Nuclear Power:
Our Misunderstood Friend
Overview• Growing Demand for Energy• Comparison of Nuclear with
Other Forms of Energy• Disposal of Waste• Safety of Nuclear Energy
Growing Demand for Electricity
• Steady increase in demand• Impact of electric drive vehicles on
demand• Impact of EGU MACT legislation on
demand
Chevy Volt• Can drive 35 miles before gasoline engine
starts
• Takes 10 hours to charge on a 120 volt line
• Takes 4 hours to charge on a 240 volt line
EGU MACT legislation:
Could close 20-30% of plants
Nuclear as compared with other technologies:
How does it stack up?
Wind• Better for the environment
because it is renewable• Generates at a capacity of 20-40%• Rate of Injury of Workers
Solar
• Better for the environment because it is renewable
• Can only generate at a capacity of 20-40%
• Battery technology
Nuclear vs. CoalNuclear
• About 19% of electricity generated by DTE
• Radioactive waste• Less than 0.00001% fuel
of coal• High energy content• Less susceptible to
fluctuation• High initial cost
Coal• 80% of electricity
generated by DTE• Emissions• Mining, transport,
burning• Low energy content• Large fluctuations in cost
of fuel• High cost lies in fuel
*CCGT is a type of coal powered plant
Nuclear Power in France• 75% electricity from nuclear• 17% electricity from recycled nuclear power• Generate 3 billion euro annually by selling to
the rest of Europe
Disposal of Waste
• Types of Nuclear Waste• Disposal of Nuclear waste
–Amount Generated–Repository
Types of Waste
•Gaseous
Types of Waste•Liquid
Types of Waste•Solid
Disposal of Nuclear Waste
•On Site Repository
Disposal of Nuclear Waste in Yucca Mountain
Disasters
• Chernobyl• 3 Mile Island• Japan
Chernobyl
What Happened• Failed Experiment• Ignored Warnings• Explosion• Runaway Nuclear
Reactor
Effects of Chernobyl• 100,000 km2 of contamination• Rise in Thyroid Cancer
– Treatment 96% Effective.– Could have been prevented.
• Liquidators and Acute Radiation Sickness– Firefighters in the Plant.
• Cancer Rates in Highly Contaminated Group– 4000 Extra Cancer Deaths among 600,000 People.
• Cancer Rates of People in Contaminated Zones– 5000 Extra Cancer Deaths among 5 Million People
How Modern Reactors Differ From Old Soviet Reactors
• RBMK Reactor– Water Cooled– Graphite Rod Moderators– No Containment Vessel
• Light Water Reactor– Water Cooled– Water Moderated– Steel and Concrete Containment Vessel
3 Mile Island
Effects• Average Dose of Radiation
– 1 millirem– 1/6th radiation produced by a chest x-ray
• Maximum Dose of Radiation– Less than 100 millirem– Background Radiation 100 to 125 millirems per year
• Radioactive Isotopes– Very Low Levels Detected
• Radiation Contained– Containment vessel was not breached
Aftermath• NRC given more control of power plants• Human Error
– Operator training improved by lessons learned.– 2 Full Time inspectors at each site.
• Design Problems– Improved controls and indicators.– Piping system revamped.
• Component Failures– Auxiliary Coolant Systems.– Automatic Shutdown.
Fukushima Daiichi
What Happened• Earthquake• Tsunami• Systems Offline• Meltdown
Effects• No Containment Breaches• Release of Iodine 131 and Cesium 137• Evacuation around the plant• Contaminated food• No deaths caused by the accident
Overview• Growing Demand for Energy• Comparison of Nuclear with
Other Forms of Energy• Disposal of Waste• Safety of Nuclear Energy
NUCLEAR POWER:
Our No Longer Misunderstood Friend