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.