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PHAGWARA (PUNJAB)
SESSION2010-2011
TERM PAPERPHYSICS
PHY101
DOA: 27/08/10
DOR: 30/09/10
DOS: 10/11/10
Submitted to:
Mr. K. Sreekanth Reddy ……Deptt. Of Physics
Submitted by: Mr. …Manoj Kumar Katna Roll. No. …RE6001A11..
Reg.No…11006340..Class……E6001..
.
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It is not until you under take a project like this one that you realize howmassive the effort it really is, or how much you must rely upon the self less effort andgood will of other . There are many who helped in this project, and I want to thanksthem all .It is my pleasure to thank all those who helped me directly or indirectly in
presentation of this project .The development of a project of this nature would nothave possible without the help of different persons .I am intended to all of them.
I express my deep gratitude to Mr. K. Sreekant Reddy (Lecturer of lovely professional university) for helping me and for their continuing support at the everystage of the development of this project by providing sufficient time in the study
center lab.At the last but not least I am most thankful to all friends and family
members for all the encouragement and facilities provided by them which has helpedme the most to complete this project work.
Manoj
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Contents
Introduction
What is nuclear power ?
Generation of nuclear power
Advantages of nuclear power
Debate on nuclear power
Environmental effects of nuclear power
The nuclear power issues
Reference
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What is nuclear power ?
Nuclear power is energy which is produced with the use of a controllednuclear reaction . Many nations use nuclear power plants to generate electricity for
both civilian and military use, and some nations also utilize nuclear power to run partsof their naval fleets, especially submarines. Some people favour an expansion of nuclear power plants because this form of energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels such as coal, although nuclear power comes with a number of problems whichmust be addressed, including the safe disposal of radioactive waste products.
The process of generation nuclear power starts with the mining and processingof uranium and other radioactive elements. These elements are used to feed the
reactor of a nuclear power plant, generating a reaction known as fission which createsintense heat, turning water in the plant into steam. The steam powers steam turbines,which generate electricity and feed the electricity into the electrical grid.
Enrico Fermi invented nuclear power. Nuclear power was not really invented because it was just a matter of discovering it. Fermi was successful in splitting anatom which marked the beginnings of nuclear energy.
Generation of nuclear power
Nuclear power is produced by controlled (i.e., non-explosive) nuclear reactions . Commercial and utility plants currently use nuclear fission reactions to heat water to
produce steam , which is then used to generate electricity .
Advantages of nuclear power
One of the advantages of nuclear power is that it does not produce greenhousesgases. It does, however, produce hazardous waste. Spent nuclear fuel is radioactive
and extremely dangerous, requiring a substantial infrastructure to secure the power plant and to handle the fuel. Unfortunately, some nations do not have adequate
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measures for handling their spent fuel in place, and it is not uncommon to see“temporary” solutions for the storage of nuclear material which last for decades.
Debate on nuclear power
The nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded thedeployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes. The debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970sand 1980s, when it "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technologycontroversies", in some countries.
Proponents of nuclear energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions and increases energy security by decreasingdependence on foreign oil. Proponents claim that nuclear power produces virtually no
conventional air pollution, such as greenhouse gases and smog, in contrast to the chief viable alternative of fossil fuel. Proponents also believe that nuclear power is the onlyviable course to achieve energy independence for most Western countries. Proponentsclaim that the risks of storing waste are small and can be further reduced by using thelatest technology in newer reactors, and the operational safety record in the Westernworld is excellent when compared to the other major kinds of power plants.
Opponents believe that nuclear power poses many threats to people and theenvironment. These threats include the problems of processing, transport and storageof radioactive nuclear waste , the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation and terrorism,as well as health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining . They also
contend that reactors themselves are enormously complex machines where manythings can and do go wrong, and there have been serious nuclear accidents . Critics donot believe that the risks of using nuclear fission as a power source can be offsetthrough the development of new technology. They also argue that when all theenergy-intensive stages of the nuclear fuel chain are considered, from uranium miningto nuclear decommissioning, nuclear power is not a low-carbon electricity source.
Arguments of economics and safety are used by both sides of the debate.
Environmental effects of nuclear power
Nuclear power has an effect on the environment through the nuclear fuel cycle, through operation, and from the lingering effects of the Chernobyl disaster.
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Nuclear power activities involving theenvironment; mining, enrichment, generation and geological disposal.
Nuclear power have at least four waste streams that contaminate and degrade land:
• They create spent nuclear fuel at the reactor site (including plutonium waste)• They produce tailings at uranium mines and mills• During operation they routinely release small amounts of radioactive isotopes• During accidents they can release large quantities of pollution
The nuclear power issues
Nuclear energy is like a duel edged sword; on one end, it can produce massiveamounts of electricity for pennies on the dollar to power entire cities, and on theother hand, it leaves behind dangerous waste that can last for long time. Nuclear power is a dirty business but much of it's radiological dispersions may
be mitigated by the use of, you guessed it, nodal energetic enclaves. The primaryreason is that nuclear fission is always inefficient.
Man's technology has come a long way and nuclear power is going to be a
mainstay for generations to come. The largest issue surrounding nuclear power iswhat to do with the waste from the power plants.
Nuclear power is still as radioactive, dangerous and expensive as ever.
The nuclear power generation cycle, starting with uranium mining has provento be dangerous for Native Americans in the western United States. Accordingto Grinde and Johansen,
Nuclear power is uneconomical. Nuclear power is polluting. Nuclear power is
a public health threat.
• Nuclear Power is Uneconomical
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Economics
Construction Costs: A History of Failure
Proponents of nuclear power in the 1940s and 1950s said that it would be asource of energy “too cheap to meter,” but this is an industry historically pock-marked with cost overruns and failed deadlines, loan defaults and managerialdisasters. The history of nuclear power is a history of economic collapse andconvulsion .
• Nuclear Power is Polluting
A Continuum of Accidents and Deficient Safety Culture
The history of nuclear power is one pock-marked by a deficient safety culture,nonexistent waste solutions, repeated unintentional radiation releases, and bothmajor and minor accidents.
Proponents have revised initial claims of an “inherently safe” technology inthe aftermath of catastrophic incidents such as Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl, to now assert total resolution to any and all previous safety problems.
A look beyond those two accidents, though, shows a continuum of accidentsacross six decades that reflect nuclear’s fundamentally unsafe nature.
Waste: Eternally Unresolved
Waste is the Achilles heel of the nuclear industry. Despite 60 plus years of
operation, no country in the world has found a credible, long-term solution todeal with its nuclear waste problems.
The accumulation of high-level waste in spent fuel ponds or interim storagesites and the dumping of so-called ‘low-level’ radioactive waste into shallowlandfills pose serious safety risks.
Reprocessing is No Waste Solution: Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel in order to access the plutonium which accounts for about 1% of it, leaves behind 99%of highly radioactive waste to kick down the road. Reprocessing is also
prohibitively expensive and poses serious proliferation risks by separating the bomb-ready plutonium from irradiated spent fuel.
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Nuclear Power is a Public Health Threat
Health
Studies have found that any increase in radiation exposure leads to an increase inrisk for cancer. At various points in the nuclear fuel life cycle, nuclear powerposes serious risks to public health.
Uranium Mining
Uranium mining has been shown to create devastating health effects on minersand communities. Miners and their families exposed to radon gas, a highlycarcinogenic substance that emanates from uranium mining, have beendiagnosed with small cell carcinoma and other forms of cancer.
Uranium mining tends to be concentrated on indigenous lands, whereimpoverished communities, eager to find work, are uninformed of theenvironmental and health impacts of the mining. The effects have been sodevastating in the United States that the Navajo Nation, upon whose lands sitone of the largest uranium reserves in the world, has outright banned the
practice, even as they struggle with crushing poverty.
Elsewhere in the world, serious human rights violations are being perpetuatedagainst other indigenous communities in the name of fuel for nuclear reactors.
Routine Releases from Operating Reactors
Radionuclides routinely released in nuclear reactor operations have beenlinked to developmental problems, birth defects, reproductive problems,cardiovascular disease, leukaemia and other cancers.
Pollutants from nuclear power such as tritium, which acts like water in the body, can enter fetuses through the placenta. Tritium leaks into groundwater have been reported all over the United States, from Arizona to New York.
Epidemiological studies of children living near nuclear reactors show a positive association between leukaemia and proximity to nuclear reactors
Waste: What’s In Your Landfill?
The end of the fuel cycle and waste can also pose potential threats to human
health.
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‘Low-level’ radioactive waste, so classified based on its source and not itsrelative safety hazards, kept in shallow landfills can seep into groundwater andexpose communities to an array of different radionuclides, from those withrelatively short-half lives like tritium, to long-lived and highly toxic
plutonium.
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