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Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy. “You are meddling with forces you cannot possibly comprehend.” - Marcus, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Instructor Resources This slide does not appear while presenting. Nonrenewable Energy - Fossil Fuels Lecture:

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Nuclear Energy

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  1. Nuclear Energy “You are meddling with forces you cannot possibly comprehend.” - Marcus, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

  2. Instructor ResourcesThis slide does not appear while presenting. • Nonrenewable Energy - Fossil Fuels Lecture: http://www.aurumscience.com/environmental/11_nonrenewable/lecture.html • Nonrenewable Energy Unit Student Notes Outline: http://www.aurumscience.com/environmental/11_nonrenewable/notes_outline.html • Nonrenewable Energy Unit Study Guide: http://www.aurumscience.com/environmental/11_nonrenewable/studyguide.html • Related assignments: http://www.aurumscience.com/environmental/11_nonrenewable/index.html Written by James Dauray

  3. NUCLEAR POWER • Nuclear technology was developed first as a weapon. • Two atomic bombs were dropped during World War II – Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. • Yields of 15-21 kilotons of TNT. • Additional nuclear tests conducted after World War II were done so at the Bikini Atoll, one of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. • This was known as “Operation Crossroads” • Total of 23 nuclear devices were detonated. • The most infamous detonation was code-named “Castle Bravo”.

  4. NUCLEAR POWER • Castle Bravo was the first test of a hydrogen bomb. This was the largest nuclear explosion ever set off by the United States, and was much more powerful than expected. • Widespread radioactive contamination was released by this explosion. • Among the contaminated was a 23-man Japanese fishing boat. • The scandal surrounding this test inspired the 1954 movie Godzilla.

  5. NUCLEAR POWER • Following the Castle Bravo detonation, the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 was signed. • This banned all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. • Underground testing was still allowed. • The only nuclear powers that did not sign the treaty were China and France.

  6. NUCLEAR POWER • President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953, gave a famous speech to the United Nations entitled “Atoms for Peace”. • http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/multimedia/videos/iaea/061213/eisenhower/ “My country wants to be constructive, not destructive.” “…the United States pledges before you…its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma--to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life." • The purpose of this speech was to convey that Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not be repeated and that nuclear technology would be used for more peaceful purposes.

  7. NUCLEAR POWER • Optimism for the potential of nuclear reactors was initially very high. • Lewis Strauss, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, predicted that… • “Our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter.” • Between 1970-1974, American utilities ordered 140 new reactors. • 100 subsequently canceled. • Electricity from nuclear power plants was about half the price of coal in 1970, but was twice as much in 1990.

  8. Most United States nuclear reactors are 20-39 years old, reflecting this initial period of optimism.

  9. The first nuclear power plant opened in Morris, Illinois in 1960. • Illinois remains the state with the most nuclear reactors.

  10. How Do Nuclear Reactors Work • Most commonly used fuel is U235, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of uranium. • Occurs naturally at 0.7% of uranium, but must be enriched to about of 3% to create a fuel pellet.

  11. Uranium-235

  12. How Do Nuclear Reactors Work Cont’d • Fuel pellets are cylinder-shaped (1.5cm long) stacked in hollow metal rods (4m long). • About 100 fuel rods rods are bundled together to make a fuel assembly. • Thousands of fuel assemblies bundled in reactor core

  13. Nuclear Accidents • Three Mile Island partial meltdown occurred. • March 29, 1979 • Near Harrisburg, PA, U.S. • Nuclear reactor lost its coolant (mech. and human error) • The core overheated and suffered a partial meltdown. • Unknown amounts of radioactivity escaped. • Increased public concerns for safety • Let to improved safety regulations in the U.S. • $700 million for construction paid over $1.2 billion in damages and lawsuits • Series of failures occurred in the nuclear core.

  14. Nuclear Accidents • Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. • April of 1986 • Occurred during a test of the plant when operators disconnected emergency cooling systems and removed the control rods. • The nuclear reactions continued and could not be controlled. (uncontrolled chain reaction) • 31 people died immediately and many others later • Partial meltdown and fire for 10 days • Huge radioactive cloud spread over many countries and eventually the world • 350,000 people left their homes • Effects on human health, water supply, and agriculture

  15. Chernobyl • The design of the Chernobyl plant also did not have an adequate containment building. • When the graphite moderator exploded, radiation was able to escape directly into the air.

  16. Chernobyl • Valery Legasov was in charge of finding out exactly what went wrong and how to deal with the disaster. • He discovered many unreported flaws in the reactor design, but was pressured not to reveal them. • The workers received most of the blame. • He committed suicide on the 2-year anniversary of the disaster.

  17. Aftermath • A 30km wide radius surrounding the reactor is now considered uninhabitable. • Surrounding towns and villages have shown a marked increase in birth defects, and multiple types of cancer, especially thyroid cancer. • Most common type of birth defect: Cardiac degeneration, nicknamed “Chernobyl Heart”

  18. Radioactive Waste Management • About 100,000 tons of low-level waste (clothing) and about 15,000 tons of high-level (spent-fuel) waste is stored in the U.S. from reactor usage. • For past 20 years, spent fuel assemblies have been stored in deep water-filled pools at the power plants. (Designed to be temporary) • Many internal pools are now filled and a number plants are storing nuclear waste in metal dry casks outside.

  19. Radioactive Waste Management Cont’d • U.S. Department of Energy announced plans to build a high-level waste repository near Yucca Mountain, Nevada in 1987. • Facility may cost between $10 and 35 billion; planned to be open in 2010. • Plans to use Yucca have since been halted due to politics and lawsuits. • No long-term storage plan has been accepted by the U.S.

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