24-08-2013, 03:02 PM
Future of Nuclear Power Addressing the Barriers
Future of Nuclear Power.pdf (Size: 1.21 MB / Downloads: 70)
INTRODUCTION
There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the role of nuclear
power in maintaining adequate, stable and economic
energy supplies in a future carbon-sensitive economy.1
Previously, the UK Government had stated that it had no
plans to build any new nuclear plant;2 however, recently,
in the light of expert opinion on technical and economic
developments, the Government has decided to review
the nuclear option.3 Nevertheless, there are a number
of uncertainties about safety and security that trouble
the public, and clearly, acceptability of a new nuclear
programme will depend on reassurances about perceived
risks, real or imaginary. To consider these risks, and their
impact on public perception, the Institute of Physics and
the Royal Society of Chemistry held a joint seminar in
December 2005.
Risks of nuclear generation to health
Over the years, there has been concern about
observed cancer clusters around some of
the UK’s nuclear sites, possibly as a result of
low-level radiation discharges. Bryn Bridges
described recent research, in particular work
carried out on childhood cancer. Ionising
radiation is by far the best understood human
carcinogen in the environment, he pointed
out. Epidemiological studies have shown that
the relation between concentrations of natural
radon found in homes and the corresponding
cancer risk is linear. They also show that
such low levels of radiation do not pose the
disproportionate dangers suggested in some
small-scale studies. Indeed.
Disposal of spent fuel
The biggest objection to new nuclear build is
the problem of how to manage radioactive-
waste disposal which some think presents an
unacceptable long-term risk. However, Neil
Chapman pointed out that we already have
wastes that must be disposed of in a geological
repository. As well as several hundred thousand
cubic metres of intermediate level waste there
will be: 1200 tonnes of spent fuel from Sizewell
B, 3500 tonnes from gas-cooled power stations,
plus another 3000 tonnes of reprocessed high-
level radioactive waste. The UK must commit
to a programme for managing these wastes
sooner or later, he said. A programme of 10
new reactors, each generating a gigawatt of
electricity over 60 years, would generate a
further 14,000 tonnes of spent fuel, which could
be easily incorporated into this programme.