CHAB:What is Nuclear Energy
heat, nuclear power
Cheska: Nuclear energy is a form of energy
released from the nucleus, the core of atoms,
made up of protons and neutrons. This source of
energy can be produced in two ways: fission –
when nuclei of atoms split into several parts – or
fusion – when nuclei fuse together.
The nuclear energy harnessed around the world
today to produce electricity is through nuclear
fission, while technology to generate electricity
from fusion is at the R&D phaseThis article will
explore nuclear fission. To learn more about .
nuclear fusion
CHAB:What is Nuclear Fission?
Helson: fission is a reaction where the nucleus of
an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei,
while releasing energy.
For instance, when hit by a neutron, the nucleus
of an atom of uranium-235 splits into two smaller
nuclei, for example a barium nucleus and a
krypton nucleus and two or three neutrons.
These extra neutrons will hit other surrounding
uranium-235 atoms, which will also split and
generate additional neutrons in a multiplying
effect, thus generating a chain reaction in a
fraction of a second.
Each time the reaction occurs, there is a release
of energy in the form of heat and radiation. The
heat can be converted into electricity in a nuclear
power plant, similarly to how heat from fossil
fuels such as coal, gas and oil is used to
generate electricity.
CHAB: Nuclear Power Plant
Andrei: Nuclear power plants are a type of power
plant that use the process of nuclear fission in
order to generate electricity. They do this by
using nuclear reactors in combination with
the Rankine cycle, where the heat generated by
the reactor converts water into steam, which
spins a turbine and a generator. Nuclear
power provides the world with around 11% of its
total electricity, with the largest producers being
the United States and France
Aside from the source of 
plants are very similar to coal-fired power plants.
However, they require different safety measures
since the use of nuclear fuel has vastly different
properties from coal or other fossil fuels. They
get their thermal power from splitting
the nuclei of atoms in their reactor core,
with uranium being the dominant choice of fuel in
the world today. Thorium also has potential use
in nuclear power production, however it is not
currently in use. Below is the basic operation of
a boiling water power plant, which shows the
many components of a power plant, along with
the generation of electricity.
CHAB:Location of Nuclear Power Plant in the
Philippines.
Brent:  The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was built
in the early 1980s as a result, but never went into
operation. It was mothballed by Former
President Corazon Aquino on the fear of reactor
meltdown after the Chernobyl Disaster as well as
the increase of the price of the
plant. The Fukushima nuclear disaster dampened
further efforts to revive nuclear energy in the
philippines and gave pause to efforts to revive
the plant.
Under a regime of martial law, Philippine
President Ferdinand Marcos in July 1973
announced the decision to build a nuclear power
plant. This was in response to the 1973 oil crisis,
as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy
strain on the Philippine economy, and Marcos
believed nuclear power to be the solution to
meeting the country's energy demands and
decreasing dependence on imported oil.
Construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
began in 1976. Following the 1979 Three Mile
Island accident in the United States, construction
on the BNPP was stopped, and a subsequent
safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000
defects (not confirmed). Among the issues raised
was that it was built near major faults and close
to the then dormant Pinatubo volcano.
Issues of overpricing, bribery, corruption,
mismanagement were also raised.
 The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was built in the
early 1980s as a result, but never went into
operation. It was mothballed by Former
President Corazon Aquino on the fear of reactor
meltdown after the Chernobyl Disaster as well as
the increase of the price of the
plant. The Fukushima nuclear disaster dampened
further efforts to revive nuclear energy in the
philippines and gave pause to efforts to revive
the plant.
CHAB: 4 main uses of Nuclear Energy
C:Space Exploration
H:Energy
A:Medical Diagnoses & Treatment
B:Agriculture
CHAB:Process of Nuclear Power Plant
C; The water in the core is heated by nuclear
fission and then pumped into tubes inside a heat
exchanger. Those tubes heat a separate water
source to create steam. The steam then turns an
electric generator to produce electricity. The core
water cycles back to the reactor to be reheated
and the process is repeated.
C&H:Advantages of Nuclear Energy
C: France’s success in cutting down emissions is a
clear example of some of the main advantages of
nuclear energy over fossil fuels. First and
foremost, nuclear energy is clean and it provides
pollution-free power with no greenhouse gas
emissions. Contrary to what many believe,
cooling towers in nuclear plants only emit water
vapour and are thus, not releasing any pollutant
or radioactive substance into the atmosphere.
Compared to all the energy alternatives we
currently have on hand, many experts believe
that nuclear energy is indeed one of the cleanest
sources. Many nuclear energy supporters also
argue that nuclear power is responsible for
the fastest decarbonisation effort in history, with
big nuclear players like France, Saudi Arabia,
Canada, and South Korea being among the
countries that recorded the fastest decline in
carbon intensity and experienced a clean energy
transition by building nuclear reactors and
hydroelectric dams.
Earlier this year, the European Commission took
a clear stance on nuclear power by labelling it a
green source of energy in its classification system
establishing a list of environmentally sustainable
economic activities. While nuclear energy may be
clean and its production emission-free, experts
highlight a hidden danger of this power: nuclear
waste. The highly radioactive and toxic byproduct
from nuclear reactors can remain radioactive for
tens of thousands of years. 
H: However, this is still considered a much easier
environmental problem to solve than climate
change. The main reason for this is that as much
as 90% of the nuclear waste generated by the
production of nuclear energy can be recycled.
Indeed, the fuel used in a reactor, typically
uranium, can be treated and put into another
reactor as only a small amount of energy in their
fuel is extracted in the fission process.
A rather important advantage of nuclear energy is
that it is much safer than fossil fuels from a public
health perspective. The pro-nuclear movement
leverages the fact that nuclear waste is not even
remotely as dangerous as the toxic chemicals
coming from fossil fuels. Indeed, coal and oil act
as ‘invisible killers’ and are responsible for 1 in 5
deaths worldwide. In 2018 alone, fossil fuels
killed 8.7 million people globally. In contrast, in
nearly 70 years since the beginning of nuclear
power, only three accidents have raised public
alarm: the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the
1986 Chernobyl disaster and the 2011 Fukushima
nuclear disaster. Of these, only the accident at
the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine directly
caused any deaths.
Finally, nuclear energy has some advantages
compared to some of the most popular renewable
energy sources. According to the US Office of
Nuclear Energy, nuclear power has by far the
highest capacity factor, with plants requiring less
maintenance, capable to operate for up to two
years before refuelling and able to produce
maximum power more than 93% of the time
during the year, making them three times more
reliable than wind and solar plants. 
A&B:Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
A: The anti-nuclear movement opposes the use of B: Lastly, if compared to other sources of energy,
this type of energy for several reasons. The first nuclear power is one of the most expensive and
and currently most talked about disadvantage of time-consuming forms of energy. Nuclear plants
nuclear energy is the nuclear weapon cost billions of dollars to build and they take
proliferation, a debate triggered by the deadly much longer than any other infrastructure for
atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of renewable energy, sometimes even more than a
Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World decade. However, while nuclear power plants are
War and recently reopened following rising expensive to build, they are relatively cheap to
concerns over nuclear escalation in the Ukraine- run, a factor that improves its competitiveness.
Russia conflict. After the world saw the highly Still, the long building process is considered a
destructive effect of these bombs, which caused significant obstacle in the run to net-zero
the death of tens of thousands of people, not emissions that countries around the world have
only in the impact itself but also in the days, committed to. If they hope to meet their emission
weeks, and months after the tragedy as a reduction targets in time, they cannot afford to
consequence of radiation sickness, nuclear rely on new nuclear plants.
energy evolved to a pure means of generating
electricity. In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into
force. Its objective was to prevent the spread of
such weapons to eventually achieve nuclear
disarmament as well as promote peaceful uses of
nuclear energy. However, opposers of this energy
source still see nuclear energy as being deeply
intertwined with nuclear weapons technologies
and believe that, with nuclear technologies
becoming globally available, the risk of them
falling into the wrong hands is high, especially in
countries with high levels of corruption and
instability. 

As mentioned in the previous section, nuclear

energy is clean. However, radioactive nuclear
waste contains highly poisonous chemicals like
plutonium and the uranium pellets used as fuel.
These materials can be extremely toxic for tens of
thousands of years and for this reason, they need
to be meticulously and permanently disposed of.
Since the 1950s, a stockpile of 250,000 tonnes of
highly radioactive nuclear waste has been
accumulated and distributed across the world,
with 90,000 metric tons stored in the US alone.
Knowing the dangers of nuclear waste, many
oppose nuclear energy for fears of accidents,
despite these being extremely unlikely to happen.
Indeed, opposers know that when nuclear does
fail, it can fail spectacularly. They were reminded
of this in 2011, when the Fukushima disaster,
despite not killing anyone directly, led to the
displacement of more than 150,000 people,
thousands of evacuation/related deaths and
billions of dollars in cleanup costs.