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How much pollution is made from a nuclear power plant?
Spent fuel accounts for 3 percent of a nuclear power plant's waste. For every new fuel assembly loaded there is an old one which must be stored carefully, under water at first to allow much of the decay heat to reduce. In the US this is done at the power station site, as there is no long term storage available elsewhere and no program for dismantling discharged fuel. Other sources of low level waste are comparatively easy to deal with.Source: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf04.html
What made the nuclear power plant get destroyed in Japan?
Fukushima Daiichi was destroyed by a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) caused by the tsunami which was caused by the earthquake. The earthquake caused the three operating units (three were operating, two were shutdown, and one was defueled) to automatically shutdown, as designed. Emergency cooling systems started up, also as designed. 41 minutes later, the tsunami occurred, and was much larger than expected, and it incapacitated the emergency diesel generators and damaged most of the emergency cooling system switchgear. Battery power remained, and partial emergency cooling continued for awhile, but with no way to recharge the batteries, emergency cooling failed. Even though the reactors were shutdown and not producing full power, there was decay heat caused by mixed fission byproducts, which accounts for about 7% of full power, for a significant period of time after shutdown. This decay heat is sufficient to overheat the fuel and cause damage unless the fuel is constantly cooled. The same thing applies to the spent fuel stored in the fuel storage rack in the spent fuel pool. Even though not in the reactor, it still has decay heat which must be removed with fuel pool cooling, cooling that was lost when all power was lost. As a result, the spent fuel also overheated and was damaged. Along the way, the hot zircalloy cladding on the fuel rods generated hydrogen gas in a reaction with water. Hydrogen gas in the nuclear steam cycle is normally removed with hydrogen recombiners, but they were not available. When you add water to hydrogen in a situation like this, it tends to explode, and it did, damaging parts of the building structure. Note that this was not a nuclear explosion, but it still damaged parts of the building and the systems.
What caused the fukushima nuclear power plant explosions?
The explosions were caused by hydrogen gas mixing with the atmosphere in a contained system, and exploding. There are two ways this could happen. When the tsunami hit, it basically wiped out all the cooling, power, and backup infrastructure at the plant. This caused reactors 1, 2, and 3 to overheat, and the water in the vessels boiled off to some degree. This led to a increased pressure in the pressure vessel from the steam that was being produced, and the pressure had to be released. The boiling water also exposed the fuel rods, however, and the zircaloy cladding reacts with steam, when it gets hot enough. This reaction produces hydrogen gas, which also is vented. The hydrogen mixed with the atmosphere in the reactor buildings, creating an explosive environment. In these reactors, and also in building 4, where the reactor was not fueled up, the water in the spent fuel pools was not circulating and boiled. This could have exposed fuel rods, and probably did so in building 4. These rods can react with steam just as the rods in the reactor would, with the same result.
What technology or equipment is needed to produce Nuclear Fission?
To produce nuclear fission, you would need a nuclear reactor, which typically consists of fuel rods containing fissile material such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239. You would also need control rods, which absorb neutrons to regulate the fission process, and coolant systems to remove excess heat generated during the reaction. Additionally, you would require a system to handle the spent nuclear fuel and manage the radioactive waste produced.
What are disadvantages of the use of nuclear power for energy?
The waste is hazardous and difficult to store.There is some potential danger in operating a nuclear power plant (cf. Chernobyl and Three Mile Island), but the principal disadvantage is the need to safely store the spent fuel for tens of thousands of years.With proper regulation, safety features, and common sense pretty much none. When you test a poorly designed reactor, lets say a light water graphite moderated reactor also know as an RBMK reactor (Chernobyl) under low power low coolant conditions with al of the safety features turned off things can happen. When you ignore what the computers when they say to shut down the reactor and keep it running (Three mile island) things happen. But if you need disadvantages:Radioactive WasteHigher level waste can be reprocessed into Plutonium either through the use of a reprocessing facility or can be prevent from being made by using a breeder reactor where the higher level waste is not made and enriched Plutonium is made instead.Proliferation of fissionable materialsThe problem with breeder reactors is also the reason why they are good.They produce more fuel but they produce more fuel this highly enriched fuel can be used to make nuclear weapons, dirty bombs, or be used in a nuclear reactor to make energy.There is a large safety risk, from accidents and from terrorists stealing the fuel/byproducts to make weapons of mass destruction, nuclear power plants cost a lot to start, the nuclear fuel is non renewable and there is only enough to last approx 70 years.Nuclear fuel is in fact renewable in so-called "breeder" plants. France uses them, though there are none in the US.Nuclear plants are quite expensive to build, but so are coal-powered plants of equivalent capacity. Several companies are working on low-capacity plants... enough to power a neighborhood or a small village... that would be much cheaper.One disadvantage not mentioned above is the problem of disposing of spent... but still radioactive... fuel.
What is the bad in nuclear energy?
Mostly the long lived radioactivity left in the spent fuel, but also any leakage from a damaged plant as at Fukushima.
Definition of nuclear power plant waste?
Primarily it is the spent fuel which contains highly active fission products. There will be small amounts of low level waste arising mainly from maintenance operations, this can usually be put into a dry store on the site.
How much money do people pay for nuclear energy if the nuclear power plant dies?
If a nuclear power plant were to be decommissioned or shut down, the costs for decommissioning and managing the spent nuclear fuel can run into billions of dollars. These costs are typically factored into the overall cost of nuclear energy production and are often covered by a decommissioning fund that the plant operator is required to establish during the operation of the plant.
What is one of the biggest concerns about nuclear power?
The radioactivity of the spent fuel, and the possibility of release to the surroundingsThe biggest concern about nuclear power is the possible meltdown of the reactor causing a massive release of radiation material into the atmosphere.
What damage does nuclear power cause?
Nuclear power has multiple dangers such as, Power plant accidents- a notable one is Chernobyl but many have occurred Radiation which causes cancer Radioactive waste If Nuclear war comes into play
Which is a waste problem of nuclear power that does not occur with coal-burning power plants?
One unique waste problem of nuclear power is the production of highly radioactive spent fuel rods. Unlike coal-burning power plants, nuclear power plants generate this waste that remains hazardous for thousands of years and requires specialized storage and disposal methods to prevent environmental contamination and health risks.
What pollution problems are associated with nuclear power plants?
Very little, provided the spent fuel is stored carefully, and there are no serious accidents in operating the plant
What happens to materials in a nuclear power plant that are used in the process if creating energy?
The materials used in a nuclear power plant, such as uranium fuel rods, undergo nuclear fission to generate heat. This heat is used to produce steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. Spent fuel rods are then safely stored in specially designed facilities.
A place where nuclear power is produced?
A nuclear power plant or nuclear power station.This consists of:a nuclear fission reactoran electric generation facilityone or more cooling towers to dispose of waste heat in the form of water vapora spent fuel rod storage pool of water (to keep the rods cool as their fission products decay)a manned control roometc.
Does a nuclear power plant never stop making energy?
Well... Yes... Even though a nuclear fission reactor may be shutdown and be subcritical, there are still mixed fission byproducts in the fuel which decay and generate heat. Its not the same enormous volume of heat that is used to make steam for spinning turbines and making electricity, but it is enough heat to require continuous cooling of the core for a substantial period of time. This was the issue with Fukushima Daiichi, as well as with Three Mile Island. The reactor(s) was (were) shutdown, but the fuel still generated decay heat. When the cooling system subsequently failed, the fuel was deprived of cooling and it overheated, and it was damaged. This is also an issue with spent fuel that has been removed from the reactor and placed in the spent fuel pool. Cooling is required until the mixed fission byproducts decay enough that transport is possible.
What is the most likely disaster in a nuclear power plant?
proliferation of radio active nuclear waste For US nuclear power plants, this answer is incorrect. The high level waste, which is the spent fuel rods, are under tight control and are kept cool and protected as they decay. The likelyhood of their contribution to a disaster is quite low. The above answer used the word "proliferation", which is associated with countries or groups who do not have nuclear weapons somehow gaining the knowledge and technology. Spent fuel is a poor source for weapons grade nuclear material due to the high levels of radioactivity, which make working with the material a deadly job, and the fact that the plutonium in the spent fuel is not weapons grade. Proliferation is not a likely danger. The most likely disaster is a steam leak which can burn the operators or a coolant leak from the primary plant. Neither of these events constitute a "disaster". Nuclear power plants are much more fearful when Hollywood designs them than the real things are. == ==
What happens if the fukushima plant explodes?
Actually, at the time this question was written, the plant had already undergone three explosions. According to the New York Times, nuclear fuel was thrown about 1.6 km (1 mile) from the plant, and the ground in the are was made radioactive. The reactor containment vessels failed sufficiently to leak large amounts of radioactive material into the sea. Later the water coming from the reactors and spent fuel pools was contained in storage tanks. Windborn radioactive material has been carried to various places near the plant, requiring about 100000 people to be evacuated. You should understand, however, that the explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were not nuclear in nature, even though they did through radioactive material around. They were caused when an air-hydrogen mix in the reactor buildings ignited and exploded.
