Essay - Nuclear Power

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE ( HONS ) IN ARCHITECTURE

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABLE DESIGN NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY

NUCLEAR POWER

TEAM MEMBERS: 1) JOSHUA LEE YEE KAI 2) KAN JIA WEI ADRIAN 3) KIMBERLY WONG JIN SIEW LECTURER: MS. SALVI

CONTENTS

TOPIC

PAGE

Cover

1

Contents

2

Introduction to Nuclear energy

3

The Benefits of Nuclear Energy

4

Current Trends and Issues of NonRenewable Energy and Nuclear in Malaysia

5-6

Issues And Problems

7

Solutions From Issues of Nuclear

8

Summary and Conclusion

9

References

10

INTRODUCTION Energy is one of the basic needs to get work done. Everything in relation to productivity and work requires some form of energy usage. Wether it’s cooking, transportation, electricity usage or manufacturing, some form of energy is needed to be consumed. Energies like these can be categorised into two sections, which are renewable and non-renewable energy. Forms and examples of renewable energy include solar, wind and geothermal, all under a banner that encompasses energy forms that are available and are able to be reproduced after usage. Non-renewable energy consists of items such as fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Today, a massive 85% use of energy in the world belongs to the nonrenewable sector.

The idea of using subatomic particles with highly dense energy to power our gridlines, cities and lives has long been envisioned by powerful minds across centuries of age. Ancient masters such as the ever famous Greek and Roman civilisations long for long term energy that would power their cities without fail. Some dabbled with the wind, while others tried harnessing sunlight or rain formed energy. Ultimately, these things worked great but proved to be an issue in the long term. The discovery of Uranium in the 18th century however, sought to change the landscape of energy consumption forever.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century the world began a revolution. Famously known as the industrial revolution, this era has seen man transform civilisation from a crop based society into a manufacturing powerhouse, building factories and shifting people’s attention to work in these areas that would ultimately give birth to many major cities we have today.

This came at a time too soon for nuclear use however, as understanding of how nuclear worked was still in it’s infancy and could not be regarded more than a small lab project by scientists of that era. This lead to the use of coal and fossil fuels as the main driving source behind the industrial revolution, with transportation and consumption all being made to cater for this energy. This would lead to the perception we have of 18 and 19 century industrial revolution Europe we have today, cold dark days filed with dirt and soot all over the air and landscape.

As the world entered the 20th century with wars ravaging the world, labs and scientists began the accelerated study of nuclear energy and had a breakthrough. Besides being a potent and devastating weapon of mass destruction, it has been deduced, according from an article by the World Nuclear Association (n.d.) Retrieved June 3, 2015 , that nuclear has been deduced as a viable form or electrical energy generation. Furthermore, the natural growth rate of plants may be accelerated through ionising radiation, which in turn will increase crop yield. This was a huge breakthrough as it had the capacity to essentially wipe out hunger and famine.

The following above is an introduction to nuclear energy and energy in general. In this reflective and research essay, we will be looking more specifically on nuclear energy, its application in today’s world, it’s benefits and many more factors and associates and how it will ultimately reflect the energy back to the nature and us.

THE BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY In an article written by Bruno Comby (n.d.) Retrieved 28 May 2015, nuclear power is specifically stated as “ clean, safe, reliable, compact, competitive and practically inexhaustible. This statement has been proven throughout the past decades and by scientists worldwide, which confidence seen by governments of the world as well as the article also states that currently, around 400 nuclear reactors are tasked to generate power in just 30 countries. With reference to the article, the author furthermore explicitly mentions that nuclear energy is clean as is produces no carbon dioxide as its waste material. This is in stark contrast to the use of fossil fuels, where factories are seen lumping out black smoke containing poisonous gasses that could be seen miles and miles away. Nuclear power is also proven to be very reliable. Contrary to popular belief, nuclear energy is very stable when controlled in an environment such as a power plant and has seen prolong usage and even more so compared to regular fossil power plants as stated from the article.

To provide an example to the points mentioned above, an example of the generation of nuclear energy using The United States of America and its benefits through information sources from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is used.

Throughout the 5 years that the data was used, the country of example has generated a constant amount of nuclear energy, an amount which, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, is 400% more than it was in 1971. However, as we will see from the data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States below, carbon emissions in relation to the past have seen a steady decline as nuclear energy is slowly replacing conventional energy sources such as fossil fuels.

In this data chart, carbon emissions have seen a steady decline in the period relating to the first chart above. One of the major players in reducing this carbon emission has been down to the downscaling of fossil fuel use in relation to the more increased usage and reliance of nuclear power.

With that being said, the benefits that are available do not only relate to lower carbon emissions and the environment. As stated in the article by Bruno Comby, nuclear energy is also more efficient, more safe, and virtually inexhaustible. 

CURRENT TRENDS IN MALAYSIA According to the Malaysian Energy Information Hub, at present Malaysia relies heavily on non-renewable energy sources for power generation. From the chart below sources from their database, in the years 2008-2013 ( the latest available ), natural gas is the primary source of energy followed by crude oil and coal. This represents a huge issue for Malaysia.

Analysing the chart provided, non-renewable energy currently dominates the energy usage in this country, while more viable options such as hydropower and biodiesel form a rather meagre sum in comparison with the other major players. Nuclear energy is not even in the equation, with Malaysia currently not equipped or not having an available plant to generate energy from.

The implications of continuous reliance on energy such as these are clear. Over time the environment will suffer and strain with prolong use of coal gas and oil, with temperatures increasing and biodiversity in Malaysia being affected greatly. The Natural Resources Defence Council states with great stress that in the future, if nothing is to be done now, wildlife of many species and types will go extinct and sea levels will rise due to the melting of ice caps that will in turn result in the increase of sea levels. Malaysia would not stand to exist as a country teeming with life and lush jungles filled with many species if this trend continues.

MALAYSIA ENERGY RESERVES CRUDE OIL

15 YEARS

COAL

1 938.4 ( MILLION TONNES )

NATURAL GAS

98.32 ( TSCF )

Above are datas concerning the reserve levels of Malaysia’s three main energy consumption materials, oil, coal and natural gas. Sourced from the Malaysian Energy Information Hub and an article from Business Insider, the reserves show the standing of Malaysia’s energy reserves and how long it may last before everything is completely used up. Crude oil is at the most danger of being finished in the short term, with 15 years remaining in reserves across Malaysia. This means that, as the primary energy use in our country, Malaysia needs to find viable alternatives besides the growing environmental issue as well. Not implementing a good replacement would mean a reliance on other countries for energy which in turn will increase our expenditure ten fold ( expression rathe than actual number ) and creating a standstill in Malaysian economy.

Coal and natural gas reserves are healthy, with projections stated to last at least a few more decades before it starts to worry users. However, even though reserves may seem healthy and in abundance, the issue of containing the pollution levels because of these energy types consumption has to be reduced massively.

Returning to the topic of nuclear energy, although currently not readily available as a power plant, Malaysia has long envisioned and implemented plans to construct nuclear power plants to power Malaysia. Even more so to back up these ideas that the government has a nuclear division already in place, known as Malaysia Nuclear Agency. Furthermore, a main office dedicated to this agency with full-time workers further supplement the government’s idea of and visions of nuclear energy in Malaysia.

In 2010, it has been announced that Malaysia aims to have a nuclear power plant ready for production by 2021. As recent as February 2015, in a news article released by The Malaysian Insider, the Consumers Association of Penang ( CAP ) are more than likely to build a nuclear plant in their own state, despite the expected impending disapproval and backlash from citizens.

From the examples given above, it is clear that, while the governments , wether federal or the smaller state governments, have plans to conduct and implement nuclear energy into Malaysia, it is clear from the reaction and response of the public that more education and awareness has to be brought out to the Malaysian public before acceptance and even encouragement is given for this project.

Malaysia may want to move fast to raise awareness and to implement nuclear energy usage as soon as possible with the growing global calls to reduce emissions and reliance on fossil fuels and coals that are so deadly to the earth.

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS Throughout the wide implementation of nuclear energy usage around the world in the past century, many issues and problems have risen and occurred. In an online article published by Greenpeace UK, some of the issues which are related to the use of nuclear energy, such as energy security, safety, cost and society perception have already been faced and dealt with by many countries that are known to be nuclear powerhouses today. These issues are known to be constant regardless of region and climate, which would mean that any sort of nuclear development in the future conducted by Malaysia will face similar issues as well.

In fact, some of these problems have already been seen and conducted in Malaysia, such as the Lynas controversy and debate that still rages on today. Lynas is the name of the company that has been granted licensing by the Malaysian government to conduct future nuclear programmes in Malaysia. The public, fearing safety and energy security compromises, responded with backlash, with protests being conducted on a nationwide scale. The severity of the backlash resulted even in the creation of a dedicated website as a campaign to stop Lynas. Currently the issue is still on going in Malaysia as there have been no further plans by the government to advance with their nuclear ambitions.

Many countries around the world have faced adversity through nuclear usage of some sort in the many decades of implementation as well. As stated above from the source Greenpeace UK, many of these issues have been related to safety, cost and energy security. To provide a clearer explanation, the chart below shows the major nuclear incidents that have happened around the world. Sourced from Wikipedia as a secondary reference with the former getting the information from reputable sources such as the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and journals written by Arthur H. Purcell ( 2005 ), these incidents show a pattern in which why incidents like this occur and how it has or may have been prevented from happening again in the future.

DATE

LOCATION

TYPE

INES LEVEL

SEPTEMBER 29 1957

MAYAK, RUSSIA

CONTAMINATION

6

OCTOBER 10 1957

CUMBERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

ACCIDENT

5

JANUARY 3 1961

IDAHO, UNITED STATES

EXPLOSION

4

JANUARY 21 1969

VAUD, SWITZERLAND

ACCIDENT

4

MARCH 28 1979

PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

ACCIDENT

5

APRIL 26 1986

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE

OVERHEATING AND CONTAMINATION

7

MARCH 11 2011

FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN

NATURAL DISASTER

7

The INES ( international nuclear event scale ) represents the severity of the incident, with 7 being the highest in the scale. From the source above, six of the seven incidents are deduced to be energy security compromises. The exception being in Japan, where in 2011 a tsunami was the cause of destruction to the nuclear plant. With the incidents also come the cost of repairing damage and also the safety of workers to clean the exposed radioactive materials.

All these problems represent the major issues and problems that have been faced in the past and would most certainly be in the future as well, with many other (inexperienced) countries, including Malaysia, seeking to implement nuclear power in their countries within the next decade. Issues that are, constantly being retold again and again from organisations such as the source Greenpeace UK.

 

SOLUTIONS From the issues that have been mentioned the page before, now come the solutions that have been conducted to cure of rid the problem that has surfaced. Gavett G. ( 2012 ) implied that, among the many important things that need to be done to clear up a nuclear disaster include forming and exclusion zone, stabilising the nuclear reactors and properly storing the nuclear material in a correct manner while rehabilitation is being conducted. As an example, Japan and its Fukushima disaster of 2011 will be used to strengthen the statement above.

In this image sourced from the website Truck Camper Journeys, shows the exclusion zone that has been cordoned off by the Japanese government hours after the breach in Fukushima. A 10KM radial evacuation zone is implemented, followed by a 20KM less intense evacuation zone and 30KM no fly zone.

The large scale of the exclusion zone shows how severe a nuclear disaster may affect its immediate area. Following the evacuation process of hundreds of thousands of citizens, nuclear radiation experts began the cleanup process under high levels of safety and guidance, as per Gavett’s article. It is estimated in Gavett’s article that total clean-up and decommisioning of the plant would take around 30-40 years.

Ultimately, Japan’s handling of the nuclear crisis is a very good example to be used as there have been no major further accidents or reports in the four years that have passed since the event.

To provide a good example of a country that Malaysia could follow suit in nuclear management would be to look no further than our northern neighbours, Thailand. As it stands, Thailand is also on the same position as Malaysia when it comes to nuclear implementation in their own country, with currently only plans and drafting to implement the energy in the near future. What has been exemplary of the Thai nation is the measures and lessons that have been implemented after the Japan disaster. Citing sources from Thai news agencies Bangkok Post and Nation Multimedia, following the Fukushima disaster the Thai government reviewed its plans for nuclear establishment. Emergency measures on nuclear power plants, and potential terrorist targets have also been instructed to be looked more upon, further improving their credentials of nuclear implementation in the country.

On the point mentioned from Thailand, Malaysia could really benefit from following the measures and precautions taken as the Fukushima disaster serves as a wake up call to many countries that are due to handle nuclear energy soon, showing that while nuclear has been used for a ver long time, when it goes wrong it still goes spectacularly wrong.

As a result of proper planning and management seen in the Thailand and Japanese nations, implementation and acceptance of nuclear power from citizens in these countries may have risen dramatically as it is shown that, in an event of disaster the government and more importantly the nation are more than well equipped to handle the situation effectively without compromising the situation further.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Nuclear can come in various forms which can be very harmful or very useful to living things. Thus harmful nuclear waste will be disposed to where they will be distance from humans. Countries which implemented this method for many years of practices are countries which are famous to have used large number of nuclear power plants such as the United States.

Therefore if countries such as Malaysia are to implement nuclear reactors to the country, high risk should be considered to hire such as experts of the nuclear field to be prepared at any time to provide immediate action whereas implementing good enough technology to be able to transport the disposed radioactive substances with great care.

The main objective of safety for the people and environment radioactive substances as also concluded with the World Nuclear Association. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2015. the nuclear waste must be in deep permanent burial underground to decrease risk as radioactive waste compromise 1 percent of industrial waste. As such method in diagram A below is essential that the scientist or experts must locate specific locations to sparse the burial of radioactive waste where will be away from the living environment. To the next diagram B are the procedure taken before and after the nuclear waste are transported and to be buried.

When the nuclear isotopes are unable to produce electricity anymore, they turned into highlevel energy waste, thus they wait five to ten years to cooled down before they are to be transported and disposed to the burial site. This method is an example how it has been implemented in the United States for their method of disposing nuclear waste.

In conclusion,  nuclear energy is a very powerful source of energy that can impact and cause drastic changes in the country such as the country’s economy, medical facilities, produce energy sources like electricity and much, much more. Furthermore, that which also depends on the right hands where this powerful weapon will be placed, that will change the whole society such as the case of the Soviet Union where nuclear is used create bombs which made the country one of the most dangerous zones in the world.

To which nuclear has placed such great risk to our lives, countries such Malaysia that has not played a role in it should go into deeper consideration if it is to allow such a dangerous source to the country such as nuclear as it takes a longer time to decay, thus it is very risky to dispose them. We will never know how unpredictable will the future holds for us after the implementation of nuclear, but we can ensure that the energy can and should be dealt with accordingly through proper implementation of measures and learning from incidents that have already occurred in the past.

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