...The Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident The Three Mile Island nuclear reactor meltdown accident is one of the most notable commercial nuclear power station reactor accidents to have occurred in the United States (Walker, 2004). Metropolitan Edison Co. operated the plant. On 28th March 1978, one of the nuclear reactors in the plant (TMI-2) suffered a partial meltdown, resulting in the emission of mild radioactive elements into the environment (Walker, 2004). What ensued was legal action by PANE, trying to stop the reopening of the nuclear plant stating that it would result to “severe psychological trauma to residents of nearby towns” (Gary & Rosen, 2003). The reopening of the plant would have had significant effects on the area resident’s psychological health, wellbeing, and the area community’s cohesiveness and stability. Reopening the plant would have led to the area residents having to live with trauma and fear. Immediately after the incident, the federal government ordered the evacuation of all children and pregnant women from within a 5 mile radius of the Three Mile Island Facility. A day later, the federal government increased the radius to 20 miles (Osif, Baratta & Conkling, 2004). More than 140,000 people had to vacate their homes temporarily because of the incident. This had an impact on the area resident’s state of psychological health. Even after they had moved back from the voluntary evacuation, they had to live in constant fear that there might be another nuclear meltdown...
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...the potential to harness nuclear power as an energy was recognized. Six years later, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing an estimated two-hundred thousand people and forever linking the word 'nuclear' with death and destruction (Danzer 790). Since that day, nuclear power has been trying to throw off the shadow of it's _________ In many cases succeeding in convincing______ However, there are numerous people to this day that remain wary of this particular power source. Nuclear power is a safe, efficient, and effective...
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...short term solution for the energy-crisis is nuclear power. Nuclear power, however is not as safe as burning coal, gas or oil in a factory it is in fact, much more dangerous, There are dangers associated with a nuclear power plant which far out weigh the benefits to society as a whole and in part to the community living and working around the power plant . About 20 percent of our nation's total electrical consumption per year is supplied by nuclear power from the 100 or so nuclear power plants throughout the country . Even though atomic power has been in use for over 50 years it was primarily a tool of war and destruction when the war ended need for atomic bombs diminished . The scientists who created the weapons were out of jobs . They then turned this destructive power into huge plants generating "clean and cheap " electricity for the country . It was called progress. Progress also brought with it sickness , mutations , cancer and eventually death to those exposed to high levels of radiation . Government declared that nuclear power is safe and efficient . Also have big Oil corporations who have a lot of money invested in nuclear power and want to see as many plants as possible put into and kept in operation . The truth is that accidents do happen at nuclear power plants and at other facilities all the time . An accident at a nuclear power plant has the potential to be much more devastating than an accident at a coal or gas plant because of the radiation...
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...Nuclear technology started being researched in the late 1800’s. The research really didn’t kick off until the late 1940’s during World War II for the use of nuclear power on naval ships making propulsion and electricity, as well as nuclear bombs for use in warfare. There are also other major nuclear evens that also paved the road for nuclear technology. Some of these events include the Cherynoble meltdown, the Three Mile Island meltdown, and most recently the Fukushima Japan flooding of a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plant accidents and incidents with multiple fatalities and/or more than US$100 million in property damage, 1952-2011[5][16][17] | Date | Location | Description | Deaths | Cost (in millions 2006 $US) | INES level[18] | 01957-10-10October 10, 1957 | Sellafield, Cumberland, United Kingdom | A fire at the British atomic bomb project destroyed the core and released an estimated 750 terabecquerels (20,000 curies) of radioactive material into the environment. | 0 | | 5 | 01961-01-03January 3, 1961 | Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States | Explosion at SL-1 prototype at the National Reactor Testing Station. All 3 operators were killed when a control rod was removed too far. | 3 | 22 | 4 | 01966-10-05October 5, 1966 | Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan, United States | Partial core meltdown of the Fermi 1 Reactor at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station. No radiation leakage into the environment. | 0 | | | 01969-01-21January 21, 1969 | Lucens...
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...On March 28th of 1979 the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor had a partial meltdown in the second reactor unit. The 880-megawatt reactor, located on an island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania began its meltdown around 4 am while operating near full capacity (Makhijani, Arjun, Max Schulz, and Brice Smith). In The Fold, J.S.S says “A misreading by one of the engineers on duty compounded by equipment and instrument malfunctions led to a loss of coolant from the reactor core”. By this he means that this partial meltdown was caused by human error and faulty technology as well as a combination of the two. Faulty technology is where the accident began. The cooling pump failed, which caused the turbine and the reactor in unit number two to shut down...
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...Nuclear Power Professor: Dr. Timothy Scott Class: Senior Seminar – Environmental Ethics Date: June 9, 2010 By: CT Nguyen History The first successful experiment with nuclear fission was conducted in 1938 in Berlin by the German physicists Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman. During the Second World War, many nations get on the program to develop nuclear energy, focusing first on the development of nuclear reactors. Several nations began their own construction of nuclear reactors at this point,, although research was also being conducted into the use for civilian electricity generation , primarily research was for weapons use. Electricity was generated for the first time by a nuclear reactor on December 20, 1951 at the EBR-I experimental fast breeder station near Arco, Idaho, which initially produced about 100 kW. December 1953, a speech by President Dwight Eisenhower, "Atoms for Peace", set the US on a course of strong government support for the international use of nuclear power. On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant that generated electricity for commercial use was officially connected to the Soviet power grid at Obninsk, USSR. The reactor was moderated; water cooled and had a capacity of 5 megawatts (MW). The second reactor for commercial purposes (1956) was Calder Hall in Sellafield, England, a gas-cooled reactor with a capacity of 45 MW. The Shippingport Reactor (Pennsylvania, 1957), a pressurised-water reactor, was the first...
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...Topic : THE BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY OUTWEIGH THE DISADVANTAGES. DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? GIVE REASONS FOR YOUR ANSWER Nuclear power, which is generated by splitting of the atom, is one of the most modern energy today. Nuclear power has many benefits over other energy resources, particularly older methods such as oil, coal and hydroelectricity. It is more efficient than these traditional sources of energy and the raw materials needed to produce it occur commonly throughout the natural world. Nuclear power is said to be the modern, progressive way to meet the energy crisis, also be the solution of dependence on imported oil and natural gas in many countries. And the rate of accidents in the industry has been relatively low - not higher than in other energy industries. People argue that nuclear power is the modern, progressive way to meet the energy crisis. In the early 20th century, scientist discovered how to create energy through the use of highly radioactive elements such as Uranium. A tiny piece of Uranium about the size of a golf ball has the same amount of stored energy as 2.300.000 pounds of coal. That is 19 train cars of coal. This tremendous amount of energy, which is released from the Uranium in a nuclear reactor, can provide huge numbers of electricity for community. For example, over 100 nuclear power plants now generate 20% of The United State’s electricity. It is generally accepted that nuclear power reduces dependence on foreign oil and natural...
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...Communication: Past and Present HCS/320 July 25, 2013 Sandra Alviso Communication: Past and Present Every country suffers from natual dissasters. In 1979 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station there was a malfunction that Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton miss communicated to the public. (Rose, 2011). In 2005 Mother Nature brought Hurricane Katrina to the coast Lousiana and, she devastated the city of New Orleans. Today our community’s natural disaster is a life-threatening biological agent which has spread in the water supply of several towns. Technology has changed the way a community in a disaserous situation communicates after the Three Mile Island and Hurricane Katrina. Comparing the way an Emergency Management Office communicates with the public and the groups involved, the advantages and challenges that come with the past and present communication technology, and the media opportunities used in today’s world. Individuals and Groups With a life-threatening situation there are many individuals and groups internally and externally that need to be notified of the situation. Within the office the entire staff needs to be aware of the seriousness of the situation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Center for Disease Control Center (CDC) are a few federal agencies that need to be aware of the situation. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) was directed by Congress to develop the first National...
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...103 April 23, 2014 America Should Switch to Nuclear Energy from Fossil Fuels America currently mainly uses fossil fuels as its main source of energy. America should switch to nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuel energy. The most common fossil fuels used today are oil, coal, and natural gas. These sources of energy are being depleted and America will soon have to find a new source of energy. The future is facing towards nuclear power. Nuclear energy is more efficient, it is a cleaner burning fuel, it is more economically sound and is a safe source of energy despite what pop culture says. According to the U.S Department of Energy, most of the fossil fuels we use today were formed millions of years prior to the first dinosaur. This means that the world’s main source of energy was created hundreds of millions ago; this source of energy in not renewable quick enough to be in demand for the world increasing population. “Sixteen of the world’s twenty largest oil fields have already reached their peak level of …whilst the golden age of oil field discovery was nearly 50 years ago.”(Ecotricity, 2013) The life span of fossil fuels and The Earth’s population are not proportional; the earth will run out usable fossil fuel sooner than later. The use for nuclear energy is relatively new compared to the use of fossil fuels; the Chinese first used coal as an energy source around 2000 B.C (Heinberg, 2003), and the first controlled nuclear reaction wasn’t until 1942. (Williams, 2006)...
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...Whitney Turntine Februrary 17, 2014 Environmental Science Nuclear Energy It seems that the world as a whole is in search of an energy source that is cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient. This seems to be particularly true in the United States where the government seeks to separate themselves from their reliance on petroleum from countries including those in the Middle East. They are unfortunately, less concerned with environmental issues than it is with issues of power, money, and dominance. Either way, nuclear energy is one of the better alternative energy sources. There are currently 65 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states around the country. Thirty-six of the plants have two or more reactors. These plants have generated about 20% of U.S. electricity each year since 1990. Nuclear fisson is performed by fusion of hydrogen into helium. This is done using uranium, plutonium, or thorium and placing them in the reactor, which start a chain reaction that can produce vast amounts of energy. Uranium is the element primarily used in reactors. The fission of a one atom can produce 10 million times the amount of energy that an atom can produce that is burned from coal. Uranium is an abundant element which is easily found and extracted. It often has to undergo a relatively cheap refining process, however, as the isotopes are found mixed in nature. Nuclear fission is also relatively clean, as there is no excess CO2 produced, as there is in...
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...Go… Nuclear? What does the term “nuclear” mean to modern society? Is it a clean, efficient production of energy, or is it a mushroom cloud of death and devastation? Growing up only thirty miles from Entergy’s River Bend Nuclear Power Plant and Waterford Nuclear Power Plant, I have heard many different opinions on the topic of nuclear energy. In the last twenty years, the Federal Government has focused on going “green”, to lessen the amount and effects of carbon dioxide emissions. Currently, there are very few options on where we get our power. However, one of these sources is from nuclear power. These words cause many to tremble in fear. Some believe that nuclear power is the most effective way to produce energy. However, just because something is effective, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is worth the risk. This point has raised many questions around the world about whether or not nuclear power is the best source of alternative energy. I have had fears of something happening at River Bend. I have wondered if one day I would have to abandon my home to escape the effects of radiation. I have also wondered if these fears are due to the lack of knowledge that I have on the subject of nuclear power and if nuclear power truly is a safe source of energy. Safety is not the only concern some have when considering nuclear power in the United States. The cost to build a nuclear power plant today is unknown. With that being said, financing a new plant is very difficult...
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...1. Excusive Summary On March 11, 2011 the unpredicted earthquake and tsunami caused serious nuclear accident in Japan. However, it was triggered by unexpected natural disaster, the accident can be avoided if there exist a sound risk management cycle to identify the risks within this project and put a risk management plan in place. What’s more, the influence of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster would be reduced through proper crisis management procedures. There are three major key risk issues findings about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The first one is risk identification problems in risk management cycle. The second risk issue is failure in avoiding crisis. The last point discusses communication problems in containing crisis. The damages can be reduced and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster can be avoided if TEPCO management make further research in risk identification process, spend more effort in avoiding crisis rather than only focus on profit generating activities. When the crisis happened properly communicate with government and ensure information transparency help protect the public images of the firm, After in depth research about the case of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and compare with Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accidents. This report draws lessons from the cases and provides several recommendations for the Fukushima Daiichi and the Japanese government. , 2. Introduction and Aims There are numerous business risks and the...
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...Print this page Is Nuclear Energy Our Best Hope? 04.25.2008 Despite its negative image, nuclear energy may be the most efficient and realistic means of meeting the rapidly-growing demand for power in the United States. by Gwyneth Cravens Four years ago this month, James Lovelock upset a lot of his fans. Lovelock was revered in the green movement for developing the Gaia hypothesis, which links everything on earth to a dynamic, organic whole. Writing in the British newspaper The Independent, Lovelock stated in an op-ed: “We have no time to experiment with visionary energy sources; civilisation is in imminent danger and has to use nuclear—the one safe, available energy source—now or suffer the pain soon to be inflicted by our outraged planet.” Lovelock explained that his decision to endorse nuclear power was motivated by his fear of the consequences of global warming and by reports of increasing fossil-fuel emissions that drive the warming. Jesse Ausubel, head of the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University, recently echoed Lovelock’s sentiment. “As a green, I care intensely about land-sparing, about leaving land for nature,” he wrote. “To reach the scale at which they would contribute importantly to meeting global energy demand, renewable sources of energy such as wind, water, and biomass cause serious environmental harm. Measuring renewables in watts per square meter, nuclear has astronomical advantages over its competitors.” All of this has led several...
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...Nuclear Reactor Power Plant Control Systems Mechatronics Professor 13 October 2013 Table of Contents Heading Page # Introduction History Safety Control Systems Coolants Pressurizer Moderator Control Rods Regulations Disposal Conclusion Works Cited Introduction Control systems are an integral part of the nuclear reactor and without the implementation of an effective control system along with constant monitoring and maintenance catastrophic accidents will occur. This report will introduce the important control systems found in many of the most common nuclear reactors along with an explanation on how they work and how they're implemented. First we must go back into the histories to gain a better understanding of why these control systems are so important and consequences that resulted when control systems are not implements or not used properly. History To know the history of nuclear power plants, one must first understand what a nuclear power plant is. A nuclear power plant is very similar to that of any other steam-electric power plant, in that water is heated and the steam from the water turns turbines, thus creating electricity. The major difference is how the power plant generates heat. The source of the heat from nuclear power plants comes from nuclear fission, rather than from coal, oil or gas. In 1934, a physicist by the name of Enrico Fermi conducted the first experiments that resulted...
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...(JFK didn’t order the American troops to break the wall causing Soviet Union to think it could challenge the United States.) Blockade: Blockade is isolation of a place to prevent the entrance, exit of traffic and commerce. U.S. and U.S.S.R. almost went at a nuclear war, but JFK’s respond of limited shipping blockade instead of the invasion of the island, Cuba, allowed everyone to think wisely; historians believe JFK’s decision prevented what might have been WW3. Warren Commission: Established by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November, 1963 to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy that had taken place on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald is said to kill President John F. Kennedy single...
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