Advantages & Disadvatages of Nuclear Power Plant

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California, USA

Advantages

Abundance source of energy

Uranium is a type of element that can be sustain from crust of the earth. It mostly can be find in Canada and Australia. It’s virtually inexhaustible type of energy source and it will there for centuries.

Extra amount of energy

To become a develop country, bigger industry sector predicted to be in the future in Malaysia. Sufficient power needed to support this.

No Emission

Other source of energy like fossil fuel does emit much type of gases.

The waste

Nuclear waste is not in a big quantity and confined. It won’t affect the surroundings like for example, the factory waste being disposed in the river.

Disadvantages

Nature catastrophe

It may cause a big problem when nature catastrophe like earth quake or tsunami hit it. Radiation will be spread widely.

Nuclear weapon from nuclear technology

Bad people exist in this world. Yes, nuclear weapon is the worst weapon in the world but this is not due to the nuclear power plant technology but the misused of some individuals for their own good.

Arguement on Nuclear Power Plant

The Safety?

If we remember back in 2011 in Japan. What happen to the residents of a country that has nuclear power plant if nature catastrophe or natural disaster occurs?

A safety measures has been put by the world relating to nuclear power plant. As matter of fact, during the Japan disaster, many countries come to help and as the result, the disaster was totally under control, no doubt about it.

Japan Tsunami 2011: Tsunami has swapped all the obstacles in front of it

Will the radiation leak of nuclear power plant can be controlled if its occurred?

Remember disaster happen in Chernobyl, Ukraine back in 1985 when one of the reactor suffered power increase and leading to explosion in its core and as the result, explosion and fire from the nuclear power plant released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere that create very bad radiation even throughout 100 miles from the reactor.



First Picture: Chernobyl Liquidators.  Second Picture: DNA distortion due to radiation.



It’s a sad thing happen back in 1986, the history shall not be repeated. As can be seen in Tsunami 2011 Japan, with tighter safety measures has been straighten up, it’s a compulsory to make sure the technical error will not ever happen, to make sure the technology will not harm people again.

Japan activist carrying a man into safety location

How about the cost? Because from research, even the decommissioning will be around RM 1 Billion to do so?

If we calculate everything and take everything into account, the per kW/h for nuclear is cheaper compare to any other type of power plant. For long term, it will give back the profit to the electricity provider and citizens. Plus, Malaysia needs to increase the electricity capacity to attract investors to Malaysia.

Public Survey on Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear Waste Management

• Nuclear waste is the material that nuclear fuel becomes after it is used in a reactor. It looks exactly like the fuel that was loaded into the reactor -- assemblies of metal rods enclosing stacked-up ceramic pellets. But since nuclear reactions have occurred, the contents aren’t quite the same. Before producing power, the fuel was mostly Uranium (or Thorium), oxygen and steel. Afterwards, many Uranium atoms have split into various isotopes of almost all of the transition metals on your periodic table of the elements.

Thorium

 

• The waste, sometimes called spent fuel, is dangerously radioactive, and remains so for thousands of years. When it first comes out of the reactor, it is so toxic that if you stood within a few meters of it while it was unshielded, you would receive a lethal radioactive dose within a few seconds and would die of acute radiation sickness within a few days. Hence all the worry about it.

Used Nuclear Waste Pool

• In practice, the spent fuel is never unshielded. It is kept underwater (water is an excellent shield) for a few years until the radiation decays to levels that can be shielded by concrete in large storage casks. The final disposal of this spent fuel is a hot topic, and is often an argument against the use of nuclear reactors. Options include deep geologic storage and recycling. The sun would consume it nicely if we could get into space, but since rockets are so unreliable, we can’t afford to risk atmospheric dispersal on lift-off. 

Picture of Reactor Cooling Tower

Type of accident in nuclear power plant

Major accident - Major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.

 

Serious accident - Significant release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of planned countermeasures.

Accident with wider consequences - Limited release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of some planned countermeasures. It is also caused several deaths from radiation. For radiological barriers & control, severe damage to reactor core, release of large quantities of radioactive material within an installation with a high probability of significant public exposure. This could arise from a major critical accident or fire.

Accident with local consequences - Minor release of radioactive material unlikely to result in implementation of planned countermeasures other than local food controls. At least one death from radiation of this type of accident. Fuel melt or damage to fuel resulting in more than 0.1% release of core inventory. Release of significant quantities of radioactive material within an installation with a high probability of significant public exposure.

Incident - Exposure of a member of the public in excess of 10 mSv, exposure of a worker in excess of the statutory annual limits. Radiation levels in an operating area of more than 50 mSv/h. Significant contamination within the facility into an area not expected by design.

For an example, recently there was an accident happened at the Fukushima, Japan where the Reactor shutdown after the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami; failure of emergency cooling caused an explosion.

Fukushima from air

Public opinion on nuclear

Recently people has been exposed with negative impression about nuclear. It already started from the old days beginning with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing. Yes it is true the bombing is because of the misused of the nuclear technology itself. But then the opposite side of the face also has been followed by the negative impact. This has been keeping the people a distant from exploring the nuclear technology. 

The opposite side of the nuclear technology is by harnessing the nuclear power to generate electricity. Several incidents has been spread out through the world such as the Chernobyl disaster and the Fukushima effect. This kind of events had been giving the fear to the people on the nuclear technology and nuclear power. And this fear has saturated in the people’s mind nowadays. However not all of them are aware about the reality of these nuclear technology but still, the mostly unexposed people with the nuclear power technology are having the same thinking.

Aside from that, a different opinion from a different perspective has also been the norm of the most people. The cost of nuclear technology and nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plant is a one type of long term investment. And the long term do really means in a very long time. People have been arguing about the big cost of the nuclear power plant. What they don’t really see is the power produced that is several times larger than the conventional electricity generating power plant. Which is in this case a lot of cost can be reduced since a product of a several cycle of process could be obtain by only one process.

The government needs to expose the mostly unexposed people with the proper introduction about nuclear power technology. Also to give the real facts about nuclear power and the option of nuclear power plant as a part of renewable energy.

Nuclear power plant explodes like a nuclear bomb?

Atom Bomb Explosion

The idea of a nuclear power plant going off like a bomb likely came from our collective imaginations after seeing years of images of nuclear bomb test footage. First, there's a flash of light, followed by the rush of the concussion and a rising mushroom cloud. When the smoke clears, the power plant and the neighboring city have been flattened, right? Not really. Nuclear plants aren't identical to nuclear bombs. The fuel in a nuclear plant does not contain the materials necessary to explode like a bomb, nor can its components form what is known as a "super critical" shape in order to explode.

As the world witnessed at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear plants will experience a meltdown rather than blowing up. The real threat in a nuclear meltdown is not the event of an explosion. The greater concern is radiation leaking from the plant. Once airborne, it can contaminate huge swaths of landslide. The radiation can reach around the world, though its levels become weaker due to dissipation.

Chemical Reaction Behind a Nuclear Power Plant

What do you know about chemical reaction that takes place in a nuclear power plant? Yes of course there will the fission reaction of the uranium to produce power. There are also the neutron capture, which the two are the main process focuses on. But do you know there are also the sides dishes that is essentials in controlling and maintaining the plan? These side reaction are the reaction of the water chemistry as it being used as a coolant for the reactor pure.

Raw Uranium

Uranium plays a very important role in the production of energy through nuclear power. A heavy element located in the Actinide series it has 92 protons as indicated by its atomic number. Uranium has many different isotopes; different configurations of protons and neutrons in its nucleus. Not all of its isotopes are stable. Nuclear Power is produced when a nucleus absorbs a neutron and splits into two lighter nuclei. This releases enormous amounts of energy which in turn produces heat. In fact the Uranium, which is the most common element used to produce nuclear power today, has an energy content about 3 million times greater than that of fossil fuel. Nuclear reactors harness the heat which is produced from the energy released when the atom splits and convert it into electrical energy.

Uranium 239

Neutron capture is a term used for the scenario where a neutron comes close to a nucleus (in this case uranium) and the nucleus captures it and becomes a different nucleus. In this case when uranium-238 captures a neutron it becomes uranium-239. After uranium-239 emits a beta particle (electron) it becomes neptunium-239. Then, neptunium-239 emits a beta particle and becomes plutonium-239. The plutonium can also be used as nuclear fuel.

 Nuclear Reactor Coolant

A nuclear reactor coolant is a coolant in a nuclear reactor used to remove heat from the nuclear reactor core and transfer it to electrical generators and the environment. Frequently, a chain of two coolant loops are used because the primary coolant loop takes on short-term radioactivity from the reactor. Almost all currently operating nuclear power plants are light water reactors using ordinary water under high pressure as coolant and neutron moderator. Heavy water reactors use deuterium oxide which has similar properties to ordinary water but much lower neutron capture, allowing more thorough moderation. However these water also has it bad effects. The effects are the corrosion in coolant circuits. Also it does effect on the corrosion of copper alloys and zirconium at an operating nuclear power plants.

               

The Future of Nuclear Power

• Nuclear technology, despite the challenges it faces, is an important option for Malaysia and the world to meet future energy needs without emitting carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other atmospheric pollutants. 
• Other options include increased efficiency, renewable, and sequestration. It is believe that all options should be preserved as nations develop strategies that provide energy while meeting important environmental challenges. 
• The nuclear power option will only be exercised, however, if the technology demonstrates better economics, improved safety, successful waste management, and low proliferation risk, and if public policies place a significant value on electricity production that does not produce CO₂.

• Over the next 50 years, unless patterns change dramatically, energy production and use will contribute to global warming through large scale greenhouse gas emissions — hundreds of billions of tonnes of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide.  
• Nuclear power could be one option for reducing carbon emissions. The generation of electricity from fossil fuels, notably natural gas and coal, is a major and growing contributor to the emission of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming.

Nuclear Power Plant Safety Regulations

• License and Inspections 

All nuclear power plants must be licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC). Before a new reactor is built, the U.S. NRC must approve the construction plans. The construction of the new reactor is monitored while in progress, and a final inspection is required when the new reactor is finished. After passing this initial inspection, nuclear power plants must submit to future inspections by the U.S. NRC and other regulatory agencies at least every other year. Nuclear power plant inspections are quite thorough and check not only the physical condition of the plant but also compliance with laws regarding plant maintenance, employee training, operating procedures, emergency preparedness and security.

• Storage Containers

Eventually, the uranium used to produce energy in a nuclear reactor ages and is no longer useful. This spent uranium is not able to continue producing energy, but it is still very radioactive. The spent uranium is placed into storage containers and may be stored at the plant or shipped to a storage facility. The storage containers used to store and transport uranium must pass a series of safety tests to ensure that they will not open or leak. The containers are dropped onto a hard surface from a height of 30 feet. They must be able to tolerate this drop on both a flat surface and an uneven surface without puncturing or opening. Next the container is subjected to a fire for 30 minutes. The fire must be 1,475 degrees F. Finally, the container is immersed in water. Containers must pass all of these tests without opening or leaking in order to be used for uranium storage.

• Transportation

Trucks, trains, airplanes and boats are all used to transport nuclear materials. When radioactive material is transported, additional safety precautions are taken. Even though there are strict rules regarding how these materials are to be packaged at the nuclear power plant, it is impossible to guarantee beyond any doubt that an unforeseen accident won't ever cause harm to a container containing radioactive material. Because of this, the U.S. NRC and Department of Transportation have established rules limiting the quantity of radioactive material that can be transported at one time. This ensures that even if radioactive material escaped its container during transport, the amount of radioactivity that people and the environment were exposed to would be minimal.

• Fire Safety

In 1975, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama had a fire that damaged many of the electrical cables leading to plant safety equipment. Because of this, nuclear power plants must now have methods in place to quickly detect and extinguish fires any fires that do occur. To achieve this goal, the plants install fire resistant insulation to keep fires from spreading. Sensitive fire alarms and automatic sprinkler systems are also used to detect and extinguish fires. Fire detection is so important that plants not having adequate fire monitoring equipment are required to have a team of individuals dedicated to the job of watching for fires. In addition, nuclear power plants are required to have at least one control station completely protected against fire from which workers can safely shut down the nuclear reactor if necessary.

• Reports

Nuclear power plants must report certain events to the U.S. NRC even if these events occur as a part of the plant's normal operations. Plants must file a report every time the plant is shut down for any reason. Any problems with plant safety or security equipment should also be reported. Any event that might negatively affect plant safety must be reported, even if this event is outside the borders and control of the nuclear power facility. An example of this type of problem may be severe weather conditions. Any airborne or liquid release of radioactive material must be reported to the U.S. NRC if it exceeds a predetermined amount.