Nuclear Power:

Our Misunderstood Friend

Overview• Growing Demand for Energy• Comparison of Nuclear with

Other Forms of Energy• Disposal of Waste• Safety of Nuclear Energy

Growing Demand for Electricity

• Steady increase of use• How electric drive vehicles will impact

use• EGU MACT legislation will impact

demand

Chevy Volt

Wind• Better for the environment

because it is renewable• Generates at a capacity of 20-40%• Rate of Injury of Workers

Solar

• Better for the environment because it is renewable

• Can only generate at a capacity of 15-30%

• Battery technology

Nuclear vs. CoalNuclear

• About 19% of electricity generated by DTE

• Uses less than 0.00001% fuel

• High energy content• Less susceptible to

fluctuation• High initial cost

Coal• 80% of electricity

generated by DTE• Mining, transport,

burning• low energy content• Large fluctuations in

cost of fuel• High cost in fuel

*CCGT is a type of coal powered plant

Nuclear Power in France• 75% electricity from nuclear• 17% electricity from recycled nuclear power• Generate 3 billion euro by selling to the rest of

Europe

Disposal of Waste

• Types of Nuclear Waste• Disposal of Nuclear waste

–Amount Generated–Repository

Types of Waste

•Gaseous

Types of Waste•Liquid

Types of Waste•Solid

Disposal of Nuclear Waste

•On Site Repository

Disposal of Nuclear Waste in Yucca Mountain

Chernobyl

What Happened• Failed Experiment• Ignored Warnings• Explosion• Runaway Nuclear

Reactor

Effects of Chernobyl• 100,000 km2 of contamination• Rise in Thyroid Cancer

– Treatment 96% Effective.– Could have been prevented.

• Liquidators and Acute Radiation Sickness– Firefighters in the Plant.

• Cancer Rates in Highly Contaminated Group– 4000 Extra Cancer Deaths among 600,000 People.

• Cancer Rates of People in Contaminated Zones– 5000 Extra Cancer Deaths among 5 Million People

How Modern Reactors Differ From Old Soviet Reactors

• RBMK Reactor– Water Cooled– Graphite Rod Moderators– No Containment Vessel

• Light Water Reactor– Water Cooled– Water Moderated– Steel and Concrete Containment Vessel

3 Mile Island

Effects• Average Dose of Radiation

– 1 milirem– 1/6th radiation produced by a chest x-ray

• Maximum Dose of Radiation– Less than 100 milirem– Background Radiation 100 to 125 milirems per year

• Radioactive Isotopes– Very Low Levels Detected

• Radiation Contained– Containment vessel was not breached

Aftermath• NRC given more control of power plants• Human Error

– Operator training improved by lessons learned.– 2 Full Time inspectors at each site.

• Design Problems– Improved controls and indicators.– Piping system revamped.

• Component Failures– Auxiliary Coolant Systems.– Automatic Shutdown.

NUCLEAR POWER:

Our No Longer Misunderstood Friend