Nuclear Power

1. Positive environmental

Proffers habitat security from reduced fossil dependence

The tightness of the nuclear industry proffers a wetland or other habitat, ecological

value if placed upon its site remarkable protection. Nuclear energy also offers

respite to the habitats that contain fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy is covered by a number of Directives and Acts such as Nuclear

Installations Act 1965 (S. 1 for licensing) and has guiding interactions from other

legislation and Bodies that is not limited to Figure 1. A Project Assessment Report

illustrates that health and safety is the priority but there is no mention of species

management, though the author notes this could be on other project reports.

Project Report: http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/pars/2012/oldbury-2.pdf

Licence Condition Handbook by Office for Nuclear Regulation, an arm’s length body

of its lead Executive: Health and Safety Executive. The Book focusses upon

protection and was written to specifications of licence requirements- directions,

approval, specifications, consents, notifications, and agreements and license

conditions including Interpretation, activities and site including boundaries, sites used

for additional purposes, such as wetlands, need consent from the Executive prior to

lease, demands matter records be retained between three and five decades and

other documents for at least three decades though these are dependent upon

Executive decision as it relevant training opportunity for employees, the Executive

will consult with other Bodies for Emergency Arrangements and decadal site periodic

reviews.

Figure 1: Nuclear Industry Regulation and Bodies

For wetlands it is the Responsible Authority of the programmes who undertakes a

Strategic Environmental Assessment. As with any planning consultations, utilising

Codes of Good Practice are required for the Environmental Report with consultation

bodies (English Nature, Environment Agency and others) and the general public. In

the case of the nuclear industry, HSE will be the lead Executive.

When there is a compulsory purchase for achievement of a Local Development Plan

under The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, there is an obligation for a

sustainable appraisal to be undertaken (Department of the Environment, October

Nuclear Industry

Lincense Condition Handbook

Radioactive Substances Acts 1960

& 1993

Environmental

Permitting (England &

Wales) Regulations

2010

Energy Bill

Civil Nuclear Police

Authority

Secretary of State Defence

Nuclear Decommisioning

Authority

2005). Note nuclear fusion and related breeder energy is currently unviable (due to

technology, waste and proliferation concerns), although it is recognised as having

the greatest energy potential due to its number of neutrons (Hoffert et al., 2002)

however it is nuclear fission which is being created in the UK.

As a consequence of developing a new generation of nuclear reactors to meet with

future UK energy demands environmental gains, such as wetlands, could be

created, regenerated and utilised, as environmental mitigation to conserve species

and offset by sequester CO2 from the air resulting in a carbon neutral power plant.

Nuclear power is compatible with the environment and its residing habitats, such as

wetlands, SSSI, SACs, SAPs, as they require long-term commitment, sustainability

appraisals and regulatory planning intervention and consent.

The land of the current eighteen nuclear sites is owned by Nuclear Decommissioning

Authority (NDA) and must be purchased by the proponents of future nuclear

investors (WNA, 2011). Due to effects upon the environment from Strategic Plans,

the requirement of energy, land use, transport and waste, before a nuclear power

plant can be constructed a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) must be

undertaken to comply with SEA Directive 2001/42/EC (European Commission,

2010). This Directive was transposed into UK legislation using The environmental

Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 (Statutory Instrument 2004

No 1633 (Department of the Environment, October 2005).

Due to the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC a SEA may have been requested to ensure

that no habitats are destroyed during construction, daily activities of a nuclear power

plant and for the endorsement of sustainable development.SEA requires to take into

account any effects that the proposed constellation may have upon the Birds

Directive 79/409/EEC; and of the site for significant effects on the environment [of

the programme], including on issues such as biodiversity, population, human health,

flora, fauna, soil, water, air, climatic factors, material assets, cultural heritage

including architectural and archaeological heritage, landscape and the

interrelationship between the above factors (Department of the Environment,

October 2005).

2. Negative environmental

Timescale of radiation hazards

The rate at which nuclear radioisotopes decay is termed Half-life. The calculations

made from it establish timescales, at which radioactive emissions are released from

the nuclei. It is these emissions which are hazardous to life forms

when they are ingested in foodstuffs from contaminated soil and water. The unit

which the nuclear contaminant is measured in is Curies (Nave, 2011).

Nuclear power stations tend to be positioned in locations where their cooling waters

can be discharged into other water bodies. Due to the difference in the thermal unit

of the warmer cooling waters to cooler local water bodies modification of ecology

occurs which negatively impacts upon sensitive species (Moens, 2011). Storm

surges are occurring more often and without additional precautions cooling waters

have been released at higher temperatures such as at the aged plant Fukushima,

Japan 2011.

Slovic (1987) suggested lay persons misunderstand and miscalculate the risk from

nuclear energy, plants and relative substances because of external influences such

as media. His risk perception research found that those questioned based risk upon

factors such as fatality numbers, potential future impacts and gains and costs

(construction, regulation, operation). Perhaps this negative perspective occurred in

adversely from the Handbook Licence Condition 13. 7 informing the Nuclear Safety

Committee can only offer advice during properly constituted meetings. I view this as

detrimental to the conveyance of committee’s expert advice and it could mitigate

Slovic’s findings of health and safety misconceptions of the nuclear industry.

3. Positive Social

Low carbon energy

Without argument nuclear energy from fission and fusion are recognised as

sustainable Green House Gas emission-free fuels (Hoffert et al., 2002; Nuclear

Energy Agency, 2010) and unmatched by comparison to other fossil fuels due to it

being a decarbonised/low carbon fuel (Hoffert et al., 2002). Therefore during the

creation and use of electricity made from nuclear fuel, atmospheric and climate

stabilisation ((Hoffert et al., 2002) may occur due to the reduction of GHGs from

electrical energy production. Current energy trends in a statistical release by

Department of Energy & Climate Change show that total energy production trends

reduced in December 2012 yet energy consumption rose. Therefore producing

energy from nuclear power could assist the UK to meet its Climate Change Act 2008

and Green House Gas allowances targets in transient emissions of water (H2O),

sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (N2O, NO2), Particulates from ash (PMs) and

carbon dioxide (CO2) yet without national carbon capture dependency (Moens,

2011).

The Climate Change Act 2008 obligated Green House Gas emissions to be reduced

by industry specific volumes (34% and 80%) by specific times (2020 and 2050). The

Act created a Committee on Climate Change (CCC) advising government and

industry how to meet the Act’s carbon reduction obligations. CCC recommended

nineteen nuclear power and stations be constructed in the UK, a recommendation

supported in Energy Marker Reform white paper which has placed increasing

financial pressure on industry to create low carbon energy by increasing the price

per tonne of CO2 annually (53% by 2020 and a further 22% by 2030) in the

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Feed-In-Tariffs (FITs) support low carbon energy

financially per KWh produced therefore to encourage a transition to low carbon

energy from ETS to FIT. Flexibility to producers is that energy from gas can

incorporate carbon capture and storage (CCS) in FIT but ETS charges remain in situ

for energy from coal due to the Emissions Performance Standard (WNA, 2011).

Overall the government has incentivised the energy industry to invest in nuclear

power as the first commences in 2018 (WNA, 2011) as it is an efficient fuel (Hoffert

et al., 2002).

4. Negative social

Health and safety misconceptions

There are different amounts of Uranium reported. This results in a variant in the

number of years which Uranium can be used before it is depleted of energy and

spent. The World Nuclear Organisation (2011) state there is enough Uranium for a

century yet Hoffert et al. (2002) state the fuel could be depleted within thirty-five

years of their paper being published. It is arguable however that the World Nuclear

Organisation are more accurate as their press release occurred nine years after the

release of Hoffert et al.

Kasperson et al (1988) argue that risk is amplified socially with regards to social

decisions concerning technology. They propose that factual evidence used for the

resolution of social conflict is scrutinised subjectively based upon each individuals’

own experiences and understanding of what risk is for that technology and therefore

the individuals’ appraisal questions the factual evidence and oppose the technology

being situated in their neighbourhood. This phenomenon is called the NIMBY effect:

Not In My Back Yard.

Jjöberg & Drottz-Sjöbery (2001) note that all opponents cannot be grouped together

and classified as NIMBYs due to other justifications for rejection, such as moral

values and fairness. They cite Keller and Sarin, 1988 saying people accept risks

more readily if the risk distribution is perceived as fair. Perhaps this is the message

the World Nuclear Organisation need to convey when the Geological Disposal

Facility has been identified.

5. Positive Economic

Energy security

Nuclear fission energy, created in nuclear reactors, is created using the element

Uranium (U) with isotopes 235 (235U). U is split when hit by electrovolts (eV) and it is

these dissipated bits (fissions) of U which emit energy emissions (Q) from their

nuclei. If there are more emissions from the fissions than from the U mass there is a

net gain of energy (Q≥ 10). It is these emissions which are radioactive (Nave, 2011).

Fuel rods are 235U which has been enriched (Hoffert et al., 2002) and the UK has a

thirty-five year history of U enrichment at Capenhurst, Chester (World Nuclear

Organisation, 2011). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2011) contains reports

issued by the Department for Climate Change & Energy (DECC) (June 2011) Energy

Trends which show that since 2008 in the first quarter to 2011 in the first quarter

electricity made in nuclear reactors has consistently been the third most popular

energy fuel at almost 18% of electricity supplied. Any fluctuations were not as a

result of fuel shortage but due to plant closures. The use of natural gas is in decline

and coal fluctuates relative to seasonal trends, increasing in winter and decreasing in

summer. However this illustrates the stability of availability of fuel type, dependability

of its energy production and integration as energy into the national grid.

Overall nuclear is able to produce consistent and higher volumes of electrical KWh

energy in to meet user peaks (demand management), therefore energy security

(Moens, 2011) at a Fixed Price in comparison to coal and gas which fluctuate in

accordance with European export prices. A result of this is UK produced energy, at a

fixed price for a fixed period, with the majority of fuel payment costs from customers

being retained in the UK therefore contributing to the UK economy.

It must be noted that Uranium may be a waste arising from Fracking. The waste

arising s from this must be dealt with in accordance to legislation resulting in the

waste arisings being used and not discarded therefore offering an economic benefit

to energy production in the UK.

6. Negative Economic

Not yet financially competitive

Moens (2011) finds nuclear power uneconomically competitive compared to other

renewable and fossil fuel plants due to construction, operation and decommission of

the plants and their waste product requiring significant and prolonged aftercare. A

negative aspect of nuclear fuels is that unlike other fuels (fossil and renewable)

nuclear mass reduces but not reduce size or volume once combusted/spent. Spent

fuel remains radioactive though its attributes have altered and while some

components are able to be recycled from reclamation some must be transmuted to

reduce volume and time and to make them safe for storage as U3O8, MOX and AGR

(WNA, 2011). Therefore treatment and long term storage of radioactive wastes spent

fuel is expensive due to these processes and storing it as a buried compound.

Although unusable wastes from combusted fossil fuels are buried they do not require

the level of security to ensure fossil fuel waste is not stolen for weapon and

ammunition production (Moens, 2011).

Main environmental effects of radioactive pollution

Salbu et al (1998) suggest radioactive contamination in ecosystems is able to spread

via run off and when fixed by ecosystems vegetation could be eaten and ingested

and result in cancer because of the biological effects of physiochemical

transformation of the radionuclides when in sorption. The transformation can occur

during any media: air, water or on land. It is for this reason safe storage in ponds,

silos and other must be undertaken with Due Diligence to reduce and control

hazards and risks during all operations: commissioning, decommissioning, transport,

reprocessing fuel manufacture and matter waste management (Sellafield, no date).

These are to prevent leakage into the environment.

Main health effects of radioactive pollution

Righi et al (2005) assessed radionuclides in the environment for the surrounding

areas of industrial sites and its effect upon the people who interact with it. They note

that chemical fertilizers containing phosphogypsum, a precursor to radioactive

pollution, can be safe if concentrations are low. However recognise that build up may

occur temporally which may increase dose concentrations.

The World Health Organisation state that radioactive wastes can be deposited in all

three states (gas, liquid and solid) and that the radionuclides ionizing radiation have

genotoxic effects. Genotoxic effects include damaged DNA which mutate and can

cause cancer (The Free Dictionary, 2013).

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