Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

Fuel assembliesDecommissioningof reactorReactorEnrichment UF 6Conversion ofU 3 O 8 to UF 6Fuel fabrication(conversion of enrichedUF to UO 6 2 and fabricationof fuel assemblies)Uranium-235 as UF 6Plutonium-239 as PuO 2Spent fuelreprocessingTemporary storageof spent fuel assembliesunderwater or in dry casksLow level radiationwith long half-lifeGeologic disposalof moderateandhigh-levelradioactive wastesFigure 17-24 The nuclear fuel cycle.Open fuel cycle todayProspective “closed” end fuel cycleIn the open nuclear fuel cycle (solid lines, Figure17-24) the isotopes are not removed by reprocessingthe nuclear wastes and are eventually buried inan underground disposal facility. These wastes mustbe stored safely for about 240,000 years—severaltimes longer than the latest version of our species hasbeen around.In evaluating the safety, economic feasibility, and overallenvironmental impact of nuclear power, energy expertsand economists caution us to look at this entire cycle, notjust the nuclear plant itself.How Did We Get into Nuclear Powerand How Successful Has It Been? A FadedDreamAfter more than 50 years of development and enormousgovernment subsidies, nuclear power has notlived up to its promise.U.S. utility companies began developing nuclear powerplants in the late 1950s for three reasons. First, theAtomic Energy Commission (which had the conflictingroles of promoting and regulating nuclear power)promised utility executives that nuclear power wouldproduce electricity at a much lower cost than coaland other alternatives. Indeed, President Dwight D.Eisenhower declared in a 1953 speech that nuclearpower would be “too cheap to meter.”Second, the government (taxpayers) paid aboutone-fourth of the cost of building the first group of commercialreactors and guaranteed there would be no costoverruns. Third, after insurance companies refusedto insure nuclear power, Congress passed the Price–Anderson Act to protect the U.S. nuclear industry andutilities from significant liability in case of accidents. *In the 1950s, researchers projected that by the year2000 at least 1,800 nuclear power plants would supply21% of the world’s commercial energy (25% in theUnited States) and most of the world’s electricity.*This act limits the nuclear industry’s liability for any accident to$9.5 billion. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,a worst-case accident would cause more than $300 billionin damages.368 CHAPTER 17 Nonrenewable Energy Resources