Few of us think about it, but coal contains radioactive material released when burned. Coal is formed from plant remains that are dried out over millions of years under intense pressure and heat. Uranium and thorium are taken up during the growth of trees and thus deposited together with the coal [1].
When burning the coal, this is largely released into the local environment. Contrary to a nuclear power plant, the process occurs without fire via fission. Without fire, no smoke is created, thus no harmful by-products to the atmosphere.
That begs the question. How much radiation are you exposed to if you are next door to a coal power plant versus a nuclear power plant?
The University of Sydney has created this smart radiation dose calculator
Let’s take from here two known power plants. The well-known Fynsværk runs on coal and compares it with the Swedish nuclear power plant Forsmark.
Forsmark nuclear power plant
A resident living within 80 kilometers of the Forsmark nuclear power plant will receive an average radiation dose of 0.0009 mSv per year.
Conclusion
Now we have chosen only two works as an example to make them tangible. But this, of course, applies to all coal and nuclear power plants.
Of course, these are also minimal doses compared to the natural background radiation, which on average worldwide is 2.4 mSv per year. Of course, none of that is something you get sick or die from. But it shows that nuclear power has reasonable control over its by-products, unlike coal power.
In addition to radioactive substances, coal contains lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and many other toxic materials. Where any of them like mercury have ZERO half-life. In addition, it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases.
So we can rightly say a coal power plant is worse than a nuclear power plant, where responsibility is taken for the waste.
Source:
- https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs163-97/FS-163-97.html?fbclid=IwAR3517GfejjykljLkuaaPWdC_QZZcTxIvD3PZTrA7Z7rpb0GxHR8OAx3xFE
