Nuclear Reactors

In brief, both accidents involve gross failure of a nuclear reactor. The two reactors are of different types, so there are some things that are unique to each plant. Both had the reactor cores damaged catastrophically. And in both cases, radiation was released ourside fuel element cladding and outside containment barriers. What is different is that in the Chernobyl disaster, the atomic pile caught fire. I was built using graphite blocks for moderators. At Three Mile Island (TMI), there was no fire. The radiation released at TMI was some nasty stuff including fission fragments from failed fuel element cladding, but it was released in limited quantities. TMI was an accident. In Russia, things were different. It was a disaster. At Chernobyl, as the core burned, massive clouds of highly radioactive fission byproducts (from the failed fuel elements) were caught up in the fire column and swept aloft with the smoke and heat. This caused the surrounding area to have to be evacuated and some of it was actually abandoned. The small city of Pripyat became a ghost town. This newly constructed community of about 50,000 or so was abandoned. People just walked away. They literally left everything behind and departed with just the clothes on their backs. There were a number of fatalities at Chernobyl, and none at TMI. Some reactor workers and a number of emergency personnel responding to the fire died of radiation sickness. And a number of civilians lost their lives within a few weeks of the accident. One account logged by a helicopter pilot (several choppers dumped water on the fire from aloft) said that in the night, the column of smoke and debris from the fire glowed in the darkness due to the radioactivity. Helicopter pilots were among those who died as a result of their heroic efforts to douse the flames. Links are provided to relevant Wikipedia articles.

The "nuclear reactor time bomb" theory was popularized by author and scientist Amory Lovins in the 1970s. Lovins argued that nuclear reactors posed safety risks and could lead to catastrophic accidents or intentional sabotage, likening them to a ticking time bomb.

Not from nuclear effects, though any large industrial plant built in a rural area must have some effect just due to the buildings where previously it was open country

First you have to better define working. If "working" means having nuclear material that can actually do something then you don't. If you try you'll probably at best end up in jail and at worst giving yourself radiation poisoning. However if what we define as working gets some play room then there are a few designs out there that work. Most involve some way to boil water (preferably electrical, like a cheap espresso machine as they have safeties) and then turning a turbine to make electricity. You just have the boiler hidden inside a containment structure like a real reactor and print off a picture on what a core should look like.

I'm currently looking into this for outreach programs and will post my findings.

No, most of India's reactors are PHWR (Candu type) reactors. There were two GE BWR's before this. Russia is supplying a new station based on PWR reactors, and a fast reactor is also under construction. No Chernobyl type reactors exist or are planned (RBMK type).

Probable USA has the most plutonium.

Yes, they are man-made.

Probable you think to a breeder reactor; this type of nuclear reactor produce more fissile material than it consumes.

fission

Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant was created in 2006.

Although they have the nuclear material that could be deviated for nuclear weapon production but Ukraine has neither the motivation nor the political/economical will to make nuclear weapons.

there are 72 nuclear power reactors under construction (of total power 68374 MW electric) worldwide per the statistics of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as of April 2004.

1. releases large amounts of energy from small amounts of mass

2. very efficient

3. convert nuclear energy into thermal energy

4. the fuel lasts a long time

In a nuclear reactor, electricity is produced through a process called nuclear fission. This process involves splitting uranium atoms, which releases a large amount of energy in the form of heat. The heat is then used to generate steam, which drives turbines connected to generators that produce electricity.

A dangerous condition caused by overheating inside a reactor is known as a meltdown. This occurs when the core of the reactor becomes so hot that it melts, potentially leading to a breach of containment and release of radioactive material.

In a pressurized water reactor, the primary cooling water is kept under high pressure to prevent it from boiling at normal operating temperatures. This pressurized water flows through the reactor core to transfer heat from the nuclear fuel to a secondary system, where the heat is used to generate steam for electricity production.

As of end of August 2013, there are 434 working nuclear power reactors (with total rated power 370.543 Gigawatt plus 69 nuclear power reactors under construction (with total rated power 67.196 Giagawatt).

A nuclear reactor emits radiation. In a PWR reactor, if the reactor temprature is around 650 Degrees, The emission near the reactor core is 2.57 Roentgen. That is the amount of radiation a human is exposed to in around 20 Years.

There is also the dust, This dust if inhaled will cause cancer. If a Nuclear Powerplant explodes the story is different.

Lets take chernobyl NPP for instance.

The vincinity of the reacter core after explosion was 30,000 Roentgens per hour. That is 300 Sieverts per hour. That is enough to kill a man in 20 seconds. The fuel fragments that were realeased outward from the explosion the reactor had 15,000-20,000 Roentgens Pewr hour, And these fragments were laying on the ground after the explosion. Enough to kill a man in 30 seconds.

Nuclear, coal-fired, and hydroelectric power plants provide electricity.

For shielding against radiation and to provide more safety barrier against any unexpected emergency conditions.

Unless they explode, The only negative effects is waste which is taken and buried at secure locations. And the waste generates is 79% Lower than the waste generated by coal powerplants.

Uranium-235 is the most commonly used isotope as a nuclear fuel in power plants. It undergoes fission reactions, releasing energy that is used to generate electricity.