...“Nuclear Waste” by Richard A. Muller brings to the surface the issue of disposing nuclear waste. He portrays the problem by giving many examples of the harmful effects and the social responsibility that comes with using alternative sources of power. Problems ranging from the presidents agenda, the fear that it brings to the public, and the massive amount of money spent on it all bring controversy to this issue. The dilemma of alternate fuel sources is a main topic around the world. It is brought up in many political debates and is a constant issue the president is trying to find a solution for. Muller agrees when he writes, “Nuclear waste is one of the biggest technical issues that any future president is likely to face” (Muller 206). Muller’s point is that the issue of a nuclear waste is a very pressing and sticky matter and will be one of the most important topics the president has to address. Nuclear waste is a controversial issue that society is dealing with today. Muller observes “the paradox of public safety. Raise the standards, increase the safety, do more research, study the problem in greater depth, and in the process you will improve safety and frighten the public” (Muller 213). In other words, Muller believes that since this problem causes so much debate and emotion, scientists are trying to come up with more...
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...Controversy over Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shipments Axia College of University of Phoenix COM 125 Utilizing Information in College Writing Tasha Tillman September 17, 2006 Controversy over Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shipments When someone says the word nuclear or radioactive most people panic and are scared to death. Would one be safer transporting a trailer loaded with 9,000 gallons of gasoline or would the same person be safer transporting a loaded trailer of transuranic (TRU) waste? Therefore, transporting any commodity can be as safe as the driver transporting the commodity or the opposing traffic makes the situation. With the continued controversy over the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, the Department of Energy (DOE) has continued to transport transuranic (TRU) waste from different sites around the U.S. to the world’s first repository for radioactive waste. This paper will explain what the WIPP site does and where WIPP is located. Will explain the birth of the program and why. Will explain what TRU waste is. Will explain what the process of disposal is from birth to the grave. Will show what the public has to say about the program. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the world's first underground repository licensed to safely and permanently dispose of TRU waste left from the research and production of nuclear weapons. After more than 20 years of scientific study, public input, and regulatory struggles, WIPP began operations...
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...Japanese earthquake: A timely reminder of the dangers of nuclear waste storage in Cumbria Anti-nuclear campaign group Kick Nuclear today urged the government to cancel its planned ‘nuclear renaissance’ following the declaration of a ‘state of nuclear emergency’ by officials in Japan. Spokeswoman Nancy Birch said the dramatic shut down of eleven nuclear reactors following the Japanese earthquakes earlier today is a stark warning of the inherent dangers of the nuclear industry. And Nancy added that Britain could be sitting on a nuclear time bomb: ‘ Only last December, Cumbria was hit by an earthquake. The quake hit an area that has been earmarked by the government to store decades-worth of cancer-causing, high-level radioactive waste. The disaster in Japan clearly demonstrates that nuclear energy is too dangerous to be considered a sustainable form of energy in the 21st century. We want a future, not a disaster.’ Kick Nuclear opposes new nuclear for the following reasons: Not Safe Mismanagement of nuclear waste over the last 60 years has meant that radiation has already contaminated our environment(1). Radiation causes cancer and eventually kills. March 2010: nuclear power station operator, Magnox, fined £250,000 for allowing 14 years of radioactive leaks from a holding tank at Bradwell nuclear power station in Essex (2). April 2010: Sellafield nuclear processing facility exposed for dumping five bags of radioactive waste in a landfill site after a faulty scanner passed them...
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...Energy Summary SCI/362 April 25, 2011 Energy Summary This summary of Energy will review three cases, The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Yucca Mountain, and The Three Gorges Dam. It will identify each type of energy source, its relative abundance and environmental impact along with evaluating the economic and ethical issues of each energy source highlighted by these three cases. The summary will identify the interests of prominent stakeholders, and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each energy source according to each stakeholder’s point of view and present possible strategies for solving the limited-resource issues raised in these case studies with explaining the role of conservation in these strategies. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Since 1980 there has been an on and off debate regarding opening the refuge to oil drilling. The refuge is close to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, one of the world’s largest pipeline systems that begins at Prudhoe Bay and continues south to Valdez. Prudhoe Bay has produced 14 billion barrels of crude oil. In the early 1990’s, it was the first time in history that the United States would import more than half the oil it used. The interest of opening the refuge to oil drilling started again after it subsided for five years following the Alaskan oil spill. The Department of the Interior admitted that the oil drilling will harm the area’s ecosystem and therefore both the Senate and House of Representatives agreed to allow...
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...Nuclear Waste Transport and Residential Property Values: Estimating the Effects of Perceived Risk by Jeff Smith This paper attempts to use a current, highly publicized case regarding spent nuclear fuel shipments in South Carolina to test the effects on residential property values. As the title implies, the premise is that perceived risk may be all that’s necessary to affect human behavior, whether the perception is true or not. The authors cite previous studies that have empirically proven that environmental disamenities (hazardous waste sites, garbage dumps, etc.) reduce residential property values. Several other studies cited show that housing markets respond to both the introduction and elimination of disamenities. The authors associate this to the possibility of changing risk perceptions. What is the bottom line from these studies? “Sticky” housing prices may be associated with the differing perceptions of risk by experts and lay persons. Looking specifically at housing prices and nuclear material, this paper uses several studies that failed to establish a link between property values in the vicinity and nuclear power plants that were in close proximity to the houses. This is presumably due to the positive economic affect associated with the plant, such as increased tax base and high paying jobs. However, the authors study nuclear waste storage and transport, an area that may show a negative relationship because there are no offsetting economic benefits, such...
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...Energy Summary Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Not many people are familiar with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and how we as a nation benefits from it. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is located in the Northeast corner of Alaska, is positioned north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300 miles south of the North Pole. The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge is approximately 19.2-million acres that was created in order to give provisions to a variety of plant and animal life of any Park or Refuge in the circumpolar arctic. This area served as a vital factor due to the ecological and evolutionary process because of the fact that different kinds of life forms can grow. In 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act renamed "Range" to "Refuge," and increased the two areas of the Refuge and assigned a big part for Wilderness, let Congress have a portion of the coastal plain for oil and gas development, and designated three Wild Rivers (Voss, 2006). There were mixed feelings in reference to discovering of oil on the land with concerns of whether or not the drilling would cause harm the areas of the ecosystem. Even with the concerns, and after confirmation was made on the negative impact that the drilling would cause with the ecosystem the senate and the House of Representatives passed measures to allow it. There was jobs created from this, and the cost of the oil was less than imported oil in 2004. This also created an ecological...
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...Some may ask what nuclear energy is, the dictionary defines this as: 1. The energy released by a nuclear reaction, especially by fission or fusion. 2. Nuclear energy regarded as a source of power. Also called atomic energy Nuclear power was first known to be researched in the early 1900's, and by the world war; it reached its greatest peak by demonstrating to the world its power to destroy. Nuclear energy can be good or bad, depending on how the person works with this material; it is used for both sides good and bad. Scientists were unsure from the beginning of how it was possible to get energy from the material called Uranium. They were sure that with its uniqueness it would be able to transform itself into different elements. So they were unsure of it for many years, until Albert Einstein he explored the world of nuclear energy. In 1905 he released his theory of the famous equation e=mc2 with this he knew that uranium was able to create masses of electricity. A few years later, scientists found out the great power of the atomic energy. Since then, both scientist and the public were unable to find the best fit for nuclear energy in our society. We have put it into power plants, but the government and public were disappointed by accidents. We have put it into war, and with it we have caused great damages. So the question is where can this energy go? Even though it has been discovered to be the greatest power source of the world today, nobody is willing to...
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...The essay "Nuclear Waste", by Richard A. Muller is a compelling essay because the evidence he provided has supporting facts. He explains how the nuclear waste is disposed and how to keep the waste safe. Muller states that it can take more than 13 billion years for the radioactive to decline. Even a waste leak into the water, the danger is still 20 times less harmful. Muller provides us with his strong opinion how nuclear waste is an issue to the world. The main point of this essay is regarding the Nuclear Waste which is one of the highly radioactive waste products. Richard states that the Nuclear waste is 1000 times stronger than the original ore and it needs to be kept safe for 10,000 years. Muller states that it will cost billions of dollars...
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...Doğukan Department: Civil Engineering Date: 13.03.2014 Submitted to: Engin ALKAN EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY In our world, the energy is the most essential issue today. The more energy we have, the more we produe. In order to get some energy we need sources like nuclear power which harmful for the world. There are several reasons such as money, safety and failures for this. Firs of all, producing energy from nuclear power is very expensive. Although it seems the best way to generate energy, the fuel itself is expensive. Moreover, building and operating power plants are not cheap at all. Hiring workers and the crews of engineers and scientist is neccessary. Beside that, the teams need a training program. Plus, the conditions need to be safe for people who workk there and live in the city or country that they work in. Hiring, training and making the conditions safe means money. Secondly, most of the nuclerr materials are not safe. The nuclear fuels which are used in the power staations are dangerous. Mining fuels is also dangerous because it has radioactive gas. Workers may be effected unless they are fully proteccted from the radioactive gas. Every nuclear energy stations have it’s own waste products which are also not secure. Thet are very dabgerıys abd şt şs dşffşcykt tı dispose of or store safely. Thirdly, it is possible to accure any accidents. For instane, nuclear power plants can fail, whic is happened in Three Mile Island, U.S.A. ın 1979, Tarpur India in 1992...
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...words and phrases that link the ideas. Although the main ideas come from the ebook, it is sometimes necessary to expand on them and add examples; this is part of the practice. 1. Nuclear Power Benefits: Nuclear power stations have several benefits. Firstly, nuclear power is a relatively sustainable energy source, meaning that it can be used to produce electricity without wasting limited natural resources like coal, oil or gas. Secondly, nuclear power stations are cleaner than fossil fuel power stations, and could help to reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming. Finally, with improvements in nuclear technology, the risk of accidents is being reduced. As a result, many countries are now considering nuclear power as a solution to high oil and gas prices, increasing demand for electricity, and worries about pollution and climate change. Drawbacks (disadvantages): On the other hand, opponents of nuclear power worry about the safety of power stations. The Chernobyl disaster was an example of the dangers of a nuclear accident, and safety fears mean that the building of new nuclear power stations is unpopular; nobody wants to live near one. Apart from the risk of accidents, nuclear waste disposal is a significant problem as there is currently no way to decontaminate radioactive material. Waste has to be contained and stored, which is expensive and raises security issues. Another worry is that terrorists could steal radioactive materials and use them in a bomb. ielts-simon...
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...After nuclear energy has been used for 6 years in a plant to produce clean energy, the spent fuel in the reaction becomes radioactive and must be stored at the reactor site for a number of years until it naturally decays and becomes safe to dispose of in geological deposits sites (Taiwo). Yucca Mountain was selected as the disposal site in the United States, which is located in the remote Nevada desert nuclear testing site. but Unfortunately according to author Kadak, the U.S. Department of Energy cancelled the project due to its extreme costs. Personally I believe that that was a very good decision for several reasons. The first one being that a centralized spent-fuel storage facility would threaten the security of our nation. When the heavy...
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...Should our reliance on nuclear energy sources be expanded in an effort to fuel the future? Today there is a great concern about our carbon emissions and other pollutants because of their adverse affects on our climate. Thus alternative sources of energy are being sought out, such as solar, wind, natural gas, and nuclear energy. Many have found themselves opposing nuclear due to past errors, waste management, safety features, and financial concerns. However, these issues are being addressed as promising new reactors are being designed. Nuclear energy has some clear benefits when compared to some of the drawbacks of other methods. Natural gas will most likely release too much carbon dioxide in the long run to be effective, wind and solar energy are too intermittent and costly to function as a large-scale solution, and hydropower may not be able to expand easily easily enough to make a lasting difference (“Why We Still Need Nuclear Power”). With very little carbon dioxide emissions, relatively cheap energy generation, and an impressive reliability record, nuclear power proves itself to be an option to be explored in a country where electricity generation emits more carbon dioxide than transportation or industry. There are many safety concerns surrounding nuclear energy, but the industry has learned a lot from previous mistakes and many new safety measures are being tested and implemented (“Nuclear Now”). Previous failings with nuclear power, such as the Fukushima disaster,...
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...generation is responsible for 41 percent of the Unites States’ carbon dioxide emissions. The majority of electrical generation comes from conventional, fossil fuel run, power plants, with nuclear power being the leading alternative. But neither source is renewable or sustainable, furthermore, nuclear energy is beset with many problems. Alternative energy refers to energy sources which are not based on the burning of fossil fuels or the splitting of atoms. There are numerous reasons for supporting alternative energy development: lower air and water pollution, reduce land disruption through mining and drilling, reduce solid and hazardous waste production and greenhouse gas emission. Only renewable energy options offer long-term hope for sustainability. Several alternative energy options already exist, such as wind, solar, wave and geothermal. I believe that we have the technology today, to power the world sustainably. Presently, nuclear energy is responsible for approximately 16 percent of the world’s electricity; in the U.S. it is the second leading source of energy next to coal. Nuclear energy is often looked at as a cleaner alternative to burning fossil fuels due to the low amounts of greenhouse gases emitted by the power plants. But the use of nuclear technology is full of security and waste-disposal problems. Despite high security standards, it is technically impossible to build a plant with 100 percent security. The consequences of an accident, like that of a meltdown...
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...for the suffering of many diminished lives. Yet there is a solution, a solution that has already been implemented by modern countries, although on a small scale. Through the use of safe and nearly sustainable nuclear energy that can last hundreds of years, thousands of lives can be saved from the hazards of fossil fuels. The history of nuclear energy is relatively new. Though uranium was first discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, it was not until the late 1930’s and early 40’s before experimentation with nuclear energy began. It was around this time that nuclear fission was discovered; to put into simple terms, nuclear fission is the process of splitting an atom’s nucleus, which results in the...
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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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