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Benefits-Nuclear
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Nuclear technology has become a major part of life in the US, having a multitude of beneficial applications for food, medicine, energy, and manufactured products. The direct and indirect impact of nuclear technology on the US economy was evaluated using economic models similar to those used by the US Government to predict the effects of military base closures, using 1991 economic data. The results are remarkable: Dollars: The total impact of nuclear technology on the US economy is over $330 billion each year. If this figure represented a gross national product it would rank eleventh among the nations of the world! Jobs: People working directly with nuclear technology in this country, along with the other workers who support and sustain them, represent over 4 million jobs. These include plant workers, technicians, construction workers, engineers, operators, secretaries, doctors, teachers, and even postal workers. Specific Benefits Food: Although the benefits of irradiation processing are well proven, there is no national policy to promote its application to the US food supply. Instead, federal rules prevent or delay the use of irradiation processing, even on foods (such as pork and ground beef) known to pose significant risks. Meanwhile, thousands of US citizens each year become seriously ill and even die from food-borne disease. Major food suppliers, concerned about public acceptance, have resisted taking the lead in promoting this process. Public proposals to address food safety focus on additional inspection and public awareness, and rarely consider superior processing methods. · "Pico wave" treatment boosts safety and shelf life for spices, strawberries, potatoes · Safety of chicken improved (kills salmonella) · Tracers used to analyze soil, to study plant physiology, and to breed new crop strains · Nuclear thickness monitors screen eggs for thin shells Energy: Lack of a national energy policy, coupled with electric utility deregulation, has neutralized a strong advantage of nuclear energy. Economic models used by electric utilities, which ignore strategic benefits at the national level, tend to penalize long-term, large capacity, capital-intensive options. Also, many of the societal costs of competing energy options (public safety, environmental degradation, public health risks, transportation risks) are borne by other sectors of the economy, while the analogous costs for nuclear are included in its busbar costs. Finally, despite popular support of recycling to conserve resources, recycling nuclear fuel is specifically prohibited, limiting us to using only 1% of its energy potential and greatly complicating waste disposal. · Nuclear plants supply 20% of all electricity produced in the US · Sustainable domestic fuel source with no pollution, no "greenhouse gas" emissions · 40-year safety record unsurpassed by any other major industrial technology · Only source whose price includes safety, environmental, waste, and decommissioning costs Medicine: Over 95% of the isotopes essential to nuclear medicine in the US are imported, some from aging facilities, due to the loss of domestic production capacity. Despite important advances in nuclear medicine achieved in the US, widespread availability of nuclear medical technology is in jeopardy. For example, the US has no capability for producing the isotopes required for the recently developed "smart bullets" to fight cancer. Meanwhile, cumbersome federal rules prevent or delay access to new nuclear medical procedures in the US. Inadequate and inconsistent national policies have made the disposal of low-level radioactive waste materials so difficult and costly that some medical facilities have discontinued nuclear procedures · 13 million medical procedures every year rely on nuclear isotopes · Nuclear diagnosis or therapy benefits 1 of every 3 US hospital patients · Nuclear sterilization assures safety of surgical tools, bandages · 10 of the last 15 Nobel Prizes in medicine and physiology made possible by nuclear techniques Products: The use of radiation and radioactive materials in manufacturing is remarkably widespread, but is generally "invisible" to the public. Most people are unaware that some common products (such as smoke detectors) contain radioactive materials, and manufacturers do not publicize it. · Nuclear emitters used in smoke detectors · Radiation used to polymerize plastics · Isotope tracers detect pipeline wear, leaks, etc. · Nuclear thickness gauges assure quality of sheet metal, paper, films
Missions: Although deep space missions are impossible without nuclear batteries, some policymakers have suggested a total ban on nuclear materials in space.
· Nuclear batteries allow deep space probes to function for decades without sunlight · Space and military rations preserved with nuclear sterilization Nuclear power allows submarines to remain on duty for extended periods
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