Nuclear Power - Research Paper Example

Since its inception in the 1940s, nuclear technology was used to produce bombs used in the Second World War by releasing great energy from atoms of isotopes of either plutonium or uranium. It was until the 1950s when the first commercial nuclear power station started operation, and nuclear power turned to the peaceful purpose of nuclear fusion; controlling it for power generation. Today, through the advancement in technology, nuclear power is now embraced on a global scale. With over 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operating in 31 countries, the world currently produces as much electricity as it did from all sources put together in the early years of nuclear power. They produce slightly over 11% of the world's electricity continuously and reliably to meet the base-load demand, without greenhouse emissions. For this reason, nuclear power is seen as a solution for mitigating climate change and a substitute for fossil fuel energy.

Many countries have now built research reactors to provide neutron beams for the production of medical and industrial isotopes and scientific research. Surprisingly, only eight countries are known to have nuclear weapon capabilities. By contrast, 55 countries with over one-third of these being developing countries operate about 250 civil research reactors. Today, sixteen nations generate slightly over a quarter of their electricity from nuclear power. France alone makes about three-quarters of its energy from nuclear power, while Finland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ukraine and Belgium get one-third or more. Bulgaria and South Korea usually get more than 30%, while the UK, USA, Romania, Russia and Spain get almost one-fifth from nuclear. However, despite most countries embracing nuclear power there are those that do not host any nuclear power plants, but they still get nearly 10% of their energy from nuclear; these countries are Denmark and Italy (International Energy Outlook, 2011)

In this trend, it is expected that more countries including most third world countries would join in and embrace nuclear power. For this to come true, these countries without nuclear power need to put more resources into nuclear power research for them to correctly understand how nuclear power works. The technology behind nuclear power is capital intensive, and if it goes wrong, the results are devastating. In truth, nuclear plants stand on the border between humanity's deepest fears and hopes for the future.

How Nuclear Power Works

The nucleus of an atom is composed of protons and neutrons held together with great force; strongest force in nature. When bombarded with a neutron, through a process called fission, it can be split apart. In nuclear power plants, uranium atoms are split when bombarded with neutrons. The split releases neutrons from uranium which in turn collide with other atoms thereby causing a chain reaction. This chain reaction is controlled with control rods which absorb neutrons.

In the reactor core sits in a steel pressure vessel, to ensure the water around it remains liquid even at the high operating temperatures of over 3200C. The steam formed is either in a separate vessel or above the reactor core, thereby driving turbines to produce electricity. The steam is then cooled, and the water is recycled.

The water in the reactor also acts as a coolant, preventing it from melting down and overheating. People around the globe were acquainted with this when Japanese citizens fled in tens of thousands from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear facility after an ensuing tsunami and the most powerful recorded earthquake inflicted tremendous damage on the plant and its reactor units. Water then drained from the reactor core making it impossible to control core temperatures resulting to overheating and partial meltdown (NPR, March 2011)

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to nuclear accidents. There have been numerous cases reported including; Three Mile Island accident (1979), Windscale fire (1957), Chernobyl disaster (1986), and Tokaimura nuclear accident (1999) and many more. However, various technical measures have adopted to reduce the risk of accidents or to reduce the amount of radioactivity released to the environment, but the human error remains. Since 2014, more than 100 serious incidents and accidents have occurred from the use of nuclear power. To date, the worst nuclear accidents were the Chernobyl disaster (1986) in Ukraine with 31 people killed and $7 billion worth of property destroyed.

These accidents occur with varying impacts to the surrounding environmental areas. Nuclear power accidents can range from the displacement of people from their home to loss of life and sizeable monetary loss (Gralla, 2015). Apart from the damage caused by explosions and fires, these incidents also release radioactive material that may cause radiation sickness. Exposure to radiation above a certain threshold causes acute radiation syndrome within hours of exposure. Depending on the radiation dose the effects range from skin rashes, diarrhea, coma, vomiting, and death.

Since radiation assembles in dividing cells, it damages DNA. This means that tissues containing many split cells such as the skin, bone marrow, and gut lining are most at risk of damage; eventually causing deformation. High doses damage to brain cells and can be fatal. Less severe damage is treatable; however, marrow damage implies no blood cells are produced for fighting infection and clotting while gut damage causes fluid imbalance leading to blood infection. Numerous studies have been done on the possibility of nuclear power causing cancer. Several epidemiological studies say there is an increased risk of multiple diseases, especially cancers, among people living near nuclear facilities. There is agreement that accidental releases cause excess cancers in both the surrounding public and the plant workers (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012)

A widely cited publication, (Baker, 2007) offered evidence of leukemia rates among children living in the surroundings of 136 nuclear facilities in Canada, United States, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom and France. However, this study is criticized on several grounds such as arbitrary selection of 17 out of 37 individual studies, combining heterogeneous data, exclusion of sites with zero observed cases or deaths, etc. (Elliot, 2011).

Safety

Nuclear power plants due to their highly hazardous nature have now become vulnerable to attacks by military, militia groups and even terrorists. Also, there is the risk to public health from the operation of reactors, and as such, it is imperative to ensure that safety measures are put in place to avoid any incident. In the United States today, the risk of operating the current reactors is minimal. However, a significant population of the public has a different perception and believe that the safety level should and can be increased. This has been responded to by the development of advanced reactors.

Nuclear power is more beneficial that it is destructive and as thus more countries should join in embracing nuclear power technology. Nuclear energy generated electricity reduces the energy amount generated from fossil fuels (oil and coal). Reduced use of fossil fuel results in lowering carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, fossil fuels are consumed faster than they are produced, and so soon these resources may be depleted, or their prices increased making them inaccessible for most people. Secondly, less fuel is required to offer more energy. This represents a significant save in transportation, on raw materials, extraction, and handling of nuclear fuel. Ultimately, the cost of nuclear fuel is 20% of the cost of energy generated.

Thirdly, electric energy production is continuous and since nuclear power does not depend on natural aspects, this continuity benefits electrical planning. A typical nuclear power plant generates electricity for almost 90% of the annual time; this reduces price volatility common with other fuels such as petrol. The continuity in nuclear power generation acts as a solution for the main disadvantage of renewable energy, like eolic energy or solar energy since the sun or wind hours not always coincide with the hours with more energy demand. Since nuclear power is an alternative to fossil fuel, it benefits the situation of global climate change and global warming thereby improving the quality of the air affecting the quality of life and disease.

In conclusion, it is evident that nuclear power is not only an excellent technology to adapt, but it is also a perfect substitute for both fossil and renewable energy. Therefore, more nations, including those in the third world countries, should dedicate a significant portion of their resources to researching nuclear power technology since it is evident that the subject could be expounded further.

References

American Economic Association. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.26.1.49

Brett Chase and Madison Hopkins Better Government Association. (2017, November 18). Investigation: Radioactive leaks at Illinois nuclear plants. Retrieved from http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illinois/investigation-radioactive-leaks-at-illinois-nuclear-plants/article_5afd12ac-e54b-5b20-be98-b72233c1075c.html

How Nuclear Power Works. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/nuclear-power-technology/how-nuclear-power-works#.WhNKB9OCy00

Nuclear Power Today | Nuclear Energy - World Nuclear Association. (August 2017). Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx

Sovacool, B. K. (2011). Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power. doi:10.1142/7895