IV Barrier Mitigation Methods Of Nuclear Energy In Canad A Report

Reactor operators control the chain reaction created by nuclear fission to regulate the amount of heat generated and energy produced.

plant, thereby increasing the risk of a nuclear power event ([city/county name] County Office of

　　　　In the recent years, nuclear energy has gotten a comprehensive development. There are over 430 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in 31 countries, with over 370,000 MWe of total capacity. About 70 more reactors are under construction, and these numbers are still rising up (World Nuclear

Nuclear Energy in Canada accounts for over half the nations energy supply. This large amount of output is dependent on the sustainability of the plant production and government policy towards it. With many of the Kilowatt Hours (KwH) being exported to nations across the sea (World Nuclear Association 2013). Exports have skyrocketed due to our position on a global scale of uranium supply, second behind Russia. Canadian industries and production campaigns use Nuclear Energy as their main supply. “About 59% of Canada 's electricity comes from nuclear power, with 19 reactors mostly in Ontario providing 13.5 GWe of power capacity” (World Nuclear Association 2013). Currently there are nuclear plants active in Pickering, Darlington and Bruce.

Nuclear power plants have many advantages and disadvantages that must be weighed when comparing it to

Nuclear power plants are a safe, clean and reliable source of energy production. They are uniquely qualified to meet the growing demand for energy in the USA.

Nuclear energy was likewise discovered to be useful in naval tactics and in sourcing electricity. As technology has significantly advanced and knowledge has expanded beyond measures, the realm of nuclear engineering has indeed achieved scientific milestones. In practice of modern times, nuclear energy is manufactured within power plants, capable of supporting an outstanding amount of electricity (World Nuclear Association). However, this limited method of energy production is thought to be dangerous. Nuclear engineering is certainly one complex subject and is foreign to the majority of the world population. Within a nuclear power plant, reactors are employed to force uranium ions to undergo the process of nuclear fission; nuclear fission is the separation of atoms, the smallest unit of matter. This splitting of uranium ions releases energy, thus, producing usable heat. Heat is crucial to not only nuclear energy production; rather, heat is necessary in all power plants. Such will then become the steam that gyrates turbines. These turbines are coupled with electromagnets which, finally, yield electricity (How Nuclear Reactors Work). One foremost flaw of nuclear power is the consequential radioactive waste that must be monitored for a long while following disposal. Nevertheless, as resources upon this planet are surely depleting, original forms of energy production are mandatory. In consideration of such, nuclear power plants have proved to be both efficient

In the control room, approximately fifty alarms were constantly going off. Jim Creswell was certain that the operators down at TMI-2 were taking the wrong measures when accidents occurred. But Creswell was considered a nuisance and a troublemaker, whenever he brought these things to his boss’ attention. Everything costs money to fix, and the plant was new, they just need time to work out the kinks.

Nuclear fission is a cost-effective, and relatively clean way to generate power. Since, the mid-1940’s, with the formation of the first atomic bombs, engineers have worked on improving nuclear power. In the 1970’s and 80’s nuclear power plants were built in cities to provide power for homes, workplaces, and other facets of life. Nuclear reactions were not well understood by the general public and therefore nuclear engineers inherited a certain status. Also as a result, nuclear power plants raised concerns for many Americans. The chances of a nuclear reactor failure were very slim, however, the consequences were devastating. Engineers feared that if the general public knew of the possible consequences that there would be massive amounts of unnecessary fear. As a result, operators of nuclear reactors were not informed of procedures to follow in the event of an emergency.

Countless nuclear power plant accidents have been occurring quite frequently since its invention. Some accidents have even been underestimated,

The disastrous meltdowns that cause whole cities to become uninhabitable, as well as leaving families homeless and laborers without jobs, have defined the negative perspective of what people see in nuclear power. However, even after such catastrophes, the pure raw energy output makes nuclear power essential for the future of the human race. As time passes, the world’s energy usage has grown an increasingly massive size every year due to the consumption swell of energy. Despite nuclear plants being a heavily controversial topic internationally, its advantages are very well recognized and it’s causing nuclear plants to slowly become the basis of our growing society.

This occurs when there is a severe nuclear accident causing damage to the core which in turn causes overheating causing severe damage due to the release of radioactive materials into the environment. This is a major concern due to previous devastating incidents such as Chernobyl or Fukushima. However, Thorium reactors completely solve against which was stated in a study done by SP’s MAI (2015) saying that a thorium nuclear reactor has no possibility of a meltdown like the Fukushima reactor because thorium cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction without priming, as a result of which fission stops by default. A global concern that has been protected against by treaties such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the concern of nuclear weapons. Traditional Uranium Reactors that run on the Uranium-Plutonium, U-Pu, cycle have a problem with the Plutonium that is produced which can easily be separated from the radioactive waste which could then be used to create nuclear bombs. Since Thorium reactors do not produce any Plutonium they avoid the problem of by-products being used to create nuclear weapons.

As a result, numerous countries are creating more nuclear power plants. From the 1990s, the rate of nuclear power plants constructed increased because of technological and managerial, deregulation, and safety improvements.

Many critics argue that due to the Three Mile Island nuclear incident that occurred March 28, 1979, in Pennsylvania resulted in a reactor meltdown, with no casualties due to a combination of equipment failure and a lack of operators understanding what to do to a faulty reactor. This incident has put the majority public to have safety concerns over not only the operators working in the plants but also the civilians in the surrounding area. Yet since the accident, the United States formed the National Academy for Nuclear Training to improve training the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations which reviews and accredits nuclear utilities’ training programs for all key positions at each plant. In addition, nuclear energy plants have proven the ability to produce clean electricity without greenhouse gas emissions and the reliability due to its increased efficiency and increased power output.

Global demand and consumption of energy is at an all time high; the world needs a safe, efficient, clean, and high producing source of energy production. The solution is something we already use for energy production, Nuclear power. From the beginning of nuclear energy there has been concerns over the safety of the power plants and its impact on the environment. With climate change and more accurate information on nuclear power the tide is shifting in its favor. This paper will explore the positives of nuclear power, political change on nuclear power, safety of the energy source and new technologies associated with the nuclear power process. Most importantly are the risks associated with nuclear power worth it? Research suggests that nuclear power is safer now more than ever and has less of an impact on the environment than coal or oil. Public support and misconceptions over the years have been up and down due to political agendas and those who are misinformed about nuclear power. Individuals who are involved in the energy field are in favor of nuclear power and building more plants with newer technology.