ES 4 Online Education
Roeder- Spring 2019
HOMEWORK # 3- Nuclear Energy & its Impact on People, Planet and Profit
1) According to the video, Nuclear Energy 101, Nuclear Energy can be obtained by which TWO
types of reactions?
a)
b)
2) According to the video, Nuclear 101, Nuclear Power Plants use which TYPE of nuclear reaction to
create energy?
3) According to the video, Nuclear 101, what THREE FUEL SOURCES could be used to create
Nuclear Energy?
a)
b)
c)
4) According to the video, Nuclear 101, WHAT % of Global Electricity Generation is produced by
Nuclear Power Plants?
5) As communicated in the Video, Nuclear 101, name FOUR ADVANTAGES of Nuclear Power and
TWO DISADVANTAGES
Advantages:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Disadvantages:
a)
b)
6) Combining what you learned this week in the video, Nuclear 101 with what you learned in the
WEEK 2 , list in order (LEAST to MOST)- which of the following ENERGY SOURCES (Coal, Natural
Gas, Oil and Nuclear Energy) emit the LEAST AMOUNT of Greenhouse Gases
LEAST
a)
b)
c)
d)
MOST
7) According to LECTURE 4- Nuclear Energy posted on the Canvas website this week, Nuclear
Waste creates THREE problems. What are they?
a)
b)
c)
8) According to LECTURE 4- Nuclear Energy, what TWO environmental issues are caused by
Nuclear Power Plant cooling systems?
a)
b)
9) According to lecture 4, there is a nuclear site in the Bay Area. Where is it located and what type
of nuclear materials does it contain?
a) Where is it located?
b) What type of nuclear materials does it contain?
10) According to ARTICLE, the Economics of Nuclear Energy, what are the FOUR costs associated
with building and operating a Nuclear Power Plant? Which represents the HIGHEST COST?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Highest cost:
11) Do some RESEARCH, WHICH COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, generates the MOST ENERGY from
NUCLEAR POWER?
12) From the LECTURE, Nuclear Energy, HOW MANY ACTIVE Nuclear Power Plants are there in the
US?
13) Do some RESEARCH and WATCH the VIDEO posted on the website – 3 Mile Island (Explain in
some detail WHAT caused the NUCLEAR ISSUE at 3 MILE ISLAND and what was the
RESOLUTION?
a) Cause:
b) Resolution:
14) Do some RESEARCH, and READ the ARTICLE about CHERNOBYL 30 YEARS ON posted on the
class website. WHAT were the HUMAN HEALTH consequences of the Nuclear Power Plant
explosion?
15) Do some RESEARCH, and READ the ARTICLE about CHERNOBYL 30 YEARS ON posted on the
class website. What has been the impact to the ECOSYSTEM and BIODIVERSITY in the area?
16) Do some RESEARCH and WATCH the VIDEO, RETURNING TO FUKUSHIMA posted on the class
website.
a) Research: What caused the reactors at Fukushima to melt down?
b) What is the Japanese Government doing to make the area around Fukushima Daiichi safe?
Do you think it will work?
-
What is gov’t doing?
-
Do you think it will work? Why or why not?
c) What are the schools in Naraha doing to make sure the food they serve to students is safe?
d) How much money did the Japanese Government spend to get residents to move back to the
areas around Fukushima?
17) Watch the VIDEO, AMERICA’S CHERBOBYL- THE HANFORD NUCLEAR POWER PLANT on the
class website
a) Name THREE diseases suffered by workers at Hanford?
b) What is the Department of Energy doing to determine the area around Hanford is safe?
c) According to the US Department of Labor, how many people have gotten sick while working
at Hanford?
18) READ the ARTICLE, END OF AN ERA: PG&E TO CLOSE DIABLO CANYON NUCLEAR PLANT
a) When will Diablo Canyon be decommissioned?
b) Name TWO reasons Diablo Canyon is being decommissioned
c) In 2014, how much of California’s Energy was generated at Diablo Canyon?
d) What will replace the energy generated by Diablo Canyon when it closes?
19) Do some RESEARCH Name THREE Environmental issues caused by Nuclear Power Plants and
Nuclear Energy.
a)
b)
c)
20) Including the fuel sources required to generate Nuclear Energy, are any Greenhouse gases
emitted in order to produce Nuclear Energy? ANSWER YES or NO.
Nuclear Energy Intro
• Nuclear energy is the energy held in the nucleus of an atom; it can be
obtained through two types of reactions - fission and fusion.
• Nuclear fission produces energy through the splitting of atoms, which
releases heat energy that can generate steam and then be used to
turn a turbine to produce electricity.
• All of today’s nuclear plants use fission to generate electricity.
• The fuel most commonly used for fission is uranium, although
additional elements such as plutonium or thorium can be used.
Nuclear Energy Intro
• Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei
collide at a very high speeds and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus.
• During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the matter of
the fusing nuclei is converted into photons, which produces usable energy.
• This process is what allows the sun and stars to give off energy.
• Fusion power offers the prospect of an almost inexhaustible source of
energy for future generations; however, creating the conditions for nuclear
fusion presents a potentially insurmountable scientific and engineering
challenge.
• A recent experiment has shown that nuclear fusion can be achieved,
however, it has not yet been successfully demonstrated on a commercial
scale.
Nuclear Energy Intro
• Today, nuclear power plants account for 11% of global electricity
generation with about 80% of that installed capacity being in OECD1
(Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)
countries. All of this capacity is nuclear fission.
• Nuclear energy, through fission, can release 1 million times more
energy per atom than fossil fuels.
• It can also be integrated into electricity grids, which currently utilize
fossil fuel generation, with few changes to existing infrastructure.
1. The 34 OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic
1)
1.1.
Nuclear Energy Intro
• Nuclear has large power-generating capacity and low operating costs,
making it ideal for base load generation. However, up front capital
costs are intensive and present financial risk to investors given the
extended time frames power plants must operate to recuperate their
costs.
• Nuclear energy does not emit greenhouse gas emissions. For this
reason, it is often seen as a substitute for fossil fuel energy generation
and a solution for mitigating climate change.
Nuclear Energy Intro
• Nuclear fission has a wide variety of environmental and health issues
associated with electricity generation.
• The largest concern is the generation of radioactive wastes such as uranium
mill tailings, spent (used) reactor fuel, and other radioactive wastes.
• Some of these materials can remain radioactive and hazardous to both
human health and the environment for thousands of years.
• Several large nuclear meltdowns in history released radioactive waste that
had lasting negative impacts on the environment and surrounding
communities. This has made nuclear fission technologies very controversial.
Energy Type
Production
Distribution
Energy Uses
Drilling
Mining
Drilling
Pipeline, Transport
Power Grid
Pipeline
Transportation, Heat
Heat, Electricity
Heat, Electricity
GHG Emissions INVESTMENT Unit Pricing
Env Impact
FOSSIL FUELS
Oil
Coal
Natural Gas
Nuclear
Fission
Smart Grid, Power Grid Electricity, Transport, Heat, Light, Power
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Solar
Solar Thermal
Smart Grid, Power Grid
Wind
Smart Grid, Power Grid Electricity, Light, Power, Transport
Biomass/ Biofuels
Electricity, Light, Power, Transport
Electricity, Heat, Power
Transport Fuels
HydroPower
Smart Grid, Power Grid
Electricity , Light, Power, Transport
Geothermal
Smart Grid, Power Grid
Electricity, Light, Power, Transport
Tidal
Smart Grid, Power Grid
Electricity, Light, Power, Transport,
VERY HIGH
VERY HIGH
MEDIUM
MEDIUM
MEDIUM
MEDIUM
FLUCTUATES
LOW
MEDIUM
VERY HIGH
VERY HIGH
MEDIUM
LOW
VERY HIGH
LOW
LOW UNLESS MELTDOWN
Short Video:
• AMERICA’S CHERNOBYL- The Hanford Nuclear Power Plant
Diablo Canyon still active
California’s Nuclear Power Plants
San Onofre Decommissioned 2012
US Nuclear Power Plants
98 active
16 Planned
2 Under Construction
36 Shut Down
Nuclear Close To Home
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore Lab), a nuclear weapons facility located in the
greater metropolis of San Francisco, CA, poses the most significant security threat of any such facility in
the U.S. Roughly seven million people live within a 50 mile radius of the Livermore Lab, which has
approximately one ton of weapons-grade and weapons-quantity of plutonium and highly enriched
uranium, DOE's most dangerous and expensive-to-guard special nuclear material (SNM). If terrorists
gained access to this material, they could detonate them, devastating the San Francisco Bay Area and
inland regions—the key agricultural areas of California.
• Lawrence Livermore is the only nuclear weapons lab housing CAT I and II SNM (Special Nuclear
Material) located near a major metropolitan area, making it the most attractive target for terrorists and
one of the most pressing U.S. nuclear security issues. As such, POGO was surprised to learn that the
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the organization within DOE responsible for the
nuclear weapons complex, has granted the Lab a waiver from having to meet the current security
requirements devised by the intelligence community
• Get Involved: Tri-Valley CARES: http://www.trivalleycares.org/
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