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Nuclear power By Mustafa Alhulail ID#3101086

Contents 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Global Energy Scenario: An Overview

4. Nuclear Power: Pros and Cons(criteria)

Cost Feasibility Carbon Free-source Operational Complexity Safety Waste Management Uranium Availability Proliferation

5. Conclusion 6. Recommendation 7. Bibliography

Abstract This paper seeks to look into the pros and cons of developing nuclear energy as a sustainable source of power in the times to come. according to the an estimate by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the world population is expected to increase to approximately 7400 million by the year 2030, and its only natural that the need for energy would also rise. The scientists and researchers all over the world are busy looking for alternative and renewable sources Of energy that have the potential to prove a sustainable source of energy. Nuclear energy is the topic most debatable upon in the energy circles. The world at large is divided into proponents and opponents of nuclear energy as a perpetual and sustainable source of energy. And this paper depicts some of their findings and opinions complemented with ingenious insights and recommendations. Introduction The world at large is divided in its opinion over the use of nuclear power as a sustainable energy option in the future. While the proponents of it embark upon various cost advantages created by it when it comes cost per unit of electricity consumed, the opponents of it have clung to the potential environmental degradations, including that of radiation, and it can lead to. The lobbyists for nuclear energy have put forward a series of rational arguments over the feasibility of nuclear energy as an alternative to the traditional sources of energy, namely the fossil fuels such as coal, oil and petrol. Currently, the world is going through the worst climatic changes it has seen in a century which is nothing but a sure short sign of the global harming and its dangerous effects.

The world's natural resources abound in the availability of Uranium and its isotopes which are the main elements used to generate nuclear energy and it is said that a single unit of uranium in nuclear reactors can generate energy which is 10 million times the energy generated by burning one unit of carbon. So what is it that is still hampering the exploitation of such vast opportunities to generate energy on a Global Scale? Can nuclear power be really developed as a sustainable source of energy? What are the challenges that lay ahead the global civilization under any case, whether it resolves in favor of nuclear energy or against it? This report gives a detailed and unbiased analysis of all the factors and risks that will influence or mar the development of nuclear energy. The report, by far and large maintains that in the times to come, it would be really necessary for the world community at large to look for ways to develop nuclear energy and also suggests certain recommendations towards that effect.

Global energy scenario: an overview Till date, the majority of the world's energy need is being satisfied through fossil fuels that mainly comprise coal, natural gas and oil. Alternative sources of energy like hydroelectricity, geo-thermal energy, solar energy, wind energy and nuclear energy constitute only a small part of the energy sources, as compared to the fossil fuels. Below is the percentage contribution of various sources of energy towards the global energy supply:

According to the statistical data collected by IAEA, Nuclear power accounted for 17% to 18% of world's electricity supply in the year 2008 and is bound to rise to almost 27% by the year 2030. The rate at which the global warming is increasing and the amount of carbon emission that takes place due to the burning of fossil fuels will be one of the main reasons for the increase in the global demand for nuclear energy, the other reasons being the limited supply of fossil fuels, the cost effectiveness of the nuclear power etc. The need to develop other alternative sources of energy is not denied here as it also equally necessary if we are to develop a sustainable mix of energy resources. Currently there are around 435 nuclear reactors in the world that operate on a commercial basis. A handful of 30 developed and developing countries own and operate them. That represents less than one-eighth of the total nations in the world. Coal and natural gas still rule the roost when it comes to global energy sources.

Nuclear Power: Pros and Cons The various pros and cons of the developing nuclear power as a sustainable energy source are mentioned in the subsequent sections. They are formulated and discussed keeping in view such criteria as cost feasibility, carbon-emission, operational complexity, safety, waste management, and uranium availability and proliferation issues.

Cost Feasibility Nuclear energy involves colossal scale of investments during the construction as well as R&D stages, which are sure to run into years and the gestation period in case of nuclear plants is on the higher side. It may take years before the full cost of development may be redeemed and operational profits start coming up. This makes private sector participation very low and government initiative is required to set up a plant, a direct burden of which falls on the tax payer, who also happens to be the ultimate consumer. But, the cost structure of these power plants is "front loaded", that is they are expensive to build but inexpensive to operate. "Fuel is a relatively minor component of operating costs. Once a nuclear plant has been built, its construction costs have effectively been 'sunk' and the plant's second hand value is negligible. Thus it makes financial sense to operate the plant continuously based upon the fact that those low cost fuels effectively yield a relatively low marginal cost for power production (Australian National University, 2006). But, again if this colossal amount of investment is done towards the harnessing of other alternative sources of every, then chances are they will give equivalent results as they also have huge potential and are perennially renewable.

Carbon-free source Carbon emission from burning of fossil fuels is the major contributor of Green house gases (GHG) that are primarily responsible for the phenomenon of global warming. Nuclear energy has the potential to be the single largest carbon-free source of power and energy. "It is certainly a more-

efficient form of energy- 1kg of uranium produces as much energy as 3 million kg of coal and it is less damaging to the environment in terms of carbon footprint, than conventional power sources. (Bateman & Hagget, 1993, p.1090 ) But, it poses a larger environmental hazard in the event of ill-handling of radio-active elements and other substances. In such a scenario one can also consider other alternative sources of energy. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists When taken together wind, solar and accessible geothermal energy could meet the energy needs of the US 15,000 times over" [1]. Operational complexity It is said that once a nuclear plant has been set up, only minimal efforts are required for the smooth operations of its activities. But , "In the operation of a nuclear power plant, great quantities of numeric, symbolic and quantities information are handled by the reactor operators even during routine operations. This poses a lot of difficulties for the operators, more so during an abnormal or an emergency situation. The personnel needed to manage a nuclear power plant have to be well trained but this even does not altogether scrape the possibility of an accident, which can lead to serious environmental and health hazards for the people living in the areas adjacent to the plant. But this difficulty can be offset by the application of Artificial Intelligence technologies, particularly, Expert Systems, to the control room activities in a nuclear power plant. They can reduce operator error and improve plant safety and reliability to a great extent. (Becker & Lewins, 1997, p.103)

Safety

Safety is one of the most crucial issues in setting up and operating a nuclear power plant. Some of them are as follows: a)"Reactor core damage has the potential to release radioactivity to air and groundwater" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 ) b) Natural calamities in the region where the plant is set up c) Chances of terrorist attacks d) fuel-cycle hazards in reprocessing plants, etc (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003) Release of radioactive elements can have serious long term public health consequences. The memories of accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are still afresh in the minds of people as people still continue to be affected due to radiation that had contaminated the biome there then. Research is on and nuclear engineers are trying to find the best possible ways to decrease the chances of a nuclear accident. Onus is being put on light water reactors (LWR) and on selecting a suitable site, which is not prone to natural calamities like volcanic eruption, earthquake, tornadoes etc , for the setting up of nuclear plants. The plant and adjoining areas would be put under strict vigilance so as to provide any security breach. Waste Management Waste management is a major concern. Till date, no nation has been able to develop means to successfully dispose high-level nuclear waste. These nuclear residues remain highly radioactive for over thousands of years. The countries that generate nuclear power, till now have burying their nuclear wastes in repositories hundreds of meters below the earth's surface, in certain rock formations. But this isnt a safe method of doing it and anyway and before final disposal, the

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highly radioactive waste goes through a lot of intermediary stages that also involve transportation and re-treatment of it. Transportation of radioactive substances is subject to a lot of accidents in which any damage to the container could lead to fatal consequences. Though IAEA has laid out Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material no assurance can be given in this respect. One thing that must be made sure is that the containers in which in the radioactive substance is being transferred should be break-proof, so as to avoid any leakage in the event of a collision of other mishap. Nevertheless, scientists and nuclear engineers are working on geologic repository design and advance deep borehole approach for effectively disposing of the nuclear residue and maximize the time period in which the radioactive substances permeate into the biosphere. A major breakthrough in this field will lead to effective waste management schemes.

Uranium availability Countries around the world prefer Uranium 235, isotopes of Uranium for production of nuclear energy as they are safer in comparison to plutonium 239, another isotope of Uranium. And fortunately, there is no dearth of it. The nature abounds in the availability of Uranium. Huge deposits of it can be found at various places in the earth's crust as well as ocean beds. Inspite of it, accessibility can be a problem as not all the areas on the surface of earth are endowed with rich and concentrated deposits of Uranium. Any attempt at extracting it from granite, which is said to contain one ounce of Uranium per ton, can be an elaborate and industrious affair requiring technological expertise as well as huge capital investment. (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1946)

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Nevertheless, one thing is for sure. Given the high fuel efficiency of Uranium element, the current stock of it would last over centuries if we are to use nuclear power as the means to fulfill 100% of world's energy demands. And even if it were to get exhausted, then the development of breeder reactors and closed-fuel cycles will keep on adding to it. Proliferation Science is a good servant, but a bad master. The issue of proliferation of nuclear know-how or the plutonium isotope or other radioactive substances to miscreants in the society and terrorist organization at large could lead to a nuclear catastrophe for the world. "Nuclear power entails potential security risks, notably the possible misuse of commercial or associated nuclear facilities and operations to acquire technology or materials as a precursor to the acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003, p.23) IAEA has issued regulations to prevent non-proliferation of radioactive substances as well as technological know-how regarding processing and deployment of uranium. Every nation aspiring to build nuclear capabilities has to strictly adhere to these norms. Further, in wake of recent terrorist attacks, the international community is up in arms against this terrorist organization and no developed or developing country would like to jeopardize its own existence as well as that of the entire world by sharing the secrets of nuclear technology or sharing their nuclear facilities with civil miscreants.

Conclusion

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From the above report and the data represented there in, we can conclude that though nuclear energy has the potential to be developed into a sustainable source of power for the global community at large; a lot of challenges lay ahead in the road for development of this elite technology. The issue of proliferation, waste management, transport of radioactive substances and the safety hazards associated with its operations are not casual ones. Any one of them even has the potential to propone the Doom's day for the entire earth. Nevertheless, we cannot leave out nuclear energy as the source of nuclear power because it is in here that the key to effectively supplying the entire energy requirement that would be generated in the world by the year 2030 or 2050. We can surely not go on with our dependence on conventional sources, namely, coal, oil and natural gas for long as they are estimated to last only for the next hundred years. Burning them would also lead to release of unfathomable amount of carbon emission and green house gases in the environment. so its high time, proper technologies and regulations be developed to tap the full potential of nuclear energy which holds the key to unlocking various problems of mankind.

Recommendations

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In order to develop nuclear energy as a sustainable source of energy, the paper recommends certain steps which are as follows:

In order to combat the problem of initial investment to the tunes of billions in setting up a nuclear plant, government initiative is a must as the private sector is reluctant to invest in it.

Government should start programs to spread awareness about the viability of nuclear energy amongst the masses as they may not be totally in favor of a nuclear campaign.

Safe transport and waste management techniques need to be developed to prevent the release of radioactive substances into the environment, accidentally or otherwise.

Non-proliferation and safety regulations imposed by various regulatory authorities in the world, to be adhered to strictly by the nuclear nations of the world.

More emphasis should be placed on producing energy in nuclear reactors through open fuel cycle instead of closed fuel-cycles as these minimize the risk of exposure of radioactive elements in the environment. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003)

Bibliography

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Bateman, Graham & Haggett, Peter (1993), The Encyclopedia of World Geography, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Hong Kong.

Lewins, Jeffery & Becker, Martin (1997), Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology, Springer, New York.

International Atomic Energy Agency (2009), ENERGY, ELECTRICITY AND NUCLEAR POWER ESTIMATES FOR THE PERIOD UP TO 2030, Vienna.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2003). The Future of Nuclear Power: an Interdisciplinary MIT Study, Columbus, OH: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Owen, Anthony. (2006). Nuclear Power for Australia? , 13, 23-42 The distribution of uranium in nature (1946, February 9). Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 1, 9-10.

Australian National University. Faculty of Economics and Commerce (2006), Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 13, 30-48, Australian N.

[1] "Nuclear Power and Australia" Energy Security, Oct 2009. University of Wollongong. Wollongong. 27 January 2010.

<http://www.uow.edu.au/eng/phys/nukeweb/reactors_energy_security.html>