PHAGWARA (PUNJAB)

SESSION
2010-2011

TERM PAPER
PHYSICS

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..
.
 It is not until you under take a project like this one that you realize how
massive the effort it really is, or how much you must rely upon the self less effort and
good will of other . There are many who helped in this project, and I want to thanks
them 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 not
have 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 every
stage 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 helped
me the most to complete this project work.

Manoj
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
 What is nuclear power ?

Nuclear power is energy which is produced with the use of a controlled

nuclear 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 parts
of 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 which
must be addressed, including the safe disposal of radioactive waste products.

The process of generation nuclear power starts with the mining and processing
of 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 creates
intense 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 an
atom 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 greenhouses
gases. 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
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 the
deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear
fuel for civilian purposes. The debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970s
and 1980s, when it "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology
controversies", 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 decreasing
dependence 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 only
viable course to achieve energy independence for most Western countries. Proponents
claim that the risks of storing waste are small and can be further reduced by using the
latest technology in newer reactors, and the operational safety record in the Western
world is excellent when compared to the other major kinds of power plants.

Opponents believe that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the
environment. These threats include the problems of processing, transport and storage
of 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 many
things can and do go wrong, and there have been serious nuclear accidents. Critics do
not believe that the risks of using nuclear fission as a power source can be offset
through the development of new technology. They also argue that when all the
energy-intensive stages of the nuclear fuel chain are considered, from uranium mining
to 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.
 Nuclear power activities involving the
environment; 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 massive
amounts of electricity for pennies on the dollar to power entire cities, and on the
other 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 primary
reason 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 is
what 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 proven
to be dangerous for Native Americans in the western United States. According
to Grinde and Johansen,

 Nuclear power is uneconomical. Nuclear power is polluting. Nuclear power is

a public health threat.
• Nuclear Power is Uneconomical
Economics

Construction Costs: A History of Failure

 Proponents of nuclear power in the 1940s and 1950s said that it would be a
source of energy “too cheap to meter,” but this is an industry historically pock-
marked with cost overruns and failed deadlines, loan defaults and managerial
disasters. The history of nuclear power is a history of economic collapse and
convulsion.
• 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 both
major and minor accidents.

 Proponents have revised initial claims of an “inherently safe” technology in

the 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 accidents

across 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 to
deal with its nuclear waste problems.

 The accumulation of high-level waste in spent fuel ponds or interim storage

sites and the dumping of so-called ‘low-level’ radioactive waste into shallow
landfills 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.
  Nuclear Power is a Public Health Threat

Health

Studies have found that any increase in radiation exposure leads to an increase in
risk for cancer. At various points in the nuclear fuel life cycle, nuclear power
poses serious risks to public health.

Uranium Mining

 Uranium mining has been shown to create devastating health effects on miners
and communities. Miners and their families exposed to radon gas, a highly
carcinogenic substance that emanates from uranium mining, have been
diagnosed with small cell carcinoma and other forms of cancer.

 Uranium mining tends to be concentrated on indigenous lands, where

impoverished communities, eager to find work, are uninformed of the
environmental and health impacts of the mining. The effects have been so
devastating in the United States that the Navajo Nation, upon whose lands sit
one 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 perpetuated
against other indigenous communities in the name of fuel for nuclear reactors.

Routine Releases from Operating Reactors

 Radionuclides routinely released in nuclear reactor operations have been

linked 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.
  ‘Low-level’ radioactive waste, so classified based on its source and not its
relative safety hazards, kept in shallow landfills can seep into groundwater and
expose communities to an array of different radionuclides, from those with
relatively short-half lives like tritium, to long-lived and highly toxic
plutonium.

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