核能

在20世纪70年代和80年代，美国建造了100多个核反应堆. They promised abundant, 安全, “清洁”能源, free from the pollution associated with coal and other fossil fuels.

今天，这些反应堆中的大多数仍在运行，只是状态不同. 由于要与更便宜的天然气和可再生能源发电竞争，许多公司的利润非常微薄. Some have experienced costly 安全- and age-related problems. All of them face unresolved questions around nuclear waste.

但是，现有核电站提供的低碳电力在应对617888九五至尊娱乐变化方面越来越有价值. 在我们对美国电力的未来做出决定时，了解这些动态，并权衡核能的优点与缺点和风险是至关重要的.

To help prevent the worst consequences of climate change, 美国必须在本世纪中叶或之前实现全经济净零排放. This requires swiftly decarbonizing the electric sector, one of the largest sources of US carbon emission.

But deep decarbonization isn’t easy. Difficult decisions need to be made around whether aging, 无利可图的核反应堆要么继续运行，要么被替换——用什么来替换它们呢.

Policymakers facing these issues should consider the climate impacts, 成本, 安全, and public health implications. 它们还应加强支持其他低碳技术的政策.

2011年的福岛灾难显示了核电站安全系统失灵的后果. 美国核工业对此作出了熟悉的保证，即这种情况不会发生在美国.

We know better. Enforcing fire and earthquake regulations, addressing flood risks, 更安全的核废料现场储存只是我们帮助防止核事故的几种方法.

Since its founding in 1969, UCS has served as a nuclear 安全 watchdog. 我们帮助确保核管理委员会(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)执行其安全法规，并努力防止他们迫于行业压力而降低安全标准和监管.

我们认为，监管良好的核工业符合每个人的最佳利益，尤其是核工业本身.

Accidents aren’t the only potential threat to nuclear facilities. A successful terrorist attack could kill, 患病, 或使大量人口流离失所，造成广泛的长期环境污染. 保护核反应堆和核材料应该成为每一个对核电感兴趣的人关注的中心问题.

不幸的是, the NRC has regularly downplayed the threat of nuclear terrorism, 为了应对降低成本的行业压力，放松了对安全演习的要求.

核反应堆背后的基本原理很简单:受控核反应产生的热量被用来产生蒸汽压力，从而驱动发电涡轮机. 但是，有效、安全地实现这一原理所需的技术是极其复杂的. 裂变链式反应必须保持在正确的速率，并在必要时迅速调整或停止.

Almost all the world’s reactors are cooled by water, and their water temperature and pressure must be carefully controlled. 和复杂的, 需要冗余冷却系统来防止核燃料过热, which can lead to a meltdown and the release of radioactivity.

Nuclear reactors can be cooled by materials other than water; several such types are under development by governments and industry. 它们有不同的安全漏洞和系统来防止事故中放射性物质的释放.