Nuclear power produces more toxic mercury than coal-burning power plants do.
Answer True False

Question

Nuclear power produces more toxic mercury than coal-burning power plants do.
Answer True False

anonymous · Answer

Why would a nuclear power plant produce any toxic mercury at all?  You might well ask why a coal-burning plant does, and the answer is that it is a trace contaminant in coal, so when you burn the coal it goes up the stack with the smoke.

rainbow_dash · Answer

Nuclear power produces next to no toxic energy, as the only thing released into the environment is the steam given off by the cooling towers.  However the biproduct is much more toxic because of the radiation.

anonymous · Answer

That is not the case, Rainbow.  The chemical carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) produced by the combustion of coal are far more dangerous than the radiation emitted by nuclear waste. Furthermore, the chemical carcinogens have a half-life of infinity -- they NEVER decay and become harmless.

It's certainly true if you hold a very concentrated piece of nuclear waste, you are fried.  But the same is true if you hold or breathe or touch a very concentrated piece of chemical poison.