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 of use How electric drive vehicles will impact use EGU MACT legislation will impact demand
Chevy Volt
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 15-30% Battery technology
Nuclear vs. Coal Nuclear About 19% of electricity generated by DTE Uses less than % fuel High energy content Less susceptible to fluctuation High initial cost Coal 80% of electricity generated by DTE Mining, transport, burning low energy content Large fluctuations in cost of fuel High cost 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 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
Chernobyl
What Happened Failed Experiment Ignored Warnings Explosion Runaway Nuclear Reactor
Effects of Chernobyl 100,000 km 2 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 milirem – 1/6 th radiation produced by a chest x-ray Maximum Dose of Radiation – Less than 100 milirem – Background Radiation 100 to 125 milirems 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.
NUCLEAR POWER: Our No Longer Misunderstood Friend