Editing Nuclear power (section)

== Environmental impact{{anchor|Environmental_issues}} ==
{{Main|Environmental impact of nuclear power}}
[[File:Ikata Nuclear Powerplant.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Ikata Nuclear Power Plant]], a [[pressurized water reactor]] that cools by using a secondary coolant [[heat exchanger]] with a large body of water, an alternative cooling approach to large [[cooling towers]]]]
Being a low-carbon energy source with relatively little land-use requirements, nuclear energy can have a positive environmental impact. It also requires a constant supply of significant amounts of water and affects the environment through mining and milling.<ref>{{cite web |title=Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Options |url=https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/LCA-2.pdf |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510044223/https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/LCA-2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear energy and water use in the columbia river basin |url=https://www.umt.edu/bridges/resources/Documents/Blog-Items/C1-Nuclear-Energy-Water.pdf |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124190925/https://www.umt.edu/bridges/resources/Documents/Blog-Items/C1-Nuclear-Energy-Water.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="10.1016/j.enpol.2016.03.012"/><ref name="10.3390/ijerph13070700">{{cite journal |last1=Kyne |first1=Dean |last2=Bolin |first2=Bob |title=Emerging Environmental Justice Issues in Nuclear Power and Radioactive Contamination |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |date=July 2016 |volume=13 |issue=7 |page=700 |doi=10.3390/ijerph13070700 |pmid=27420080 |pmc=4962241 |language=en|doi-access=free }}</ref> Its largest potential negative impacts on the environment may arise from its transgenerational risks for nuclear weapons proliferation that may increase risks of their use in the future, risks for problems associated with the management of the radioactive waste such as groundwater contamination, risks for accidents and for risks for various forms of attacks on waste storage sites or reprocessing- and power-plants.<ref name="repr"/><ref name="wi1"/><ref name="worldnuclearwastereport"/><ref name="risks"/><ref name="plane1"/><ref name="10.3390/ijerph13070700"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ahearne |first1=John F. |title=Intergenerational Issues Regarding Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste, and Nuclear Weapons |journal=Risk Analysis |date=2000 |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=763–770 |doi=10.1111/0272-4332.206070 |pmid=11314726 |bibcode=2000RiskA..20..763A |s2cid=23395683 |language=en |issn=1539-6924}}</ref><ref name="dont"/> However, these remain mostly only risks as historically there have only been few disasters at nuclear power plants with known relatively substantial environmental impacts.

=== Carbon emissions ===
{{See also|Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of energy sources}}
{{Further|#Historic effect on carbon emissions}}
{{climate change mitigation|Energy}}

[[File:CO2 Emissions from Electricity Production IPCC.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of electricity supply technologies, median values calculated by [[IPCC]]<ref name="IPCC 2014 Annex III" />]]
Nuclear power is one of the leading [[low carbon power generation]] methods of producing [[electricity]], and in terms of [[Life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions of energy sources|total life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy generated]], has emission values comparable to or lower than [[renewable energy]].<ref name="Nrel.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_nuclear.html | title=Nuclear Power Results – Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization| quote=Collectively, life cycle assessment literature shows that nuclear power is similar to other renewable and much lower than fossil fuel in total life cycle GHG emissions. |publisher=nrel.gov |author= [[National Renewable Energy Laboratory]] (NREL) |date=2013-01-24 |access-date=2013-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702205635/http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_nuclear.html |archive-date=2013-07-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_results.html | title=Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization Results and Findings. Figure 1 | publisher=NREL | access-date=2016-09-08 | archive-date=2017-05-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506114117/http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_results.html }}</ref> A 2014 analysis of the [[carbon footprint]] literature by the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] (IPCC) reported that the embodied [[Life cycle assessment|total life-cycle]] [[emission intensity]] of nuclear power has a median value of 12{{nbsp}}g {{CO2}}[[carbon dioxide equivalent|eq]]/[[kilowatt-hour|kWh]], which is the lowest among all commercial [[baseload]] energy sources.<ref name="IPCC 2014 Annex III">{{cite web |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf |title=IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex III: Technology–specific cost and performance parameters |year=2014 |publisher=IPCC |at=table A.III.2 |access-date=2019-01-19 |archive-date=2018-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214164438/https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-iii.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="report.mitigation2014.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf |title=IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex II Metrics & Methodology. |year=2014 |publisher=IPCC |at=section A.II.9.3 |access-date=2019-01-19 |archive-date=2021-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423212531/https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_annex-ii.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> This is contrasted with [[coal]] and [[natural gas]] at 820 and 490&nbsp;g {{CO2}} eq/kWh.<ref name="IPCC 2014 Annex III" /><ref name="report.mitigation2014.org" /> As of 2021, nuclear reactors worldwide have helped avoid the emission of 72 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide since 1970, compared to coal-fired electricity generation, according to a report.<ref name="Kharecha Pushker A 2013 4889–4895" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://world-nuclear.org/getmedia/264c91d4-d443-4edb-bc08-f5175c0ac6ba/performance-report-2021-cop26.pdf.aspx |title=World nuclear performance report 2021 |publisher=World Nuclear Association |access-date=2022-04-19 |archivedate=2022-04-03 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403142850/https://world-nuclear.org/getmedia/264c91d4-d443-4edb-bc08-f5175c0ac6ba/performance-report-2021-cop26.pdf.aspx |url-status=deviated }}</ref>

=== Radiation ===
The average dose from natural [[background radiation]] is 2.4 [[millisievert]] per year (mSv/a) globally. It varies between 1{{nbsp}}mSv/a and 13{{nbsp}}mSv/a, depending mostly on the geology of the location. According to the United Nations ([[UNSCEAR]]), regular nuclear power plant operations, including the nuclear fuel cycle, increases this amount by 0.0002{{nbsp}}mSv/a of public exposure as a global average. The average dose from operating nuclear power plants to the local populations around them is less than 0.0001{{nbsp}}mSv/a.<ref name=UNSCEAR_GA>{{cite web |url=http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2008/09-86753_Report_2008_GA_Report_corr2.pdf |title=UNSCEAR 2008 Report to the General Assembly |publisher=United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation |year=2008 |access-date=2012-05-17 |archive-date=2019-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105222241/http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2008/09-86753_Report_2008_GA_Report_corr2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> For comparison, the average dose to those living within {{convert|50|miles}} of a [[coal power plant]] is over three times this dose, at 0.0003{{nbsp}}mSv/a.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/rad/exposure.aspx |title=National Safety Council |publisher=Nsc.org |access-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091012025401/http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/rad/exposure.aspx |archive-date=12 October 2009 }}</ref>

Chernobyl resulted in the most affected surrounding populations and male recovery personnel receiving an average initial 50 to 100{{nbsp}}mSv over a few hours to weeks, while the remaining global legacy of the worst nuclear power plant accident in average exposure is 0.002{{nbsp}}mSv/a and is continuously dropping at the decaying rate, from the initial high of 0.04{{nbsp}}mSv per person averaged over the entire populace of the Northern Hemisphere in the year of the accident in 1986.<ref name=UNSCEAR_GA />