communities because it protects the quality of air by producing electricity that is free from carbon. In the United States, nuclear energy powers communities in 28 states, meaning carbon-free electricity production is massive. Nuclear energy has contributed to non-electric applications that range from the field of medicine to exploring space. With nuclear energy production, there is no direct emission of carbon dioxide, hence a reduction in air pollution. Research shows that nearly 800 billion kilowatt hours of electricity are generated annually in the United States, which produces more than half of the emission of free electricity in the nation. This has led to over 470 million metric carbon tons being avoided, which equals the deletion of over a hundred million cars off the road, hence having clean sources of power.
Nuclear energy has led to the protection of low–income households disproportionately affected by unstable electricity prices. The International Energy Agency reports show that more than one million people worldwide live without electricity. Electricity is essential because basic human needs such as clean water and education facilities will be difficult to access without electricity. Thus, nuclear technology has helped to bring reliable electricity infrastructure, which is essential in health and life improvement for many communities who live in poverty. Production of carbon-free electricity in low-income communities leads to a low cost of electricity because prices will not be hiked, and communities can easily access electricity without incurring too much cost. A comparison study by the IAEA established that nuclear power is an affordable source of electricity globally and could benefit low-income communities.
Recent studies show that nuclear power plants produce high energy levels when compared with other power sources. This leads to the great production of baseload electricity, the minimum energy level in grid demand for a specific time. Nuclear power has the capability of becoming a high-production source of baseload electricity, hence reducing the prices of electricity in communities. Recent studies show that nuclear plants have generated 20 percent of electricity in the United States, benefiting many low-income communities. Also, nuclear power has replaced the current baseload sources of electricity, significantly contributing to air pollution.
Additionally, nuclear energy production needs less physical space than other facilities for clean energy. The energy department asserts that a nuclear facility that produces 1,000 electric megawatts consumes up to one square mile of the planet. On the other hand, a wind farm that produces the same amount of energy takes more land area. This shows that with nuclear energy production, low-income communities are advantaged because less land is needed to produce energy compared to other energy sources. Thus, communities with a small land space can utilize the land to produce high levels of energy that will benefit every person in the community.
Nuclear energy production in low-income communities has led to job opportunities being created. In low-income communities, there is a high unemployment rate, and the introduction of nuclear industries has created many jobs. Nearly half a million jobs have been created by nuclear industries in the United States, contributing to over 60 billion dollars in annual gross domestic product. Over 700 workers can be employed in nuclear plants, and salaries are 30% higher than the local average. Moreover, the federal and state tax revenues have contributed billions of dollars yearly to the local economies.
The unequal access to energy within and among communities harms individuals. Shortage of supply leads to price shocks because those companies who produce energy tend to hike prices for their financial gain without considering its effects on vulnerable communities. Energy is mainly used as a political tool. Thus, the systems that rely on imported fossil fuels are at risk of external influence. Nuclear energy has helped low-income communities by reducing these inequalities and allowing easy access to energy without any political influence. Communities can also have greater control over their energy system and reduce inequalities because nuclear energy has a diversified supply chain and easy storage. Uranium, which fuels nuclear reactors, can be found in excess in many locations over the globe, hence providing easy on-site storage for many years and insurance against any issues in supply.
Nuclear Facilities in Marginalized Communities
When deciding on where to locate hazardous sites for waste and other pollutants, most industries target low-income neighborhoods and communities. This is according to a study by new environmental justice researchers at the University of Michigan and Montana. This disproportional building of nuclear facilities in marginalized communities happens because most of these communities lack strong leadership to fight for their rights, and they are also poor; hence, they can embrace the nuclear production industries for benefits such as job creation. Most marginalized voices are ignored in favor of the continued development of nuclear plants despite communities questioning their safety. A perfect example is the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, where over 32 million people were affected. The direct consequence of marginalized communities like those who live below the poverty level being ignored is a higher population living closer to nuclear power plants.
Research by Stanford University shows that there is a higher percentage of African Americans who live within 50 miles of nuclear power plants than their white peers. This proves that most marginalized communities already live in sites that are planned for nuclear development or are forced to come live near the sites after they are built. This means that people with low incomes are mostly affected when a nuclear disaster occurs (Sovacool et al. 590). Infamously, Chernobyl is a representation of what exactly happens to marginalized communities when a nuclear disaster happens. Many subsistence farmers in Chernobyl could not make a living when the disaster occurred. As a result, the farmers were forced to rely on government sustenance to make ends meet, and they may have either stayed or returned to the region because of cheap housing.
Environmental impacts
A major environmental concern of nuclear facilities being disproportionally built-in marginalized communities is the establishment of radioactive wastes, which include Uranium mill tailing, reactor fuel that has been used, and other radioactive wastes. These constituents can remain environmentally unsafe for years, hence the need for special government regulations in handling, disposing, and transporting storage. Although the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates the operations of nuclear power plants, industries in marginalized areas do not follow many regulations, leading to environmental impacts such as threats to agricultural land and freshwater sources.
Ionizing radiation impacts the reproductive organs and gametes of plants, which leads to a reduction in plant production. The growth of plants is affected by radiation wastes released from nuclear plants, and this leads to sterility, development abnormalities occurring, and the viability of plant offspring being reduced(Govindarajan and Ganesh et al. 25). The germination of seeds and mortality of plants also reduces because of the sensitivity of plants during the seasonal growth period. From the Chernobyl incident, the rate of plant germination was lower in contaminated areas compared to other areas, which proves the adverse environmental impacts of radiation in nuclear energy plants.
Nuclear facilities are always at risk of catastrophic accidents, which can lead to contamination of large tracts of land, which renders them uninhabited for decades. These consequences strangely fall on indigenous people and other communities that are disempowered. Wastes associated with nuclear energy production, if not properly managed, could lead to land and water destruction. Accidents in nuclear facilities could happen, leading to radioactive materials being released into the Biosphere. Nuclear energy is a clean power source but not renewable. The present-day technology of nuclear production depends on uranium ore to produce fuel, which exists in partial amounts in the crust of the Earth. Thus, the long reliance of human beings on nuclear power, particularly Uranium, leads to more resources of Uranium on Earth being depleted. This drives up the cost of Uranium extraction, hence an increase in mining and procession of Uranium, which leads to environmental impacts.
Health Impacts
Exposure to a very high level of radiation, such as proximity to an atomic blast, causes acute health effects such as acute radiation syndrome and skin burns. It also results in long-term health effects such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. For instance, the Savannah River nuclear site that leaked in the American South showcased how racially and financially different the effects of dealing with dangerous nuclear wastes tend to be. Evidence emerged that black workers were frequently sent into areas with high radiation without proper protection gear, and this led to a disproportionate amount of fallout from the marginalized workers and the black community at large in Savanna River (Luqman et al. 1300). There were at least 30 reported cancer cases and other illnesses linked with the Savannah River site in earlier day. The continued leaks of nuclear restraints gave the community more health concerns, particularly regarding the availability of safe drinking water. This is because poor quality of water leads to illness and even death. When the water is polluted with radiation, the effects of contaminated drinking water can worsen.
Excessive radiation can cause damage to the living tissues and organs of a human being. This depends on how much radiation a person receives and the underlying health conditions. At a high dose, radiation leads to impairment of the normal functioning of tissues and organs and leads to acute effects such as vomiting and nausea, redness of the skin, and loss of hair.
Furthermore, nuclear energy production has catastrophic effects on human life as it leads to stillborn children with neurological and physical effects caused by radiation from nuclear plants. Studies show that ionizing radiation has known effects on a developing fetus with fatal outcomes. The potential harm of ionizing radiation includes the loss of pregnancy through stillbirth or miscarriage and the malformation of the fetus (Sovacool et al. 610). There is a substantial positive association between a baby being stillborn and the total exposure of the father to external ionizing radiation prior to conception. Thus, radiation from nuclear plants has tremendous health impacts on the workers as well as their generation, as it affects unborn children.
Environmental Injustices
Stanford research shows that ionizing radiation standards are mostly designed to protect adult males. These standards can even be waived for nuclear facilities workers, which will allow owners of the facilities to expose workers to as much as fifty times more radiation than what is allowed for a common citizen (Govindarajan and Ganesh et al. 34). Often, no hazard pay is given to these workers. Additionally, the proximity of minority and low-income communities places them at a higher risk of the radiation that is pumped via nuclear waste. Statistics show that these communities have a higher population of women and children. With the radiation standards mostly protecting male adults, women and children become greatly affected. This is an injustice, and the risk factors are the reasons for nuclear plants being built in marginalized areas as they perpetuate racist and classist aftermath.
Nuclear power plants use land from indigenous people for processing uranium despite their lack of consent. Indigenous people have been harmed by working in uranium mines that are unregulated and being exposed to uncontrolled wastes on native lands. The massive quantities of hazardous wastes from the nuclear fuel chain, from the mining of Uranium to the vast amounts of fuel, need to be managed by nuclear plants for years, meaning that intergenerational injustices occur. People who are not yet born, especially in marginalized communities, will inherit the hazardous waste and the challenges associated with it. These people will not benefit from using nuclear reactors in our generation to produce electricity. Although these wastes are stored in geological repositories, there is no clear evidence that this storage method can prevent the leakage of radioactive materials into the Earth and water over time and that they are still dangerous.
Nuclear energy policies
There is a need for inclusive and equitable policies on nuclear energy to ensure that every citizen in high- or low-income communities is protected. Ensuring that nuclear energy is safe for everyone should be the priority, and this can be achieved by providing comprehensive solutions to ensure that no person is put in disproportionately harmful situations. There should be a coalition between the nuclear industries and trained experts to protect communities and ensure that the nuclear waste management strategy is just and equitable (Lacey-Barnacle et al. 125). This should start with hydrologists who can guarantee the safety of drinking water in the community and activists who can be powerful voices to represent communities because making nuclear energy requires care and expertise. Government policies should reflect equity principles and environmental justice surrounding nuclear energy technologies.
In conclusion, there is no technology without any risks to people or the environment. As such, the compatibility of any energy technology with sustainable development goals should be assessed in relative terms. For the world to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and address air pollution and climate change, nuclear power will be required to play a crucial role. There are numerous sustainability advantages of using nuclear energy, and expanding its use could produce modern and affordable energy for everyone who currently lacks access. At the same time, it reduces the human effect on the natural surroundings and ensures that the ability of the world to attain sustainable development objectives is achieved. Marginalized communities should also be protected by the government, putting more policies in place to protect them and ensure they benefit from nuclear energy production.
Work Cited
AKYÜZ, Emrah. “Environmental Justice and Nuclear Accidents: The Case of Chernobyl Disaster.” International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics 8.3 2021: 369–375. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijegeo/issue/61200/868987
Govindarajan, Hari Krishnan, and L. S. Ganesh. “Integrating energy governance and environmental justice: Role of renewable energy.” Renewable Energy Focus 43 2022: 24–36. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755008422000618
Lacey-Barnacle, Max, Rosie Robison, and Chris Foulds. “Energy justice in the developing world: a review of theoretical frameworks, key research themes, and policy implications.” Energy for Sustainable Development 55 2020: 122–138. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S097308261930777X
Luqman, Muhammad, Najid Ahmad, and Khuda Bakhsh. “Nuclear energy, renewable energy and economic growth in Pakistan: Evidence from non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model.” Renewable energy 139 (2019): 1299-1309. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148119303131
Sovacool, Benjamin K., et al. “Decarbonization and its discontents: a critical energy justice perspective on four low-carbon transitions.” Climatic Change 155 2019: 581–619. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-019-02521-7
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