Hansen

Nathaniel Hansen
Mr. Nguyen
Chemistry Period 5
11/20/14
Nuclear Sustainability: The Future of Energy
San Onofre, a beach we all love and enjoy, has been is home to a nuclear power plant.
During its operation, the power plant provided approximately 20% of the power to major areas of
Southern California. I believe nuclear power should be a key resource as we look for solutions to
meet the growing energy needs of our nation. In order to accomplish this we must have controls
in place to properly handle nuclear energy waste products, while also making sure the power
plants are safe, in addition, we must make ensure adequate investigation into environmental
impacts and public awareness for local issues associated with the operation of nuclear power
plants.
There are multiple ways to can handle waste from nuclear energy production. For highly
radioactive waste, we can send it into space, and direct it towards the sun. This approach been
estimated to be very costly, however it has the obvious benefit of removing the waste from our
planet. Another option is to store nuclear waste in deep underground repositories, such as Yucca
Mountain, in the Nevada dessert. The Nevada repository would likely involve storing the waste
approximately 300 meters underground in an unsaturated layer of welded volcanic tuff rock. In
this scenario the waste would be contained in highly corrosion-resistant metal enclosures, to help
prevent waste to enclosure corrosion. Alternatives to deep underground storage and space-bound
waste options have been studied for years. However, methods such as sea disposal and sub
seabed disposal have been eliminated based upon international agreements that are now in place.

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A common method of waste disposal used the USA and the former USSR is called direct
injection. This approach involves the injection of liquid radioactive waste directly into a layer of
rock deep underground. This approach was chosen because of its effective characteristics of
effectively trapping the waste. In addition to direct injection, storage of nuclear waste in
containment pools within nuclear power facilities is a current, but temporary option. In this
scenario the waste is cooled off in pools for a time of about ten years, but is eventually placed
into dry canisters for long-term storage. This can be dangerous due to situations such as potential
natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Nuclear waste can be converted into plutonium and
uranium, and potentially into weapons. For these reasons, used fuel pools are encased in a steel
liner and thick concrete, and are regularly inspected to ensure resilience to earthquakes,
tornadoes, hurricanes and the potential break-in.
Power plant safety is an important concern for the citizens who live within an
approximate radius of 50 miles from the plant. Nuclear reactors must include provisions for
managing human error and equipment failure. Nuclear Plants in the western hemisphere use a
"Defense in Depth" action which is a structure with numerous safety factors, each with a back-up
and design to take into consideration potential human errors. In order to control unsafe levels of
exposed radioactive materials, the power plants use redundant processes and tools to keep all
things radioactive adequately confined. An example is neutron absorbing control rods, which can
be partially put into the reactor core to decrease the reactions. In this case the control rods are
critical because they can manage a reaction that might otherwise run out of control. In nuclear
power plants, the injection of all control rods into the reactor core occurs in a matter of seconds,
therefore pausing the nuclear reaction as quickly as possible. Furthermore, most reactors are built
so that once the temperature exceeds normal levels, the proficiency of reactions drops,

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consequently less and less neutrons are able to undergo fission and the reactor slows down
automatically. Nuclear power plants are often located by natural water sources so they have
access to water to cool their reactors. As addition to other safety measures, there are numerous
physical barriers between the highly radioactive core, and the environment. For power plant
workers and their various safety systems, they are shielded by concrete and other materials to
limit their contact to radioactivity.
New approaches to finding energy are critical and global warming is a constant concern.
Because nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuels, they do not produce carbon dioxide,
which is a major contributor to global warming. However, power plants burning fossil fuels
pollute the environment, and nuclear power plants do very little of this and also have a small
carbon footprint. While water is a necessity for nuclear power plants to run, the heat released
from the splitting of uranium nuclei generates substantial and efficient electricity. The heat is
used to turn water into steam, which turns a turbine, thus creating energy. Water from our
environment is needed for this process, which puts a strain on the local volume of water usable
for living things in the immediate area. In addition, water emitted from a nuclear power plant
may possibly contain excessive levels of heavy metals, which could disrupt the natural balance
of life in the location where is it being deposited. The pollutants within the water, as well as the
increase of temperature of the water emitted from the plant, can have harmful affects to the water
quality and marine life. In the case of a meltdown or terrorist attack, large amounts of radiation
can be released into the environment and contaminate people, soil, livestock, etc. This is rare,
however, it can have devastating affects to large populations of living things. Harmful amounts
of radiation to the human body can cause cancer in many people, often killing them slowly.
Death by radiation, in my opinion, is a harder way to die then a quick and painless death. In

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addition, radiation can, and often does, affect future generations. Historical affects of the harmful
levels of radiation released into the environment can be viewed in places such as Chernobyl,
Russia.
There are many people in this world who are opposed to nuclear power. I asked multiple
people why they do not agree to the use of nuclear power. Many replied to my question saying
that the risk was too great. To use words from great thinkers, Albert Einstein said, A ship is
always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for. History tells us that without risk,
there is no or limited gain. Sometimes the risks need to be taken for the greater good of our
nation and these risks can me managed. The risk of a meltdown or explosion are rare, but
potentially catastrophe indeed. If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you
will have gained. Neil Gaiman is right when he says that we will gain nothing, if we dare
nothing. The public must always be educated in the safety measures relating to the presence of a
nuclear power plant. Management must be smart in running and designing the plant, such as
having its meter(s) thick steel-reinforced concrete surrounding the core and safety of people. For
plants situated near faults, there are numerous safety features that protect the plant and the waste
from the earth, and if in the event radiation is released, there are ways to contain the problem
within the plant.
I believe we must take the risk of continuing our use of nuclear energy generating power
plants, and building more power plants throughout our country. Without a risk, there is no
reward. Therefore, in order to supply our nation with energy, and not emit greenhouse gasses that
coal and other fossil fuels emit, nuclear power is our best option. Wind power is clean and
virtually risk-free, as well as solar energy, however, to create a wind farm or solar farm big
enough to produce the same amount of energy as a nuclear power plant is nearly impossible, and

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the cost would cost to great, not to mention taking up far too much land. For a wind farm to
produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity per hour, approximately 240,000 acres and 9,600 to
11,200 turbines are needed. Likewise, approximately 20,000 acres of solar panels would be
needed to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity per hour. Therefore, nuclear power is the only
logical approach to grow and supply our nation with enough power in a relatively small cost. As
nuclear power becomes more popular and more plants are built, the cost will come down. For
nuclear power to become more popular, we must handle the nuclear waste properly, make sure
the power plants are not a danger to society, determine the impacts they have on the
environment, and educate the public on the safety of nuclear power plants.

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Bibliography
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This website talks about nuclear power and how it creates energy from the splitting of nuclei.
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<http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2011/ph241/jaffer2/>.
This website discusses the impacts Nuclear power plants have on society. The information was
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past events that shaped history, such as Chernobyl.
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<http://nuclearinfo.net/Nuclearpower/WebHomeSafetyOfNuclearPowerPlants>.
This website describes in detail the safety mechanisms of a nuclear power reactor.
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