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Does nuclear energy give off carbon dioxide emissions?
6 Answers
- Anonymous7 years agoFavorite Answer
I don't believe so. In order to have carbon dioxide emissions, you need to have "fossil fuels."
- 7 years ago
This question is not as cut and dry as we presume. The answer is that the burning of the fuel produces no CO-2 emissions. However constructing the reactor does. However there are some who claim that the sum of those Co2 emissions are greater than those produced by coal or natural gas. This is false. Inevitably the amount of co2 fossil fuels emit will exceed the amount needed to construct your typical nuclear reactor. The next issue is mining and again, while that produces some co2, it's nowhere near the amount you'd expect from fossil fuel plants. Finally, the process of fuel enrichment can give off significant co2 emissions but that is because uranium enrichment is an energy intensive process. If the energy being used to enrich the fuel is coming from the reactor, then only insignificant amounts of co2 would be released, if any at all.
- 7 years ago
Any large construction project, including a nuke plant, involves production of CO2 from many sources, including operating vehicles, refining metals, and manufacturing cement. Mining and refining radioactive fuel is also very energy intensive, as is storage of spent fuel.
- 7 years ago
A very miniscule amount. So little that its barely possible to measure. Most emission would come frm the act of building the power plant, which is still is miniscule amount.
Source(s): I know stuff about things