Nuclear Energy Kaitlyn Carton Obaid Al Zaabi Samantha

Nuclear Energy Kaitlyn Carton Obaid Al Zaabi Samantha Ann Kerpovich Courtney Jones James Gallagher

Table of Contents • • • End of the World or Energy for the Future? Should we Invest in Nuclear Energy? Political and Social Issues Laws and Regulations Life Expectancy Nuclear Fusion Environmental Problems Phase-out? Are you Sure we Should/Should not Invest? Works Cited

End of the World or Energy for the Future?

• Should we keep investing in Nuclear Energy? –YES –NO

What are the political/social issues?

Politics on Nuclear Energy • Fukushima disaster (Japan) – Allowed the release of radioactive material into the atmosphere • Should Japan discontinue the usage of nuclear power? – Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi • “Zero nuclear plants” – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe • Restart as many nuclear power plants as possible

Meltdowns • A meltdown is a type of reactor disaster – In such an accident, the fission reaction goes out of control, leading to a nuclear explosion and the emission of great amounts of radiation • Three Mile Island disaster (near Harrisburg PA) – The cooling system failed and radiation leaked, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee • Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Russia) – A large amount of radiation escaped from the reactor and many lives were lost

Radiation • Nuclear explosions produce radiation • 3 major effects of radiation: – Cancer – Radiation sickness (radiation doses of about 200 rems) – Genetic mutation • Illnesses can strike people years after their exposure • Radiation can reach/affect other countries

Waste Disposal • Reactors produce nuclear waste products which emit dangerous radiation that remains radioactive for years – Can not be thrown away like ordinary garbage – Requires safe disposal away from society • Underground sites have been constructed but have been filled with nuclear waste within months • Transportation of the waste is very risky – Many unknown variables may affect the containment vessel

Cost • Nuclear power plants require a larger capital cost • The costs to construct, monitor, insure, and decommission plants are higher than those from an equivalent fossil fuel – Billions of dollars will be spent on the clean up if an accident were to happen and the method of dealing with nuclear waste is expensive

What environmental problems does nuclear energy pose? • 1) Radioactive waste: • • Nuclear energy production creates radioactive waste that cannot be recycled or disposed of by conventional means. Expensive way to dispose the waste.

2) Risk of cancer - There is an increased risk of various diseases, especially cancers, among people who live near nuclear facilities. - Research by Baker et al. was published in the European Journal of Cancer Care. It offered evidence of elevated leukemia rates among children living near 136 nuclear facilities in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Spain.

The impact of radioactive waste in the environment can be devided to : • Land : radio immision is leaking to the underground water. • Sea : - Throwing barrels of waste in the sea.

Accidents that occured in the past 1 - Chyrnobell Accident. • 2 - Three miles island. • 3 - The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Do any laws or regulations prevent the deployment of nuclear energy in the US? Other industrialized countries? Non industrialized countries?

The United States: States and their views • Thirteen states have placed restrictions on the construction of new nuclear power facilities: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Nuclear Power Plant Locations

The United States- Energy Policy Act 2005 • Passed 74 -26 in Senate and 275 -156 in the House. • Included incentives for domestic nuclear power industry.

France • One of the worlds leading nuclear energy countries. • Since they use nuclear, they avoid releasing 31 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air. **The reactors show where a plant is, and the yellow/black circles represent where there are mines or dumpsites.

Germany • The Federal Environment Ministry

China • China Atomic Energy Authority • National Nuclear Safety Administration • China National Nuclear Corporation

What is the life expectancy of nuclear energy reserves? Short-term Long-term waste

Short-term (at least 60 more years)

Long-term (remaining years)

Long-term Waste

What is nuclear fusion? Does it hold much promise for our own energy needs in the next 30 -40 years?

Nuclear Fission • In nuclear fission, the nuclei of atoms are split, causing energy to be released. • Current form of Nuclear Energy • Has its’ problems

Nuclear Fusion • “Is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei collide at a very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nuclei is converted to photons (energy)” (Wikipedia). • Does it have promise: YES!!. . . and NO – Why YES? • Lasts longer • Less radioactive material needed – Why NO? • Uncontrollable • Not possible…yet • Little funding

Are any countries seeking to shut down all their nuclear plants? If so, what arguments are being used to justify that course of action? What other forms of energy are they planning to use instead? • Nuclear Power Phase-out…?

United States of America – Not a complete phase out, but. . . – Common arguments: Dangerous, Expensive – Other forms: Shale, Natural gas, Coal, Renewable/Sustainable energy

Japan – Up for debate – Common arguments: 2011 Fukushima meltdown, probability of natural disasters, expensive, cleanup – Other forms: Imported fossil fuels, Natural gas-> Renewable/Sustainable energy

Germany – Complete phase-out by 2022 – Reason: Crisis in Japan, Chernobyl – Other forms: Oil, Bituminous coal, Lignite, Natural gas -> Renewable/Sustainable energy

Austria – 1997 Anti-nuclear legislation – Reason: Public concerns, large demonstrations – Other forms: Natural Gas, Oil, Coal -> Renewable/Sustainable energy

Australia – Up for debate (banned in certain areas) – Reason: Health, Environmental, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural impacts – Other forms: Coal, Oil, Natural Gas -> Renewable/Sustainable energy

Others – Sweden (1980), Italy (1987), Belgium (1999), – Other European countries may follow suit

• Now, after our presentation…Should we keep investing in Nuclear Energy? –YES –NO **Did you change your mind? If so, consider why. **

• • • • Works Cited Birnbaum, M. (2011). “Germany’s ‘make-or-break’ energy experiment”. The Washington Post. http: //articles. washingtonpost. com/2011 -06 -10/world/35265860_1_nuclear-power-plants-fukushima-plant World Nuclear Association. (2013). World Nuclear Association. http: //www. world-nuclear. org/ N/A. (2013). “Nuclear power”. Wikipedia. http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nuclear_power Editorial Board. (2013). “Don’t give up on nuclear energy yet”. The Washington Post. http: //articles. washingtonpost. com/2013 -09 -04/opinions/41762928_1_fukushima-daiichi-vermont-yankeepower-plant Philips, M. (2013). “The U. S. nuclear power industry’s dim future. Bloomberg. Businessweek. http: //www. businessweek. com/articles/2013 -07 -18/the-u-dot-s-dot-nuclear-power-industrys-dim-future Peterson, S. (1996). “The furor over fission”. WVIA Online Forum. http: //www. pbs. org/newshour/forum/november 96/nuclear_power. html N/A. (n. d). “Pros and cons of nuclear power”. Consumer Utility Services Blog. http: //www. cus. net/cusblog/pros -and-cons-of-nuclear-power/ Greenpeace. (2013). “End the nuclear age”. Greenpeace International. http: //www. greenpeace. org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/ N/A. (2013). “Nuclear fusion”. Wikipedia. http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion N/A. (n. d). “The pros and cons of nuclear energy”. Tripod. http: //members. tripod. com/funk_phenomenon/nuclear/procon. htm N/A. (n. d). “Nuclear power phase-out pros and cons”. Time for Change. http: //timeforchange. org/nuclearpower-phase-out-pros-and-cons The New York Times Company. (2013). “Nuclear energy”. The New York Times. http: //topics. nytimes. com/top/news/business/energy-environment/atomic-energy/index. html Tq-nuke@tjhsst. edu. (n. d). “Nuclear energy”. Library. thinkquest. http: //library. thinkquest. org/3471/nuclear_energy. html California Energy Commission. (2012). “Chapter 13: Nuclear energy-fission and fusion” Energy Story. http: //www. energyquest. ca. gov/story/chapter 13. html Deutch, J. M. , Forberg, C. W. , Kadak, A. C. , Kazimi, M. S. , Moniz, E. J. , Parsons, J. E. , Du, Y. and Pierpoint, L. (2009). “Update of the MIT 2003 future of nuclear power: An interdisciplinary MIT study”. MIT. http: //web. mit. edu/nuclearpower/pdf/nuclearpower-update 2009. pdf

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