Nuclear Power  Period 1  Benny Situ  Paolo Tolentino  David Liang

Nuclear Power  Nuclear power is the usage of sustained nuclear fission that generates heat and electricity.

Disadvantages Disadvantages  Storage and management of dangerous of high level radioactive waste  The costs of building nuclear facilities and the possibilities of accidents  Radiation leaks can cause a lot of harm from power plants.  Terrorist like using nuclear weapons for massive destruction and that can cause harm to the environment.  Plutonium produced in nuclear reactions can be used to make nuclear weaponry.  Nuclear is not a renewable source of energy.  Nuclear power plants take time to build.  A lot of funds have to be spent to build these nuclear power plants.

Advantages Advantages  Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is lower.  The energy is always available, it does not have to be developed first.  One plant can produce a high amount of electricity.  Although the cost of building is high the price of maintaining it is relatively low.  Nuclear power plants are more efficient than ever before. New technology has made them more reliable (they break down less often) and safer.  Can be safely stored underground.

Consumption/Usage Consumption/Usage  The country's 104 nuclear reactors produced 807 billion kWh in 2010, over 20% of total electrical output.  The country's 104 nuclear reactors produced 807 billion kWh in 2010, over 20% of total electrical output.  Nuclear power accounts for in USA accounts for 30% of worldwide nuclear generation of electricity.  Accounts for 14% of worldwide electricity output.  7.9 billion KWh—enough to supply electricity for 740,000 households. If generated by other fuel sources, it would require:  Oil: 13.7 million barrels – 1 barrel yields 576 KWh  Coal: 3.4 million short tons – 1 ton yields 2,297 KWh  Natural Gas: 65.8 billion cubic feet – 100 cubic feet yields 12 KWh

Equipment  Canada uses nuclear power to extract oils  Nuclear power is used for energy, but energy must be released first.  Nuclear energy is released from atoms in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Nuclear power provides electricity for 14% of the world’s electricity.  Nuclear energy is also used for weapons by terrorists  Nuclear power is used in the medical field for x rays and chemotherapy treatments  Submarines and ships used nuclear based propulsion, and would be ineffective without nuclear energy.

Efficiency and Cost  Nuclear power is cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels.  Nuclear power is cost competitive with other forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels.  Fuel costs for nuclear plants are cost more then coal-fired plants and much greater than those for gas-fired plants.  Fuel costs for nuclear plants are cost more then coal-fired plants and much greater than those for gas-fired plants.  In March 2011, the approximate cost of 1kg of uranium as UO2 reactor fuel is $2700 dollars  Nuclear power is very efficient in providing energy because 74% of electricity is used in the U.S today.

Source Source  It starts of as being mined and obtaining the uranium ore. Uranium is common, and is constituent of most rocks, dirt, and of the oceans  Uranium ore is processed and enriched in U-235 relative to the more abundant U-238 that it is mixed with, enriched as needed to be able to achieve a critical mass for different sized plants. The enrichment process raises the proportion of U- 235 to U-238 to about 5 percent for a commercial nuclear power plant.  Other materials can be used like Throium-223 and Plutonium- 238