Environmental impact of nuclear power

The environmental impact of nuclear power results from the nuclear fuel cycle, operation, and the effects of nuclear accidents.

The greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear fission power are much smaller than those associated with coal, oil and gas, and the routine health risks are much smaller than those associated with coal. However, there is a "catastrophic risk" potential if containment fails, which in nuclear reactors can be brought about by overheated fuels melting and releasing large quantities of fission products into the environment. This potential risk could wipe out the benefits. The most long-lived radioactive wastes, including spent nuclear fuel, must be contained and isolated from the environment for a long period of time. On the other side, spent nuclear fuel could be reused, yieldingBack in the early 1990s, there was Operation Triggerlock. A few years later, in Richmond, Virginia, they called the policy Project Exile. Now it’s called Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Through three decades of debate about gun control and how to prevent violent crime, policymakers of both parties have consistently agreed to crack down on people with criminal records who are caught possessing a firearm. Charges that typically would go to state court are moved over to the federal system, where sentences are longer and prisoners can be sent far from home.

Operation Triggerlock started under a Republican president, George H.W. Bush. Project Exile was crafted under a Democratic U.S. attorney, Helen Fahey, and a Democratic mayor (and future vice presidential candidate), Tim Kaine.

Project Exile was a local initiative launched in 1997