Running head: NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY 1

Nuclear Chemistry

Name

Institution Affiliation
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Nuclear Chemistry

A nuclear reactor pertains producing and controlling the release of energy from

splitting the atoms of certain elements. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form

smaller atoms. In the course of splitting the atoms, energy is released. Also the energy

produced in a nuclear reactor is used as heat to create steam for electricity generation. Fission

takes place inside the rector of a nuclear power plant. For most kinds of reactor, the principles

for using nuclear energy to generate electricity are the same. The energy produced from the

fuel's ongoing fission is harnessed as heat in either a gas or water and used to generate steam.

In the 1950s, the first power plant to generate electricity using heat from the splitting of

uranium atoms started to operate. Most individuals today are conscious of the significant

contribution made by nuclear energy in offering a substantial percentage of clean electricity.

Nuclear technology applications outside the manufacturing of civil electricity in power plants

are less well known[ CITATION Ray15 \l 2057 ]. Radioisotopes, thermal processing of nuclear

energy and non-stationary energy reactors have vital uses across various industries, including

food and agriculture, consumer goods, , medicine and scientific study, transport, industry,

and water resources and environment.

In agriculture, nuclear reactors are also applied. Radioisotopes and radiation are

applied in food and agriculture to help in reducing effects of chronic undernourishment. As

well as enhancing crop production, agriculture must be sustainable over a longer term. The

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulates the commercial nuclear power plant that

generates electricity. In this case of agriculture, NRC is responsible of overseeing the

activities associated in using nuclear reactors in agriculture[ CITATION Ant79 \l 2057 ]. NRC

regulates by providing licenses for any nuclear reactor operation, and monitoring the system

management. It provides regulations on s, material transportation, fuel cycle facilities and the

method of uranium recovery facilities, and material used like uranium-233 or uranium-235,
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and plutonium and other content that are greater than those found in the nature. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission also provides measures on regulated waste, it outlines policy for

regulation and safe management and disposal of already used fuel. It develops environmental

compliance guidelines and oversees the removal and clean-up of contaminated locations,

secure Low level waste management and disposal, and uranium recovery. In general, the

terms safeguards and security are used to define programs that encourage common defense

and security and safeguard government health and safety by preventing fraud and sabotage.

The licensee security programs and contingency plans address threats, theft, and sabotage

related to special nuclear material, nuclear installations, high-level radioactive waste, and

other radioactive materials and activities regulated by the NRC.

Nuclear medicine and radiology are all medical methods that require radiation or

radioactivity. In hospitals doctors, nurses, and dentists use a range of nuclear materials and

techniques to diagnose, monitor, and treat a broad range of human metabolic processes and

medical conditions. Although radiology has been used for nearly a century, "atomic

medicine" started about 50 years ago. Roughly one-third of all contemporary hospital

processes today require radiation or radioactivity. These methods are among the finest and

most efficient life-saving instruments available, they are secure and painless and do not

involve anaesthesia, and they are useful for a wide range of medical specialties, from

pediatric to psychiatric to cardiological.

The most popular of these medical processes is the use of x-rays — a kind of radiation

that can pass through our skin. When x-rayed, shadows are cast by our bones and other

structures because they are denser than our skin and can be identified in photographic film.

There are also various therapeutic uses of X-rays and other types of radiation. They are most

commonly designed to kill cancerous tissue, decrease the size of a tumor, or decrease pain

when used in this manner. For example, radioactive iodine (especially iodine-131) is often
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used to treat cancer of the thyroid. X-ray machines have also been connected to computer

systems in machines called computerized axial tomography (CAT) or computed tomography

(CT) scanners. These tools provide color images to physicians showing the shapes and details

of the internal organs. This enables doctors identify and locate tumors, size anomalies, or

other issues with physiological or functional organs.

While both nuclear therapy and radiology are being used in diagnostic procedures (to

determine the health of the patient, to monitor the course of disease or to monitor the progress

of therapy) and in therapeutic processes (to treat diseases), they are applied differently.

Radioisotopes are internally introduced into the body in nuclear medicine, while X-rays in

radiology penetrate the body from outside the body.

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Reference

Nero, A. V. (1979). A guidebook to nuclear reactors. Berkeley ; London: University of

California Press.

Raymond L Murray & Keith E Holbert. (2015). Nuclear energy : an introduction to the

concepts, systems, and applications of nuclear processes. Amsterdam:

Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.