Safety Measures for Nuclear Power Plants

Written by: Ricky • Edited by: Lamar Stonecypher
Updated May 10, 2010

Nuclear technology is being harnessed for peaceful purposes and is certainly a promising alternative to traditional energy sources. But the same energy could turn into a devastating enemy if handled without the proper care and precautions. We will learn a few basic things about safety measures for nuclear power plants in this article

Introduction

No industrial activity or operation is without its inherent risks. In fact the same goes for all facets of life. Nevertheless certain activities and operations have the potential of great damage not only for the person handling those operations but for society in general. Nuclear technology and nuclear power generation are certainly one of those areas where the potential for damage is literally unlimited if something goes wrong. This has been observed time and again through various accidents which happened in different parts of the world at different times such as that of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Hence safety measures for nuclear power plants must be followed strictly, so that nuclear power becomes an obedient servant and not a terrible master to humanity.

Nuclear Power Plant Safety

Safety should be ensured in a nuclear power plant from all aspects and during all stages: from the inception of the plant as an idea to its full fledged commissioning providing continuous source of power to the requisite purpose. It would not be possible to go into the full details of the safety aspect in this article, but we will certainly have a look at some of the most basic features relating to nuclear power plant safety.

The Building: since the nuclear power plant has exothermic nuclear reactions going on inside its core, it is very important that the structure housing this reactor should be made from relevant materials which have the appropriate capacity to shield the outside environment both during normal operations as well as minimize risk of damage in case of unfortunate accidents such as the Chernobyl blast.

The Core: this is the place where the actual reaction takes place. Fission occurs with the release of neutrons causing further fission thus sustaining a chain reaction. Appropriate measures must be taken to maintain ideal conditions via control rods and core cooling.

Monitoring: human beings working inside the power plant need to be constantly monitored for any over exposure of radiation as a result of their routine job operations. The standards laid down in this regard should be strictly adhered to and the working environment should be regularly checked for radiation levels.

Waste Disposal: one of the most challenging tasks is the proper disposal of waste materials from the nuclear power plant. These waste materials come in different forms such as solid, liquid and gaseous. All these types of wastes have their own methods of disposal and the main idea is to dispose off these wastes in a manner which is least harmful for human beings, flora, fauna and the natural environment.

Proper Emergency Response Plans: nobody wants an accident to happen but things do go out of control sometimes either due to human error or machinery failure. The best thing is to be prepared for such a situation and have properly trained personnel as well as the requisite equipment in order to deal effectively with such situations.

If the above mentioned dictums are followed properly, it would ensure that the tremendous energy which lies in the atom is harnessed in a proper manner without causing damage to men, material, or environment.

Charlie Nov 21, 2010 4:44 PM

Really to Fong

Recent polls show that 80% of people living near Nuclear Power Plants are in favor of having them. Maybe it is just me, but that says that they are A.O.K with them as they are. As the author mentioned," The Building: since the nuclear power plant has exothermic nuclear reactions going on inside its core, it is very important that the structure housing this reactor should be made from relevant materials which have the appropriate capacity to shield the outside environment both during normal operations as well as minimize risk of damage in case of unfortunate accidents such as the Chernobyl blast." Most are made out of cement which easily stops alpha and beta rays, it is in fact the gamma rays you need to worry about. and Cement and lead both somewhat do a good job at deflecting it. It should also be noted that we are always exposed to all three without Nuclear Power Plants and most of us are perfectly fine with that. I also feel that the author should of mentioned the Three Mile Island incident that happened here in the U.S. and in my opinion is a great example of the security measures that Power Plants have. Chernobyl only happened because they took down the security measures in place to run tests to see if they could supply more power. After they did that a ton of people messed up and 59 people died and countless were effected. My heart goes out to the miners that dug the tunnel under the plant to stop the radiation from reaching the ground water as well as to the soldiers that cleared the roof of the plant where the highest amounts of radiation are. They only could work up there for 45 seconds at a time before they were too exposed to radiation. They are totally awesome for what they did and should be remembered.

Fong May 14, 2010 5:56 AM

Really to Pete

Oh really? What if you are living in an area near to the nuclear plant? Would YOU even request to enforce stricter rules? Think about it man, be considerate to other people's feelings.

Pete May 10, 2010 9:17 AM

Really?

I work in the nuclear power industry, specifically safety related equipment for nuclear power plants all over the world. I have to ask what purpose does this article sever? Nuclear power plants already follow very strict guidelines regarding safety. In the USA these are set up and monitored by the NRC and NUPIC. Outside the USA it is monitored by other similar groups. While it is true there is a risk with nuclear power it should be noted that there have only been a handful of accidents, and only one as bad as Chernobyl. It should also be noted that Chernobyl was a core melt down that breached the containment building due to a fire. It was not a blast as the article implies. Last thing I would like to point out is the author states that "potential for damage is literally unlimited if something goes wrong". What scientist or engineer would make such a claim? This is a gross overstatement. There are certainly limits to the amount of damage any one nuclear accident can cause. Yes if every nuclear site in the world, or even just many of them experienced an catastrophic event at the same time, that could really do some serious damage, to the point of altering life as we know it. The chances of something like this ever happening are so small it isn't worth worrying about. From any one nuclear site, commercial or military there is a limit to how much damage can be caused in a given incident. Yes a nuclear meltdown is a disaster and the effects on the world can be quite severe and grave, but they are not unlimited. One nuclear meltdown, or spill is not going to end the world.

Safety Measures for Nuclear Power Plants

Introduction

Nuclear Power Plant Safety

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