Orji Ruth
CLAIM– Nuclear power plant is safer than Fossil fuel.
About a year ago, YouTuber @Shaddarking asserted that Nuclear power is much safer and eco-friendlier than fossil fuel.
This post has since gathered 11 likes; 544 views; 2 comments and 1 share.
https://youtube.com/shorts/qPJZooh2paY?si=AJvzu7-iziUL6b92
NatureNews, Africa’s foremost news publications on climate change, which is dedicated to providing accurate insights to stop the spread of fake news particularly among users of social media, subjected the claim to fact checking.
Findings: Using the Google search tool in conducting this research, NatureFact, the fact checking unit of NatureNews, accessed a few papers and studies.
What is Nuclear power?
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants.
What is fossil fuel?
A fossil fuel is a carbon compound– or hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth’s crust from the remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants and planktons), a process that occurs within geological formations. Some fossil fuels are further refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and disel.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fossil_fuel&action=edit
The myth concerning the safety of fossil fuels vs Nuclear power is hinging on its safety… let’s elaborate, there has been so much debate on the fact that Nuclear power has been known to be used to build weaponry (especially weapons of mass destruction), hence the question, is it safe? Won’t it combust and annihilate everyone and everything? Even if it’s safe, isn’t Fossil fuel apparently safer? @AsapScience expounds on this:
https://youtu.be/glM80kRWbes?si=7zbRlyfkObuYmhuN
It is necessary to mention that Nuclear energy is sometimes referred to as a clean energy technology as it produces nearly zero carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear energy also avoids producing air pollutants that are often associated with burning fossil fuels for energy. But on the con side, nuclear energy is technically a non-renewable energy source, nuclear plants have a high up-front cost associated with them, and nuclear waste and the operation of nuclear plants pose some environmental and health challenges but much lower compared to fossil fuel” https://www.energysage.com/about-clean-energy/nuclear-energy/pros-and-cons-nuclear-energy/#:~:text=On%20the%20cons%20side%2C%20nuclear,some%20environmental%20and%20health%20challenges.
@iknowstuffs further attests to this:
https://youtube.com/shorts/bD4s9U6Ie9g?si=D2mVPcHyS365s8az
@BBCLearningEnglish further explains how green Nuclear energy actually is:
https://youtu.be/naB_3XYRtew?si=QdIsCc4yTFkO0AM9
A thorough fact-checking investigation has revealed that this is actually factual. Conclusively, @ShaddarKing was indeed correct.
Verdict: True. Nuclear energy is much safer and eco-friendlier than fossil fuel.
