Nuclear energy is a hot topic (pun intended), not only does the nuclear option allow for cleaner energy production, it also allows for the purification of water in some cases. Not all nuclear plants double as desalinization plants, but with a few upgrades or modifications, they could. Nuclear plants are pretty simple. Think about pool, the cue ball hits one billiard, then that billiard hits another 2 billiards then those billiards hit two more billiards etc. In the case of nuclear energy, its neutrons hitting atoms, those atoms spit and throw off more neutrons. The splitting of the atom produces heat, and that heat is used to boil water. The steam from the reactor is then channeled to a turbine that is hooked to a generator.
The most complicated part about a nuclear reactor is how to control the reaction. In Chernobyl tests were being done to see what would happen if the power plant lost “power” unfortunately the results were explosive, the turbine that provided cool water stopped spinning. Pressure from steam built up and the reactor blew up. Despite the disaster the world continues to use nuclear power. Why? Why do we still use nuclear power? The answer is simple. It is safer statistically than coal.
According to Our World in Data, there are ~58 deaths per terawatt hour attributed to coal and brown coal. But, for Nuclear only 0.07 deaths per terawatt hours are attributed. For perspective a typical person uses ~900 kilowatt hours in a month. A kilowatt is 10^3 watts, while a terawatt is 10^12watts.
Farther more it is estimated that about 5 million people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution. (ourworlddata.org) Coal burning also produces greenhouse gases which are bad both for the environment and for humans. Many super large cities, such as in China or India have troubles with smog a mixture of greenhouse gases and smoke. Smog is particularly bad for your lungs and has been attributed to lung cancer. According to the International Agency for research on Cancer, air pollution has also been linked to bladder cancer. Long story short, coal burning is not only killing our planet, but it’s also killing its inhabitants.
While it is true that a nuclear disaster could spew a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere, coal plants are dumping ~ 1000 metric tons of C02 into the air every year. For perspective a 1969 Volkswagen beetle is approximately 1 metric ton.
Another benefit is clean water. In the US Clean water is a commodity and more often than not, is taken for granted. Water purification is a complicated process and requires massive plants. With nuclear energy, a large amount of heat is produced and could be used to purify water. While current plants may need modifications to achieve this, it could be an added benefit, after all what else is going to be done with super-heated water? Besides water purification, desalinization could be achieved, traditional methods of desalinization include reverse osmosis which when deployed large scale is extremely inefficient, with the “waste heat” of nuclear plants, sea water can be evaporated and fresh water can be condensed on to another surface.
Nuclear plants offer many benefits over coal plants and should be considered as the future of energy production.
A Noob's Perspective 