Subject(s)
Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/supply & distribution , Chernobyl Nuclear Accident , Earthquakes/economics , Earthquakes/mortality , Fukushima Nuclear Accident , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Nuclear Energy/economics , Nuclear Power Plants/economics , Nuclear Power Plants/standards , Renewable Energy/economics , Renewable Energy/statistics & numerical data , Risk Assessment , Tsunamis/economicsSubject(s)
Environmental Policy/trends , Fukushima Nuclear Accident , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/standards , Nuclear Power Plants/trends , Public Opinion , Safety , Humans , Nuclear Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Power Plants/supply & distribution , Risk Assessment , Time FactorsABSTRACT
This study examined the impact of disaggregate and aggregate energy, economic development, urbanization and political institutional quality on environmental pollution using a time series data spanning from 1971 to 2017. The study employed response surface regressions, structural break cumulative sum (CUSUM) test based on recursive residuals and ordinary least squares (OLS) residuals for parameter stability en route to estimating the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) regression. The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid in South Africa with an extreme point of ZAR 56,114 which occurred in 2011. Evidence from the study reveals that political institutional quality plays a huge role in the social, governance and economic readiness to mitigate climate change and its impact. Structural adjustment in disaggregate and aggregate energy consumption, economic growth, and political institutional quality play a critical role in environmental quality. Fossil-fuel rich countries require diversification of the energy portfolio by incorporating renewable energy sources which will promote environmental sustainability and improve air quality while reducing their economy's vulnerability to price volatility. A paradigm shift from energy and carbon-intensive industries to a service-oriented economy will cause a structural economic change thus, aiding in the mitigation of climate change and its impacts.
Subject(s)
Environmental Policy , Environmental Pollution/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Renewable Energy/statistics & numerical data , Carbon Dioxide , South AfricaABSTRACT
The decarbonization of the global economy is an urgent concern. As a potential solution, it can be important to understand the efficiency of nuclear energy policies. For this purpose, the paper analyzes whether there is a unit root in nuclear energy consumption in 26 countries and it uses the unit root tests with two endogenous (unknown) structural breaks. The paper finds that nuclear energy consumption is stationary around a level and the time trend in 25 of 26 countries and nuclear energy consumption contains a unit root only in France. The paper also discusses the potential implications of the findings.
Subject(s)
Efficiency, Organizational/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Public Policy/legislation & jurisprudence , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Conservation of Energy Resources/statistics & numerical data , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Economic Development , Efficiency, Organizational/legislation & jurisprudence , Efficiency, Organizational/trends , Humans , Models, Theoretical , Public Policy/trendsABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Ionizing radiation poses important health risks. The per capita annual dose rate has increased in the United States and there is increasing concern for the risks posed by low-dose occupational exposure among workers in nuclear industries and healthcare. Recent nuclear accidents and concern for terrorism have heightened concern for catastrophic, high-dose ionizing radiation exposure. This review will highlight recent research into the risks to lung health posed by ionizing radiation exposure and into potential treatments. RECENT FINDINGS: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and some antioxidants have shown promise as mitigators, to decrease pneumonitis and fibrosis when given after exposure. Studies of survivors of nuclear catastrophes have shown increased risk for lung cancer, especially in nonsmokers. There is evidence for increased lung cancer risk in industrial radiation workers, especially those who process plutonium and may inhale radioactive particles. There does not seem to be an increased risk of lung cancer in healthcare workers who perform fluoroscopic procedures. SUMMARY: High-dose ionizing radiation exposure causes pneumonitis and fibrosis, and more research is needed to develop mitigators to improve outcomes in nuclear catastrophes. Long-term, low-dose occupational radiation may increase lung cancer risk. More research to better define this risk could lead to improved safety protocols and screening programs.
Subject(s)
Lung Diseases/epidemiology , Nuclear Power Plants , Occupational Exposure/adverse effects , Radiation Exposure/adverse effects , Radiation, Ionizing , Health Personnel , Humans , Lung Diseases/etiology , Male , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/statistics & numerical data , Occupational Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Radiation Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Risk , United States/epidemiologySubject(s)
Congresses as Topic , Conservation of Energy Resources/legislation & jurisprudence , Conservation of Energy Resources/trends , Global Warming/prevention & control , Goals , International Cooperation/legislation & jurisprudence , Conservation of Energy Resources/economics , Conservation of Energy Resources/statistics & numerical data , Global Warming/economics , Global Warming/legislation & jurisprudence , Investments/economics , Investments/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Energy/economics , Nuclear Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Paris , Private Sector/economics , Public-Private Sector Partnerships/economics , Public-Private Sector Partnerships/trends , Renewable Energy/economics , Renewable Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Renewable Energy/statistics & numerical data , TemperatureABSTRACT
There is an ongoing debate about the deployment rates and composition of alternative energy plans that could feasibly displace fossil fuels globally by mid-century, as required to avoid the more extreme impacts of climate change. Here we demonstrate the potential for a large-scale expansion of global nuclear power to replace fossil-fuel electricity production, based on empirical data from the Swedish and French light water reactor programs of the 1960s to 1990s. Analysis of these historical deployments show that if the world built nuclear power at no more than the per capita rate of these exemplar nations during their national expansion, then coal- and gas-fired electricity could be replaced worldwide in less than a decade. Under more conservative projections that take into account probable constraints and uncertainties such as differing relative economic output across regions, current and past unit construction time and costs, future electricity demand growth forecasts and the retiring of existing aging nuclear plants, our modelling estimates that the global share of fossil-fuel-derived electricity could be replaced within 25-34 years. This would allow the world to meet the most stringent greenhouse-gas mitigation targets.
Subject(s)
Fossil Fuels/economics , Nuclear Energy/economics , Power Plants/supply & distribution , Carbon Dioxide/chemistry , Climate Change , Electricity , Fossil Fuels/statistics & numerical data , France , Greenhouse Effect/prevention & control , Humans , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , SwedenSubject(s)
Government Regulation , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Power Plants/statistics & numerical data , Policy Making , Safety/legislation & jurisprudence , Safety/standards , Carbon Footprint , China , Conflict of Interest , Fukushima Nuclear Accident , Humans , Japan , Nuclear Energy/ethics , Nuclear Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Nuclear Power Plants/instrumentationSubject(s)
Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants , Radiation Monitoring , Radioactive Hazard Release , Decision Making , Disasters/prevention & control , Environmental Restoration and Remediation , Humans , Japan , Nuclear Power Plants/standards , Nuclear Power Plants/statistics & numerical data , Politics , Radiation Dosage , Radiation Monitoring/standardsSubject(s)
Federal Government , Policy , Politics , Research , Embryo Research/legislation & jurisprudence , France , Humans , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Research/education , Research/legislation & jurisprudence , Research/organization & administration , Research/standards , Research Support as Topic/economics , Research Support as Topic/trends , Stem Cell Research/legislation & jurisprudence , Universities/economics , Universities/organization & administrationABSTRACT
The present study described the results of three "fixed-point" surveys on perceived risk related to a list of social and individual risk events during 25 years in Japan. Female clerical staff and researchers were asked to rank 30 items related to various types of technologies and human activities according to their subjective judgments on the order of perceived magnitude of risk in 1983, 1992, and 2007. A similar survey was undertaken for Japanese citizens using web-based questionnaires in 2007. In general, the risk perceptions of the Japanese people, irrespective of gender, age, and occupation, have been uniform during the last 25 years. The female clerical staffs have consistently judged nuclear power as most risky during the last 25 years, whereas researchers' judgment fluctuated with events such as the Chernobyl accident. The ranking of the risk of motor vehicles fell during the 25-y period, whereas those of health risks with food preservatives, x-rays, and antibiotics rose transiently in the 1992 survey. During the 15 years from 1992 to 2007, people tended to learn how to accommodate themselves to these technologies with low risks in exchange for high benefits, except in the case of nuclear power. Nuclear power was regarded as a high-risk item by the Japanese even before the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011. This partly explains that the crisis inevitably provokes further high risk perception in Japan, although the overall health threat to the human population in Japan is estimated to be relatively limited so far.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Data Collection , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Risk , Adult , Female , Humans , Internet , Japan , Male , Middle Aged , Public Opinion , Radioactive Hazard Release/psychology , Research Personnel , Risk Assessment , Sex Factors , Surveys and QuestionnairesSubject(s)
Leukemia/etiology , Nuclear Energy , Nuclear Power Plants , Age of Onset , Child , Emigration and Immigration/statistics & numerical data , Environmental Exposure/adverse effects , Environmental Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects , France , Health Planning Guidelines , Humans , Leukemia/epidemiology , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/supply & distribution , Population Density , Population Surveillance , Radioactive Hazard Release/psychology , Radioactive Hazard Release/statistics & numerical data , RegistriesSubject(s)
Renewable Energy/legislation & jurisprudence , Renewable Energy/statistics & numerical data , Biofuels/statistics & numerical data , Biofuels/supply & distribution , California , Electric Power Supplies/statistics & numerical data , Electric Power Supplies/supply & distribution , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Renewable Energy/standardsSubject(s)
Electric Power Supplies/supply & distribution , Electric Power Supplies/trends , Fossil Fuels/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Energy/statistics & numerical data , Earthquakes , International Cooperation , Japan , Nuclear Power Plants/statistics & numerical data , Nuclear Power Plants/supply & distribution , Radioactive Hazard ReleaseABSTRACT
This paper summarizes the key points of a report titled Nuclear Energy Outlook, published in 2008 by the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has 30 member nations. The report discusses the commitment of many nations to increase nuclear power generating capacity and the potential rate of building new electricity-generating nuclear plants by 2030 to 2050. The resulting decrease in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion resulting from an increase in nuclear power sources is described. Other topics that are discussed include the need to develop non-proliferative nuclear fuels, the importance of developing geological disposal facilities or reprocessing capabilities for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste materials, and the requirements for a larger nuclear workforce and greater cost competitiveness for nuclear power generation.