Summary:
- Many countries around the world use nuclear energy as a source of electricity.
- France gets about 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy.
- In the United States, a little less than 20% of electricity comes from nuclear power.
- Nuclear energy is released when the nucleus of an atom is split.
- The process of splitting atoms creates radioactive waste.
- This waste may be dangerous for thousands or hundreds of thousands of years.
- The long-term disposal of wastes is a problem that has not yet been solved.
- The future of nuclear power is murky.