NUCLEAR POWER : AN EMERGING POWER ?
The only clean, safe energy source capable of ensuring the continuation of our industrial civilization while protecting the environment.
BRUNO COMBY Electricity is obtained from many fossil fuels like coal, oil, gas which massively pollute the Environment and majorly participate in GREEN HOUSE EFFECT which is why the NUCLEAR ENERGY is considered the most reliable, safe and competitive source of energy and can Replace a significant part of fossil fuels. Nuclear power can be obtained from NUCLEAR DECAY, NUCLEAR FUSION, NUCLEAR FISSION reactions. Presently, the electricity from Nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of URANIUM and PLUTONIUM in NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS.
As we know that most countries are trying to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide as to protect the environment. We must promote the more efficient use of energy Like wind and solar wherever possible, and endorse a more sustainable lifestyle. But this will not be nearly enough to decelerate the accretion of carbon dioxide in the environment. So, the nuclear energy should be set to replace coal, oil, gas in the industrial countries and in the developing country like India.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Nuclear power is produced by splitting of atoms that releases the energy which is present at the core, or nucleus, of those atoms. This whole process is called NUCLEAR FISSION. The heat generated by this process is then directed to the cooling agent which is usually water. The steam generates and spin the TURBINE which is connected to the GENERATOR, which produces the electricity.
The most common fuel that is used for generating nuclear power is URANIUM, an abundant metal that can be found throughout the world. The mined uranium is then processed into U-235. It is an enriched version that is used as a FUEL in NUCLEAR REACTORS because its atoms can split apart easily.
In nuclear reactors, neutrons that have no electric charge, collide with atoms and causing them to split. This collision led to nuclear fission which releases more neutrons that react with more atoms and start creating a CHAIN REACTIONS.
HISTORY OF NUCLEAR POWER
In 1930, a physicist ENRICO FERMI first showed that neutrons could split atoms. A team led by fermi in 1942 achieved the first nuclear chain reactions at the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. This was followed by series of milestones in 1950s, when US developed the first nuclear powered submarine, USS NAUTILUS that was put to sea in January 1954.
On June 27, 1954, in USSR (now Russia) the world’s first nuclear power plant OBNINSK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT was setup to generate electricity for power grid, that produce approximately 5 megawatts of electric power. On 27 august, 1956, United Kingdom also setup world’s first commercial nuclear power plant CALDER HALL at Windscale which was also connected to the main power grid.
India’s first nuclear power plant was setup on 8 May 1964, TARAPUR ATOMIC POWER STATION which is located in the Thane district of Maharashtra. It was done under the 1963 123 AGREEMENT between INDIA, THE UNITED STATES and INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA).
NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA
In India, nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. It has 7 power plants in operation and has 22 nuclear reactors, with a total installed capacity of 6,780MW.
In coming years, the Indian nuclear power industry is expected to undergo a significant expansion because of the passing of INDIA-US CIVIL NUCLEAR AGREEMENT. This agreement will grant India to carry its trade of nuclear fuel and technologies with the other developed countries and will help in enhancing it’s power generation capacity.
Former Indian president A.P.J ABDUL KALAM said while he was in office that,” India’s first and highest priority is to get the ENERGY INDEPENDENCE and it has to go for nuclear power generation in a big way using THORIUM REACTORS. India has vast thorium reserves and limited uranium reserves.
The operational nuclear power plants in India are as followed:
| POWER STATION | STATE | TOTAL CAPACITY
(MW) |
| Kaiga | Karnataka |
880 |
| Kakrapar | Gujarat | 1140 |
| Kudankulam | Tamil Nadu | 2000 |
| Kalpakkam | Tamil Nadu | 440 |
| Narora | Uttar Pradesh | 440 |
| Rajasthan | Rajasthan | 1180 |
| Tarapur | Maharashtra | 1400 |
NUCLEAR POWER INCIDENTS
There have been some serious nuclear and radiation accidents include the CHERNOBYL DISASTER (1986), the THREE MILE ISLAND ACCIDENT (1979), the SL-1 ACCIDENT (1961), the FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR DISASTER (2011). These incidents involves loss of life and large capital for remediation work. The severity of these incidents is classified by using INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR EVENT SCALE (INES) that is introduced by INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA). The scale ranks accidents on a scale from 0 (normal operation) to 7(major accident).
- Chernobyl disaster 1986: –
The Chernobyl incident is considered to be the worst nuclear accident that world has seen. On April 1986, a reactor in the plant has exploded which result in radioactive fallout and sent a plume into the atmosphere that affected the western, eastern and northern part of Europe. In this incident 50 people were killed at the site at the time of the accident. A report from the WORLD NUCLEAR ASSOCIATION claims that over 1 million people may have been affected by the radiation.
- The Three Mile Accident: –
On 28 march, 1979 the two nuclear reactors of three- mile island nuclear power station was PARTIALLY MELTDOWN that led to subsequent RADIATION LEAK. It was rated a five on the seven- point scale as an “ACCIDENT WITH WIDER
CONSEQUENCES”. Radioactive gases and radioactive iodine were released in the environment in small amounts. Fortunately, the official investigation claimed that there were no DEATHS.
- The SL-1 ACCIDENT: –
STATIONARY LOW- POWER REACTOR NUMBER ONE, also know as SL-1 was a united states army experimental nuclear reactor. On 3 January, 1961, it underwent a STEAM explosion and melt down, killing three operators on the spot. The improper withdrawal of the central CONTROL ROD was considered the direct cause that result in absorbing neutrons in the reactors core. After the investigation it was found that incident releases about 80 curies of iodine-131 and 1100 curies of FISSION PRODUCTS were released in the environment.
- Fukushima Nuclear disaster: –
It was the most severe incident that occur since Chernobyl in 1986. On 11 march 2011, the event was primarily caused by the 2011 TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI. Initially, it was classified as level 5 but later on classified as level 7 on international nuclear event scale. on detecting the earthquake, active reactors shutdown their power generating fission reactions and because of this the reactors electricity supply failed and their diesel generators started. The flooding that was caused by tsunami, came shortly afterward the earthquake had swept over the plant’s seawall and flooded the lower parts of reactors. MICHIO AOYAMA, a professor at the institute of environmental radioactivity, has estimated that approximately 18000 TERABECQUEREL of CAESIUM-137 were released into the Pacific Ocean.
CONCLUSION
Nuclear power is a good alternative source of energy to oils and natural gases. It does not emit any gaseous pollutants. This makes them far cleaner than any other energy producing sources. Since, nuclear power plants does not emit carbon dioxide and green- house gases thus they are on brighter side. They are also capable in producing huge amount of energy and as the population of India is increasing rapidly, the energy demand will also increase, so the nuclear power plants will be the best option.
REFERENCES
- Wikipedia