nuclear power debate is a long-running controversy about the risks and benefits of using nuclear reactors to generate electricity for civilian purposes . The debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970s and 1980s , as more and more reactors were built and came online , and " reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies " in some countries . Thereafter , the nuclear industry created jobs , focused on safety , and public concerns mostly waned . In the last decade , however , with growing public awareness about climate change and the critical role that carbon dioxide and methane emissions plays in causing the heating of the earth 's atmosphere , there has been a resurgence in the intensity of the nuclear power debate . Nuclear power advocates and those most concerned about climate change point to nuclear power 's reliable , emission-free , high-density energy , alongside a generation of young physicists and engineers working to bring a new generation of nuclear technology into existence to replace fossil fuels . On the other hand , skeptics point to nuclear accidents such as the death of Louis Slotin , the Windscale fire , the Three Mile Island accident , the Chernobyl disaster , and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , combined with escalating acts of global terrorism , to argue against continuing use of the technology
Windscale fire
Windscale fire
Nuclear power debate