Promotional Information

Provides timely and up-to-date facts, context, perspectives, and tools to make informed decisions about nuclear energy.

Table of Contents

Preface
1 Background and History
Atoms and Mysterious Rays
The Atomic Nucleus
Neutrons and Nuclear Fission
A Letter of Warning
The Manhattan Project
The First Nuclear Reactor
Nuclear Perils and Promises
The Atomic Energy Commission
Reactors at Sea
Other Forms of Nuclear Propulsion
"Atoms for Peace,"
Science Fiction and Cold War Reality
The Atomic Energy Act of 1954
Early Developments and Regulation
Breeding Controversy
Expansion of Nuclear Power in the 1960s and 1970s
The AEC and the Environmental Movement
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
From Brown's Ferry to Three Mile Island
A Growing Antinuclear Movement
The Chernobyl Disaster
Yucca Mountain and Nuclear Waste
Fukushima: The Nuclear Perfect Storm
An Uncertain Future
2 Problems, Controversies, and Solutions
Nuclear Power Today
How Much Does Nuclear Power Cost?
Fuel Costs and Comparisons
Growth Projections
Subsidies, Incentives, and Regulations
Continuing Uncertainty
Radiation and Health
Environmental Effects
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Managing Radioactive Waste
Search for a Permanent Solution
Transporting Nuclear Waste
Decommissioning Nuclear Plants
Nuclear Proliferation
Nuclear Terrorism
The Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear Security
The Search for Safety
Does "Safety Culture" Work?
Coping with Natural Disasters
New Reactor Designs
Small Modular Reactors
"Fast" and Breeder Reactors
Fusion?
Public Opinion Changing?
A Stalled Industry?
Nuclear Power and Climate Change
Renewables as an Alternative
Part of the Solution?
Conclusion
3 Perspectives
Nuclear Energy Is a Safe Industry, Brett McCollum
Safety, Human Fallibility, and Nuclear Power, Lloyd J. Dumas
Building Back Better: Lessons from Fukushima, Hilary Oliva Faxon
Nuclear Power: A Faustian Bargain, Mark Troy Burnett
Why Nuclear Energy Is Clean and Environmental Opposition to Nuclear Energy Is a Major Mistake, Bruno Comby
Navajos and Uranium Mining: Death Digging Yellow Dirt, Bruce E. Johansen
4 Profiles
People
Bernard Baruch (1870–1965)
Hans Albrecht Bethe (1906–2005)
Niels Bohr (1885–1962)
Helen B. Caldicott (1938– )
Jimmy Carter (1924– )
Bernard Cohen (1924–2012)
Barry Commoner (1917–2012)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)
Mohamed ElBaradei (1942– )
Enrico Fermi (1901–1954)
John Gofman (1918–2007)
Henry M. Jackson (1912–1983)
Abdul Qadeer Khan (1936– )
David E. Lilienthal (1899–1981)
Lise Meitner (1878–1968)
Karl Z. Morgan (1907–1999)
Mayumi Oda (1941– )
J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967)
Dixy Lee Ray (1914–1994)
Hyman G. Rickover (1900–1987)
Glenn T. Seaborg (1912–1999)
Karen Silkwood (1946–1974)
Lewis L. Strauss (1896–1974)
Leo Szilard (1898–1964)
Grace Thorpe (1924–2008)
Stewart Udall (1920–2010)
Organizations
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
American Institute of Physics
American Nuclear Society
Argonne National Laboratory
Beyond Nuclear
Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy
International Atomic Energy Agency
Nuclear Energy Agency
Nuclear Energy Institute
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Nuclear Threat Initiative
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Union of Concerned Scientists
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
World Information Service on Energy
World Nuclear Association
5 Data and Documents
Historical Background
The Nuclear Industry
Background: What Is Nuclear Energy?
Reactor Designs
Fuel Cycle and Storage
Regulation, Safety, and Risks
Debating the Future of Nuclear Power
6 Resources for Further Research
Overview and Reference
Historical Developments
Economic, Regulatory, and Legal Aspects
Environmental and Health Effects
Risks, Disasters, and Safety in Nuclear Plants
Nuclear Waste and the Fuel Cycle
Proliferation and Terrorism
New Designs and Technologies
Climate Change and the Future of Nuclear Power
7 Chronology
Glossary
Index
About the Author

About the Author

Harry Henderson is a freelance writer who has published more than 30 books relating to computer science, technology, inventions, and related social issues.

Reviews

Part of the Contemporary World Issues series, this second edition of Nuclear Power . . . has been significantly updated and revised. . . . Each chapter is informative and balanced in coverage. . . . This is a valuable resource for libraries supporting programs in environmental studies, energy studies, and earth sciences. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers.
*Choice*