Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have measured the impact that shutting down nuclear reactors could have on the environment and human health.
The team laid out a scenario in which every nuclear power plant in the US has been shut down and considered how other sources such as coal, natural gas and renewable energy would fill the resulting energy needs throughout an entire year.
Their analysis reveals that air pollution would increase, as coal, gas and oil sources ramped up to compensate for nuclear power’s absence. According to the researchers, this would have serious health effects, resulting in an additional 5,200 pollution-related deaths over a single year.
This scenario could be avoided if more renewable energy sources become available to supply the energy grid. However, even in this scenario, the team still predicted a slight increase in air pollution in some parts of the country, resulting in a total of 260 pollution...