Editing Nuclear technology (section)

== Examples of environmental benefits ==

Proponents of nuclear energy note that annually, nuclear-generated electricity reduces 470 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise come from fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate |url=https://www.nei.org/advantages/climate |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref> Additionally, the amount of comparatively low waste that nuclear energy does create is safely disposed of by the large scale nuclear energy production facilities or it is repurposed/recycled for other energy uses. <ref>{{cite web |title=Radioactive Waste Management |url=https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-waste-management.aspx  |date= February 2022}}</ref> Proponents of nuclear energy also bring to attention the opportunity cost of utilizing other forms of electricity. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that coal kills 30,000 people a year,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Particulate matter air pollution and national and county life expectancy loss in the USA: A spatiotemporal analysis |date=23 July 2019| doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002856 | last1=Bennett | first1=James E. | last2=Tamura-Wicks | first2=Helen | last3=Parks | first3=Robbie M. | last4=Burnett | first4=Richard T. | last5=Pope | first5=C. Arden | last6=Bechle | first6=Matthew J. | last7=Marshall | first7=Julian D. | last8=Danaei | first8=Goodarz | last9=Ezzati | first9=Majid | journal=PLOS Medicine | volume=16 | issue=7 | pages=e1002856 | pmid=31335874 | pmc=6650052 |doi-access=free }}</ref> as a result of its environmental impact, while 60 people died in the Chernobyl disaster.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Power and Energy Independence |url=https://reason.com/2008/10/22/nuclear-power-and-energy-indep/ |date=22 October 2008}}</ref> A real world example of impact provided by proponents of nuclear energy is the 650,000 ton increase in carbon emissions in the two months following the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate |url=https://www.nuclearmatters.com/climate |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref>