Nuclear Power

1
Nuclear Power

• David C HowellRadiation Safety OfficerWake
  Forest UniversityBaptist Medical Center

2
1941-42
December 1941 The United States enters World War
II when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
August 1942 The first pure sample of plutonium
was isolated
September 1942 The Manhattan Project is formed
to secretly build the atomic bomb before the
Germans build one
3
1942
November 1942 Los Alamos, NMis selected as the
site for the US atomic bomb laboratory
By December, the first nuclear reactor was
assembled in a squash court under the stands of
Stagg Athletic Field at the University of
Chicago on December 2, 1942, the first atomic
reactor was brought to criticality
4
1942-45
1942-45 Oak Ridge National Laboratory is built
in Oak Ridge, TN plutonium production begins
1943-45 Hanford Site is built in Richland, WA
first reactor begins plutonium production in
September 1944
April-May 1945 US troops liberate concentration
camps Germany surrenders
5
1945
July 16, 1945 US explodes first atomic device
near Alamagordo, NM
August 6 9, 1945 United States bombs Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan
6
Late 1940s-50s
1946 Oak Ridge ships first nuclear reactor
produced radioisotopes for civilian use to the
Barnard Cancer Hospital in St. Louis
Dec. 20, 1951 Experimental Breeder Reactor 1
lighted these four bulbs with the worlds first
usable amount of electricity from nuclear energy
7
1950s
1953 President Eisenhower proposes joint
international cooperation to develop peaceful
applications of nuclear energy in his Atoms for
Peace speech
January 1954 The first nuclear powered
submarine, USS Nautilus, is launched was the
first boat to visit the North Pole steamed
500,000 miles in 25 years
8
Where is Uranium Found?
Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan
Russia
Canada
USA
China
Mongolia
Niger
Brazil
Australia
Namibia
South Africa
9
How is Uranium Processed?
10
World Dependence on Nuclear Power
11
Nuclear Energy 2001
12
US Nuclear Reactors
13
Pressurized Water Reactor
14
Three Mile Island - 1979
A minor reactor malfunction caused the
temperature in the primary coolant to rise,
automatically shutting down the reactor.
Unfortunately, one of the relief valves failed to
close and most of the primary coolant drained
away, leaving the reactor core at a very high
temperature. The fuel rods were damaged and
radioactive material was released into the
cooling water. No explosion resulted from this.
The problem was contained in the reactor
building, as designed. However, it did cause a
lot of public concern and loss of confidence in
the nuclear power industry.
15
Chernobyl - 1986
A power surge, during a test to determine how
long the turbines would spin after a power loss,
caused steam to lift the cover plate off the
reactor, and an intense fire spread fission
products into the atmosphere. This accident was
caused by human error and a poorly designed and
engineered reactor. The accident caused the
deaths of 30 power plant employees and firemen,
while another 134 emergency personnel experienced
acute radiation sickness.
16
The Future?
1980 US population 226,545,8052000 US
population 281,421,906 Increase of 54,876,101
people (24.2 change) No new nuclear power
plants have been licensed or built since the
early 1980s Brownouts in California, increased
electrical usage in Silicon Valley, PCs, warmer
summers demand more A/C, etc. Building gas
turbine and fossil fuel plants limits on
solar/hydro/wind power Politics public opinion
will determine nuclear powers future in the US