NUCLEAR ENERGY

Prepared by: Tural Mamedov (10553989)

 World Energy Demand
There is a rapidly-increasing world
demand for energy, especially for
electricity. Much of the electricity
demand is for continuous, reliable
supply on a large scale, which
generally only fossil fuels and
nuclear power can meet.
Future energy growth rate worldwide
is projected to average 1.7% per
year to 2030
World primary energy demand
 Electricity demand

Electricity demand is growing much faster

than overall energy demand. Where world
total energy demand is expected to increase
60% from 2002 to 2030, electricity demand
is expected to double between 2002 and
2030, with most growth in developing
countries.
World electricity demand is projected to be
about 31,600 billion kWh (TWh) in 2030,
compared with 16,000 billion KWh in 2002,
with the largest increase almost 4000
billion KWh being in China.
Electricity demand
 Over the last 50 years nuclear energy become a
major source of the worlds electricity. It now provides
16% of the worlds total.
France gets over 75% of its electricity from nuclear
power. It is the worlds largest electricity exporter,
and gains some EUR 2.5 billion per year from those
exports. Next door is Italy, a major industrial country
without any operating nuclear power plants. It is the
worlds largest net importer of electricity, and most of
that comes ultimately from France. France generates
three quarters of its electricity from nuclear power
and is the worlds largest electricity exporter
 The energy that is released during a nuclear reaction.
Splitting atoms (fission) and fusing atoms (fusion) both
release nuclear energy. Today's nuclear power plants use
fission to produce energy, which allow them to generate
electricity on a large scale.
 Elements and Atoms
The smallest particle of an element is called an atom,
although atoms themselves consist of three sub-atomic
particles, protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and
neutrons are found in the core, or nucleus, of an atom, and
are surrounded by a cloud of electrons moving in orbits.
The nucleus contains virtually all the mass of the atom.
 What is Nuclear reaction?

A nuclear reaction is the reaction in which atomic

nucleus and particles like proton, neutron etc react each
other.
The reaction takes place by collide between two nuclei
and form products. The nuclear reactions are
spontaneous reaction. Thus the reaction involves a
conversion of mass into decay products (kinetic energy).
2He +7N 8O +1H
4 14 17 1

In the above reactions, the total mass of the elements

on the left side of equation is less than the total masses
of the products on the right side. To balance this or for
proceeding the reaction, some kinetic energy must be
supplied to the left side of reactants. This energy is
responsible to complete the reaction
 Comparison of Chemical and Nuclear Reactions
In any chemical reaction, such as when carbon is burnt in oxygen
to form carbon dioxide (as happens in a coal burning power
station), the nuclei of both types of atom are unaltered all the
reactions take place in the electron cloud. Therefore all the original
atoms are still there but rearranged into new compounds. In
nuclear power stations, this is no longer the case because nuclear
reactions also involve the nucleus and produce materials with
different numbers of protons and neutrons from the original
material.
 Types of Nuclear Reaction
There are two main type of nuclear reaction.
1) Nuclear fission
2) Nuclear fusion
 Nuclear Fission
Nuclear fissionis the process in which a large nucleus
splits into two smaller nuclei with the release of energy. In
other words, fission the process in which a nucleus is
divided into two or more fragments, and neutrons and
energy are released.
The isotopes of most naturally occurring elements are very
stable, which means that they do not change with time. If,
however, the nucleus of an isotope such as U235 absorbs
an extra neutron, then it may split in a process known as
nuclear fission.
 When this happens, each atom of U235 splits into two or
more atoms which, of course, correspond to other elements
since each will have a number of protons, neutrons and
electrons. Typical products of such a fission process are the
elements, strontium, iodine and xenon, but there are many
other possibilities. In any case, the fission products which
form initially can disintegrate further so that the eventual
mixture of elements within a sample becomes more
complex.
 In addition to the production of new elements, the fission of each U235
atom produces, on average, 2 or 3 free neutrons, each of which has the
potential to trigger the fission of another U235 atom. Substances such as
U235, capable of such fission reactions, are known as fissile materials. If
enough neutrons released by the fission process go on to trigger further
fissions, a chain reaction is set up which is self-sustaining, and which can
be put to use as a source of a considerable amount of energy in the form of
heat.
 Nuclear fusion
It is the reaction in which two or more nuclei combine,
forming a newelementwith a higheratomic number(more
protons in the nucleus).
Commercial nuclear fusion is still only a future hope. As well
as looking for ways to harness incident sunlight, people
have for a long time dreamed of taming the process which
generates that light and heat- bringing the Sun right down
to Earth.

Fusionof deuterium with tritium creating helium-4, freeing a

neutron, and releasing 17.59 MeV of energy.
 The favoured method for achieving controlled fusion involves
deuterium and tritium atoms (heavy isotopes of hydrogen)
together at very high temperatures-about 100 million degrees
Celsius. No method of sustaining such temperatures under
stable conditions has yet been demonstrated.
However, research continues, particularly in Japan, Europe,
USA and Russia, and notably in the ITER facility being built in
France. Perhaps some time in the next half century heat from
fusion will be harnessed to generate electricity.
The deuterium fuel is relatively abundant in seawater, but
tritium is either derived from lithium, or produced in heavy
water-moderated reactors.
 Comparison
Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion
Definition Fission is the splitting of a large atom Fusion is the fusing of two or more
into two or more smaller ones. lighter atoms into a larger one.

Natural Fission reaction does not normally Fusion occurs in stars, such as the
occurrence of occur in nature. sun.
the process
Byproducts of Fission produces many highly Few radioactive particles are
the reaction radioactive particles. produced by fusion reaction, but if a
fission "trigger" is used, radioactive
particles will result from that.

Energy Takes little energy to split two atoms Extremely high energy is required to
Requirement in a fission reaction. bring two or more protons close
enough that nuclear forces
overcome their electrostatic
repulsion.

Energy The energy released by fission is a The energy released by fusion is

Released million times greater than that three to four times greater than the
released in chemical reactions, but energy released by fission.
lower than the energy released by
nuclear fusion.

Energy Fission is used in nuclear power Fusion is an experimental

production plants. technology for producing power.

Fuel Uranium is the primary fuel used in Hydrogen isotopes (Deuterium and
power plants. Tritium) are the primary fuel used in
experimental fusion power plants.
 Radiation
During the splitting of an atom of U235, or any
other fissile nucleus, radiation is produced. Any
material producing radiation is called
radioactive.
There are four distinct types of radiation
associated with nuclear fission, called (alpha),
(beta), (gamma), and neutron radiation:
 Radiation
Alpha radiation is basically the atomic nucleus of the element
helium (He) consisting of two protons and two neutrons. Alpha-
radiation is not very penetrative: for example, it is unlikely to
pierce human skin. The danger to man arises if an alpha-emitting
element, such as plutonium, is lodged in the body. The alpha-
radiation can then be very damaging.
Beta-radiation consists of electrons or their positively charged
counterparts, positrons. It can penetrate the skin, but not very far.
Gamma-radiation is penetrative in a manner similar to x-rays
and has similar physical properties. It can be stopped only by thick
shields of lead or concrete, for example. Like x-rays, it is a form of
electromagnetic radiation, as is visible light.
The fourth type of radiation consists of the neutrons emitted
during the fission process. Neutrons are also very penetrative, but
less so than gamma-radiation, and have an effect on human
tissue approximately midway between beta and gamma-radiation.
 Nuclear Fuel
The fuel for nuclear power to make electricity is uranium.
There are some 900 nuclear reactors operating today around
the world. These include:
About 260 small reactors , used for research and for producing
isotopes for medicine and industry in 56 countries,
Over 220 small reactors powering about 150 ships , mostly
submarines,
Approximately 440 larger reactors generating electricity in 30
countries.
Practically all of the uranium produced today goes into
electricity production with a significant small proportion used
for producing radioisotopes. In particular, uranium is generally
used for base-load electricity. Here it competes with coal, and
in recent years, natural gas.
 Uranium
Uranium is ubiquitous on the earth. Uranium is metal a
approximately as common as tin or zinc, and it is a constituent of
most rocks and even of the sea. Some typical concentrations are
(ppm=parts per million):

Uranium is composed of atoms which have in their nucleus 92

protons(positively-charged) and about 140 neutrons(uncharged).
One of the types of uranium atoms, or one of the uranium
isotopes as they are called, has 143 neutrons. This uranium-
235(U-235) isotope is remarkable because when its nucleus is hit
by a slow neutron( also known as a thermal neutron ), the atom
can split two and release a lot of energy as heat. This is called
nuclear fission and U-235 is thus a fissile isotope.
 Uranium
An orebody is, by definition, an occurrence of mineralization
from which the metal is economically recoverable.
The other main isotope of
natural uranium, U-238, is not
itself fissile in conventional
reactors, but each atom can
capture a neutron indirectly to
become fissile plutonium-239.
It is thus fertile. Pu-239
behaves similarly to U-235
except that its neutron yield
slightly greater than of U-235.
About one third of the energy
from a commercial nuclear
reactor comes from fission of
plutonium-239 produced in the
reactor.
 World Uranium Resources
Presently-known resources of uranium are
enough to last for half a century-considering
only the lower cost category, and with it is used only
in conventional reactors.
The importance of U235 is that it is a naturally
occurring fissile material with a controllable chain
reaction, and is the obvious fuel for a nuclear power
station. In most types of nuclear reactor, however, the
amount of U235 in the fuel has to be increased above
that occurring in natural Uranium in order to make the
nuclear chain reaction self-sustaining. This is achieved
by a process of Uranium enrichment.
World Uranium Resources
 Coal and Uranium Compared
The only major fuel options for large scale energy conversion to base-
load electricity over the next several decades are coal and uranium.

Every 22 tonnes of uranium (26 t U3O8) used saves about 1 million

tones of CO2 relative to coal.
Different quantities of materials are involved with energy conversion
to electricity, starting with coal and uranium. In either case the
amount of electricity considered is 8000 kWh, a conservative
estimate of the amount required by one person in a developed
country for one year.
 Using uranium as the fuel:

For 8000 KWh ,between 30 and 70 kg of uranium from

mine is needed to produce a handful (230g) of uranium
oxide(U3O8) concentrate. The uranium in this
concentrate, is referred to as natural uranium and
contains about 0.7% U-235, the fissile isotope of uranium.
For the most nuclear reactors the natural uranium is
enriched in its U-235 isotope to yield about 30 grams of
enriched uranium fuel. (3.5% U-235).
Irradiated fuel from light water reactors contains a useful
quantity of fissile materials and , in some countries , it is
reprocessed to recover this. When the light water reactor
fuel is reprocessed, about 20 ml of liquid high-level waste
remains. This then can be incorporated into less than 1
cm3 (6g) of pyrex glass-about the size of a large coin and
highly radioactive.
 Using coal as the fuel:
About 3 t of high quality black coal ( or 3.5t of
average black coal or 9t of brown coal) can be fed
into a power station to generate the same amount
of electricity- 8000KWh. This leaves a certain
amount of ash, varying from couple of barrow loads
to a tone, depending on the particular coal used.
Eight tones of carbon dioxide, which at atmospheric
temperature and pressure would fill three full-sized
Olympic pools (50m x 15m x 2m), is produced.
Depending on the coal, some sulphur dioxide is also
produced. A common type of US coal might contain
2% to 3% sulphur. Australian and Canadian coal
generally contains less than 1 % sulphur.
 Coal and Uranium
Worldwide emission of CO2 from burning fossil fuels total about 25
billion tones per year. About 38% of this is from coal and about
43% from oil. Every 1000MWe power station running on black coal
produces CO2 emissions of about 7 million tones per year. If brown
coal is used, the amount is about 9 million tones. Nuclear fission
does not produce CO2, while emissions from other parts of the fuel
cycle (e.g. uranium mining and enrichment) amount to about 2%
of those from using coal, and some audited figures show
considerably less than this.
There is now widespread agreement that we need resource
strategies which will minimize CO2 build-up. With respect to base
load electricity generation, increased use of uranium as a fuel is
the most obvious such strategy, utilizing proven technology on the
scale required.
 Mining
Uranium minerals are always associated with other
elements, such as radium and radon, in radioactive decay
series. Therefore, although uranium itself is barely
radioactive, the ore which is mined must be regarded as
potentially hazardous, especially if it is high-grade ore.
Radioactive decay(also known as nucleardecayor
radioactivity) is the process by which the nucleus of an
unstable atom loses energy by emitting radiation, including
alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and conversion
electrons. A material that spontaneously emits such
radiation is consideredradioactive.

Radioactive Decay Series

 Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, supply over the worlds
mined uranium.

Uranium production has steadilyincreased over the years,

with slight dips the past two years. In 2014, theworld's
total productionwas 56,217 tonnes of uranium.

Here's a look at the 3 top uranium-producing countries of

2014, as perstatistics from the World Nuclear Association.
1) Kazakhstan --- Mine production: 23,127 tonnes
2) Canada --- Mine production: 9,134 tonnes
3) Australia --- Mine production: 5,001 tonnes

Many of worlds uranium mines have been open cut and

therefore naturally well ventilated. Ore grades at most
mines worldwide are less than 0.5% U3O8.
 The Olympic Dam
The Olympic Dam underground mine
Australia, located in the largest known
uranium orebody in the world, has ore grade
less than 0.1% U3O8.
 Mining Process
The mined ore is crushed and ground. The resulting slurry is
then leached, usually with sulphuric acid, to dissolve the
uranium (together with some other metals). The solids
remaining after the uranium is extracted are known as
tailings. They are pumped as slurry to the tailing dam,
which is engineered to retain them securely. Tailings contain
most of radioactive material in the ore, such as radium.
Atailings damis typically an earth-fill embankment
damused to store byproducts of mining operations after
separating the ore from the gangue.

Tailing Dam in Australia

 Some newer mines are in situ leaching (ISL) operations,
with recovery of uranium from the sandy ore taking place
underground. A slightly acidic and heavily oxygenated
solution is circulated through boreholes and the uranium is
extracted in plant at the surface, with liquor being
recirculated.
 ISL(in situ leaching) involves using liquids (commonly
referred to as leaching liquors) which are pumped
through the orebody while it is in the ground to recover the
minerals out of the ore by leaching.
In each case the leach liquor goes through a solvent
extraction or ion exchange process followed by precipitation
to remove the uranium from the solution as the yellow
precipitate (yellowcake).
 After high temperature drying the uranium oxide (U3O8),
now in khaki color, is packed into 200-litre drums for
shipments. The radiation level one meter such a drum of
freshly processed U3O8 is about half that received by a
person from cosmic rays on a commercial jet flight.
After mining is complete most of the orebody, with virtually
all of the radioactive radium, thorium and actinium
materials, will end up in the tailings dam. Hence radiation
levels and radon emissions from tailings will probably be
significant. In the unlikely event of someone setting up
camp on top of the material, they could eventually receive
a radiation dose exceeding international standards, just as
they could from outcropping orebodies. Therefore, the
tailings need to be covered over with enough rock, clay and
soil to reduce both gamma radiation levels and radon
emanation rates to levels near those naturally occurring in
the region. A vegetation cover can then be established.
 Process water, from which tailings solids have
settled out, contains radium and other metals
that would be undesirable in the outside
environment. This water is retained and
evaporated so that the contained metals are
retained in safe storage, as in an orebody. In fact
process water is never released to natural
waterways, but is stored in tailings retention area
and evaporated from there or treated for re-use.
 Nuclear Power Plant

Anuclear power plant(nuclear power station) looks like

a standard thermal power station with one exception.
The heat source in the nuclear power plant is anuclear
reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power
stations the heat is used to generate steam which
drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which
produces electricity.

Steam turbineis a common feature of all thermal

power plants. Steam Turbine was invented in 1884
bySir Charles Parsons, whose first model was
connected to a dynamo that generated 7.5 kW (10 hp)
of electricity. Exceptional feature of the nuclear power
plant is the nuclear reactor and its safety and auxiliary
systems.
Main features of nuclear power plants with PWR-type (Pressurized Water Reactor)
 The nuclear power plant consist of two main buildings:
1) Containment building(houses Nuclear Reactor)
2) Turbine building(houses Turbo Generator)

The containment buildingis the key building ofthe

nuclear island. It is an air-tight building, which houses
anuclear reactorand itspressurizer, reactor coolant
pumps,steam generators, and other equipment or piping
that might otherwise release fission products to the
atmosphere in the event of an accident. Such buildings are
usually made of steel-reinforced concrete.

The turbine building is the key building of theconventional

(turbine) island. The turbine building houses a turbine,
generator, condenser and other equipment, which is used for
conversionthermal energy from pressurized steam to
mechanical work used for drive the generator.

Also a cooling tower is part of the nuclear power plant.

 Components of a nuclearpower plant

Nuclear Reactor.A nuclear reactoris a key device of nuclear

power plants. Main purpose of the nuclear reactor is toinitiate and
control a sustainednuclear chain reaction.
Steam Generators.Steam generators areheat exchangersused
to convert feedwater into steam from heat produced in anuclear
reactor core. They are used inpressurized water reactors(PWR)
between the primary and secondary coolant loops.
Pressurizer.Pressurein the primary circuit is maintained by a
pressurizer, aseparate vesselthat is connected to the primary
circuit (hot leg) and partially filled with water which is heated to
the saturation temperature (boiling point) for the desired pressure
by submerged electrical heaters. Temperature in the pressurizer
can be maintainedat 345 C, which gives asub-cooling
margin(the difference between the pressurizer temperature and
the highest temperature in the reactor core) of 30 C.
ReactorCoolant Pumps.Reactor coolant pumps are used to
pump primary coolant around the primary circuit. These pumps
are powerful, they can consumeup to 6 MW eachand they can be
used for heating the primary coolant before a reactor start-up.
 Steam Turbine.A steam turbine is a device that
extractsthermal energyfrom pressurized steam and
uses it to domechanical workon a rotating output shaft.
Generator.A generator is a device that
convertsmechanical energyof the steam turbine
toelectrical energy.
Condenser.A condenser is aheat exchangerused
tocondensesteam from last stage of turbine.
Condensate-Feedwater System.Condensate-
Feedwater Systems have two major functions.To
supplyadequate high quality water (condensate) to the
steam generator andto heat the water(condensate) to
a temperature close to saturation.
Nuclear power plant
 The layout ofnuclear power plantscomprises two major
parts: The nuclear island and theconventional
(turbine) island.
The nuclear island is the heart of the nuclear power plant. It
is formed bycontainment building, auxiliary building and
fuel handling area.
On the other hand theconventional (turbine)
islandhouses the key component which extracts thermal
energy from pressurized steam and converts it into
electrical energy. This device is calledthe turbine
generator.
 Nuclear Power Reactors
In the middle of the last century an extraordinary variety of
experimental nuclear reactors were built and operated, with
every conceivable type of fuel, moderator and coolant. Gas-
cooled graphite moderated reactors were popular initially,
but very soon the focus shifted to designs moderated by
light water and using enriched uranium.
Many different reactor systems have been proposed and
some of these have been developed to prototype and
commercial scale.

The first self-sustaining nuclear reactor was constructed at Arthur

ComptonsMetallurgical Lab(Met Lab) at the University of Chicago in 1942. Chicago
Pile-1 (CP-1) was designed by Comptons chief engineer, Thomas V. Moore, and
constructed under the west stands of University of Chicagos defunct football
 Nuclear Reactor types
Six types of reactor (Magnox, AGR, PWR, BWR, CANDU
and RBMK) have emerged as the designs used to produce
commercial electricity around the world.
A further reactor type is called fast neutron reactor.
OPERATIONAL
REACTORS

LONG-TERM SHUTDOWN REACTORS

 Currents Status
450 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS IN OPERATION

2 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS IN LONG-TERM

SHUTDOWN
60 NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS UNDER
CONSTRUCTION

Source: www.iaea.org
Several components common to most types
of nuclear reactors:
Fuel. Usually pellets of uranium oxide (UO2)
arranged in tubes to form fuel rods. The rods are
arranged into fuel assemblies in the reactor
core.
Moderator. This is material which slows down
the neutrons released from fission so that they
cause more fission. It is usually water but
maybe be heavy water or graphite.
Control rods. These are made with neutron
absorbing material, such as cadmium, hafnium
or boron, and are inserted or withdrawn from
the core to control the rate of reaction or to halt
it.
 Coolant. A liquid or gas circulating through the core
so as to transfer the heat from it. In light water
reactors the moderator functions also as coolant.
Pressure vessel or pressure tubes. Usually a
robust steel vessel containing the reactor core and
moderator/coolant, but it may be a series of tubes
holding the fuel and conveying the coolant through the
surrounding moderator.
Steam Generator. Part of the cooling system where
the heat from the reactor is used to make stream for
turbine
Containment. The structure around the reactor core
which is designed to protect it from outside intrusion
and to protect those outside from the effects of
radiation in case of any malfunction inside. It is
typically a metre-thick concrete and steel structure.
 Requirements for a Power Reactor
1. In order to control the reaction rate more precisely, a
neutron - absorbing control material is introduced into the
core. The elements boron and cadmium are both suitable
and are inserted into steel control rods which can be
moved in and out of holes in the core of the reactor to
adjust its criticality.
2. Some means must be devised for removing the heat from
the core. In the case of graphite moderated reactors this is
normally done by circulating carbon dioxide gas (C02)
through the core, since CO2 has low neutron absorption.
The hot gas can then be passed through a boiler, also
known as a heat exchanger, to raise steam. ln the case of
a heavy water moderated reactor, the heavy water itself
can be circulated out of the core and through a heat
exchanger to raise steam.
3. The whole reactor must be enclosed in a radiation
absorbing shield made of lead, steel and concrete, to
protect personnel from the very high local levels of
radiation that are generated.
 Gas Cooled, Graphite Moderated
Of the six main commercial reactor types, two (Magnox
and AGR) owe much to the very earliest reactor designs in
that they are graphite moderated and gas cooled.
 Magnox
The Magnox reactor is named after the magnesium
alloy used to encase the fuel, which is natural
uranium metal.
Fuel elements consisting of fuel rods encased in
Magnox cans are loaded into vertical channels in a
core constructed of graphite blocks.
Further vertical channels contain control rods
(strong neutron absorbers) which can be inserted or
withdrawn from the core to adjust the rate of the
fission process and, therefore, the heat output. The
whole assembly is cooled by blowing carbon dioxide
gas past the fuel cans, which are specially designed
to enhance heat transfer.
The hot gas then converts water to steam in a
steam generator. Early designs used a steel
pressure vessel, which was surrounded by a thick
Magnox-Basic Gas-cooled Reactor
 Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors
In order to improve the cost effectiveness of this type
of reactor, it was necessary to go to higher
temperatures to achieve higher thermal efficiencies
and higher power densities to reduce capital costs.

This entailed increases in cooling gas pressure and

changing from Magnox to stainless steel cladding and
from uranium metal to uranium dioxide fuel. This in
turn led to the need for an increase in the proportion of
U235 in the fuel.

The resulting design, known as the Advanced Gas-

Cooled Reactor (AGR) still uses graphite as the
moderator and, as in the later Magnox designs, the
steam generators and gas circulators are placed within
a combined concrete pressure-vessel/radiation-shield.
AGR
Heavy Water Cooled and Moderated-CANDU
The only design of heavy water moderated reactor in
commercial use is the CANDU, designed in Canada
and subsequently exported to several countries.
In the CANDU reactor, un-enriched uranium dioxide is
held in zirconium alloy cans loaded into horizontal
zirconium alloy tubes.
The fuel is cooled by pumping heavy water through
the tubes (under high pressure to prevent boiling) and
then to a steam generator to raise steam from
ordinary water (also known as natural or light water)
in the normal way.
The necessary additional moderation is achieved by
immersing the zirconium alloy tubes in an
unpressurised container (called a callandria)
containing more heavy water. Control is effected by
inserting or withdrawing cadmium rods from the
callandria.
CANDU- Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor
 Water Cooled and Moderated
By moving to greater levels of enrichment of
U235, it is possible to tolerate a greater level of
neutron absorption in the core (that is,
absorption by non-fissile, non-fertile materials)
and thus use ordinary water as both a
moderator and a coolant.

The two commercial reactor types based on this

principle are both American designs, but are
widely used in over 20 countries.

1. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

2. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
The most widely used reactor type in the world is the
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) which uses enriched
(about 3.2% U235) uranium dioxide as a fuel in zirconium alloy
cans.
Also, it is the most popular reactor design for generating
electricity. In the core the uranium undergoes fission so that a
lot of heat is released. The control rods shown regulate the rate
of the reaction, and therefore the heat yield, by absorbing some
of the moving neutrons.
The core is surrounded by water and is enclosed in very thick
steel pressure vessel. The water, under high pressure, serves as
both coolant and moderator. It is circulated to a heat exchanger
(steam generator) where water in a separate circuit is turned
into stream.
All this occurs in a big concrete or steel containment structure.
The steam is fed to a turbine generator , much the same as
those installed in coal-fired power stations. The uranium-fuelled
core of a nuclear power reactor simply takes the place of a
boiler or furnace burning coal to generate the steam.
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
The second type of water cooled and moderated
reactor does away with the steam generator and, by
allowing the water within the reactor circuit to boil, it
raises steam directly for electrical power generation.

This, however, leads to some radioactive

contamination of the steam circuit and turbine, which
then requires shielding of these components in
addition to that surrounding the reactor.

Such reactors, known as Boiling Water Reactors

(BWRs), are in use in some ten countries throughout
the world.
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
 Water Cooled, Graphite Moderated

At about the same time as the British gas cooled,

graphite moderated Magnox design was being
commissioned at Calder Hall in 1956, the
Russians were testing a water cooled, graphite
moderated plant at Obninsk. The design, known
as the RBMK Reactor.

It has been developed and enlarged, and many

reactors of this type have been constructed in the
USSR, including the ill-fated Chernobyl plant.
 RBMK Reactor
The layout consists of a large graphite core
containing some 1700 vertical channels, each
containing enriched uranium dioxide fuel (1.8%
U235).

Heat is removed from the fuel by pumping water

under pressure up through the channels where it is
allowed to boil, to steam drums, thence driving
electrical turbo-generators.

Many of the major components, including pumps and

steam drums, are located within a concrete shield to
protect operators against the radioactivity of the
steam.
RBMK Reactor-Boiling Light Water, Graphite
Moderated Reactor
 Summary of the main thermal reactor types
Coolant
Main Economic
Steam
Spent Fuel and
Moderato Cycle
Fuel Reprocessi Safety
r Efficie
ng Characteristics
Heat Outlet ncy
Press
extracti temp.
ure
on

Carbon
Safety benefit that
dioxide
coolant cannot
Natural gas Typically
undergo a change
uranium metal heated within one
of phase. Also
1.Magn (0.7% U235) by fuel 300 year, for
Graphite 360 C 31 % ability to refuel
ox Magnesium raises psia operational
whilst running
alloy cladding steam in reasons
gives potential for
steam
high availability
generat
or

Same operational
Carbon Can be
and safety
dioxide stored
advantages as
Uranium gas under water
Magnox but with
dioxide heated for tens of
higher operating
2. AGR enriched to Graphite by fuel 600 years, but
650 C 42% temperatures and
2.3% U235 raises psia storage
pressures., leading
Stainless steel steam could be
to reduced capital
cladding in steam longer in
costs and higher
generat dry
steam cycle
or atmosphere
efficiencies
 Summary of the main thermal reactor types
Coolant
Main Economic
Steam
Spent Fuel and
Moderato Cycle
Fuel Heat Outlet Reprocessi Safety
r Press Efficie
extractio temp. ng Characteristics
ure ncy
n

Low construction
Pressurise
costs resulting
d light
from design being
water Can be
amenable to
Uranium pumped stored for
fabrication in
dioxide to steam long periods
factory-built
enriched to generator under water
Light sub-assemblies.
3.2% U235 which 2235 giving
3. PWR Water 317 C 32 % Wealth of
Zirconium raises psia flexibility in
operating
alloy cladding steam in waste
experience now
a managemen
accumulated world
separate t
wide. Off load
circuit
refueling
necessary

Similar
Pressurise
construction cost
d light
advantages to
water
PWR enhanced by
Uranium boiling in
design not
dioxide the
requiring a heat
enriched to pressure As for PWR
4. BWR Light 1050 exchanger, but
2.4% U235 vessel 286 C 32 %
Water psia offset by need for
Zirconium alloy produces
some shielding of
cladding steam
steam circuit and
which
turbine. Off load
directly
refueling
drives a
necessary
turbine
 Summary of the main thermal reactor types

Coolant
Main Economic
Steam
Spent Fuel and
Moderato Cycle
Fuel Reprocessi Safety
r Efficie
ng Characteristics
Heat Outlet ncy
Press
extractio temp.
ure
n

Heavy
water
pumped
at Good operational
Unenriched pressure record but requires
uranium over the infrastructure to
dioxide (0.7% fuel raises As for PWR provide significant
5.CAND Heavy 1285
U235) steam via 305 C 30 % quantities of
U water psia
Zirconium alloy a steam heavy water at
cladding generator reasonable costs
in a
separate
circuit.

Light Information not

water available but
boiled at operated in
Uranium pressure, Information considerable
dioxide steam not numbers in the
1000
6.RBMK enriched to Graphite used to 284 C available 31 % former USSR.
psia
1.8% U235 drive a Believed in the
turbine West to be
directly inherently less
 Fast neutron reactor
Infast neutron reactor thefission chain reactionis sustained byfast
neutrons. That means theneutron moderator(slowing down) in such
reactors is undesirable. This is a key advantage of fast reactors,
because fast reactorshave a significantexcess of neutrons(due to
low parasitic absorbtion), unlikePWRs(or LWRs).
On the other hand such reactorsmust compensate for themissing
reactivityfromneutron moderatorefect. They use fuel withhigher
enrichmentwhen compared to that required for a thermal reactor.
Fast reactors require enrichments about10%, or more.
Generally, fast reactors have to utilize muchmore compact nuclear
coresthan thermal reactors (PWRsorBWRs) in order to reach
required core reactivity. This implies the fast reactor
coresachievehigher power densities.As a consequence,
theycannot usewater as coolant, because ofits moderating
properties and insufficient thermal properties. The solution given this
problemis to use another coolantas liquid sodiumor lead.
Fast reactorfuelmay be metal or a ceramic, encapsulated inmetal
cladding, unlike the PWRs zirconium cladding.Liquid metalsare the
most widely used coolantbecause theyhave excellent heat transfer
properties and can be employed in low pressuresystems.
Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor
 Breeder Reactor

Abreederreactoris essentially a particular configuration of afast

reactor. Fast reactors generally have anexcess of neutrons(due to
low parasitic absorbtion), the neutrons given off byfission
reactionscanbreedmore fuel from otherwise non-fissionable
isotopes or can be used for another purposes. The most common
breeding reaction is an absorbtion reaction onuranium-238, where
aplutonium-239from non-fissionableuranium-238 is produced. A
key parameter ofbreederreactors is abreedingratio, although
thisratiodescribes also thermal reactors fuelcycle.
The term breeder refers to the types of configurations which can
be the breedingratiohigher than 1. That means such reactors
produce more fissionable fuel than they consume (i.e. more
fissionable Pu-239 is produced from non-fissionableuranium-238,
than consumed initial U-235+Pu-239 fuel).
Production of fissile material in areactoroccurs by neutron
irradiation of fertile material, particularlyuranium-
238andthorium-232. These materials are breeded, either in the
fuel or in abreederblanketsurrounding the core.
 The superior neutron economy of a fast neutronreactormakes it
possible to build areactorthat, after its initial fuel charge of
plutonium, requires only natural (or even
depleted)uraniumfeedstock as input to its fuelcycle.
Russian BN-350 liquid-metal-cooledreactorwas operated witha
breedingratioof over 1.2.

-239 breeding. Theuraniumnucleus absorbs neutron, thus leads to Pu-239 bree

Current development-Next Generation(NG)-CANDU

NG CANDU is based on the standard proven CANDU

design. It introduces new features:

Light water reactor coolant system instead of heavy

water
Use of slightly enriched uranium oxide fuel in
bundles rather than natural uranium fuel
Compact reactor core design: core size is reduced
by half for same power output
Extended fuel life with reduced volume of irradiated
fuel
Improved thermal efficiency through higher steam
pressure steam turbines.
 Next Generation(NG)-CANDU
The NG CANDU retains the standard CANDU features of on-
power fuelling, simple fuel design and flexible fuel cycles.
For safety, NG CANDU design includes two totally
independent safety shutdown systems and an inherent
passive emergency fuel cooling capability in which the
moderator absorbs excess heat. The whole of the primary
system and the steam generators are housed in a robust
containment to withstand all internal and external events.
 Nuclear Fission-The Process
Using U-235 in a thermal reactor as an example, when
neutron is captured the total energy is distributed amongst
the 236 nucleons (protons and neutrons) now present in the
compound nucleus. This nucleus is relatively unstable, and
it is likely to break into two fragments of around half the
mass. These fragments are nuclei found around the middle
of the periodic table and the probabilistic nature of the
break-up leads to several hundred possible combinations.
Creation of the fission fragments is followed almost
instantaneously by emission of a number of neutrons
(typically 2 or 3, average 2.5) , which enable the chain
reaction to be sustained.
 About 85% of the energy released is initially the kinetic
energy of the fission fragments. However, in solid fuel they
can only travel a microscopic distance, so their energy
becomes converted into heat. The balance of energy comes
from gamma rays emitted during or immediately following
the fission process and from the kinetic energy of the
neutrons. Some of the latter are immediate (called prompt
neutrons), but a small proportion (0.7% for U-235, 0.2% for
Pu-239) is delayed, as these are associated with the
radioactive decay of certain fission products. The longest
delayed neutron group has a half-life of about 56 seconds.
The fission reaction in U-235 produces fission products such
as Ba, Kr, Sr, Cs, I and Xe, with atomic masses distribute
around 95 and 135. Examples may be given of typical
reaction products, such as:
 In an equation( previous page) the atomic number is
conserved (e.g. 235+1=141+92+3), but a small loss in
atomic mass may be shown to be equivalent to the energy
released. Both the barium and krypton isotopes subsequently
decay and form more stable isotopes of neodymium and
yttrium, with the emission of several electrons from the
nucleus (beta decays). It is the beta decays, with some
associated gamma rays, which make the fission products
highly radioactive. This radioactivity decreases with time.
About 6% of the heat generated in the reactor core originates
from radioactive decay of fission products and transuranic
elements formed by neutron capture, mostly the former. This
must be allowed for when the reactor is shut down, since
heat generation continues after fission stops. It is this decay
which makes spent fuel initially generate heat and hence
need cooling. Even after one year, typical spent fuel
generates about 10 kW of the decay heat per tonne,
decreasing to about 1 kW/t after ten years.
 Neutrons released in fission are initially fast, but
fission in U-235 is most readily caused by slow
neutrons. A moderator material comprising light
atoms thus surrounds the fuel rods in a reactor.
Without absorbing too many, it must slow down the
neutrons in elastic collisions.
In a reactor using natural uranium the only suitable
moderators are graphite and heavy water (these
have low levels of unwanted neutron absorption).
With enriched uranium, ordinary (light) water may
be used as moderator. Water is also commonly used
as a coolant, to remove the heat and generate
steam.
 Neutron capture: Transuranic elements
Neutrons may be captured by non-fissile nuclei, and some
energy is produced by this mechanism in the form of
gamma rays as the compound nucleus de-excites. The
resultant new nucleus may become more stable by emitting
alpha and beta particles. Neutron capture by one of the
uranium isotopes will form what are called transuranic
elements, actinides beyond uranium in the periodic table.
 Neutron capture: Transuranic elements
Since U-238 is the major proportion of the fuel element
material in thermal reactor, capture of neutrons by U-238
and the creation of U-239 is an important process.
U-239 quickly emits a beta particle to become neptium-239.
Np-239 in turn emits a beta particle to become plutonium
-239, which is relatively stable
Some Pu-239 nuclei may capture a neutron to become Pu-
240, which is less stable
By further neutron capture, Pu-240 nuclei may in turn form
Pu-241
Pu-241 also undergoes beta decay to americium-241
The main transuranic constituents of spent fuel are isotopes
of Plutonium, neptunium and americium. These are alpha
emitters and have long half lives, decaying on a similar
timescale to the uranium isotopes
 Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Fuel cycles describe the way in which fuel gets to where it

is used to provide energy and what happens to it
afterwards. The front end of the nuclear fuel cycle covers all
the stages subsequent to removal of used fuel from the
reactor. The back end refers to all stages subsequent to
removal of used fuel from the reactor.
All aspects of obtaining and preparing the fuel, using it, and
managing used fuel together make up what is known as the
nuclear fuel cycle.
 Open fuel cycle

Unlike coal, uranium as mined cannot be fed directly into power

station. It has to be purified, isotopically concentrated and made
up into special fuel rods. Open fuel cycle for nuclear power,
which is the system as it stands today in most countries using
the most common kinds of reactors.
Starting in uranium mines, ore is mined and milled to produce
uranium in the form of uranium oxide concentrate, commonly
known as U3O8. This material, a khaki-colored powder after
drying, is sold to customers and shipped after drying, is sold to
customers and shipped from the mine. It has the same isotopic
ratio as the ore, where U-235 is present to the extent of about
0.7%. Apart from traces of U-234, the rest is a heavier isotope of
uranium U-238.
Most reactors, including the common light water type (LWR),
cannot run on this natural uranium, so the proportion of U-235
must be increased to between 3% and 5%. This process is called
enrichment.
 Enrichment is a fairly high-technology physical process which
requires the uranium to be in form of gas. The simplest way to
achieve this is to convert the uranium oxide to uranium
hexafluoride, which is gas at little more than room
temperature (actually 56C). This form of uranium is commonly
referred to as UF6 or hex. Hence the first destination of
uranium oxide concentrate from a mine is a conversion plant
where it is purified and converted to uranium hexafluoride.
The UF is then fed to an enrichment plant which increases the
proportion of the fissile U-235 isotope about five or six-fold
from the 0.7% of U-235 found in natural uranium. In this
physical process about 85% of the natural uranium feed is
rejected as depleted uranium, or tails(mainly U-238), which
is stockpiled. Thus, after enrichment about 15% of the original
quantity is available as enriched uranium containing about
3.5% or more U-235.
 Enriched uranium then goes on the fuel fabrication plant,
where the reactor fuel elements are made. The UF6 is
converted to UO2, which is formed into small cylindrical
pellets about 2cm long and 1.5cm in diameter. These are
heated to high temperature to form hard ceramic pellets,
and then loaded into zirconium alloy or stainless steel tubes
about 4m long to form fuel rods.

Used fuel is hot and radioactive, when it is removed from

reactor. It is therefore stored under water to remove the
heat and to provide shielding from radiation, pending the
next step which is final disposal for open fuel cycle. Storage
is initially at the reactor site. The used fuel may then be
transferred elsewhere, or to an engineered dry storage
facility.
Open fuel cycle
 Closed fuel cycle

Starting with uranium mines and mills the uranium goes

through conversion, enrichment, and fuel fabrication to the
reactor. But after being removed from the reactor the used fuel
rods are put through a reprocessing plant, where they are
chopped up and dissolved in acid. Various chemical processes
recover and separate the two valuable components: plutonium
and unused uranium. This leaves about 3% of the fuel as
separated high-level waste. After solidification it is reduced to
a small volume of highly radioactive material in solid form
suitable for permanent disposal.
Plutonium comprises about 1% of the spent fuel. It is the
mixture of isotopes and makes a very good nuclear fuel which
needs no enrichment process.
The recovered uranium can go back to be enriched (via
conversion) and then introduced as fresh fuel for a reactor.
 Closed fuel cycle
The closed fuel cycle is more efficient system for making
maximum use of uranium dug out of the ground and that is why the
industry originally favoured this approach.
 Nuclear Wastes
One of the most controversial aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle today
is the question of management and disposal of radioactive
wastes.Radioactive wastes comprise a variety of materials requiring
different types of management to protect people and the environment.
Radioactive wastes are normally classified as low-level, intermediate-
level or high-level wastes, according to the amount and types of
radioactivity in them.
Low-level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well
as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper, rags, tools, clothing,
filtersetc, which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived
radioactivity. It does not require shielding during handling and transport
and is suitable for shallow land burial.
Intermediate-level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity
and some requires shielding. It typically comprises resins, chemical
sludges and metal fuel cladding, as well as contaminated materials
from reactor decommissioning
High-level waste (HLW) arises from the 'burning' of uranium fuel in a
nuclear reactor. HLW contains the fission products and transuranic
elements generated in the reactor core. It is highly radioactive and hot
due to decay heat, so requires cooling and shielding.
 Another factor in managing radioactive wastes is the time that they
are likely to remain hazardous. This depends on the kinds of the
radioactive isotopes in them, and particularly the half-life
characteristic of each of those isotopes.
The half-life is the time it takes for a given radioactive isotope to lose
half of its radioactivity.

The most difficult of wastes are the high-level wastes, and there are
two alternative strategies for managing them:
1) Reprocessing used fuel top separate them (followed by
vitrification and disposal)
2) Direct disposal of the used fuel containing high levels of
radioactivity as waste

o Vitrificationis a proven technique in the disposal and long-term

storage ofnuclear wasteor other hazardouswastesin a method
called geomelting.Wasteis mixed with glass-forming chemicals in a
furnace to form molten glass that then solidifies in canisters, thereby
immobilizing thewaste.
 Three general principles are employed in the management of
radioactive wastes:
o Concentrate-and-contain
o Dilute-and-disperse
o Delay-and-decay

The first two are also used in management of non-radioactive

wastes. The wastes are concentrated and then isolated or very
small quantities are diluted to acceptable levels (often with a
delay to allow decay) and then discharged to the environment.
Delay-and-decay however is unique to radioactive waste
management; it means that the waste is stored and its
radioactivity is allowed to decrease naturally through decay of
the radioisotopes in it. Then it can proceed to disposal.
 Reprocessing used fuel
The principal reason for reprocessing is to recover unused
uranium and plutonium in the discharged fuel elements. A
secondary reason is to reduce the volume and radioactivity of
material to be disposed of as high-level waste.
Reprocessing avoids the waste of a valuable resource because
most of the used fuel (uranium at less than 1% U-235 and a
little plutonium) can be recycled as fresh fuel elements, saving
some 30% of the natural uranium otherwise required.
The uranium and plutonium become MOX fuel, and are a
significant resource. The remaining radioactive high-level
wastes are then converted into compact, stable, insoluble
solids for disposal, which is easier than disposing of the more
bulky used fuel assemblies. In future reprocessing is likely also
to remove the long-lived transuranic elements (to be burned
in reactor), leaving only shorter-lived fission products as the
waste and further simplifying disposal.
 Used fuel assemblies removed from a reactor are very
radioactive and produce heat. They are therefore put into
large tank or ponds of water for cooling, while the three
meters of water over them shields the radiation. Here they
remain, either at the reactor site or at the reprocessing
plants, for a number of the years as the level of the
radioactivity decreases considerably. For the most types of
the fuel, reprocessing occurs about five years after reactor
discharge.
 Reprocessing of used oxide fuel involves dissolving the fuel
elements in nitric acid. Chemical separation of the uranium and
plutonium is then undertaken. The Pu and U can be returned to
the input side of the fuel cycle- the plutonium straight to the fuel
fabrication and the uranium to the conversion plant prior to re-
enrichment, though in fact most is put into long-term storage.
The remaining liquid after Pu and U are removed is high-level
waste, containing about 3.5% of the used fuel. It is highly
radioactive and continues to generate a lot of heat.
After reprocessing, the recovered uranium requires re-
enrichment, so it goes first to a conversion plant. This is
complicated by the presence of the impurities and two new
isotopes in particular, U-232 and U-236, which are formed by
neutron capture in the reactor. Both decay much more rapidly
than U-235 and U-238 , and one of the daughter products of U-
232 emits strong gamma radiation, which means that shielding is
necessary in the enrichment plant. U-236 is a neutron absorber,
which impedes the chain reaction and means that a higher level
of U-235 enrichment is required in the product to compensate.
 Future development of reprocessing is likely to separate
uranium for eventually recycle, and plutonium together
with minor actinides (transuranic elements) for the
immediate recycle, leaving only fission products in the
waste stream. A further development would be then to
separate some, especially longer-lived, fission products for
transmutation.
World commercial reprocessing capacity
Other Nuclear Energy Application
Hydrogen for Transport
Desalination
Ships
 Hydrogen for Transport

Nuclear power already produces electricity as a major

energy carrier. It is well placed, though beyond the
capability of most current plants, to produce hydrogen if
this becomes a major energy carrier also.
The evolution of nuclear energy's role in hydrogen
production over perhaps three decades is seen to be:
1) Electrolysis of water, using off-peak capacity,
2) Use of nuclear heat to assist steam reforming of natural
gas,
3) High-temperature electrolysis of steam, using heat and
electricity from nuclear reactors, then
4) High-temperature thermochemical production using
nuclear heat.
Desalination: Nuclear Experience
Nuclear energy is already being used for desalination,
and has the potential for much greater use.

The BN-350 fast reactor at Aktau, Kazakhstan,

successfully produced up to 135 MWe of electricity and
80.000 m3/day of potable water over some 27 years,
with about 60% of its power being used for heat and
desalination. Although the plant was designed as I 000
MWt, it never operated at more than 750 MWt; however.
it established the feasibility and reliability of such
cogeneration ants. (In fact. oil/gas boilers were used in
conjunction with it. and total desalination capacity
through ten MED units was 120,000 m3/day.)
 Nuclear-Powered Ships

Nuclear power is particularly suitable for vessels which

need to be at sea for long periods without refuelling,
or for powerful submarine propulsion.
Over 140 ships are powered by more than 180 small
nuclear reactors and more than 12,000 reactor years
of marine operation has been accumulated.
Most are submarines, but they range from icebreakers
to aircraft carriers.
In future, constraints on fossil fuel use in transport
may bring marine nuclear propulsion into more
widespread use. So far, exaggerated fears about
safety have caused political restriction on port access.
 Impact of Nuclear Power Plants

The use of nuclear power as a source of domestic energy

has increased significantly over the past decade and is
expected to continue to do so in the years to come.
However, the use of this form of energy does not come
without a unique set of consequences. These can range
from environmental impact, altering to a great extent the
balance in the flora and fauna of a region, to causing social
problems to do with social consensus and risk perceptions
of people living in the vicinity of such a plant.
 1)Heat Rejection

As is with the case of thermal power plants (based on fossil

fuels), nuclear power plants require some means by which
they can expel heat as part of their condenser system. The
amount of heat varies from the different components used
in the plant but on an average about 60 to 70% of thermal
energy from the nuclear fuel is rejected out of the plant.
Some plants use cooling towers while some use a large
body of water, such as an artificial lake or a natural body of
water such as a lake or a river. It also adversely affects the
aquatic life of the ecosystem into which heat is rejected. In
some cases, the heat rejected into water bodies can cause
fluctuations in flow rates of rivers and anomalies in sea
level.
 2)Gaseous emissions

The gaseous emissions from a nuclear power plant can be of

different forms and intensities. Nuclear power plants use diesel
generators as a means for back-up electric power in case of
emergencies. Most are also required to run and test these systems
once every month to ensure their working. As such, they release
greenhouses gases into the atmosphere. These gases primarily
consist of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and
sulfur dioxides. Apart from greenhouse gases, exhaust gases from
buildings containing radioactive processes is radioactive in nature.
In addition, in plants with boiling water reactors, the air ejector
exhaust is radioactive as well. Such exhausts are passed through
delay pipes, storage tanks and hydrogen recombines before
release into the environment to ensure that radiation levels are in
accordance to regulations. Radioactive exhaust from nuclear
power plants is also known to cause skin problems of several
kinds.
 3)Environmental Impact

Perhaps the impact which is easiest to notice is the effect on

the environment, particularly in terms of flora and fauna. To
start with, the setting up of a nuclear plant requires a large
area, preferably situated near a natural water body. This is
usually accompanied with clearing of forests which disturbs
the natural habitat of several creatures and gradually upsets
the ecological balance of the region. Apart from this, studies
have shown that due to the heat rejected into the water
bodies, there have been significant drops in the populations of
several species of fish in certain regions of US. Another
significant effect is the increased amount of sulfur dioxide in
the air which causes acid rain to form which then leads to
contamination of surface water bodies of the region, reduction
of productivity of the soil, and has several other negative
effects on the region's vegetation and human health.
 4)Social Impact

Setting up a nuclear power plant in any region does

not come without concerns and criticism from a wide
variety of people. People in such regions fear the
threat of being exposed to unusual levels of radiation.
The natural water sources in such places are also
doubted to contain plant emissions especially if the
plant uses the body of water as a heat sink.
 References

Ian Hore-Lacy, Nuclear Energy in the 21st century

www.nuclear-power.net
www.theiet.org
www.world-nuclear.org
www.iaea.org