| What are the risks of nuclear power | Radioactive waste, and a nuclear meltdown |
| What fuel is used in nuclear reactors | ENRICHED Uranium |
| What ways is dealin with nuclear reactors made safer | Safety equitmpent
Remote handeling
Emergency shut down
Sheildning |
| How does remote handeling of fuel reduce risk to workers | Limits their exposure |
| How does sheilding make nuclear reactors more safe | Blocks radiation from escaping from the
reactor |
| What is the sheilding made of | Concrete |
| Why does the sheilding become reactove after a long period of time | Neutrons which escape the reactor may enter the
shielding nuclei causing them to become unstable and start experiencing beta-minus decay |
| What happens in an emergency shut down
And how does this help | control rods are dropped into the
reactor core entirely in order to stop fission reactions from
occuring as soon as possible by absorbing all the free
neutrons in the core |
| Do the benifits outweigh the risks for nuclear reactors | Yes |
| Give some high level waste examples | Fuels rods |
| Give some low level waste examples | Tools
Glovees |
| Hows high level waste dealt with | 1. The waste is removed and handled remotely, so that exposure is limited.
2. Any material removed from the reactor will be extremely hot due to fission reactions
occurring within the reactor, so they must be placed in cooling ponds for up to a year while
they may still be producing heat due to radioactive emissions. Cooling ponds are usually on
the same site as the reactor or very close by so that these materials do not have to be
transported through long distances, which will increase the risk of exposure.
3. At this point any plutonium or usable uranium is removed from spent fuel rods in order to be
recycled.
4. The waste is then vitrified (encased in glass) and placed in thick steel casks and stored
in deep caverns in geologically stable locations, so that there is no chance of the waste
coming free of its casing. Locations to store radioactive waste are chosen so that they
make a minimal impact on the environment and people living in the area are consulted
about it beforehand. |
| What are the benefits of nuclear reactors | No polluting gases
Highly reliable for the production of electricity
Require less fuel as Uranium provides far more energy per kg compared to coal and other fossil fuels |
| What are the downsides of nuclear reactors | Production of waste is dangerous and expensive
A nuclear meltdown is terrible |
