Nuclear power stations are expensive and take too long to build. CSIRO says by far the lowest cost way of producing electricity is with solar and wind even when factoring in storage. In contrast, the costs of building and operating nuclear in Australia remain prohibitively high.
Compared to nuclear power plants, we can build large-scale wind and solar farms in Australia cheap and fast. Frankly, pursuing nuclear is just a waste of time and resources in Australia's race against climate change. We need to focus on renewable energy if we're going to make a dent in our emissions.
Australia's extensive low-cost coal and natural gas reserves have historically been used as strong arguments for avoiding nuclear power. The Liberal Party has advocated for the development of nuclear power and nuclear industries in Australia since the 1950s.
A major environmental concern related to nuclear power is the creation of radioactive wastes such as uranium mill tailings, spent (used) reactor fuel, and other radioactive wastes. These materials can remain radioactive and dangerous to human health for thousands of years.
- One of the main disadvantages of nuclear energy is that nuclear explosions produce radiation, this radiation harms the cells of the body which can make humans sick or even cause them death. Illness can appear or strike people years after they were exposed to nuclear radiation.
The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.
We store radioactive waste in many locations around the country, including hospitals, science facilities and universities. While safe, these facilities are not purpose-built, and long-term management of Australia's waste at these locations is not sustainable.
Opponents say that nuclear power poses numerous threats to people and the environment and point to studies in the literature that question if it will ever be a sustainable energy source. These threats include health risks, accidents and environmental damage from uranium mining, processing and transport.
Australia, New Zealand Among Best Placed To Survive Nuclear Apocalypse, Study Finds.
There are many countries that do not use nuclear energy or have nuclear energy technology. Nuclear energy supporter Warren Mundine has claimed Australia is the only country in the world that does not use nuclear energy.
Barriers to and risks associated with an increasing use of nuclear energy include operational risks and the associated safety concerns, uranium mining risks, financial and regulatory risks, unresolved waste management issues, nuclear weapons proliferation concerns, and adverse public opinion.
“The best hope for nuclear is if we could get a completely new generation — and I'm biased, because I'm involved in that — where the countries that are committed to nuclear prove it out and show that the economic safety, waste management is handled,” Gates said.
Major anti-nuclear groups include Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Peace Action, Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
6. Nuclear reactors make unpopular neighbours. Australia would need 25 nuclear reactors to meet a third of its electricity needs by 2050, according to the Australian Government. These nuclear reactors would be built near our coasts and major population centres to be close to water and markets.
The submission claims that Australia is well and truly within striking distance of Chinese missiles, and that artificial reefs and atolls in the South China Sea would allow China to fire “land-based DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile strikes”, with the Mischief Reef atoll, 3000km northwest of Darwin, of ...
Since joining the NPT, Australia has been an example to the world on non-proliferation and disarmament. We have promoted the use of nuclear safeguards (measures that ensure a state is meeting its non-proliferation commitments) and we have prevented the spread of other weapons of mass destruction.
Today marks 50 years since Australia ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NPT is central to the Australian Government's ambition of a world without nuclear weapons. Australia made a binding commitment under the NPT to never acquire nuclear weapons.
Nuclear takes 5 to 17 years longer between planning and operation and produces on average 23 times the emissions per unit electricity generated. In addition, it creates risk and cost associated with weapons proliferation, meltdown, mining lung cancer, and waste risks.
At high doses, ionizing radiation can cause immediate damage to a person's body, including, at very high doses, radiation sickness and death. At lower doses, ionizing radiation can cause health effects such as cardiovascular disease and cataracts, as well as cancer.
Is nuclear energy clean? In an emissions sense, nuclear power is considered to be clean. It produces zero carbon emissions and doesn't produce other noxious greenhouse gases through its operation.
Current uranium reserves are expected to be depleted by the end of the century, and new sources of uranium are hard to find. As a result, uranium prices have been steadily rising, with some estimates predicting a doubling of prices by 2030.
Some will last us about as long as the sun, while others may run out soon and are thus not sustainable. Breeder reactors can power all of humanity for more than 4 billion years.
Most of this waste is stored in tanks at 3 DOE sites. According to federal law, certain high-level mixed waste must be vitrified—a process in which the waste is immobilized in glass—and disposed of in a deep geologic repository.