Is the smoke from nuclear cooling towers radioactive?
The white clouds emitted from the nuclear cooling towers is not smoke, it is all water vapor. Although this water vapor was near the nuclear reactor, it did not come into contact with any radioactive particles and is therefore denoted as non-radioactive.
How exactly does a nuclear power plant work?
In a condensed version, there are rods of fuel --typically Uranium-- that are secured within a casing of metal along with control rods in the center next to the Uranium. Uranium-235 is an unstable element meaning that it begins to break up, releasing neutrons that will collide with other elements within the nuclear reactor. If the neutron hits another Uranium atom, it has the potential to split the Uranium atom it collides with into 2 smaller parts, and this collision in turn releases a few more neutrons. Now there are multiple neutrons speeding away that have the potential to collide with multiple other Uranium atoms, causing the release of even more neutrons. This process is known as nuclear fission. As the Uranium atom splits, it releases energy that is in the form of heat. If controlled properly, through the use of control rods which are composed of non-fissionable material and designed to intercept neutrons, preventing too many neutrons from colliding with too many Uranium atoms, then a constant flow of heat energy can be harnessed to generate electricity. In nuclear bombs, however, this fission reaction is designed to occur within fractions of a second, causing all of the reactions to occur nearly instantaneously, therefore releasing an enormous amount of energy all at once which causes the powerful explosion.
What happened in the Chernobyl Accident and how did it affect the environment?
As described by the World Nuclear Association, "The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel." The disaster occurred when the operators were testing a new design feature that was added to the power plant to determine how long the turbines would continue to spin and output energy even after the central electrical supply stopped functioning. In order to run this test, the operator had to stop the automatic shutdown systems of the nuclear reactor that would prevent any catastrophic events from occurring. Next, the core had to be cooled so cold water was set to run through the reactor core. However, the fuel in the core was still extremely hot so the reaction between the cool water and the hot metal fuel rods caused the rods to shatter and break in all directions. Also, the hot fuel rods produced a large amount of steam: greater than normal in the nuclear reactor core. This increased steam and shattering of the fuel rods caused the container of the nuclear reactor to break open. With the input of the control rods into the system that were meant to stop all fission between fuel rods, this caused even more chaos within the reactor and ultimately, the control rods were not able to go down completely. By this time, there was an increasing pressure in the containment shell that holds the piping, the nuclear reactor core, and other cooling systems. The increasing pressure resulted in a steam explosion, not a nuclear explosion. Now that there was no intact cooling system and the control rods were not working effectively due to not being in their correct position, the reactor core began to heat up to immense levels. This heat caused metal to melt around the the nuclear reactor core.
At this point, the containment structure of the nuclear reactor core, the nuclear reactor core itself, and the building that housed the nuclear reactor were all damaged. This caused the release of radioactive particles into the air, including particles from the reactor core itself. These radioactive particles were able to travel miles away, being breathed by humans, animals, and becoming trapped in soil and water. Some plants around the nuclear facility (immediate surroundings to a few miles away) were killed due to the radioactivity. Also, 28 people died as a result of radiation poisoning. The incident resulted in the evacuation of residents that were in danger of being exposed to the radioactive material that was travelling by air. Some other effects that resulted from the Chernobyl disaster include the increase in thyroid cancer especially in younger children. This disaster was devastating to the environment, the nuclear energy industry, and to the lives of many people.
At this point, the containment structure of the nuclear reactor core, the nuclear reactor core itself, and the building that housed the nuclear reactor were all damaged. This caused the release of radioactive particles into the air, including particles from the reactor core itself. These radioactive particles were able to travel miles away, being breathed by humans, animals, and becoming trapped in soil and water. Some plants around the nuclear facility (immediate surroundings to a few miles away) were killed due to the radioactivity. Also, 28 people died as a result of radiation poisoning. The incident resulted in the evacuation of residents that were in danger of being exposed to the radioactive material that was travelling by air. Some other effects that resulted from the Chernobyl disaster include the increase in thyroid cancer especially in younger children. This disaster was devastating to the environment, the nuclear energy industry, and to the lives of many people.
What affects does a nuclear power plant have on the environment directly around it?
As long as the radioactive wastes are contained properly, other radioactive materials are prevented from exposure to biological life forms, and the plant does not have any malfunctions in the reactor causing a partial or complete meltdown, then the environmental impacts that the plant itself has upon the surrounding environment are very limited. There are not any greenhouse gas emissions which could cause damage, no smoke produced by the nuclear processes, or really other harmful aspects of nuclear power plants that could cause damage to the immediate environment.
Can a nuclear power plant explode?
No, a nuclear power plant is not able to explode. This is due to the amount of fissile Uranium that is found within a nuclear power plant is far less than that required to make a nuclear bomb. This means that the fission reactions in a nuclear reactor are not able to occur quickly enough to cause an explosion. However, the nuclear fission reactions are able to occur quick enough that if not regulated a properly cooled, it can heat up the inside of a nuclear reactor to a heat that will melt the external shell, control rods, and fuel which is known as a nuclear meltdown.
What state has the most nuclear reactors?
Illinois has the greatest number of nuclear reactors in any state in the United States, with 11 operating reactors. According to statistics from the Nuclear Energy Institute, nuclear power is responsible for nearly 52.6% of the electricity produced in Illinois ("Illinois" 1).