ENVS2010U Nuclear Option Courtney Conway

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1. Why is Japan so dependent on nuclear energy and what is the impact of the Fukushima
disaster in 2017 on how it generates electricity?
Nuclear energy provides a cheap and efficient way to provide the large demand of energy needed
for a country such as Japan. Alternative energies such as wind and solar are too expensive and
rely too much on environmental factors.

2. What are 3 short and long term results of this disaster on Japan?
As soon as the incident happened many citizens were evacuated from their homes. Due to high
levels of radiation many of them would never be able to return. Land, air and water were all
eventually contaminated in surrounding areas impacting resources and wildlife. The lives of
anyone residing in the area would be changed forever.
The country of Japan as a whole utilizes nuclear energy for 30% of their power. Due to the loss
of one of their main plants and the negative perception of nuclear energy, Japan is now forced to
import alternative resources.

3. What is base load carbon free power?

Nuclear energy is an example of base load carbon free power, being consistently reliable without
emitting any carbon. Alternative carbon free energies such as wind mills are dependent on
external factors such as wind but are not used as a base load.

4. Why is there widespread opposition to nuclear power? (3 reasons)

Due to the negative repercussions of nuclear incidents in the past, there is a widespread fear
associated with the idea of nuclear power. To this day, Fukushima continues to be a major
nuisance despite it happening 7 years ago. Storing waste has also become a problem and
ultimately there is no sustainable solution in place yet. The possibility of being exposed to
radiation is increasing as the waste accumulates.

5. How widespread is nuclear power globally?

At the time this documentary was made in 2017, there were 450 nuclear reactors around the
world constituting for 11% of the world's power.

6. What are the design flaws in water cooled reactor designs and how do the Westinghouse
AP1000 and the NuScale reactor designs overcome these flaws?
Water cooled reactor designs originated in the 60's and 70's and thus are lacking in modern
technology and equipment. Station blackouts, similar to what caused the incident at Fukushima
are prone to happening and inhibit the flow of cool water to the inside of the reactor. Overall, in
any incident where the reactor cannot be cooled the uranium rods within the core begin to melt-
eventually creating toxins that will contaminate surrounding water and land. The Westinghouse
AP1000 is equipped with an emergency water reservoir. The reservoir can prevent meltdowns for
up to 72 hours and would have been able to handle the incident at Fukushima. Alternatively, the
NuScale reactor sits underground surrounded by water. It uses small and modular clusters rather
than larger long rods. There is no need for pumps or electricity making it especially reliable.
ENVS2010U Nuclear Option Courtney Conway
100488376

7. In April 1986 at the Argon Nuclear laboratory (ground zero for nuclear power research) ,
the successful demonstration of the safety of liquid metal reactors was carried out with the
projection that this signaled the “Dawn of a new era in sodium reactors” Why don’t we
have these reactors now? (Who stopped it, what reasons were given and what was the real
reason?)
The use of sodium reactors had stopped after a reactor blew up in Chernobyl. After the incident,
the ideology was considered too dangerous and support for nuclear energy began to deteriorate.
The technology seemed to make sense for the Navy, and so was used to power their submarines
instead.

8. Chuck Tills is quoted as saying “We have fumbled around for the last 20 years
unnecessarily” What is he referring to? What is currently going on to find a place for
nuclear power in a carbon free world? (2 examples
20 years ago the funding for research for nuclear energy was terminated due to the increasing fear
surrounding safety and the environment following the incident at Hiroshima. Conversely, at this
time in the midst of searching for clean energy solution, nuclear power is becoming a more
logical solution. The research at the Argon Nuclear laboratory has expanded into using different
coolant and reactor sizes. There is also now more of an interest in businesses and young students
to use more clean energy therefor increasing the opportunity for nuclear energy.

9. Kentucky now stores most of the depleted uranium from nuclear reactors. That supply can
supply the entire US need for electricity for 750 years. What is holding up that potential
carbon free source of energy?
The largest inhibitor in using potential carbon free sources of energy stems from the negative
stigma associated with nuclear energy. Since there have already been well documented incidents
in the past it is hard to contradict what has happened and ensure safety. The technology and
science describing the processes within a reactor are also not easy for everyone to understand,
creating more of resilience towards it. Thus, I believe the second largest inhibitor would be lack
of information. If everyone were informed properly on the overall processes and all the risks were
outlined the negative stigma might slowly begin to disappear.