Is nuclear power an alternative energy is a question many people ask. Many scientists and researchers into nuclear power believe that harnessing the power of the atom in fission reactions is the most significant alternative energy resource that we have at our disposal because of the immense quantity of power it can generate.  Environmentalists and concerned citizens hotly dispute that nuclear power is an alternative energy because of the extremely determental effects on humans, animals and the environment caused by radiation and the radioactive waste products generated by nuclear power plants. 

So, is nuclear power really an alternative power? It would depend on what definition of 'alternative energy' you accept.  The developmental green point of view is that an alternative energy must be sustainable in a completely non-contaminating, non-toxic way. Of course, we can never say that about nuclear power.

And even though nuclear power can be generated at 80% efficiency, meaning that the energy produced by the fission reactions is almost equal to the energy put into producing the fission reactions in the first place, its potential for great harm is there at all times, just being contained by design and system. Human error and material fatigue are hard to factor in which to my ,ind asnwers the question "Is nucleare power an alternative energy?"

Nuclear power plants may well be called “clean-burning” vis-a-vis coal-burning power plants,  but the small amounts of waste that are produced is staggeringly potent in its contaminating effects.  Radioactivity, radiation, radioactive fallout - whatever name you give it - is powerfully destructive and the disposal of this radioactive waste raises huge environmental and health issues. The radiation from these gases lasts for an extraordinarily long time, so it must not be released for hundreds of years once contained and stored.

It is sometimes argued that the volume of this radioactive waste produced by the nuclear power plants is small in comparison to the amount of air pollution, in the form of nitrous oxide, that is produced by one day's worth of rush-hour traffic in any modern city today. The argument goes that although radiation is by far the deadliest of the two, it is the easier of the two to contain and store. 

Most environmentalists take the overall view encompassing both the short and the long view and  find it extremely difficult to reconcile the arguments saying that nuclear power is environmentally friendly alternative energy, and the  risk of the contained radiation getting out is actually quite low with the actual consequences of radiation contamination. That stored radiation will out - at some time or the other as a slow leak or quick bang - and the damage will have been done.

How is nuclear power generated? An atom is split (fission) and releases vast quantites of energy in the form of heat and light. Atomic power plants control the fission reactions so that they don't result in the devastating explosions that occur when atomic and hydrogen bombs explode. The chances of an atomic power plant exploding like a nuclear bomb exist but they are small, as the specialized conditions inside a nuclear power plant are strictly controlled and monitored.

The risk of a “meltdown” is low, but it has happened several times over the years with devastating consequences for the health of the people, animals and the environment in the affected areas and beyond.  To reduce the risk to an 'objective' statistical percentage i.e. that there are over 500 nuclear reactors spread across 33 nations, with some nuclear reactors in use since the 1950s making the number of 'incidences' statistically very small is no consolation to those affected by the so-called incidences. It does not matter whether they were caused by human error or outdated materials because they still occur and great harm is done.

The environmentalists argue that there are safe, sustainable, renewable sources of energy that we can and should be harnessing to run our homes and industries that do not have the destructive properties that are a compulsory by-product of generating nuclear power.

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