Unit 3 -Nuclear Power Plant

Principles of nuclear energy Fission reactions Nuclear reactor Nuclear power plants

Nuclear reaction
Chain reaction occurs when a Uranium
atom splits

Different reactions
Atomic Bomb in a split second Nuclear Power Reactor more controlled, cannot explode like a bomb

History of nuclear power

1938 Scientists study Uranium nucleus 1941 Manhattan Project begins 1942 Controlled nuclear chain reaction 1945 U.S. uses two atomic bombs on Japan 1949 Soviets develop atomic bomb 1952 U.S. tests hydrogen bomb 1955 First U.S. nuclear submarine

Atoms for Peace

Program to justify nuclear technology Proposals for power, canal-building, exports First commercial power plant, Illinois

Economic advantages
The energy in one pound of highly
enriched Uranium is comparable to that of one million gallons of gasoline.

One million times as much energy in

one pound of Uranium as in one pound of coal.

Emissions Free
Nuclear energy annually prevents
5.1 million tons of sulfur 2.4 million tons of nitrogen oxide 164 metric tons of carbon

Nuclear often pitted against fossil fuels

Some coal contains radioactivity Nuclear plants have released low-level radiation

Early knowledge of risks

1964 Atomic Energy Commission report
on possible reactor accident
45,000 dead 100,000 injured $17 billion in damages Area the size of Pennsylvania contaminated

Nuclear power around the globe

17% of worlds electricity from nuclear power
U.S. about 20% (2nd largest source)

431 nuclear plants in 31 countries

103 of them in the U.S. Built none since 1970s (Wisconsin as leader). U.S. firms have exported nukes. Push from Bush/Cheney for new nukes.

Nuclear fuel cycle

Uranium mining and milling Conversion and enrichment Fuel rod fabrication POWER REACTOR Reprocessing, or Radioactive waste disposal
Low-level in commercial facilities High level at plants or underground repository

Front end: Uranium mining and milling

Uranium enrichment
U-235
Fissionable at 3% Weapons grade at 90%

U-238
More stable

Plutonium-239
Created from U-238; highly radioactive

Radioactivity of plutonium
Life span of least 240,000 years
Last Ice Age glaciation was 10,000 years ago Neanderthal Man died out 30,000 years ago

Risks of enrichment and fuel fabrication

Largest industrial users of water, electricity
Paducah, KY, Oak Ridge, TN, Portsmouth, OH

Cancers and leukemia among workers

Fires and mass exposure. Karen Silkwood at Oklahoma fabrication plant.

Risk of theft of bomb material.

Nuclear Reactor Process

3% enriched Uranium pellets formed
into rods, which are formed into bundles Bundles submerged in water coolant inside pressure vessel, with control rods. Bundles must be SUPERCRITICAL; will overheat and melt if no control rods. Reaction converts water to steam, which powers steam turbine

Nuclear Reactor Structure

Reactors pressure vessel 36 concrete shielding 45 steel reinforced concrete

typically housed in 8 of steel

Breeder reactor

Breeds plutonium as it operates

Uses liquid sodium metal instead of water for coolant
Could explode if in contact with air or water

1966 Fermi, Michigan

Partial meltdown nearly causes evacuation of Detroit

1973 Shevchenko, Russia

Breeder caught fire and exploded

Controversial proposals in Europe, U.S.

Reprocessing
Separates reusable fuel from waste
Large amounts of radioactivity released

1960s West Valley, NY

Radiation leaked into Lake Ontario

1970s La Hague, France

Released plutonium plumes into air

Back end: Radioactive wastes

Low-level wastes in commercial facilities Spent fuel in pools or dry casks by plants

Nuclear lab wastes

Hanford wastes leaked radiation into Columbia River

High-level underground repository

Yucca Mountain in Nevada to 2037 Wolf River Batholith in Wisconsin after 2037? Risks of cracks in bedrock, water seepage

Radioactive Waste Recycling

Disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear
power plants and weapons facilities by recycling it into household products.

In 1996, 15,000 tons of metal were received by

the Association of Radioactive Metal Recyclers . Much was recycled into products without consumer knowledge.

Depleted Uranium munitions for military.

Nuclear power plant

Summary
Nuclear energy has no typical pollutants or
greenhouse gasses

Nuclear waste contains high levels of radioactive

waste, which are active for hundreds of thousands of years.

The controversy around nuclear energy stems

from all parts of the nuclear chain.