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Negative effect of nuclear power
Importance of nuclear power
Negative effect of nuclear power
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The energy industry is beginning to change. In today’s modern world, governments across the globe are shifting their focuses from traditional sources of power, like the burning coal and oil, to the more complex and scientific nuclear power supply. This relatively new system uses powerful fuel sources and produces little to no emissions while outputting enough energy to fulfill the world’s power needs (Community Science, n.d.). But while nuclear power seems to be a perfect energy source, no power production system is without faults, and nuclear reactors are no exception, with their flaws manifesting in the form of safety. Nuclear reactors employ complex systems involving pressure and heat. If any of these systems dysfunctions, the reactor can leak or even explode releasing tons of highly radioactive elements into the environment. Anyone who works at or near a nuclear reactor is constantly in danger of being exposed to a nuclear incident similar to the ones that occurred at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi plants. These major accidents along with the unresolved problems with the design and function of nuclear reactors, as well as the economic and health issues that nuclear reactors present serve to show that nuclear energy sources are not worth the service that they provide and are too dangerous to routinely use. There are two main types of nuclear reactors used in the world, Pressurized Water Reactors, known as PWR’s, and Boiling Water Reactors, known as BWR’s. The former is more complicated and thusly more safe and more commonly used, while the latter presents several unnecessary hazards and is quickly being phased out of usage (Duke, n.d.). In both systems, reactions take place inside of a reaction chamber located within a co... ... middle of paper ... ...etrieved from http://www.epa.gov/radiation/understand/health_effects.html World Nuclear Association. (2012). Physics of uranium and nuclear energy. In World Nuclear Association. Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear- FuelCycle/Introduction/Physics-of-Nuclear-Energy/. World Nuclear Association. (2013a). Chernobyl accident 1986. In World Nuclear Association. Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of- Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/. World Nuclear Association. (2013b). The economics of nuclear power. In World Nuclear Association. Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Economic- Aspects/Economics-of-Nuclear-Power/. Zott, L.M. and Schier, H. (2013). Introduction to nuclear power: Opposing viewpoints. Nuclear power. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?.
...ed the water begins to boil and steam is produced. When the steam is produced is moved up towards the reactor opening, as it moves up the steam passes through turbines that spin creating energy. The turbines begin to move which is what produces the energy. During this process a lot of steam is produced which is why so much power is created.
When the atoms are arranged in a reactor, the splitting of an atom will cause nearby atoms to split, forming a chain reaction. As the energy is released, it is sent through coolant tanks full of water, which is then heated into steam. The steam is channeled and used to spin a turbine, which in turn powers a generator, producing electricity (whatisnuclear.com, Nuclear Reactors). Despite this, many still fear events such as this.
...es, R. and Moir, R. 2010. Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors : An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined. American Scientists.
Many believe that nuclear power plants are a hazard to the people that live around them and the environment in which they are built. However, these assumptions are based mostly on the fact that the nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants of today are built to the same standards that the old nuclear plants from many years ago. Nuclear power today is designed to be much safer than outdated nuclear power plants and has a very minimal chance of causing a nuclear catastrophe. Nuclear power plants are a safe and viable option for generating electricity for the foreseeable future. One of the most common misconceptions about nuclear energy is that a nuclear power plant could explode like a nuclear bomb and cause a massive nuclear incident.
The steam is radioactive, and the water that is in the reactor vessel and that drives the
Media coverage of such cases have made the public less comfortable with the idea of moving further towards nuclear power and they only opt for reducing human activities to reduce global warming. It is true that there have been some notable disasters involving nuclear power, but compared to other power systems, nuclear power has an impressive track record. First, it is less harmful and second, it will be able to cater for the growing world population. Nuclear power produces clean energy and it delivers it at a cost that is competitive in the energy market (Patterson). According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are currently 65 such plants in the Unite States (National Research Council). They produce 19 percent of the total US energy generation.
Nuclear power has always been a controversial issue because of its inherent danger and the amount of waste that the plants produce. Once considered a relatively safe form for generating energy, nuclear power has caused more problems than it has solved. While it has reduced the amount of traditional natural resources (fossil fuels), used to generate power like coal, wood, and oil, nuclear generating plants have become anachronisms. Maintaining them and keeping them safe has become a problem of immense proportion. As the plants age and other technology becomes available, what to do with these “eyesores” is a consuming issue for many government agencies and environmental groups. No one knows what to do about the problem and in many areas of the world, another nuclear meltdown is an accident waiting to happen. Despite a vast array of safety measures, a break in reactor pipe or a leak in a containment vessel, could spell another environmental disaster for the world.
One of the most significant environmentally damaging instances in history was the Chernobyl incident. In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine exploded. It became one of the most significant disasters in the engineering community. There are different factors that contributed to the disaster. The personnel that were tasked with operating the plant were unqualified. The plant’s design was a complex one. The RBMK reactor was Soviet design, and the staff had not be acquainted with this particular design. As the operators performed tests on the reactor, they disabled the automatic shutdown mechanism. After the test, the attempt to shut down the reactor was unsuccessful as it was unstable. This is the immediate cause of the Chernobyl Accident. It later became the most significant nuclear disaster in the history of the
Nuclear power plants are an extremely safe and reliable source of clean energy. As long as protocol on safety is met, then there should be no means for worry. The coal-burning power plants are only killing us slowly; we need to take action now before it is too late. We need to embrace new technology and use it to advance our world, as well as the world of our future generations.
A nuclear fission reactor that produces heat. The primary radioactive element used in the core reactor is a radioactive element, uranium that is then hit with a subatomic particle that splits the single element into two separate elements. As a byproduct of this reaction heat is released which is then harvested and used as renewable energy. In the case of this reactor (BWR) the heat converts water into steam which is then transported into a turbine that drives the generator producing electricity. Afterwards, the steam is then condensed with a seawater cooling system and is recycled back into the core systems. (Shozugawg, Katsumi, Norio Nogawa, 2016. Pp.
Raymond, Murray. Nuclear Energy, Sixth Edition: An Introduction to the Concepts, Systems, and Applications of Nuclear Processes. 6th. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2008. Print.
Stop for a moment and visualize living in a region that has a nuclear power plant. The efficient and clean energy is perfect for this ever growing world. It is the picture-perfect form of energy until something goes terribly wrong. An earthquake rocks the town in which this nuclear power plant is located. The structures covering the nuclear core crack and the core melt’s down causing massive amounts of radiation to escape into the environment. As the days after the disaster continue, people are forced to leave their homes. Towns that once thrived with life are abandoned, and will remain that way for many years to come. The damage does not stop there. Besides physical objects being contaminated and destroyed, humans must face the disastrous consequences. People are left sick and contaminated by the radiation. They are lucky though. The fallout from this disaster will affect generations for years to come. The world will forever be changed by this disaster, and that is just the beginning.
This chain reaction produces massive amounts of heat. Nuclear reactors take advantage of this heat by pumping water into the reactor, which in turn produces steam. The steam then becomes pressurized through a pipeline and exits into a turbine (“How to do Nuclear”). The pressurized steam causes the turbine blades to spin, producing power which is linked to a generator for use in the main power lines. When the steam passes the turbine blades, it goes past cooled pipes and condensates (“How to do Nuclear”).
It’s March 11, 2011; a 49 foot tall tsunami has just pummeled the coastline of Japan. The wave has swept into the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Facility and destroyed all the diesel generators; the facility has no way to power the pumps that cool the reactors - a station-wide blackout has occurred. The reactors in buildings 1, 2, and 3 have melted down; the fuel inside them has reached 2700 degrees centigrade - nearly as hot as the surface of the sun. Explosions inside the reactor building begin to occur; the media is calling it the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl - a nuclear holocaust. What is the death toll of this earth shattering disaster? A hundred? A thousand? A million? Try zero. (“Fukushima Daiichi nuclear...” Wikipedia) The concept for nuclear power was first conceived in 1934 with the discovery of induced radioactivity by Frederic and Irene Curie. The United States invested heavily in the research of atomic power during WWII in the search of the atom bomb. After the war, they refocused their research to include nuclear energy, producing the first nuclear reactor in 1951(“Nuclear Power” Wikipedia). Most nuclear reactors are fueled with Uranium-238; this isotope of uranium consists of only 0.7% of naturally occurring uranium. Once inside the reactor, the fuel is bombarded by neutrons. Neutrons strike the nuclei of the uranium atoms, splitting them in two and releasing an enormous amount of heat energy as well as another neutron. This neutron strikes another uranium atom creating a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. This reaction can be controlled by the manipulation of control rods that absorb emitted neutrons. The heat energy produced by the reaction converts water into steam which in turn spins a tu...
The greatest disadvantages of nuclear energy are the risks posed to mankind and the environment by radioactive materials. ‘On average a nuclear plant annually generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel cla...