Very little, the main pollution generated by a properly functioning nuclear power plant is thermal pollution (i.e. heat that would not normally be present otherwise).
Nuclear power plants in the US produce approximately 2,000-2,300 metric tons of radioactive waste each year. This waste is mainly in the form of used nuclear fuel, which is stored on-site at the plants until a long-term disposal solution is established.
2,598,000,000,000 kWh a year, that was estimated in 2008.
The UK generates 290 million tonnes of waste per year
Yes, nuclear energy does produce radioactive waste. This waste needs to be carefully managed and stored to prevent harm to the environment and public health. Research is ongoing to develop better methods for the safe disposal and recycling of nuclear waste.
It varies by location and population, but on average, a single person produces about 4.4 pounds of landfill waste per day, totaling roughly 1,600 pounds per year. In the United States, the total amount of landfill waste produced in one year is approximately 292.4 million tons.
For high level waste, that is essentially spent fuel, it is the same weight as the fuel when loaded, so for a large power reactor something like 15 tonnes per year. Low level waste is more difficult to predict and likely to vary from one plant to another, depending on the amount of maintenance done.
"The USA EPA estimates that 256 million tons of officially classified hazardous wastes are produced in the USA each year. This does not include toxic and hazardous waste produced by industries not monitored by the EPA."
I don't know which is cheaper, but nuclear is far safer than coal:Nuclear power plants do not pollute the environment because of strict regulations governing their waste. The only danger from nuclear power plants are due to accidents like meltdowns or explosions. There have been a number of nuclear power plant incidents, but altogether, not including Chernobyl, these have only killed around 13 people. Only the Chernobyl incident resulted in widespread loss of life, estimated at around 6,000 people.For comparison, coal power plant pollution kills as many people as Chernobyl every few weeks.The amount of radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is about 3 metric tons per terawatt-hour, while the amount of radioactive waste produced by burning coal is about 2 metric tons per terawatt-hour. However, the nuclear waste is contained and tightly regulated. The coal radioactive waste is dumped into the atmosphere as ash or stored in ponds with much less regulation.Because the coal power plant radioactive waste is dumped into the environment, and the nuclear power plant waste is stored safely, coal power plants actually irradiate you 100 times as much as nuclear power plants:You are exposed to 5 person-rem/year of radiation from nuclear power plants.You are exposed to 500 person-rem/year of radiation from coal power plants.Every 2 days, coal power plants in the US release as much radioactive pollution as the Three Mile Island disaster.
I waste as little as possible.
Yes, nuclear power is far safer than coal.Nuclear power plants do not pollute the environment because of strict regulations governing their waste. The only danger from nuclear power plants are due to accidents like meltdowns or explosions. There have been a number of nuclear power plant incidents, but altogether, not including Chernobyl, these have only killed around 13 people. Only the Chernobyl incident resulted in widespread loss of life, estimated at around 6,000 people.For comparison, coal power plant pollution kills as many people as Chernobyl every few weeks.The amount of radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants is about 3 metric tons per terawatt-hour, while the amount of radioactive waste produced by burning coal is about 2 metric tons per terawatt-hour. However, the nuclear waste is contained and tightly regulated. The coal radioactive waste is dumped into the atmosphere as ash or stored in ponds with much less regulation.Because the coal power plant radioactive waste is dumped into the environment, and the nuclear power plant waste is stored safely, coal power plants actually irradiate you 100 times as much as nuclear power plants:You are exposed to 5 person-rem/year of radiation from nuclear power plants.You are exposed to 500 person-rem/year of radiation from coal power plants.Every 2 days, coal power plants in the US release as much radioactive pollution as the Three Mile Island disaster.
In 2020, nuclear power plants worldwide produced about 2650 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, accounting for approximately 10% of global electricity generation.
Despite have a greater population, Europe still does not waste as much food every year as does the United States.