Nuclear power is not the answer to climate change.

1. Nuclear power is not the answer to climate change. A presentation by the Medical Association for Prevention of War www.mapw.org.au Created by Courtney Deans, La Trobe University, 2008; supported by Dr Bill Williams (MAPW) and Dr Jim Green (FoE).

2. Contents • Climate change overview • The nuclear fuel chain • Problems with nuclear power • Alternative energy sources • Australia's responsibilities • References

3. Scientists have warned us . . . The planet has warned us . . . Climate change is here . . .

4. What is climate change? Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases naturally warm the surface of the planet by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere Climate change occurs when human activity causes an increase in CO2 and other gas emissions More emissions mean more heat is trapped in the atmosphere, making the earth’s temperature rise. This is called the “greenhouse effect

5. The Greenhouse Effect Human activity is producing MORE greenhouse gases trapping MORE heat and causing the Earth’s temperature rise To support life, the Earth needs some greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to trap heat from the sun

6. Effects of climate change in Australia: • More bushfires • Longer and more frequent droughts • Spread of weeds and pests • Destruction of the Great Barrier Reef • Damage to coastal areas • Loss of indigenous plants and animals • Expansion of deserts

7. Effects of climate change around the world: • Rise in sea levels • Pollution of sea water with fresh water • Extinction of many plant and animal species • More natural disasters • Water shortage • Loss of agriculture • Spread of tropical disease

8. Human costs of climate change: Climate refugees Millions of internally displaced people Food shortages International credit crisis Job losses Collapse of nations

10. How can we stop climate change? What is desperately needed is a reduction in CO2 emissions, by using less energy and cleaner sources. Nuclear power can only reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation. But electricity made by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) makes up only 68.9% of total ENERGY use; and produces just 34.4% of Australia’s emissions. NUCLEAR POWER IS NOT THE ANSWER . . .

11. Nuclear power is NOT the answer to climate change MYTHS: Myth 1: Nuclear power is safe... Myth 2: Nuclear power is clean... Myth 3: Nuclear power will stop climate change... Myth 5: Nuclear power is not wasteful...

12. Nuclear power is NOT the answer to climate change: TRUTHS Nuclear power is unsafe. Nuclear power relies heavily on fossil fuels. Nuclear power only aims to replace electricity-generation CO2 emission. Nuclear power creates waste rock, waste water and toxic nuclear waste.

13. The nuclear fuel chain

14. Nuclear Power:How power is created • The heat produced from the enriched uranium is used to turn water into steam • This steam rotates a turbine and produces electricity

15. Nuclear Power:Mining and Milling Uranium is mined and extracted from rock. The uranium rock is trucked to mills where it is crushed and chemically treated to extract uranium. 1 tonne of uranium leaves 666 tonnes of rock waste Uranium 1 tonne Rock waste 666 tonnes =

16. Nuclear Power:Uranium Enrichment • Milled uranium goes through a number of changes. From a solid into gas, then a liquid, which solidifies and is then enriched and fabricated ready for use in nuclear energy plants • The enrichment process creates a by-product: depleted uranium (DU). DU is radioactive and dangerous. DU is used in ammunition and armoured vehicles

17. Nuclear Power: “Spent” fuel • After a year in the core (depending on the reactor) the fuel becomes more hazardous and is removed from the power station • Spent nuclear fuel is cooled and stored using remote access • There is currently NO satisfactory permanent solution to managing spent nuclear fuel

18. Water Wastage Nuclear power is the most water intensive of all energy sources Wind Solar: 0.11 litres per kWh 0.004 litres per kWh Nuclear power: 2.3 litres per kWh (kWh = kilo Watt hour)

19. Water Wastage • Mining and milling require large volumes of water to extract the minerals • Australia’s Olympic Dam mine uses • 35 million litres of water per day • This may exceed 160 million litres per day in future expansions • Nuclear reactors are highly water intensive. Reactors typically consume • 35-65 million litres of water per day

20. Every stage of the nuclear fuel chain depends on fossil fuelsCREATING CO2 EMISSIONS: Mining & milling – CO2 Transport – CO2Power station construction & operation – CO2Enrichment – CO2More transport – CO2Waste disposal – CO2Decommissioning – CO2Emission estimates vary due to the characteristics of each power plant. Estimation of the fuel chain CO2 emissions range from 2 and 40 kg Co2-e/MWh

21. Waste Issues Every stage of the nuclear power cycle produces waste: Mining and milling:rock and water waste. Also dust and radioactive gases from mining Enrichment: depleted uranium Power Station: water, and spent nuclear fuel. A typical reactor produces 25-30 tones of spent nuclear fuel annually. About 12,000 to 14,000 tones of spent fuel are produced by power reactors around the world each year.

22. Waste Issues: Spent Nuclear Fuel Spent nuclear fuel is the most dangerous by-product of nuclear power. The nuclear fuel isso dangerous it must be isolated from people and the environment for thousands and thousands of years. For as long as nuclear power has existed, there has been the problem of what to do with the spent fuel. In 2008 there still remains NO guaranteed safe solution.

23. Some people have suggested using the Australian outback as a dump site for dangerous nuclear waste products We must prevent this

24. Political Problems: • Uranium for power plants can be diverted to weapons manufacturing • Nuclear power was born of the weapons race - the two are intrinsically linked via: • expertise, • infrastructure, • research and • the fuel itself

25. Safeguards: • The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was created under the charter of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA has two fundamental, but potentially conflicting, objectives: • To prevent diversion from civilian to military nuclear applications • To promote the expansion of civil nuclear power • BUT inspections rely on voluntary cooperation of states • Egypt, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Romania, South Korea, Taiwan and Yugoslavia are 8 NPT countries that have carried out weapons related projects in violation of NPT agreements. • Israel, India and Pakistan have developed nuclear weapons outside the NPT

26. Political Problems • States possessing increased nuclear capabilities are perceived as threats by other states • These fearful states may then seek “safety” by increasing their own nuclear capabilities • The threat of nuclear proliferation works against the tremendous efforts of disarmament • Nuclear power plants are prime terrorist targets

27. “A nuclear disaster will not hit at the speed of a glacier melting. It will hit with a blast. It will not hit with the speed of the atmosphere warming but of a city burning. Clearly, the attention focused on nuclear weapons should be as prominent as that of global climate change” - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

28. Health Issues: • Radiation damages DNA, leading to cancer, chronic disease, congenital defects and potentially to inherited health effects. • Recent studies demonstrate that living close to a nuclear power station increases the risk of children developing leukaemia. There is NO safe dose of ionising radiation

29. Health Issues: Nuclear Accidents Since nuclear power began< there have been : • Numerous accidents or malfunctions in the core, many of them fatal • Numerous “near misses” • Numerous accidents involving other stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, in many different countries

30. Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, April 1986 • Unknown number of related deaths: estimates vary between 6,000 to over 90,000 • 8.4 million people exposed to radiation across Europe • Relocation of 400,000 people • Contamination of 150,000 sq kms • Dramatic increase of cancers (34 times as much thyroid cancer) • 2003: Ukraine government registers 100,000 individuals with “disabilities connected with Chernobyl disaster”

32. Estimates indicate a probability of 1 in 10,000 for a accident involving the nuclear core, per reactor per year Any risk of nuclear accident is unacceptable

33. Clean Energy There are many clean energy alternative available that may reduce current CO2 emissions and keep our planet healthy for the future. • Energy efficiency • Solar energy (photovoltaics) • Wind energy

34. Australia’s role in nuclear power • Nuclear power is currently prohibited in Australia • Kevin Rudd does NOT plan to pursue nuclear energy BUT nuclear power is a BIG concerns for Australians . . .

35. Australia’s role in nuclear power • Australia has a large reserves of uranium and exports it to several nations, including nuclear weapons states • Australia has NO guarantee our uranium will not end up in weapons • Many Aboriginal people have resisted uranium mining and dumping of radioactive waste on their land. Taking care of the land is an important cultural tradition

36. “If nuclear power is the answer, it must have been a pretty stupid question”Professor Ian Lowe