The Lifetime Of A Nuclear Power Plant Essay

The disaster had more of an effect on eastern Europe’s nuclear experimentation and use but “While no-one in the West was under any illusion about the safety of early Soviet reactor designs, some lessons learned have also been applicable to Western plants” (World Nuclear Association). Since the Chernobyl disaster was majorly caused by human error and under qualified scientists, to work with nuclear reactors today you need to be insanely qualified. Since the accident, Soviet-designed reactors’ safety has improved greatly, even in smaller ways. Automatic shutdown mechanisms now work faster, and other safety mechanisms have been sped up. Even new equipment has been installed such as automated inspection equipment. Several scientist and reporters have even said an accident like Chernobyl is virtually impossible with today’s technology (World Nuclear Association).

NPPs operate on very strict procedures to maintain the operation of its reactors (EPRI 2004). with the help of constant corrective, preventive and predictive maintenance the whole system can function flawlessly for decades.

The United States of America’s population constitutes just 5% of the world’s population, yet it consumes nearly 24% of the world’s energy. Because of our huge consumption of energy, we harm our environment in different ways, like producing massive amounts CO2 emissions which have catastrophic effects, such as climate change, that directly impact us and the different forms of life around us. To cut down on these negative effects, researchers have developed more environmentally friendly methods of energy production. The debate now centers around which energy method is better than the rest. Although there are many energy-generating methods, we will focus on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as nuclear power. Shrader-Frechette opposes nuclear energy because it 's seen as unclean, expensive, and dangerous. Senator Lamar Alexander opposes wind and solar energies because the sheer amount of space required by these energy producing methods does more harm to our environment than good. Even if Shrader is right about the disadvantages of nuclear power, which she is not, its worldwide use as our main source of energy would pose an insignificant threat compared to the dangers of the impact solar and wind power would have on the environment. We have no time to experiment with visionary energy sources; civilization is in imminent danger and has to use nuclear power -- the one relatively safe, available, energy source -- now or suffer the pain soon to be

At 4 a.m., the plant failed on the non-nuclear section. A mechanical or electrical failure prevented water to flow to the steam generators that remove heat from the reactor core. This caused the secondary plant’s turbine generator and reactor to shut down which quickly made the pressure of the primary system increase. The primary system was the nuclear portion of the plant. In order to

On May 28, 1979, around 4 a.m. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear accident in United States history occurred (Backgrounder…). The Metropolitan Edison Company was operating Reactor 2 as normal but then it suddenly shutdown due to a rise in the temperature of the coolant feed. When functioning properly, the reactor is cooled by a steady stream of a coolant water that flows into and then out of the reactor which is the cooled and recycled back to the reactor. However, the temperature of the inlet, coolant feed increased and caused the reactor to

Small pellets of slightly enriched uranium would be put into containers called fuel rods, then set up into a line, called a fuel assembly, and positioned into a pressure tube. The tube, cooled by pressurized water, is allowed to boil until reaching about 290 degrees Celsius. The assembly can be lifted into and out of the reactor, allowing fuel replenishment during reactor operation. Graphite blocks surround the pressure tubes in order to act as a moderator to “slow down the neutrons released during fission so that a continuous fission chain can be maintained.” Boron carbide control rods are also supposed to absorb neutrons in order to provide automatic, manual, or emergency control. If there were ever a deviation in operation parameters, the rods would be dropped into the core to reduce or stop reactor activity. Although, Chernobyl had certain measures in place to stop a reactor in case of emergency or overheating, the reactors had characteristics deemed unsafe (“Appendix to Nuclear Power Reactors”).

Carl Michelson, a science-fiction writer with adept expertise in nuclear engineering and a respected advisor in the world of nuclear reactors also brings to attention a fault in the Babcock and Wilcox pressurizer. He notes that a U-shaped pipe between the pressurizer and coolant loop could prevent water from flowing, thus filling the pressurizer beyond a safe limit while draining the reactor. Yet again, this warning was halted by the choking grip of bureaucratic

On the 11th of March, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the eastern coast of Japan. Emergency shutdown procedures went into effect when the earthquake was spotted, but this was not the main cause of the destruction of the nuclear reactor. The first line of defense was to immediately stop the nuclear fission within the reactor by inserting neutron absorbing rods to stop the reaction. After the engineers successfully stopped the nuclear fission reaction, immense heat and pressure was still prominent and needed to be relieved as soon as possible. Fresh water was brought in and dumped onto the rods but a tsunami inevitably followed as soon as the earthquake was felt as the source of the natural disaster was on the ocean floor. The tidal wave severely damaged the power supply system that was meant to maintain the flow was cold water. On March 12, 2011, diesel powered generators were initiated in an attempt to alleviate the failure of the generators that were powering the entire plant. Unfortunately, the diesel powered generator was insufficient enough to cool the large reactor as the heat building up within was accumulating in large amounts; more than what nuclear engineers originally presumed. Water continued to evaporate causing a hydrogen gas to form when the fuel rods underwent a chemical reaction with the steam. Hydrogen gas is an important element to take into consideration as too much of this element can cause an explosion within the reactor. Workers quickly

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

Nuclear power is a useful resource, but it can also be dangerous in certain cases. March 28, 1979 is an example of one of these situations. On that date, the Three Mile Island (TMI) power plant in Pennsylvania experienced the “worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power in the United States” (Three Mile Island, 2014). Located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the plant, as seen to the left, had originally been built to locally provide electricity and power. For five years, the first pressurized water reactor located there had functioned properly after being “entered into service in 1974” (Three Mile Island Accident, 2001). The second unit, known as the TMI-2, began operating late December 1978,

In order to eliminate/reduce the risk(s) of radiation to nuclear workers, nuclear utilities have developed significant resources to reduce personnel exposures at nuclear power plants to levels that are As Low As Reasonably Achievable also known as ALARA. During system modifications, changes can affect the station’s exposure performance over the entire life of the plant through completion of decommissioning. It’s engineering responsibility to assess/analyze the risk of radiation exposure and make every possible effort during project planning to reduce this exposure during project’s execution. We have recently successful executed power uprate project and license extension. The license extension compounds the importance of engineering support for ALARA related modifications and for ensuring all modifications are developed with ALARA integrated into the design.

After the Chernobyl disaster, officials came up with methods that could further prevent subsequent meltdowns and reduce the effects a meltdown would have if one were to occur. The concept that was derived was the defence in depth concept, which was fundamental to the safety of nuclear installations. The factors of this concept started with the design and building of a nuclear facility which required deciding on a good design and adequate site, the use of high-quality construction materials and the testing before operation. They also covered organisational and behavioural issues that were important to operating a nuclear installation. The key factors of this concept were to counteract potential human and machine failures, to maintain the success

The world as we know today is dependent on energy. The options we have currently enable us to produce energy economically but at a cost to the environment. As fossil fuel source will be diminishing over time, other alternatives will be needed. An alternative that is presently utilized is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is currently the most efficacious energy source. Every time the word ‘nuclear’ is mentioned, the first thought that people have is the devastating effects of nuclear energy. Granting it does come with its drawbacks; this form of energy emits far less pollution than conventional power plants. Even though certain disadvantages of nuclear energy are devastating, the advantages contain even greater rewards.

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.