Plutonium: 'Our Country's Only Feasible Solution'
Plutonium: 'Our Country's Only Feasible Solution'Abstract: Should we begin to manufacture one of the most destructive and infamous substances on the face on the Earth once again? The engineers say yes, but the public says no. The United States stopped making this element with the ban on manufacturing nuclear weapons. But with the continuing problem with our ever diminishing energy sources, some want us to begin using more nuclear energy and less energy from natural resources. This paper is going to discuss what plutonium is, the advantages and disadvantages of its use, and why we should think about restarting our production of this useful element. After the United States dropped "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" on Japan ending World War II, the public has had some type of understanding about the power of plutonium and its devastating properties, but that is all anyone heard. After WWII, Americans started to think about what the atomic bomb could do to the U.S. and its people. When anyone mentioned plutonium or the word "nuclear" the idea of Hiroshima or Nagasaki being destroyed was the first thing people thought about. No one could even ponder the idea that it could be used for other more constructive things like sources of energy o
The Nuclear Fuel CycleThe second major use for plutonium is for space exploration with its ability to power nuclear propulsion. Nuclear electric propulsion is using energy from plutonium to power space vehicles.(ref. 3) One of the major goals of NASA space program is to, one day, get to Mars, and it looks like the only way it is going to happen in our current fiscal condition, is if we use plutonium, instead of chemical fuel, to power our explorations. Nuclear electric propulsion can be defined as using small plutonium based bricks, to power space vehicles for interplanetary trips. Nuclear electric systems provide very low thrust levels and use only very small amounts of fuel during the voyage.(ref. 3,4) Using electric propulsion also allows the use of less fuel making the spacecrafts launch weight much lower than it would be with chemical fuel.(ref. 3) There are waste disposal problems that occur with the use of nuclear reactors. Waste also produces radiation which can be lethal. Since waste can hurt and kill people who come in contact with the substance, it cannot be thrown away in a dumpster like other garbage. Waste has to be put in cooling pools or storage tanks at the site of the reactors. Another problem is that the reactors can last for a maximum of fifty years. Even though plutonium is chemically hazardous and produces harmful radiation, it isn't close to being the most toxic substance on the planet. Such substances as caffeine or radiation from smoke detectors, that have the same amount of mass as plutonium, can have a greater toxicity.(ref. 2) There are basically three ways plutonium can hurt humans. The first is ingestion. Ingestion, though not totally safe, it is not as bad as we think. The fact is, plutonium passes through the stomach and intestines and cannot be absorbed and therefore, is released with other waste we produce.(ref. 1) One of the obvious uses of plutonium, whether is an advantage or disadvantage, is for weaponry. It is an advantage if we need to use it against a foe, but it is disadvantageous is our foes use it against the United States. NASA fact sheet, Dec. 1991Nuclear PoliticsCitizen's Guide to RadonCore Issues no.3, The Uranium Institute 1995Along with reactors, sometimes comes a meltdown which can produce harmful effects if it isn't controlled quickly enough. After such instances as the Hanford, Washington reactor meltdown and the accident in the U.S.S.R. at the Chernobyl site, no one wanted to hear about the use of plutonium. The United States government banned nuclear testing and also ended the production of plutonium.(Ref. 5) Now we are in a dilemma. We are in need of future sources of energy to power our nation. We are running out of coal and oil to run our power plants.(Ref. 7) We also need it to further our space explor
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Approximate Word count = 2125
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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