What do you know of Japan’s Nuclear crisis? How about any past nuclear issues? Do you feel that nuclear power is safe? Why or why not? Question of the day:

Japan update- Frontline- Japan’s nuclear crisis pans-nuclear-meltdown/ pans-nuclear-meltdown/ Nuclear Crisis

Question of the Day 5/11 Which fossil fuel is going to be the leading energy producer for the US by the end of the year? Which fossil fuels does PA have a large amount of? Name one downside to using natural gas, to using coal, and to using oil. (3 total)

 What is it? ◦ Splitting of uranium atoms in a “reactor” to release energy to create heat to make steam to make electricity Nuclear Energy (fission)

Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fuel Cycle – processes involved in producing the fuel used in nuclear reactors and in disposing of radioactive (nuclear) wastes

How Electricity is Produced

Nuclear power plants in US

Local Plants- Limerick

Three Mile Island

Salem NJ plant on DE river

Nuclear Power Pros/Cons  Pros ◦ No air pollution ◦ Small amounts of fuel = large amounts of energy ◦ U.S. has technology Cons – Expensive to build and maintain Nuclear power plant – Radioactive fuel, dangerous waste to dispose of

Safety Issues in Nuclear Power Plants Meltdown – At high temperatures the metal encasing the uranium fuel can melt, releasing radiation Probability of meltdown or other accident is low Public perception is that nuclear power is not safe Sites of major accidents: – Three Mile Island – Chornobyl (Ukraine)

Three-Mile Island most serious reactor accident in US 50% meltdown of reactor core – Containment building kept radiation from escaping – No substantial environmental damage – No human casualties Elevated public apprehension of nuclear energy – Led to cancellation of many new plants in US

Chernobyl worst accident in history 1 or 2 explosions destroyed the nuclear reactor – Large amounts of radiation escaped into atmosphere Spread across large portions of Europe

Chernobyl Radiation spread was unpredictable Radiation fallout was dumped unevenly Death toll is 10, ,000

Fukushima Dai-ichi March 2011 Following a major earthquake, a 15-meter high tsunami disabled the power supply that was cooling three of the reactors, causing all three to experience meltdowns of the reactor core

Radioactive Waste Low-level radioactive waste- – Radioactive solids, liquids, or gases that give off small amounts of ionizing radiation High-level radioactive waste- – Radioactive solids, liquids, or gases that give off large amounts of ionizing radiation

Radioactive Wastes Long term solution to waste – Deep geologic burial –Yucca Mountain – As of 2004, site must meet EPA million year standard (compared to previous 10,000 year standard) – Possibilities: Above ground mausoleums Arctic ice sheets Beneath ocean floor

Radioactive Waste Temporary storage solutions – In nuclear plant facility (require high security) Under water storage Above ground concrete and steel casks Need approved permanent options soon.

Case-In-Point Yucca Mountain 70,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste Tectonic issues have been identified

OLD Textbook reading NOW Three Mile Island Pgs questions 1-13