Nuclear Energy
In a nuclear power plant nothing “burns”, although fuel (uranium or plutonium) is consumed. Nuclear reactors are thermal (“thermonuclear”) power plants where heat is used to raise steam to drive a turbine. The heat comes from a nuclear reaction. The coolant – often water – which transfers heat from the nuclear reaction gradually becomes radioactive. For safety the “direct contact” coolant is usually isolated from the environment by means of a heat exchanger. A secondary water circuit collects heat from the heat exchanger, raising steam to drive the turbine.
Unlike a conventional power plant, thermonuclear plants create few conventional emissions. Intense neutron bombardment does split some water into hydrogen and oxygen. Some of this hydrogen absorbs neutrons and is converted into radioactive tritium, which may be released. There are also solid waste products, ranging from very radioactive to slightly radioactive. Like all conventional thermal power plants, nuclear power plants discharge waste heat into the environment. This can cause serious problems for local ecosystems. (In a hot summer, some European power plants – nuclear and conventional – were forced to reduce output despite high electricity demand. They were not allowed to increase the temperature of their local body of water above an agreed value!)
A major difficulty is public perception, and fear that a major accident might occur. Another is that insurance companies will not write liability insurance for nuclear power plants. By default, the state (the taxpayers) bear the risk of insuring the facility!