Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power has so many benefits that some people block out all the positive aspects of having clean power, cost effective, closely monitored, people that works at power plants are experts in their field and training is continually being given to increase their skills. When learning about nuclear power people may ask how does it really work?  How do I know that the power plant is being monitored and that inspections are done to prevent accidents? Are there other clean energy sources that would be less expensive and less dangerous? How do the power plants dispose of waste, and am I safe if I live near a power plant? Those are all very important questions when trying to decide if nuclear power plants are safe, or am I putting myself and family at risk?

Clean Power

·         It's clean – with virtually no emissions – which helps keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain (FPL, 2010).

·         It is efficient and cost-effective because of stable fuel prices, high plant performance and modernized plants (FPL, 2010).

·         FPL's nuclear power plants are also a clean energy resource. Since nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuel, there are virtually no air emissions, such as greenhouse gases, that may contribute to global warming (FPL, 2010).

Clean power is important because we do not want to add to the pollution problems that we already have and nuclear power can be provide us with electricity that does not emit particle pollution.

Cost Effective

Look at it this way: More than 600 coal-fired electric plants in the United States produce 36 percent of U.S. emissions -- or nearly 10 percent of global emissions -- of CO2, the primary greenhouse gas responsible for climate change (Moore, 2006). Nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do so safely (Moore, 2006). Patrick Moore was one of the founders of Greenpeace and in his article Going Nuclear: A Green Makes the Case it seems like the United States has some catching up to do with Europe.

Closely Monitored

The Florida Power & Light offers information on their website that will allow residents who live near a power plant a sigh of relief because monitoring is done and is regulated by The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (FPL, 2010). This is a federal government agency, monitors our operations closely and daily inspections are conducted on-site at all of our nuclear plants to ensure compliance with federal regulations on public health, safety and the environment (FPL, 2010).

Experts in Their Field

FPL's nuclear power plant employees are highly trained professionals who are dedicated to ensuring safety and reliability in every aspect of their work. Plant employees receive some of the most rigorous training of any industry. Plant personnel participate in training programs that are accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training (FPL, 2010).

Training is thorough and ongoing. For example, plant operators

• Have initial training of about 14 months, including classroom study, and
• Continue training one week out of every six throughout their career (FPL, 2010).

Experienced, well-trained employees are the plant's best safety guardians and understand that safety is their primary responsibility. Most employees live in the surrounding communities and are dedicated to ensuring safe, reliable operations for their families, friends and neighbors.

• Highly skilled in operating our plants with specialized training, including emergency response and are dedicated public health and safety officials (FPL, 2010).
• FPL's nuclear power plant employees are highly trained professionals who are dedicated to ensuring safety and reliability in every aspect of their work. Plant employees receive some of the most rigorous training of any industry. Plant personnel participate in training programs that are accredited by the National Academy for Nuclear Training (FPL, 2010)

With all that training most have backgrounds in engineering, sciences, use of electricity, and in most positions they have to pass tests that are granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).

How does it Work?

Now that we have learned about the benefits of using nuclear power we will also learn how does nuclear power work?  First, tiny parts of the uranium, known as atoms, are made to split, or fission. Next, during fission, even smaller particles of the atom, called neutrons, are released. Last, the neutrons strike more uranium atoms, resulting in the release of heat needed to generate electricity (FPL, 2010).

Chornobyl

Now that we know how they work we must talk about some of the concerns people have about Nuclear Power. Karen Charman in her article, “Is It time to Revive Nuclear Power,” spoke up the horrible accident in Chornobyl and how the Russian government tried to cover up the medical problems of the accident (Easton, p. 230, 2009). She starts off by trying to scare people into believing her point of view and although she makes a good point about what the possible dangers was in the past that was twenty four years ago. Technology has changed and the United States has stricter rules than any foreign country who would lead people to believe nothing really bad happened it was just an accident. “Historian and Chornobyl expert David Marples wrote that authorities in the former Soviet Union classified all medical information related to the accident while denying that illnesses among cleanup workers resulted from their radiation exposure (Easton, p. 230, 2009).” The relationship between Chornobyl and current use of nuclear power in The United States does not match each other because technology has changed and there are strict regulations that are in place so accidents like Chornobyl will never happen again.

Three Mile Island

 An excerpt from the article, “Going Nuclear”, Patrick Moore who was one of the founders of Greenpeace had this to say about Three Mile Island. What nobody noticed at the time, though, was that Three Mile Island was in fact a success story: The concrete containment structure did just what it was designed to do -- prevent radiation from escaping into the environment. And although the reactor itself was crippled, there was no injury or death among nuclear workers or nearby residents. Three Mile Island was the only serious accident in the history of nuclear energy generation in the United States, but it was enough to scare us away from further developing the technology: There hasn't been a nuclear plant ordered up since then (Moore, 2006).

Big Difference

In another excerpt from, “Going Nuclear”, Moore also talks about the difference between Chornobyl and Three Mile Island and compare nuclear power working conditions are safer than the coal mine workers.  In his own words, “This early model of Soviet reactor had no containment vessel, was an inherently bad design and its operators literally blew it up. The multi-agency U.N. Chernobyl Forum reported last year that 56 deaths could be directly attributed to the accident, most of those from radiation or burns suffered while fighting the fire (Moore, 2006)”. Tragic as those deaths were, they pale in comparison to the more than 5,000 coal-mining deaths that occur worldwide every year. No one has died of a radiation-related accident in the history of the U.S. civilian nuclear reactor program. And although hundreds of uranium mine workers did die from radiation exposure underground in the early years of that industry, that problem was long ago corrected (Moore, 2006).

Worker Safety

According to an article written by Christine Todd Whitman called, “The Case for Nuclear Power Is as Strong as Ever,” with the research she has done that worker in the nuclear power industry is much safer than in other industrial jobs. Here is an excerpt for her article which was published on August 2, 2010: worker safety in nuclear plants stands above any other American industrial sector, as measured by lost-time accidents. The nuclear power industry has devoted significant resources to continuously improving the safety and reliability of our nuclear power facilities against all manner of potential risks and threats with the result that, for more than 30 years, nuclear plants have delivered about 20 percent of America's electrical power safely and securely, without major incident (Whitman, 2010).

Storage Units

There are two types of storage units that are used and they are fuel rod storage pools and dry cask storage containers and these can be stored at the power plant until a long term solution can be agreed upon. Politicians do not want waste in their backyard and even the proposed site at Yucca has come with some setbacks and is closing soon and laying off workers. On the website Oracle Think Quest, students have done a project to explain how waste is currently being stored and here is an excerpt from their research along with a few pictures. When the spent fuel rods are removed from the reactor core, they are extremely hot and must be cooled down. Most nuclear power plants have a temporary storage pool next to the reactor. The spent rods are placed in the pool, where they can cool down. The pool is not filled with ordinary water but with boric acid, which helps to absorb some of the radiation given off by the radioactive nuclei inside the spent rods. The spent fuel rods are supposed to stay in the pool for only about 6 months, but, because there is no permanent storage site, they often stay there for years (Oracle Think Quest, 2010).  The other method of temporary storage is now used because of the overcrowding of pools. This is called dry storage (as opposed to "wet" storage which we outlined above). Basically, this entails taking the waste and putting it in reinforced casks or entombing it in concrete bunkers. This is after the waste has already spent about 5 years cooling in a pool. The casks are also usually located close to the reactor site (Oracle Think Quest, 2010).

Terrorist Attacks

FPL has a strong security program to provide protection for its employees and the public. Our plans have always been designed to counter the threat of terrorist attacks. Security programs are continually assessed in consultation with all levels of law enforcement to provide for modifications as conditions may change (FPL, 2010).

Our security plans include:

• Armed security forces that conduct security drills regularly with challenging scenarios
• Well-trained and highly qualified security officers
• Close communication with local, state and federal agencies, including the FBI, to ensure extensive security measures are in place to protect the plants, our employees and the public
• Thorough background investigations and personnel evaluations, as well as highly restricted plant access involving personnel screening and entry check points
• Security measures that stop intruders, including physical barrier systems, such as concrete barriers and crash resistant gates, high-tech intrusion detection and alarm systems (FPL, 2010).

Sturdy Design and Construction

Buildings that contain nuclear fuel and safety equipment are designed and constructed to be heavily fortified. The buildings are capable of withstanding severe impacts from natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, and provide protection from other events, such as potential impacts from jet aircraft.

Other building safety features include:

• Steel-reinforced concrete walls several feet thick for structures containing nuclear fuel and safety-related systems 
• A steel-lined pool with back-up cooling water sources for used fuel storage and
• Multiple and redundant safety systems that protect the reactor containment and used fuel buildings.

Nuclear power plants are not capable of a nuclear explosion. The concentration of uranium fuel is simply too low and is designed for power production (FPL, 2010).

The above statements can be found at the Florida Power & Light website and for anyone who is nervous about being near or just are unaware of the benefits to nuclear power than what a relief it is to know some much about the safety factors, the construction of the buildings and the security measures that are taken by the power plant exceed that of other industries. Education is a huge part of the FPL because their website is very extensive and they supply those facts for anyone who is a customer or is interested in learning about nuclear power.

Sustainability

Nuclear power will be sustainable for not only as a source of energy but for producing more jobs for Americans when this is a time of huge economic crisis. With the more “Clean”, “Green”, jobs that can be produced nuclear power can make a huge impact on the way we heat our homes. Let me remind you that, nuclear energy is the only electricity source that can generate electricity 24/7 reliably, efficiently and with no greenhouse-gas emissions (Nuclear Energy Institute, 2010). So with the combined benefits for jobs we will be catching up with our European neighbors who have already have moved into the world of nuclear power, and we will be able to learn from their example. We know of the risks that can happen with the use of nuclear power but we also know the realities of it as well. Talking about the pro’s and cons with friends and family is important especially if one lives near a power plant. Each power plant has a communications director and contacting the plant or going to that companies website will further the education process and fears and concerns will be released with facts and figures.

References

Bureau of labor statistics: power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers. (2010, August 8). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos227.htm

Easton, T. (2009). Taking sides. Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

FPL: Safety and security. (2010, August 8). Retrieved from http://www.fpl.com/environment/nuclear/security.shtml

Moore, P. (2006, April 16). The Washington post, going nuclear: a green makes the case. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401209.html

NEI: Nuclear power plants. (2010, August 8). Retrieved from http://www.nei.org/keyissues/newnuclearplants/

Oracle think quest: nuclear waste storage. (2010, August 8). Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/17940/texts/nuclear_waste_storage/nuclear_waste_storage.html

Whitman, C. (2010, August 2). The Case for nuclear power is as strong as ever.. Retrieved from http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/4839/The-Case-for-Nuclear-Power-Is-as-Strong-as-Ever