Nuclear_Power_Station

Y11 One World Essay: Should Lisbon have a Nuclear Power Station To build a Nuclear Power Station its necessary planning and investment. Portugal at the moment doesn’t have a good economic capacity. The following fig. 1 demonstrates that smaller countries doesn’t have economic capacity to build Nuclear Power Stations but bigger countries like China, France ,Russia and others, have high economic capacity and they can afford Nuclear Power Stations. Fig. 1 Science solved a way to give cheap and safe electrical energy for our homes, industry and local environment creating Power Stations, Nuclear Power Stations, Solar Panels and many more other ways. Some people praise the technology as a low-cost, low-emission alternative to fossil fuels, while others stress the negative impact of nuclear waste and accidents. Power Stations use Power Plants that depend on atomic energy don't operate that differently from a typical coal-burning power plant. It heats water into pressurized steam, which drives a turbine generator, they burn fossil fuels. And at a Nuclear Power Station, Nuclear Plants depend on the heat that occurs during nuclear fission, when one atom splits into two. Nuclear Power Stations have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are, nuclear power is not expensive, it doesn’t produces smoke and CO2, it doesn’t contribute to greenhouse effect, produces huge amounts of energy with small amounts of fuel, doesn’t produces much waste and nuclear power is reliable. Disadvantages are that the problem of radioactive waste is still such a big problem, the waste from nuclear energy is extremely dangerous and it has to be carefully looked after for several thousand years, there are also high risks like, accidents can still happen. The consequences of an accident would be absolutely devastating for human being and nature. Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be targets of terrorist. During the operation of nuclear power plants, radioactive waste is produced, which could be used to build nuclear weapons. It takes many years to build a Nuclear Power Station. Nuclear Power Plants are also used to engines of ships and submarines. Nuclear energy uses Uranium as fuel, which is a scarce resource. The supply of Uranium is 30 to 60 years .So Nuclear Energy is not renewable. How it works' The reactor uses Uranium rods as fuel, and the heat is generated by nuclear fission: neutrons smash into the nucleus of the uranium atoms, which split roughly in half and release energy in the form of heat. Carbon dioxide gas or water is pumped through the reactor to take the heat away, this then heats water to make steam. The steam drives turbines which drive generators. Energy Pollution: Almost all energy production and use involves some form of pollution of our environment. Each different source of energy, from fossil fuels to nuclear, pollutes in a different way and to a different degree. Just how much pollution and what type of pollution are acceptable and which source of energy should be used has generated a lot of controversy. Coal & Oil Power Plants: |Pollutant (air) |Environmental Effects | |.Carbon Dioxide (air) |.Global Warming | |.Nitrous Oxides (air) |.Smog | |.Particulate or Dust (air) |.Causes lung cancer and other lung ailments | Global warming is caused by the tendency for some gases, like carbon dioxide, to trap heat in the earth's atmosphere. This seems to be causing a gradual increase in the average world temperatures, melting of the ice caps, rising ocean levels, and changes in weather patterns. Pollutants such as nitrous oxides help to create smog and haze, and make it difficult for elderly people and people with lung problems to breathe. Nuclear Power Plants: |Pollutant |Environmental Effects | |Radioactive Waste (liquid or solid) |Difficult to dispose of. | |Radiation Leaks (air) |Radiation poisoning and increased risk of cancer. | |Heat Emissions (water) |Causes growth of algae and kills marine life. | The fission nuclear power plants that are already in use have produced thousands of tons of radioactive waste that are waiting for disposal. This waste will be toxic for thousands of years and where to put it has become a gigantic technical and political problem. Origin: Uranium, not as rare as once thought, is now considered to be more plentiful than mercury, silver and others. And so abundant as molybdenum or arsenic. It occurs in numerous minerals such as pitchblende, uraninite, carnotite, autunite, uranophane, and tobernite. It is also found in phosphate rock, lignite, monazite sands, and can be recovered commercially from these sources. Fossil Fuels: Coal, oil and gas Fossil are a non-renewable source of energy. Formed from plants and animals that lived up to 300 million years ago, fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the earth. The fuels are burned to release the chemical energy that is stored within this resource. Over 85% of our energy demands are met by the combustion of fossil fuels. Health Risks: Because of concern about the health and environmental effects of burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil to produce electrical energy in recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in nuclear power stations as a "carbon-free" method of generating electricity. The risk associated with large radiation doses is relatively well established. However, the risks associated with doses under about 200 mSv are less obvious because of the large underlying incidence of cancer caused by other factors. Radiation protection standards assume that any dose of radiation, no matter how small, involves a possible risk to human health. However, available scientific evidence does not indicate any cancer risk or immediate effects at doses below 100 mSv a year. At low levels of exposure, the body's natural repair mechanisms seem to be adequate to repair radiation damage to cells soon after it occurs. Almost all energy production and use involves some form of pollution of our environment. Each different source of energy, from fossil fuels to nuclear, pollutes in a different way and to a different degree. Just how much pollution and what type of pollution is acceptable and which source of energy should be used has generated a lot of controversy. This following graphic demonstrates some comparative radiation doses and their effects: |Graph 1 | |2 mSv/year |Typical background radiation experienced by everyone (average 1.5 mSv in | | |Australia, 3 mSv in North America). | |1.5 to 2.0 mSv/year |Average dose to Australian uranium miners, above background and medical. | |2.4 mSv/year |Average dose to US nuclear industry employees. | |Up to 5 mSv/year |Typical incremental dose for aircrew in middle latitudes. | |9 mSv/year |Exposure by airline crew flying the New York – Tokyo polar route. | |10 mSv/year |Maximum actual dose to Australian uranium miners. | |20 mSv/year |Current limit (averaged) for nuclear industry employees and uranium miners. | |50 mSv/year |Former routine limit for nuclear industry employees. It is also the dose rate | | |which arises from natural background levels in several places in Iran, India | | |and Europe. | |100 mSv/year |Lowest level at which any increase in cancer is clearly evident. Above this, | | |the probability of cancer occurrence increases with dose. | |350 mSv/lifetime |Criterion for relocating people after Chernobyl accident. | |1,000 mSv cumulative |Would probably cause a fatal cancer many years later in 5 of every 100 persons | | |exposed to it | |1,000 mSv single dose |Causes (temporary) radiation sickness such as nausea and decreased white blood | | |cell count, but not death. Above this, severity of illness increases with dose.| |5,000 mSv single dose |Would kill about half those receiving it within a month. | |10,000 mSv single dose |Fatal within a few weeks. | Should Lisbon have a Nuclear Power Station' I think that Portugal can´t afford this project, it is necessary years of planning and good economic capacity and Portugal doesn’t have neither, and exists positive and negative consequences, I think that the time that Portugal needs to build this it will not compensate because Uranium is not renewable and Uranium is the fuel to the Nuclear Power Stations without it the Nuclear Power Station will not be able to be functional, the statistics are that Uranium will finish in 30- 60 years so the money and time wasted will not compensate the time that it will active. It also a probably of happening an accident and if it happens it would be absolutely devastating, the nuclear waste can be used to build nuclear weapons or it can be also a target for terrorists. I live in Portugal and wouldn’t like a nuclear accident, it would be really bad for society and the radioactivity remains for many years and that radioactivity can cause cancer and others diseases. They are also good reasons to build Nuclear Power Stations like the nuclear power isn’t expensive and it doesn’t contributes to greenhouse effect because it doesn’t produces smoke or CO2, and with small quantity of fuel it produces huge quantities of energy and it doesn’t produces much waste and nuclear power is reliable.   Bibliography : Author: Darvill Date Retrieved: October 10, 2010 URL: http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/nuclear.htm Author: Juerg Date Retrieved: 14 January 2007 URL:http://timeforchange.org/pros-and-cons-of-nuclear-power-and-sustainability Author: Conjecture Corporation Date Retrieved:2003 URL: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-electrical-energy.htm Author: Wikipedia Contributors Date Retrieved: 10 October 2010 16:31 UTC URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_station Author: Wikipedia Contributors Date Retrieved: 10 October 2010 16:32 UTC URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_plant Author: Triped Date Retrieved: Unknown URL:http://members.tripod.com/funk_phenomenon/nuclear/procon.htm Author: Google Date Retrieved: None URL :www.google.com/images