Nuclear power countries

Indeed, when new countries like the U K. France or China became nuclear powers, countries which were already members of the club were strongly opposed, but now it is quite well accepted that possession of nuclear weapons by those countries did not provoke a catastrophe. Some even consider that the existence of nuclear weapons in different camps was a stabilizing factor during the Cold War and prevented a major conflict during the past half-century. Why, then, the possession by India should not stabilize the relation between India and China, and by Pakistan the relation between Pakistan and India, preventing major conflicts in these zones At least the question may be asked. In the same way, the possession by Israel of nuclear weapons, in the opinion of some, has stabilized the situation in the Middle East. In any case, when a country has decided that it is worth while to make the effort and take the risks of developing nuclear weapons, it seems that after some initial outcry, the world accepts it without major retaliation That shows some kind of hypocrisy in the initial claim of a fundamental evil connected with the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The real issue is probably to avoid the acquisition of nuclear weapons by unstable, not very democratic countries. May be Pakistan is in that category clearly the West would not like Libya or Iran and Iraq to possess such weapons. A real, major issue is full nuclear disarmament, but this is another story. 

In 1994, only three coimtries (Canada, Sweden, USA) have decided to use the UOT strategy, while all other nuclear power countries either were undecided or had elected to use the reprocessing strategy. The technical aspects of the UOT option are further discussed in 21.13. 

Trends in commercial fuel, eg, fossd fuel, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, production and consumption in the United States and in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, are shown in Tables 2 and 3. These trends indicate (6,13) (/) a significant resurgence in the production and use of coal throughout the U.S. economy (2) a continued decline in the domestic U.S. production of cmde oil and natural gas lea ding to increased imports of these hydrocarbons (qv) and (J) a continued trend of energy conservation, expressed in terms of energy consumed per... 

Nuclear power has achieved an excellent safety record. Exceptions are the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and at Chernobyl in 1986. In the United States, safety can be attributed in part to the strict regulation provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which reviews proposed reactor designs, processes appHcations forUcenses to constmct and operate plants, and provides surveillance of all safety-related activities of a utiUty. The utiUties seek continued improvement in capabiUty, use procedures extensively, and analy2e any plant incidents for their root causes. Similar programs intended to ensure reactor safety are in place in other countries. 

Spent fuel can be stored or disposed of intact, in a once-through mode of operation, practiced by the U.S. commercial nuclear power industry. Alternatively, spent fuel can be reprocessed, ie, treated to separate the uranium, plutonium, and fission products, for re-use of the fuels (see Nuclear REACTORS, CHEMICAL reprocessing). In the United States reprocessing is carried out only for fuel from naval reactors. In the nuclear programs of some other countries, especially France and Japan, reprocessing is routine. 

Nucleai energy is a principal contributor to the production of the world s electricity. As shown in Table 1, many countries are strongly dependent on nuclear energy. For some countries, more than half of the electricity is generated by nuclear means (1,3). There were 424 nuclear power plants operating worldwide as of 1995. Over 100 of these plants contributed over 20% of the electricity in the United States (see also Power generation). 

Nuclear Reactors. Nuclear power faciUties account for about 20% of the power generated in the United States. Although no new plants are plaimed in the United States, many other countries, particularly those that would otherwise rely heavily on imported fuel, continue to increase their nuclear plant generation capacity. Many industry observers predict that nuclear power may become more attractive in future years as the price of fossil fuels continues to rise and environmental regulations become more stringent. In addition, advanced passive-safety reactor designs may help allay concerns over potential safety issues. 

Atomic- Vapor Laser Isotope-Separation. Although the technology has been around since the 1970s, laser isotope separation has only recently matured to the point of industrialization. In particular, laser isotope separation for the production of fuel and moderators for nuclear power generation is on the threshold of pilot-plant demonstrations in several countries. In the atomic vapor laser isotope-separation (AVLIS) process, vibrationaHy cooled U metal atoms are selectively ionized by means of a high power (1—2 kW) tunable copper vapor or dye laser operated at high (kHz) repetition rates (51,59,60). 

The idea behind energy independence is that if all energy production occurs within a country s borders, then that country s economy will be insulated from any energy supply disruptions. The country would then have less unemployment and less economic decline if and when the world s energy exporters, especially OPEC members, cut their supplies. France, has developed a strong nuclear power industry so that it would not have to import as much oil... 

The widespread application of nuclear boilers by the 1960s went hand-in-hand with the developing nuclear technology of several industrialized countries in both the West and the East. There was an increased use of nuclear power for electric and motive power, on land and at sea. 

Many dozens of industrialized countries now employ nuclear reactors for power generation, and some countries produce more electrical power by nuclear reaction than by fossil fuel combustion (France is an example). The United States, however, has the largest installed capacity of nuclear-powered boiler plants (in the year 2000 there are more than 120 nuclear reactor power plants in the United States). Nuclear power is also widely used for marine duty in both commercial and naval vessels. 

The nuclear power industry (270 nuclear reactors in 25 countries in mid-1982) now has a capacity of 200 GWe, which corresponds to an approximate annual plutonium production of 50 tonnes. The amount of plutonium accumulated from the industry is estimated to be 250 tonnes. The specific activity is 5.3X1011 Bq/g Pu for fresh spent fuel, mostly coning from 2ltlPu (6, 10). It is predicted that by the year 2000, the accumulated plutonium will amount to 2400 tonnes (6). 

Nuclear fission accounted for 13 percent of the electricity generated in the United States in 1985. Plants under construction in 1985 will probably raise the proportion to 20 percent by 1993. However, overexpansion of electrical generating capacity in this country, actual and imagined hazards of nuclear power plants, and negative perceptions of nuclear power by the public have combined to halt commitments to build new plants. New constmction is not expected to resume before the 1990s. 

The nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 (IAEA Technical Report 1991) proved to be a much more potent source of environmental contamination in many surrounding countries, over distances up to several thousands of kilometers, and was a cause of worldwide problems in international trade in food products contaminated (or possibly contaminated) with radionuclides. The resulting requirement by many countries to establish systems for monitoring radionuclides in foodstuffs and in the environment led to a large worldwide increase in the demand for suitable reference materials. 

Genchi et al. (2000) showed that heat dissipation from traffic, air conditioning, and other human activities, during a warm day in Tokyo, adds up to a heat production of 140 W m-2 in Tokyo with a resulting air temperature increase of about 3 °C. A similar estimation for Stockholm results in 70 W m-2. The Swedish energy consumption, mainly based on fossil fuel and nuclear power, corresponds to a national heat generation of 0.16 W m-2 though the country is sparsely populated (20 person km-2). 

The second day of the 1984 Forum was a great success, and conveyed alot of important information to the participants. It was devoted to a comparison of experiences of various countries in nuclear power. 

The presentation by Zaleskl was supplemented by Vendryes. He pointed out that France is particularly favorable for nucleat power. France In 1970 imported 751 of the required energy. France has no oil and only a small amount of coal. Its water power Is quite Insufficient to supply a ratlier large country. Therefore from the very beginning, most of ths French people agreed that nuclear power waa essential. 

It is a small enough country to have only one auppllcr and one uacr. The United Slates by contrast has four suppliers of nuclear power plants, many more architect engineers, and something over 50 different utilities of major size. Having one supplier and one uacr greatly simplifies the problem. 

Nuclear power is snvironmsnlslly attractive, and this has been recognised in many countries. 

There were a number of further contributions, including Sweden and Japan. Both countries have had considerable success with their nuclear power. 

It is therefore vital that the United States in particular and all developed countries, emphasize nuclear power in meeting electric power needs, and to the extent possible substitute uranium for fossil fuel. It is equally critical that, as aging nuclearfiacilities are taken out of commission, replacement power generation be nuclear and not fossil fuel. 

We hope that the Kyoto meeting will call upon all countries to cooperate in deployment of nuclear power as the available means of responsibly meeting the world s energy needs. The issues are of a global extent seeking intelligent international cooperation. 

Today, nuclear power supplies about 17 percent of the world s electricity. Ten countries meet at least 40 percent of their total electricity demand with nuclear power. In the United States, 103 nuclear power plants currently provide about 19 percent of the Nation s electric power. 

In certain regions of the world, especially Asia and developing countries, where energy demand is growing rapidly, we expect growth in the use of nuclear power to continue for years to come. But worldwide, use of nuclear power will likely decrease after 2010. 

The popularity of nuclear power is low in many countries four mainWors tend to be advanced as the reason for this ... 

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