Nuclear Stuff

By B & C ConsultingLegal services by Oui, Cheetum and Howe.

Nuclear Power is the creation of electricity from the heat of a controlled nuclear reaction.

What is Nuclear Power?

The following slide is an animation of an uncontrolled, contained, nuclear reaction.

You will need to put your cursor over the image, and click to get it to move.

The following slide is a model of an uncontrolled, contained, nuclear reaction, at the University of Michigan.

It is sometimes called a “mousetrap bomb”, because it is a plastic box, covered with mousetraps, each with a ping-pong ball, causing the effect.

You will see.

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This is a model that we made. It goes MUCH faster, and is MUCH better, because each mousetrap has at least TWO ping pong balls.

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Nuclear Power is the creation of electricity from the heat of a controlled nuclear reaction.

This heat is run through a turbine, to create energy, just as in any other type of power plant.

Where does it come from, and where is it used.

Where does uranium come from? The answer most often cited by nuclear chemists is that all elements with atomic numbers greater than iron are formed by explosive nucleosynthesis accompanying a

supernova. Uranium is the highest numbered naturally occurring element to be found in significant quantities on the earth. Therefore, uranium is a non – renewable resource in that it cannot be formed naturally on the planet. However, man can create fissile uranium and other trans-uranic elements in breeder reactors to create nuclear fuel.

There are 66 nuclear power plants operating 104 nuclear reactors in 31 different states, that produce 99,163 MW(e) per year.

This capacity is about 20% of the electricity used in the United States, and is shown on the table on the next slide.

State # of power plants # of reactors Net capacity MW(e) Alabama 2 5 5008 Arizona 1 3 3825 Arkansas 1 2 1776 California 2 4 4324 Connecticut 1 2 2006 Florida 3 5 3906 Georgia 3 4 4040 Illinois 6 11 11379 Iowa 1 1 563 Kansas 1 1 1170 Louisiana 2 2 2067 Maryland 1 2 1685 Massachusetts 1 1 667 Michigan 3 4 3938 Minnesota 2 3 1646 Mississippi 1 1 1231 Missouri 1 1 1137 Nebraska 2 2 1234 New Hampshire 1 1 1161 New Jersey 3 4 3875 New York 4 6 5068 North Carolina 3 5 4938 Ohio 2 2 2111 Pennsylvania 5 9 9229 South Carolina 4 7 6472 Tennessee 2 3 3348 Texas 2 4 4768 Vermont 1 1 506 Virginia 2 4 3467 Washington 1 1 1108 Wisconsin 2 3 1510 31 States 66 power plants 104 Reactors 99,163 MW(e)

Where do we get the raw material for nuclear reactors?

1. Decommissioned Soviet/Russian nuclear warheads.

2. Mining in some foreign countries

3. Mining in the United States

• 1 out of 10 US light bulbs were powered by uranium from a former Soviet warhead in 2005

– 6 trillion kW-hr– $12 billion cost

• Cost equivalent energy:– $600 billion in oil– $420 billion in gas– $43 billion in coal

• Energy equivalent:– 10 billion barrels of

oil– 60 trillion cf natural

gas– 3 billion tons of coal

Nuclear nonproliferation a surprising success in

spite of daily concerns

…atoms for peace.2005 Nobel Peace Prize

Uranium, the raw ore, is found in low densities, so the mining is very volume intensive. The mines were often open pit types, such as this one near Silver City, New Mexico. The ores in the United States are often found in sandstones. Open pit mining ended in 1992.

“In-situ” mining in Nebraska and Wyoming is now the only method of Uranium mining in the United States.

Obviously, deliberately poisoning a groundwater body in this way plays hell with the chemistry of the rock formation. While the acid is mobilizing the uranium atoms, radioactive thorium, radium and radon are also forced into solution, as well as varying amounts of other toxic metals such as lead and cadmium. These all have to be dealt with as part of the waste stream, or else they are left below ground to create even more insidious pollution within the groundwater systems.http://www.anawa.org.au/mining/isl.html

Where on Earth do we get this stuff?

Uranium is very widely distributed throughout the world. The only question is the cost of extraction, and whether or not the Uranium deposit has ore, in an economic sense.

Domestic Uranium oxide production 1996 to present

Note that the 2007 production values do not include 4th quarter.

Advantages of Nuclear Power

• Reduced environmental impacts with ore extraction.

• Reduced greenhouse gas emission.

• Fewer dependencies on imports.

• Reduced price volatility

• Cost effective (after initial construction of plant ~ driven by political concerns)

• One ton of Uranium fuel (enriched to a 3% U-235 to U-238 ratio) produces more electricity than several million tons of coal, based upon the efficiency of the coal fired power plant, and the efficiency of the nuclear power plant.

Fewer environmental and social impacts due to raw material extraction.

Nuclear70.9%

Wind2.3%

Hydro25.4%

Solar0.0%

Geothermal1.3%

680 Million tons of CO2 emissions avoided by nuclear generation in 2006

Sources of emission free electricity

Nuclear Power produces no greenhouse gases

Nuclear Power is a Strategic Resource that we have total control of.

Price volatility

Nuclear Power is a long term supply and demand curve, that reduces the effect of short term supply/demand spikes that effect price.

US Energy Consumption 2001

coal

gasoil

nuclear

hydro woodrenewables

Nuclear power is very cost effective, once the initial cost of construction is completed. Because of political and environmental concerns, initial power plant costs can be large.

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Fuel O&M

Nuclear Coal

$17$22

$76Gas

Oil$81

2005 $/MWh for Fuel and O&M

Disadvantages of Nuclear Power

Waste Storage “Hello Rock County Nebraska”

Nuclear Proliferation “Our Friends in Pakistan”

Nuclear Accidents “China Syndrome with Jane Fonda”

Chernobyl “Not a lot needs to be said”

Grass roots opposition to radioactive technology, often due to lack of understanding, by those in Rock County Nebraska. We fear the unknown.

Waste storage is a problem. The United States nationwide waste storage facility in Yucca mountain was to begin accepting waste in 1998, it still has not done so, and it is now due to start accepting high level radioactive waste in the 2020.

China Syndrome

Chernobyl was the worst nuclear accident to occur in the world. Soviet estimates of death are in the the low 20’s, but the actual number of deaths (both short and long term due to radiation) are expected to be in the rage of 50,000 to 200,000 persons.

Videos to follow.

1. “Ghost Town”, which chronicles a short motorcycle ride through the exclusion zone, 20 years after the accident. The effects of 20 years of abandonment become obvious

2. “Severe Days”, is a video that shows some film taken by a reporter at the site, on the day of the accident.

3. “Announcement”, which is the actual Soviet announcement that an accident had occurred at Chernobyl.

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The End

FIN

No Mas