ATOMS FOR PEACE

The Beneficial Use of Fire

Engr. Roberto A. Lozada, MIEAust.,NZIME, PME

Registered ASEAN Engineer
 ATOMS FOR PEACE - PHILIPPINES

“ To the making of these fateful decisions, the

United States pledges before you – and therefore
before the world – its determination to help solve the
fearful atomic dilemma – to devote its entire heart and
mind to find the way by which the miraculous
inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his
death, but consecrated to his life”

- U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was direct result of this

intention.
 ATOMS FOR PEACE - PHILIPPINES
The Philippines committed itself to the peaceful use
of atomic energy as early as 1955, during the time of
President Ramon Magsaysay. On July 27, 1955, the
Philippines signed an agreement with the United States
under the “Atoms for Peace” program.
On October 26, 1956, 82 nations, including the
Philippines, met in the UN offices in Geneva, Switzerland,
and established the International Atomic energy Agency
(IAEA). The main objectives of the agency are the
encouragement of the development and practical
application of atomic energy for peaceful purposes
including the production of electric power, with due
considerations for the needs of the underdeveloped areas
of the world.
 ATOMS FOR PEACE - PHILIPPINES
In 1958, RA 2067, known as the “Philippine
Science Act of 1958”, was signed into law, creating
Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).
In the years that followed, the Philippines, in
cooperation with the US, and other international
agencies, began feasibility studies on the project.
In February 1976, the contract for the construction
of the first Philippine nuclear power plant was signed.
By 1984, the BNPP was on-lined and set to deliver
620 MW electricity to the island of Luzon.
In 1986, the BNPP and the Philippines’ nuclear
power programs were shut down.
 ATOMS FOR PEACE - PHILIPPINES
The Atoms for Peace Philippines seeks to revive the
programs for nuclear energy of the developing world as
envisioned by the United States in the 1950s
It is the mission of this organization to provide the
necessary intellectual and moral instigation to revive the
shelved nuclear development programs, in order to allow
each Filipino to enjoy the fruitful benefits of cheap, reliable,
and long-term power generation.
It is hoped that through nuclear research and
development providing electricity to power its development
projects, the Philippines may one day truly realize its
dreams of true progress.

Atoms For Peace Philippines

The Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers
supports the operation of the Bataan Nuclear Power
Plant.
For the following reasons:
a. It reduces Carbon Dioxide Emission that
cause Global Warming. The 620 MW in Bataan if
operated saves 3,900,000 liters of Bunker fuel per
day. This will save mother nature from global warming.
b. The cost of electricity generated by the
Bataan 620 Mw Power plant is only about 2.2
Peso/kwhr. This will greatly reduce our energy bills.
c. We need additional power plant by 2012.. If this
is not operated, we will be experiencing again series of
blackouts.
 d. In modern Nuclear Power Plants, The
Nuclear Power is produced by controlled ( non-
explosive ) nuclear reactions. Its now a safe source
of energy.. In 2009 14% ( or about 439 Nuclear
power plants. 20% of electricity in US, 80% of
electricity in France and 56% of electricity in Japan
is coming from Nuclear power Plants ) of worlds
electricity came from Nuclear.
e. In Modern Nuclear Power Plant Safety is
of its primary design. The nuclear chain reaction
can now be controlled by using neutron poisons
and neutron moderators to change the portion of
neutrons that will go on to cause more fissions.
Nuclear reactors now have generally automatic
and manual systems to shut the fission reaction
down if unsafe conditions are detected.
 The Chernobyl accident was caused by the
problematic RBMK design design use only by Soviet
Union, for example lacking of Rubost containment
buildings.. This will never happen in our Bataan
Nuclear Power Plant because its properly design by
US Engineers and will be operated by well trained
PSME P-Noy engineers.

There is really no danger operating the Bataan

Nuclear Power Plant

Engr. Roberto A. Lozada

Fellow – Mechanical Engineering
PSME National President.2002
Professional Mechanical Engineer
Bert,

This is a very informative primer on nuclear power plants.

Very good.

Actually, sometime during the Cory Administration, the

PSME was requested to render an opinion about the safety
of the Bataan plant. A committee was formed and was
headed by the late Engr. Tony Herrera, Sr. and I was one
of the members. We inspected the plant. We made a report
and expressed our opinion that the plant was safe and
made a recommendation that it be operated. We were not
heard. A decision, which I believe was more political in
nature, was made to mothball the plant.

Larry
Engr. Larry Punsalan - PME
Nuclear Fission
 Thermal Power Plant

Fuel for Breeder Reactor:

Natural Uranium – 50, 000 KWh/1kg of fuel
Low-enriched Uranium – 250,000 KWh/1kg of fuel
Uranium with Reprocessing – 3,500,000 KWh/1kg of fuel
Plutonium with Reprocessing – 5,000,000 KWh/1kg of fuel
 Thermal Power Plant

Fuel:
Hardwood – 1 KWh/1kg of fuel
Natural gas – 6 KWh/1kg of fuel
Coal – 3 KWh/1kg of fuel
Heavy oil – 4 KWh/1kg of fuel
Thermal Power Plant

Breeder Reactor
 Thermal Power Plant

Components of a nuclear reactor

There are several components common to most types

of reactors:
- Fuel - Coolant
- Moderator - Steam generator
- Control rods - Containment
Fuel Rod. Usually pellets of uranium oxide (UO 2) arranged
in tubes to form fuel rods. The rods are arranged into fuel
assemblies in the reactor core.*
* In a new reactor with new fuel a neutron source is needed to get the
reaction going. Usually this is beryllium mixed with polonium, radium or
other alpha-emitter. Alpha particles from the decay cause a release of
neutrons from the beryllium as it turns to carbon-12. Restarting a
reactor with some used fuel may not require this, as there may be
enough neutrons to achieve criticality when control rods are removed.
 Thermal Power Plant

Moderator. This is material in the core which slows down

the neutrons released from fission so that they cause more
fission. It is usually water, but may be heavy water or
graphite.
 Thermal Power Plant

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.
 Thermal Power Plant

Coolant. A liquid or gas circulating through the core so as to

transfer the heat from it. In light water reactors the water
moderator functions also as primary coolant. Except in BWRs,
there is secondary coolant circuit where steam is made.
 Thermal Power Plant

Steam generator. (not in BWR) Part of the cooling system

where the primary coolant bringing heat from the reactor is
used to make steam for the turbine. Reactors may have up
to four “loops”, each with a steam generator.
 Thermal Power Plant

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 meter-thick concrete and
steel structure.
 Thermal Power Plant

Safety Containments in a Nuclear Reactor

Because the fission process is radioactive, several

barriers are built into every plant to protect against the
release of radioactivity.
 Thermal Power Plant

Containment 1. The uranium is formed into ceramic

pellets which seal in the radioactive material.
Containment 2. The fuel pellets are packed into zirconium
rods which act as a barrier against the release of fission
products.
 Thermal Power Plant

Containment 3. The core, where the fission process

occurs, is located I a shielded, 400-ton steel reactor
vessel approximately eight inches thick.
Containment 4. The reactor is housed in the containment,
which is an airtight building typically made of steel-
reinforced concrete approximately three feet thick.
 Thermal Power Plant

Containment 5. The primary side piping and components

form a sealed pressure boundary that prevent the release
of radioactive materials.
Electricity from Nuclear Power
Our world must have an abundant and available
source of electricity to prosper and grow. Nuclear energy
can help to provide the electricity we need today and
tomorrow in a safe, environmentally friendly manner.

Environmental Safety
Nuclear energy has perhaps the lower impact on the
environment, especially in relation to kilowatts produced,
because nuclear plants do not emit harmful gases and
require a relatively small area for production. There are no
significant adverse effects to water, land, habitat, species and
air resources.
Emissions-Free Energy

Nuclear energy is an emission-free energy source because it

does not burn anything to produce electricity. Nuclear power plants
produce no gases such as nitrogen oxide or sulfur dioxide that
could threaten our atmosphere. It also does not produce carbon
dioxide or other greenhouse gases that may cause global warming.
What are advantages of nuclear energy?

Fissile atoms contain vast amounts of energy

Nuclear fission, the splitting of a heavy atom’s nucleus,

releases great amount of energy. For example the energy it
releases is 10 million times greater than is released by the
burning of an atom of fossil fuels. Besides it would take
many hectares of land covered with solar collectors, wind
farms or hydro-electric dams to equal this power.
What are advantages of nuclear energy?

No greenhouse gases are released by nuclear power plants

According to some, even when accounting for the fossil

fuel used in mining uranium, processing it, building and
decommissioning of the nuclear plant, the picture remains
good from this perspective. Less than one hundredth of
carbon dioxide gas is produced by nuclear power plants
compared to coal or gas-fired energy plants. This means
nuclear energy also emits less greenhouse gas than
renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, solar and
biomass. Of course, others have contrary views to these
claims about the advantages of nuclear energy.
What are advantages of nuclear energy?
Cost

The major costing in building nuclear power plants

are usually those of construction and operating the
nuclear plant as well as that of waste disposal and cost of
decommissioning the plant. The end product, useable
energy has been estimated to be around 3 – 5 cents (US)
per KiloWatt-Hour. However, there are many variables,
including type of reactor, cost-over runs in construction
and decommissioning, and loan interest rates.

In the America nuclear power industry the cost of producing electricity

has fallen from 3.63 cents per KW-hr in 1978 to 1.68 cents per KW-hr in
2004
What are advantages of nuclear energy?
Availability of Uranium

Uranium is obtained from open-cut mines and is not

expensive to mine. World reserves are estimated to last
anywhere between 6 to 150 years, to even hundred of
centuries, depending on who is the commentator, and
depending on the type of reactor they have in mind.

Present reactors only use some 1% of energy

available in uranium but in future fast breeder reactors
could recycle spent fuel rods at a 99% efficiency rates. The
potency and quantity of radio active waste material from
such reactors is much less than that of current thermal
reactors.
What are advantages of nuclear energy?
Availability of Uranium

In the US alone, with just under a third of nuclear

reactors worldwide there are 43,000 metric tons of
accumulated nuclear waste stored at reactor sites. This is
useable fuel for fast breeders but their construction however
is at least 15 years off. These are some of the advantages of
nuclear energy, but of course, apart from the first advantage,
they are contested.

Other advantages include:

• Nuclear fuel is inexpensive

• Waste is highly compact, unlike carbon dioxide

• The compact fuel is easy to transport
Major challenges of nuclear energy include,
Nuclear radiation accidents

Although only ever one serious nuclear accident has

occurred, in Chernobyl in 1986, such an accident affects
many thousands of people, livestock and agricultural
production over a large geographical area. In the case of
Chernobyl in the Ukraine, nuclear fall-out reached as far as
areas of the UK.

Supposedly poor reactor design at Chernobyl allowed

the emission of radioactivity and this has not been repeated
elsewhere. However one accident is too many.
Major challenges of nuclear energy include,
Nuclear weapons proliferation

It is not easy to handle the highly toxic plutonium

that is needed to produce a nuclear bomb. So, for
terrorists this is high impossible. Constructing a ‘dirty’
nuclear bomb for instance is much easier.

However some governments of nuclear states

may now or in the future be regarded as terrorist in their
willingness to use nuclear weapons or sell uranium to
states that have not signed the international proliferation
treaty.
 Table 1. Nuclear power plants in commercial operation

Reactor type Main Countries Number GWe Fuel Coolant Moderator

Pressurized Water Reactor US, France, Japan, 265 251.6 Enriched UO2 Water Water
(PWR) Russia, China
Boiling Water Reactor US, Japan, 94 86.4 Enriched UO2 Water Water
(BWR) Sweden
Pressurized Heavy Water Canada 44 24.3 natural UO2 Heavy Heavy
Reactor ‘CANDU’ (PHWR) water water
Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR UK 18 10.8 Natural U CO2 Graphite
& Magnox) (metal)
Enriched UO2
Light Water Graphite Russia 12 12.3 Enriched UO2 Water Graphite
Reactor (RBMK)
Fast Neutron Reactor Japan, Russia 2 1.0 PuO2 and UO2 Liquid None
(FBR) sodium
Other Russia 4 0.05 Enriched UO2 Water Graphite
TOTAL 439 386.5
GWe = capacity in thousands of megawatts (gross)
Source: Nuclear Engineering International Handbook 2010
For reactors under construction: see paper Plans for New Reactors Worldwide.
Table 2. Nuclear Units Under Construction Worldwide

Country Units Total MWe

Argentina 1 692
Bulgaria 2 1,906
China 5 4,220
China, Taiwan 2 2,600
Finland 1 1,600
India 6 2,910
Iran 1 915
Japan 1 866
Pakistan 1 300
Romania 1 655
Russia 7 4,585
S. Korea 1 960
Ukraine 2 1,900

Total 31 24,109
Source: International Atomic Energy Agency PRIS database

Updated: 5/07/07 by Nuclear Energy Institute

Table 3. Comparison of Accident Statistics in Energy Production

Immediate Facilities Normalized to Death

Fuel Who?
1970 - 1992 Per TWy electricity

Coal 6400* Workers 342

Workers
Natural Gas 1200 85
and Public
Hydro 4000 Public 883

Nuclear 31 Workers 8
 Fellow Mechanical Engineers

Join and Support Us!

In seeking back the nuclear development
program and the operation of the Bataan Nuclear
Power Plant in order to allow each Filipino to
enjoy the fruitful benefits of cheap, reliable, and
long-term power generation and to prevent Global
Warming that destroys Mother Nature.

Thank you!