Archive:000/Nuclear fission/safety: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "==Learning from past disasters== There have been two major nuclear meltdowns in history: Chernobyl and Fukushima. Are all of today's nuclear reactors better made, to prevent the same things from happening again? {{rn}} ===Breeder reactors=== I'm not sure to what extent the same safety lessons apply when designing breeder reactors (an innovation that would be needed if nuclear power has any hope of really replacing fossil fuels). ===Land lost=== One factor in asse...") |
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<small>If accidents keep happening at the same rate, here's how much of the Earth's surface we'd expect to lose, if (hypothetically) '''all''' the world's energy came from nuclear power:</small> | <small>If accidents keep happening at the same rate, here's how much of the Earth's surface we'd expect to lose, if (hypothetically) '''all''' the world's energy came from nuclear power:</small> | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
|<nowiki> | |<nowiki>nuclear_exclusion_zones</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>4514 km^2</nowiki> | |<nowiki>4514 km^2</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>Total area of lands made uninhabitable from nuclear disasters</nowiki> | |<nowiki>Total area of lands made uninhabitable from nuclear disasters</nowiki> | ||
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}} | }} | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
|<nowiki> | |<nowiki>nuclear_power.to_date</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>89250 TWh</nowiki> | |<nowiki>89250 TWh</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>Total amount of nuclear electricity ever generated to date, since the beginning of history</nowiki> | |<nowiki>Total amount of nuclear electricity ever generated to date, since the beginning of history</nowiki> | ||
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
|<nowiki> | |<nowiki> nuclear_exclusion_zones / nuclear_power.to_date </nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>% earth.surface per century (energy.tfc)</nowiki> | |<nowiki>% earth.surface per century (energy.tfc)</nowiki> | ||
}} | }} | ||
<small>Not sure if this is particularly helpful, since accidents are unforeseen and there's no reason to expect that the "rate" will stay the same. It could go up ''or'' down, considering all the advancement of nuclear tech that would be needed to scale up [[energy]] production.</small> | <small>Not sure if this is particularly helpful, since accidents are unforeseen and there's no reason to expect that the "rate" will stay the same. It could go up ''or'' down, considering all the advancement of nuclear tech that would be needed to scale up [[energy]] production.</small> | ||
This doesn't include land made uninhabitable from [[nuclear weapons]], which some people consider an inevitable consequence of nuclear power. | This doesn't include land made uninhabitable from [[nuclear weapons]], {{qn}} which some people consider an inevitable consequence of nuclear power. | ||
Revision as of 17:13, 29 March 2023
Learning from past disasters
There have been two major nuclear meltdowns in history: Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Are all of today's nuclear reactors better made, to prevent the same things from happening again? [RESEARCH needed]
Breeder reactors
I'm not sure to what extent the same safety lessons apply when designing breeder reactors (an innovation that would be needed if nuclear power has any hope of really replacing fossil fuels).
Land lost
One factor in assessing nuclear power's environmental footprint: Consider how much land has been made uninhabitable from nuclear disasters.
If accidents keep happening at the same rate, here's how much of the Earth's surface we'd expect to lose, if (hypothetically) all the world's energy came from nuclear power:
https://www.britannica.com/story/nuclear-exclusion-zones
There are 2 areas: Chernobyl (4,143 square km) and Fukushima (371 square km)
- Page 18: Nuclear Electricity Production
Estimated from the area under the curve of the graph.
Extrapolated to 2022
Does not include the fuel used in generating electricity. See [energy.tes] for that.
Citation: "Key World Energy Statistics 2020" IEA
- Page 47 - Simplified energy balance table - World energy balance, 2018
(calculation loading) Not sure if this is particularly helpful, since accidents are unforeseen and there's no reason to expect that the "rate" will stay the same. It could go up or down, considering all the advancement of nuclear tech that would be needed to scale up energy production.
This doesn't include land made uninhabitable from nuclear weapons, [QUANTIFICATION needed] which some people consider an inevitable consequence of nuclear power.