Which statement describes a drawback of nuclear energy?

Which statement describes a drawback of nuclear energy?

• A. It has no safety concerns.
• B. It is completely renewable with no resource limits.
• C. Waste is very dangerous, there is a chance of nuclear disaster, and radiation could cause genetic disease.
• D. It emits carbon dioxide during operation.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that nuclear energy has significant safety and waste-related drawbacks. The statement that describes these drawbacks best points to three key concerns: radioactive waste that is extremely dangerous and must be isolated for thousands of years, the real risk of a nuclear disaster with severe health and environmental consequences, and the potential for radiation to cause genetic damage. Together, these capture the long-term and acute hazards that make nuclear energy controversial and require strong safety, security, and waste-management measures. Why the other ideas don’t fit as drawbacks: claiming there are no safety concerns ignores real incidents and ongoing safety challenges; saying it’s completely renewable with no resource limits is not true because uranium resources are finite and the fuel cycle isn’t renewable; and saying it emits carbon dioxide during operation misrepresents the reality—operational emissions are very low, so CO2 is not a primary drawback of nuclear power.

The main idea here is that nuclear energy has significant safety and waste-related drawbacks. The statement that describes these drawbacks best points to three key concerns: radioactive waste that is extremely dangerous and must be isolated for thousands of years, the real risk of a nuclear disaster with severe health and environmental consequences, and the potential for radiation to cause genetic damage. Together, these capture the long-term and acute hazards that make nuclear energy controversial and require strong safety, security, and waste-management measures.

Why the other ideas don’t fit as drawbacks: claiming there are no safety concerns ignores real incidents and ongoing safety challenges; saying it’s completely renewable with no resource limits is not true because uranium resources are finite and the fuel cycle isn’t renewable; and saying it emits carbon dioxide during operation misrepresents the reality—operational emissions are very low, so CO2 is not a primary drawback of nuclear power.