Clear Thinking on NuclearAnswers to some Frequently Asked Questions
What careers are available?
What do we do with nuclear waste?
What happened at the nuclear accidents?
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More nuclear professionals are needed
• The demand exceeds the supply of graduates trained in nuclear science and technology.
• Many nuclear professionals are retiring and need to transfer their knowledge to the next generation of experts.
• Nuclear careers exist in medicine, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and security.
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Exciting opportunities in nuclear careers
• Knowledgeable and experienced professionals serve as instructors and mentors to students entering nuclear careers.
• Scholarships, awards, and honors exist for student education and research.
• Nuclear Engineers have the 3rd highest median income among the engineering professions at $102,000/year.
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Science education programs: essential to our standard of living
• Teachers, parents and business leaders must encourage young people to consider rewarding careers in nuclear science and technology.
• A scientifically literate population, educated in math and science, is essential for our national economy and security.
• Ensuring a reliable workforce of highly capable people provides opportunities for saving lives, improving our environment, understanding our world and exploring our universe.
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• Currently, ~75,000 metric tonnes is stored at over 100 nuclear power plants.
• Was planned to be stored at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (licensing was put on hold in 2010)
• Dry Cask Storage is a likely alternate solution for the short to mid term. The additional cost for storage is very low (< 0.1 ¢/kW-hr).
• In the future, the waste may be reprocessed, to greatly reduce volume and long-term radioactivity, before being placed in a final geologic repository. At least one repository will still be necessary.
• All nuclear electricity is taxed at 0.1¢/kW-hr for a disposal fund, which will fully cover all waste transport and disposal costs. (~$500 million/year, >$10 billion accumulated)
What Happens to Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel in the U.S.?
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Experience, planning, and preparedness
• The US has a half-century of experience transporting radioactive materials with no radioactive materials being released.
• Over the last 40 years, 3,000 shipments on spent nuclear fuel have navigated more than 1.7 million miles of US roads and railways.
• In Europe, ~70,000 metric tonnes of spent fuel has already been shipped, with no releases. This is equivalent to the entire (future) Yucca Mtn. shipping campaign.
• Every shipment is carefully tracked and monitored along public routes that must meet strict safety requirements.
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Well designed and thoroughly tested containers
• Shipping packages, or casks, are designed according to rigorous standards established by the Department of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• The casks are about 15 times thicker than a gasoline tank truck shell and they include three to four inches of stainless steel with thick lead radiation shields.
• Typically, for every ton of fuel, there are more than three tons of protective packaging and shielding.
• Here’s a short video clip of the casks being tested.
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Coordinated efforts among federal and local officials
• The DOT identifies "preferred routes," of interstate highways and bypass routes around cities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves all transportation security plans.
• Satellite tracking of all shipped casks is utilized to ensure location, and the dates of shipments are not publicized.
• Experienced, specially licensed trucking companies handle spent nuclear fuel shipments, in addition to many other hazardous materials, in the United States.
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What Happened at Three Mile Island?
• A series of malfunctions and mistakes led to a small loss of coolant
• Fission stopped, but heat generation from radioactivity continued
• The event happened over many hours
• A portion of the core ultimately melted
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TMI Observations
• It was an accident that led to severe reactor damage and resulted in many lessons on how to prevent it in the future.
• It was financially disastrous to the utility (over $2 billion property losses and power costs)
• It released a very small amount of radioactivity (less than 10 curies of Iodine) and the consequences were small (well within NRC limits)
• It took a long time for the accident to evolve and allowed operator actions to mitigate its effects (many hours)
• It made USNRC rethink how it should consider the risk from plants:– Physical processes during a core melt may mitigated releases
– Strong containments and passive safety not previously credited
• There were no deaths, diseases or environmental impacts attributable to this accident
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What Happened at Chernobyl?
• Accident occurred during a planned test
• It resulted from a collection of operator actions in violation of safety procedures
• The unique design of the RBMK make this type of accident impossible in a Western reactor
• The damage and a very large radiation release happened over a short time (50,000,000 curies)
RMBK Reactor Layout
14National GeographicFor Educational Use
Chernobyl Observations
• This accident was far worse than the worst case scenario for a western commercial power plant
• It was financially & environmentally disastrous for USSR
• It released a large amount of radioactivity and the consequences were large (although lower that anticipated)
• It took a short time for the accident to evolve and allowed for no human intervention to mitigate the immediate consequences
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Chernobyl Observations
• The consequences were:– 47 emergency workers died from
direct radiation– 9 children who were nearby died
from cancers– In the general nearby population the
consequence is too small to be measured
• It made the world community reconsider this type of design for use in electrical power production
• The maximum possible release from a Western plant is a very small fraction of that which occurred at Chernobyl
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Good Resources
• ANS Scouting Program Resources– http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/
• NRC: Animated Diagrams, Other Information– http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/animated-bwr.html– http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/animated-pwr.html– http://www.nrc.gov/
• Example of Scouting Program on a Univ. site:– http://ans.engr.wisc.edu
• Nuclear Energy Institute: Key Issues, Careers, and Statistics on the Industry– http://www.nei.org
• Department of Energy: Mission and Statistics– http://www.energy.gov/energysources/nuclear.htm 17