Nuclear Energy Leadership Advantage

David Hansen
Fall 2014 Washburn

Synopsis: Says nuclear energy inevitable, but it’s unsafe now. Unsafe nuclear power leads to
extinction. Plan solves because it invigorates US nuclear leadership.

Uniqueness
1 Nuclear power is inevitable globally, however without US leadership it will be unsafe
-China, India and South Korea are all looking to drastically expand their nuclear programs over
next few years to move from fossil fuel dependence and grow their economies.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Current-and-Future-Generation/Nuclear-Power-in-the-World-
Today/ (scroll down a little)

-Current issues with nuclear power have not been adequately addressed because of lack of
clear direction by those currently running nuclear power plants. Companies are constantly
looking for cost cutting methods and other government agencies don’t know how to properly
manage nuclear power plants.

2 The design and approach to nuclear reactors is critical to their safety

-A study of the three nuclear accidents (Fukushima, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl) showed that
in each instance, the impact of the accident was determined by the administrative response and
design. At Chernobyl the cost-cutting measures and poor engineering caused the reactor to
explod. At Fukushima, officials underestimated the radioactivity of the older reactor core and did
not securitize it proper. At Three Mile Island, the reactor was severely damaged, but the
radiation was contained due to strong administrative protocols in the United States.

3 Other countries lack safe procedures in regards to nuclear power, but are still
expanding their nuclear energy
-Most growth is happening in South East Asia, where safety standards are unclear and
administration is ineffective. In South Korea, a scandal involving bribery and faked safety tests
for equipment used throughout that country’s nuclear reactor fleet was revealed in 2013.
http://nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=474

-The International Energy Association projects a growth in energy demand by 2.2% per year,
with 80% of the demand from countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development. This means there will be a sharp increase in the demand for nuclear fuel.

Impacts
1 Global spread of unsafe nuclear power leads to proliferation
-Countries without secure infrastructures are developing nuclear power without a clear way to
dispose of waste. The waste is often stored on-site at many nuclear reactors. These sites
become targets for terrorist groups who want to create a dirty bomb. One dirty bomb attack
could wipe out an entire population center, killing millions.
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/press/books/2011/businessandnonproliferation/businessandn
onproliferation_chapter.pdf

2 Dirty bomb attack triggers escalation

-NATO member states have a retaliatory mindset about attacks. The NATO charter says “An
attack against one is an attack against all.” This means an attack on any NATO state would
trigger long wars on terror groups that result in killing millions of civilians.

3 “Nuclear anarchy” risks extinction

-Frank Barnaby from the Oxford Research Group published a paper detailing how loose fissile
materials meant that terror groups get access to numerous dirty bombs. Because of lack of
clear storage protocol and increased demand for plutonium, sites are easily accessed. This
increases global tensions and breaks the nuclear taboo because every actor is fearful of who
has nuclear weapons.

-This leads to small nuclear conflicts because states don’t know who does and who doesn’t
have nuclear weapons.

-Small conflicts can trigger nuclear winter. Only 100 city-sized firestorms would be necessary to
cause nuclear winter and eliminate all life on earth.
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/ToonRobockTurcoPhysicsToday.pdf

Solvency
1 Nationalization spurs confidence in US leadership
-The plan is a shift in US policy action. Nationalization shows that the USFG takes nuclear
power too seriously to leave it to the free market. This is the same stance it took when we
nationalized airlines.

-The US extremely effective at making safe energy practices. Because we have access to the
most advanced research institutions in the world, we know how to best engineer plants and how
to respond to nuclear accidents. That’s why Three Mile Island didn’t kill anyone.

2 Other nations model US nuclear practices

-China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan are all willing to engage in multilateral engineering
and policy efforts to create safe nuclear power. Each sees it in their own interest and has
vocally expressed a desire to engage in these talks

3 US leadership solves the waste problem

-Because the US is so large geographically, it means that we can find the ideal place to store
nuclear waste. This also means terror groups can’t get ahold of waste because US run facilities
would be more remote and secure.
-There is a major financial incentive for other countries to sell their waste to the USFG. The
USFG does engage in some profitable enterprises, there is no reason waste storage couldn’t be
one of these as well

4 US leadership creates the most secure practices

-The US has the best security advisors who it can work closely with when drafting policies. This
is why US resources are so secure. You never hear about a group bombing a US power plant.