Do nuclear power plants produce more radiation than they use?

Among the surprising conclusions: the waste produced by coal plants is actually more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts. read more

To be accurate the answer to that question has to be yes. Mildly radioactive fuel assemblies containing U238 and U235 go in, and intensely radioactive fuel assemblies come out. read more

In fact, the fly ash emitted by a power plant—a by-product from burning coal for electricity—carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy. * [See Editor's Note at end of page 2] At issue is coal's content of uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. read more