NUCLEAR ENERGY

2. NUCLEAR ENERGY Jason Leiferman Eric Lundstrom Pete Vorpagel Cassie Gallati Danielle McGill

3. What is Nuclear Energy? Nuclear energy is the energy that is trapped inside each atom An Atom�s nucleus can be split, known as fission, which creates energy, known as nuclear energy. Energy can also be produced by fusion, which is the product of two hydrogen atoms combining to produce 1 helium atom. Is not possible today.

4. Cont� Uranium is main element used to produce nuclear energy. Uranium is mined Processed into tiny pellets Sent through nuclear power process in either the Boiling Water Reactor System OR the Pressurized Water Reactor.

5. Boiling Water Reactor System

6. Pressurized Water Reactor

7. Reliability and Efficiency Produces same amount each time Largest source of emission-free electricity, and second largest source of power Aren�t subject to weather, cost fluctuations, or foreign dependence Most for the money

8. Availability of Uranium Relatively common metal found in rocks and seawater Not scarce, averages 2 parts per million of Earth�s crust 50 years supply available

9. Availability of Plutonium Found in trace quantities in Uranium ore Synthesized by the transmutation of Uranium Small quantities found from fallout of atomic bombs and radiation leaks

10. Fossil Fuels Account for 90% of world�s energy Petroleum- 40% Coal- 24% Natural Gas- 22% Non-Renewable

11. Nuclear Energy Usage 17% of World�s electricity Lithuania gets about 80% of their electricity from nuclear energy 400 power plants in the world 20% of US electricity Main source of energy in Texas, Illinois, Arizona, and Vermont. Not main source of electricity

12. 3 Mile Island March 28th 1979, Middletown Pennsylvania Electrical failure in secondary section of the plant. Coolant problem and instrument failures. Core and fuel began to melt

13. Chernobyl April 25th 1986, Chernobyl, Ukraine No safety culture to fix design problems Reactor became unstable at low power levels causing an uncontrollable power increase. Operators violated many safety protecols. Communications break down.

14. Chernobyl Reactor to be shut down for maintenance and tests. Operational error, power feel to dangerous levels. Increase in coolant flow and drop in pressure. Rods removed. Operators reduced coolant flow.

15. Chernobyl Design flaw caused instability. Power increased 100 fold. Temperature rise caused melt down. Steam explosion destroyed reactor core. Radiation leak spread from reactor core.

16. Safety Today High-quality design and construction Equipment which prevents operational disturbances developing into problems Redundant and diverse systems to detect problems and control core damage. Provision to confine the effects of severe fuel damage to the plant inself.

17. Safety in the U.S. Containment structures Structures are extremely strong International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) * Less deaths associated with nuclear energy than with fossil fuels

18. Some Common Misconceptions Spent and un-spent nuclear fuel is too weak to explode Uranium used in nuclear weapons has to be enriched to 20%-90% pure, the fuel used in power plants is about 4% Nuclear fuel is not flammable Water discharged from a nuclear power plant contains no harmful pollutants

19. Pros Nuclear Plants don�t emit harmful gases such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases Emission-free because it does not burn anything to produce electricity

20. Pros Nuclear power plants take up less land than other kinds of plants To build the equivalent of a 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant a solar plant would be 35,000 acres, a wind farm 150,000

21. Pros One nuclear pellet produces as much energy as 1,780 lbs. of coal, 149 gallons of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas Lowest production cost of the major sources of energy, 1.72 cents/kwh. Coal, 1.8 cents, natural gas 5.77 cents, and petroleum 5.53 cents

23. Cons Waste from nuclear reactors remains radioactive for hundreds of years High costs associated with decommissioning obsolete reactors Nuclear accidents, while rare, can be very dangerous and costly

24. TODAY YOU LEARNED� That fission is what produces nuclear energy�not fusion Nuclear Energy is the most cost efficient 20% of U.S energy comes from Nuclear Energy The use of nuclear energy for electricity generation can be considered extremely safe The pro�s outweigh the cons

25. Sources http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html http://www.world-nuclear.org/factsheets/uranium.htm http://webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Pu/geol.html www.enviroliteracy.org/subcatergory.php/21.htm http://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear.htm http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/n_renew/nuclear.htm http://www.nei.org http://www.chernobyl.co.uk/sequence.html http://www.uic.com.au/nip14.htm http://www.ans.org