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British Research Reports: “The Development of Nuclear Energy cannot Curb Global Warming.”
Building nuclear power plants cannot meet human energy needs and will also have side effects of nuclear proliferation.In order to obtain cleaner and cheaper energy, there has been a wave of building nuclear power plants around the world. But can nuclear power actually significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and thereby curb global warming? People are always suspicious. Unfortunately, a research team from the University of Oxford in the UK recently gave a negative answer. And the group also raised a more serious question: the spread of nuclear power plants will inevitably lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
It takes three weeks to build a reactor to meet power demand
According to reports, the research report, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Foundation and written by a research team at the University of Oxford, is titled "Too Hot to Control?" ——The future of civilian nuclear energy. The report said that the use of nuclear energy to obtain clean and cheap energy is a myth.
The report points out that the construction speed of nuclear power plants cannot keep up with the growth of human demand for energy. According to statistics, global demand for electricity will increase by 50% in the next 25 years. There are currently 429 nuclear reactors in operation, and most of them will soon expire or need to be upgraded. Combining these two factors, the report speculates that if you want to use nuclear energy to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, you will need to build nearly 3,000 nuclear reactors within 20 years, which means that it takes about 3 weeks on average to build a reactor.
The report said: "Constructing civilian nuclear facilities on such a large scale is simply a daydream and completely impossible. The highest record for the construction speed of reactors in history is 3.4 reactors built in one year."
Spawning new nuclear powers and fueling nuclear terrorism
The report also worries that the construction of civilian nuclear facilities will likely lead to the production of more nuclear weapons. "Even a minimal expansion of technology for the peaceful use of nuclear power to generate electricity would have serious consequences. Countries that currently do not have nuclear weapons will acquire them, and nuclear terrorism will be encouraged," the report said.
It is reported that in the next 25 years, the world's reserves of high-purity uranium will continue to decrease. In order to meet the rising demand, fast breeder reactors (fast reactors) will be more widely used. Fast reactors can utilize uranium up to 75%, 50 to 60 times more than traditional reactors, and can produce more weapons-grade plutonium. Plutonium is another major raw material besides uranium for the production of nuclear weapons.
Researchers believe that nuclear proliferation is inevitable in the next 10 years. If all the reactors currently being planned are put into use, there will be seven emerging nuclear powers in the world. Now nine Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, have become interested in developing civilian nuclear energy.
“According to research by the International Atomic Energy Agency, within 30 to 40 years at least 30 countries will obtain fissile materials that can be used to produce nuclear weapons from civilian nuclear energy projects. In addition, they will also cultivate a group of people capable of designing and manufacturing nuclear facilities. Engineers." The report said: "In the 21st century, can the security threats posed by civilian nuclear energy be controlled? Society needs to decide whether it can accept the threats of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism."
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