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Nuclear power and sustainable development

Sustainable development depends on three basic factors: economic, social and environmental.
The primary motivation for choosing nuclear power is economic: it produces relatively inexpensive electricity. As of the end of 2011, 435 reactors were in operation worldwide, generating about 13% of the world’s electricity. France has 58 reactors that supply about 78% of the country’s total electrical production.
In social terms, nuclear power continues to spark controversy. One of the contentious points is EDF’s outsourcing of plant maintenance to external service providers whose employees are exposed to questionable working conditions: financial insecurity and continuous exposure to radioactivity from holding down multiple jobs.
In terms of environment, nuclear power has one oft-cited advantage: it produces very little or no greenhouse gases (GHG). However, this low GHG score does not take into account the uranium mining carried out in other countries, nor the transport of uranium and nuclear waste. In addition, uranium mines are a source of environmental pollution not only when in operation but also for many years after. Another important consideration is that nuclear power is not a renewable energy source: today's PWRs (pressured water reactors) and their immediate successors, the EPRs (European pressurized reactors) use large quantities of natural uranium, a resource that could be depleted in slightly less than 100 years at current consumption rates. Moreover, a permanent solution for the disposal of nuclear waste has yet to be adopted. If they cannot be recycled or eliminated, these radioactive substances will slowly accumulate on the planet.