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Radiation
How Nuclear Plants Work
Fuel
History & Future
Issues & Concerns
100
This kind of radiation travels the shortest distance but is the easiest to protect against.
Alpha
100
Describe Nuclear Fission
A chain reaction of splitting atoms that release energy and neutrons.
100
What element is used in U.S. nuclear reactors?
Uranium 235
100
What was the Manhattan Project?
The wartime program that developed the world's first nuclear chain reaction and the atomic bomb.
100
What does the term "low-level waste" refer to?
Waste that is only slightly radioactive and gives of small amounts of radiation such as filters, clean-up rags, lab supplies, and discarded protective clothing.
200
This device is used to detect radiation
a Geiger counter
200
How does a power plant use the heat created by nuclear fission?
The heat boils water which produces steam to push turbines.
200
Why must uranium be enriched before it can be used as fuel?
The concentration of U235 must be high enough in the fuel material to sustain a chain reaction.
200
What three main accidents happened that caused the world to be concerned with the safety of nuclear power plants?
Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima.
200
Why might natural events such as floods or earthquakes be causes for concern for nuclear power plants?
Natural disasters might interrupt power that controls back-up safety measures, or may damage structures such as spent fuel pools, storage areas, water circuits, or the containment building.
300
Radiation is measured in what kind of units?
millirems, curies, roentgens, rads, or rems
300
In what part of the power plant does the fission reaction take place?
Inside the fuel assembly which is inside the reactor core/pressure vessel which is inside the containment building.
300
Where is uranium found?
in ores mined from the ground
300
What was the location of the nuclear reactor that produced the world's first useable electric power in 1951
Idaho, USA
300
What are some potential dangers of transporting spent fuel?
The fuel cask structure could be damaged, casks must be loaded and secured on a vehicle, drivers are subject to human error, materials may be vulnerable to terrorist attacks, and there is potential for traffic/rail accidents.
400
What are the sources of background radiation?
Gamma rays from space, radon from the earth, medical procedures, building materials, and elements in our food
400
What are control rods for?
They regulate or control the speed of the nuclear reaction in the reactor core by absorbing neutrons.
400
What is the next step after fuel has been removed from a reactor core?
It must be stored in a spent fuel pool for cooling.
400
In this decade, the first nuclear powered submarines and surface ships were launched by the US and Soviet Union.
the 1950s
400
What is a repository, and where should repositories be located?
A permanent storage facility for high-level nuclear waste. They must be located in stable dry types of underground rock formations so radioactivity does not enter groundwater.
500
Alpha, beta and gamma radiations are all known as this kind of radiation
Ionizing radiation
500
Describe three safety features that are built into the design of a nuclear power plant
Closed circuits contain the water that cools the reactor, control rods can slow or shut down the fission reactions, a containment building made of heavy concrete surrounds the reactor core, spent fuel pools
500
Uranium milling changes ore into this substance
Yellowcake
500
Name these two european countries: 1) This country plans to replace all of its 58 nuclear reactors with just one which will provide 80% of the country's power by 2016. 2) As a result of Fukushima, this country plans to eliminate nuclear power from its grid completely.
1) France 2) Germany
500
What are some of the issues surrounding the decommissioning of nuclear power plants?
Financial costs, security of spent fuel, repositories for spent fuel, loss of employment, what power source will take its place?