nuclear power today

Nuclear Power Today
Nuclear generation began 50 years ago and now generates as much global electricity as was produced then by all sources. Some two-thirds of world population lives in nations where nuclear power plants are an integral part of electricity production and industrial infrastructures. Half the world's people live in countries where new nuclear power reactors are in planning or under construction. Thus, a rapid expansion of global nuclear power would require no fundamental change - simply an acceleration of existing strategies.
Today nearly 440 nuclear reactors produce electricity around the world. More than 15 countries rely on nuclear power for 25% or more of their electricity. In Europe and Japan, the nuclear share of electricity is over 30%. In the U.S., nuclear power creates 20% of electricity.
Around the world, scientists in more than 50 countries use nearly 300 research reactors to investigate nuclear technologies and to produce radioisotopes for medical diagnosis and cancer therapy. Meanwhile, on the world's oceans, nuclear reactors have powered over 400 ships without harm to crews or the environment.
In the Cold War's aftermath, a key activity is the removal of nuclear material from weapons and its conversion to fuel for civil nuclear power.
Strong Nuclear Policies
Many countries have a strong commitment to nuclear power. Among these are China, India, the United States, Russia and Japan, which together represent half of world population. Other nations - such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Finland, South Korea, South Africa, Ukraine and several other countries in Central and Eastern Europe - are acting to increase the role of nuclear power in their economies. Key developing nations without nuclear power - such as Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam - are considering this option.
Nuclear power provides energy independence and security of supply. France, with 60 million people, obtains over 75% of its electricity from nuclear power and is the world's largest net exporter of electricity. Italy's 60 million people have no nuclear power and are the world's largest importers of electricity
A Superb Record of Nuclear Safety
Although Chernobyl blemished the image of nuclear energy, the accident's positive legacy is an even stronger system of nuclear safety worldwide. In 1989, the nuclear industry established the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) to foster a global nuclear safety culture. Through private-sector diplomacy, WANO has built a transnational network of technical exchange that includes all countries with nuclear power. Today every nuclear power reactor in the world is part of the WANO system of operational peer review. The aim of WANO's peer-review system standards set by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Advances in safety practice are unmistakable. At most plants worldwide, reportable safety-related 'events' are now near zero. National and international insurance laws assign responsibility to nuclear plant operators. In the U.S. for example, reactor operators share in a 'pooled' private insurance system that has never cost taxpayers a penny.
Today, nuclear power plants have a superb safety record - both for plant workers and the public. In the transport of nuclear material, highly engineered containers - capable of withstanding enormous impact - are the industrial norm. More than 20,000 containers of spent fuel and high-level waste have been shipped safely over a total distance exceeding 30 million kilometres. During the transport of these and other
radioactive substances - whether for research, medicine or nuclear - there had never been a harmful radioactive release.
Facts on Radiation
Radiation is release naturally from the ground and atmosphere in all places on Earth. This 'natural background' radiation, which varies considerable from region to region, is part of the environment to which all human beings are conditioned. Like many things, radiation can be both beneficial and harmful. Large doses are dangerous. Abundant evidence indicates that small doses are harmless.
The radiation produced within the core of nuclear reactors is similar to natural radiation but more intense. At nuclear power plants, protective shielding isolates this radiation, allowing millions of people to live in safety nearby. Typically, the radiation people receive comes 90% from nature and 10% from medical exposures. Radiation exposure from nuclear power is negligible.