Japanese Nuclear Boy Explains Disaster - LOL!

Fukushima's Cold Shutdown

Recent News on Fukushima status:

Fukushima plant declared stable; Japanese PM says reactors are in 'cold shutdown,' setting the stage for return of some evacuees

Err... Cold Shutdown? What does that means?

I've found an interesting article (Q&A session to be more precise) to provide us with better understanding with the terms "Cold Shutdown"

Q: What does it mean when a nuclear reactor has achieved a "cold shutdown?"

Answer: It means the reactors have been stabilized and shut down. Under normal circumstances this means control rods have been inserted into the gaps between the fuel rods in the reactor, and the temperature of the water in the reactor pressure containers is below 100 degrees Celsius. In this scenario, fuel rods are contained within the pressure container, with no radiation leaking out.

Q: Is this the definition being used for the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant?

A: No, a slightly different definition is being used. Meltdowns have occurred at the Fukushima plant and the reactors are damaged, so when the government formulated "Step 2" of its nuclear disaster management plan, the phrase took on a slightly different meaning. The government has defined a cold shutdown for the Fukushima plant as a situation in which the temperature at the bottom of the reactor pressure containers is less than 100 degrees Celsius, and the radiation levels at the edge of the plant premises are below one millisievert per year.

Q: Why does the water in the reactors have to be cooled below 100 degrees Celsius?

A: Because otherwise the nuclear fuel could break down. In a normal nuclear plant, radioactive uranium-235 contained in the fuel absorbs neutrons and breaks down into other materials. This is called nuclear fission, and it produces a huge amount of thermal energy. Nuclear plants use this heat to generate electricity. While a nuclear plant is running, the temperature of the water in the reactor, which is under pressure, rises as high as 300 degrees Celsius. Vaporized water is condensed in equipment outside the reactor and then sent back in again.

If the water is over 100 degrees Celsius when a plant is shut down it will vaporize without being condensed again, leaving the fuel rods it normally covers exposed, and the rods will melt from their own heat.

Q: Does nuclear fuel still create heat even after a plant has been shut down?

A: Yes. The fission products that come from uranium-235 break down on their own, releasing heat and radiation. This is called "decay heat." Right after a plant is shut down, the fission products will continue to release around six percent of the energy they released compared with when the plant was running. This falls quickly to around 1.5 percent a week later, but even a month later they will release around 0.2 percent, and a year later they will still release around 0.02 percent. The meltdowns at the Fukushima plant happened because this decay heat was not dissipated.

Q: So even after the government declaration of the completion of "Step 2," we can't let down our guard, right?

A: That's right. Under normal circumstances, after shutting down a plant, heat-removing equipment would let the decay heat escape to the ocean, stabilizing the water in the reactors at 50 to 60 degrees Celsius. However, at the Fukushima plant, the loss of electricity and other problems after the March earthquake prevented the nuclear fuel cooling equipment from running and the reactors melted down, opening holes in the bottoms of the pressure containers and complicating efforts to cool the fuel. The amount of decay heat is less now than it was right after the March disasters, but the fight to keep down fuel's temperature down is expected to continue for a long time. (Answers by Toshiyasu Kawachi, Science & Environment News Department)

Three Mile Island 30 Yr. Later

The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979.
The power plant was owned and operated by General Public Utilities and Metropolitan Edison (Met Ed). It resulted in the release of approximately 2.5 million curies of radioactive gases, and approximately 15 curies of iodine-131.
The accident began at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, with failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-openpilot-operated relief valve (PORV) in the primary system, which allowed large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. The mechanical failures were compounded by the initial failure of plant operators to recognize the situation as a loss-of-coolant accident due to inadequate training and human factors, such as human-computer interaction design oversights relating to ambiguous control room indicators in the power plant's user interface. In particular, a hidden indicator light led to an operator manually overriding the automatic emergency cooling system of the reactor because the operator mistakenly believed that there was too much coolant water present in the reactor and causing the steam pressure release. The scope and complexity of the accident became clear over the course of five days, as employees of Met Ed, Pennsylvania state officials, and members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) tried to understand the problem, communicate the situation to the press and local community, decide whether the accident required an emergency evacuation, and ultimately end the crisis. The NRC's authorization of the release of 40,000 gallons of radioactive waste water directly in the Susquehanna River led to a loss of credibility with the press and community.
This video show hows there mile island 30 years after the incident. A survey has been conduct to see how the confident of the local people towards nuclear after 30 years of the incident

Survey Analysis

Hello World

For everyone that did their survey on this page, i would like to say a million thanks for your supports and time. Here is the final results. We manage to collect 100,000 data bank for this survey (cerita gebang).

Final Remaks


From this simple survey, we can safely conclude that most of Malaysian citizens didn't have a sufficient information on nuclear technologies. Most of them are curious on how nuclear technology works but then it seem that the nuclear awareness in this country is on the minimal level. If Malaysia are serious with nuclear technologies, the government should have taken more effective ways to spread the nuclear awareness so that the people of this country would welcomed this technologies with open arms.

A nuclear power aircraft!!!

A nuclear aircraft is an aircraft powered by nuclear energy. Research into them was pursued during the Cold War by the United States and the Soviet Union as they would presumably allow a country to keep nuclear bombers in the air for extremely long periods of time, a useful tactic for nuclear deterrence. Neither country created any nuclear aircraft in production numbers. One design problem, never adequately solved, was the need for heavy shielding to protect the crew from radiation sickness. Since the advent of ICBMs in the 60s the tactical advantage of such aircraft was greatly diminished and respective projects were cancelled. Because the technology was inherently dangerous it was not considered in non-military contexts.
Unmanned missiles have been designed to use nuclear thermal rockets, but such designs were considered too dangerous for crews to fly.

Reactor Safety

Reactor Safety Systems and Why Is A Reactor Safe?

Okay..lets talk about safety.
The most important aspect of a Nuclear Reactor.

What is Nuclear Reactor?
Nuclear Reactor is an engineering device, in which nuclear fuel and structural material are arranged such that a self-sustained fission chain reaction can occur in a controlled manner.

New and advanced reactors are designed with safety in mind, including the development and application of Passive Safety Systems as far as possible.
It requires no operator intervention in the event of major malfunction.
Passive Safety Systems depends only on physical phenomena such as pressure differentials, convection, gravity or the natural response of materials to high temperatures to slow or shut down the reaction, not on the functioning of electrical or mechanical operation on command systems.

Other safety provisions includes a series of physical barriers between the radioactive reactor core and the environment, the provisions of multiple safety systems, each with backup and designed to accommodate human error.

The barriers in a typical plant are:

Fuel container within the reactor, generally thousands of sealed metal tubes, rods, or plates, fabricated to the highest quality standards.
Closed loop of water which transport the fission energy away from the reactor. Water is converted to steam by fission.  The steam passes through a turbine-generator, is condensed and the water eventually returned to the reactor to be reheated.  Note that while this loop serves to generate steam, it also serves to cool the reactor, keeping it in thermal equilibrium.  Should one or more fuel elements fail, mechanically or due to overheating, the fission fragments would be contained in the closed cooling water loop.
Most reactors (except the Chernobyl type) have a third barrier, called a containment building.  It is a large steel lined, concrete structure completely enclosing the reactor and it’s cooling loops.  It is designed to completely contain all of the coolant should a major failure leak occur in the cooling loops, and all of the water flashed to steam.  So even if fission fragments were released into the cooling loop and the loop leaked, fission fragments would be held in the containment building.
So, Is a Reactor safe?
The answer is simply Yes!

P/s:- It should be emphasize that a commercial type Nuclear Reactor simply cannot under any circumstances explode like a Nuclear Bomb. :)

Question tor For Tan Sri Leo Moggie

Q: Is Malaysia really ready for nuclear power? The citizenry are concerned over the prospect of having a nuclear plant in their backyard and much of it has to do with trust, or lack of it. Amirul, Klang.

A: It would need a full article to give a satisfactory answer to this question.

Suffice to say there are compelling reasons to include nuclear power in our energy mix in the future. Gas and coal will be increasingly expensive. Coal will also face objections from environmentalists. Hydro power has its own challenges. Renewable energy attracts a lot of excitement but it can at best only complement conventional sources. Nuclear is clean. It is comparatively cheaper in the long run.

It is important to address public concerns openly, with reliable information. Many of these concerns are associated with the spectre of the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. Chernobyl should be put in perspective. The accident was the result of a flawed reactor design. The technology of reactor design has advanced since then and there has not been any incident of that nature since Chernobyl.

Because of concerns with climate change and global warming, there is now renewed worldwide interest in nuclear power. A total of 440 nuclear power plant reactors are now operating in 30 countries, which provides about 15% of the world's electricity. About 53 nuclear plants are under construction and will be commissioned in the next five years. There is expertise worldwide in plant design and safety, in managing spent fuel and in handling radioactive waste. Even some countries in the Middle East are looking at nuclear. The United Arab Emirates is now building one. Countries in our region are also looking at building nuclear power plants.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is always ready to offer advice to countries starting a nuclear power programme for the first time and I know our relevant government agencies are in touch with IAEA. There is in fact already some experience on nuclear technology in this country.

At TNB, a lot of preparatory work has been done in anticipation of developing a nuclear power plant. We have completed a desk study identifying potential sites. A preliminary feasibility study, in association with Korean Power Company was completed in June 2010. We have a Nuclear Energy Unit and are building up our staffing capacity.

While there is still much work to be done, to achieve the commissioning of the first unit in 2021, Malaysia is managing the process of deploying the use of nuclear power in a considered way, including getting public acceptance from an early stage.

Source: The Star

Tech Talk: Dr Michihiro Furosaka

On our last class meeting, UNITEN have invited Dr Michihiro Furosaka from Graduate School of Engineering to give a presentation about various engineering fields, especially in quantum engineering and neutron scattering.

Neutron scattering, the scattering of free neutrons by matter, is a physical process and an experimental technique using this process for the investigation of materials.
Neutron scattering as a physical process is of primordial importance in nuclear engineering.
Neutron scattering as an experimental technique is used in crystallography, physics, physical chemistry, biophysics, and materials research. It is practised at research reactors and spallation neutron sources that provide neutron radiation of sufficient intensity. Neutron diffraction (elastic scattering) is used for determining structures; Inelastic neutron scattering is used for the study of atomic vibrations and other excitations.

The main finding form Dr. Michihiro research to invent a compact neutron scattering device. This device uses lenses to focus the neutron beams. This technique saves space and allows the experimentation of wide neutron scattering. Compared to large neutron scattering devices, since the instruments are very long, it is very difficult to detect wide neutron scattering.

Besides compact neutron scattering device, he is also involve with medical therapy which includes nuclear and quantum technologies, such as X-Ray and radiotherapy. CT scan are one of the example of radiotherapy which use imaging process to detect tumour and cancer cells. Dr Michihiro have done a research on how to improve the method and the technology behind the treatment to improve the efficiency.

p/s: Thank you Dr Michihiru for spending your time and knowledge here in UNITEN!

How a nuclear energy works in 5 minutes

Advantages and Disadvantages

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Nuclear power is a controversial method of producing electricity. Many people and environmental organisations are very concerned about the radioactive fuel it needs. 
2. There have been serious accidents with a small number of nuclear power stations. The accident at Chernobyl (Ukraine) in 1986, led to 30 people being killed and over 100,000 people being evacuated. In the preceding years another 200,00 people were resettled away from the radioactive area. Radiation was even detected over a thousand miles away in the UK as a result of the Chernobyl accident. It has been suggested that over time 2500 people died as a result of the accident. 
3. There are serious questions to be answered regarding the storage of radioactive waste produced through the use of nuclear power. Some of the waste remains radioactive (dangerous) for thousands of years and is currently stored in places such as deep caves and mines.
4. Storing and monitoring the radioactive waste material for thousands of years has a high cost.
5. Nuclear powered ships and submarines pose a danger to marine life and the environment. Old vessels can leak radiation if they are not maintained properly or if they are dismantled carelessly at the end of their working lives.
6. Many people living near to nuclear power stations or waste storage depots are concerned about nuclear accidents and radioactive leaks. Some fear that living in these areas can damage their health, especially the health of young children.
7. Many Governments fear that unstable countries that develop nuclear power may also develop nuclear weapons and even use them.

ADVANTAGES:

1. The amount of electricity produced in a nuclear power station is equivalent to that produced by a fossil fuelled power station.
2. Nuclear power stations do not burn fossil fuels to produce electricity and consequently they do not produce damaging, polluting gases. 
3. Many supporters of nuclear power production say that this type of power is environmentally friendly and clean. In a world that faces global warming they suggest that increasing the use of nuclear power is the only way of protecting the environment and preventing catastrophic climate change. 
4. Many developed countries such as the USA and the UK no longer want to rely on oil and gas imported from the Middle East, a politically unstable part of the world.
5. Countries such as France produce approximately 90 percent of their electricity from nuclear power and lead the world in nuclear power generating technology - proving that nuclear power is an economic alternative to fossil fuel power stations. 
6. Nuclear reactors can be manufactured small enough to power ships and submarines. If this was extended beyond military vessels, the number of oil burning vessels would be reduced and consequently pollution.

Is Nuclear Power Safe?

RADIATION! - That's the word that we humans would be trying to get rid off. The reality would be a bit harsh.

It’s natural and all around us. It comes up from the ground, down through the atmosphere, and even from within our own bodies. It can be man-made too. But it’s nothing new. It’s been present since the birth of the planet. It’s radiation, and radiation is, quite simply, part of our lives.
Naturally-occurring radioactive materials were discovered in 1896. Less than 40 years later, physicists discovered that radioactive elements can be artificially created. Within a decade of this discovery, scientists had split the atom.
These findings allow us to use radioactive materials for beneficial purposes, such as generating electricity and 
diagnosing and treating medical problems. For these many benefits, excessive radiation exposure can also threaten our health and the quality of our environment.

Looking at this chart, we can see that Nuclear power contributes minor affect to the world daily radiation.

Basically, there are much more harmful radiation exist in the world that is not contributed by the nuclear power plant.

As we can see the radiation from the nuclear power plant commits the lowest radiation. Even if we live nearby a nuclear reactor. It is not the nuclear power generation is the only source of radiation. Natural sources of radioactivity are all around, and man-made radioactive materials are a vital part of medicine and industry. Exposure to some radiation, natural or manmade, is inevitable. We live with radiation everyday, therefore we must understand both its risks and benefits. 

Control Rods

Control Rods

As the name says, Control Rod is a control device that is use to provide precise and adjustable control of reactivity in the reactor core.

When reactivity is controlled, the power output is also controlled.

Basically, control rods function by absorbing neutrons from generating another nuclear reaction.

Nuclear reaction or fission generates heat.

If the heat generated is not controlled, overheating will occur.

This will make the the reactor components such as the fuel rods melt.



Control rods also function as a safety device.

In the event of emergengy, control rods can be release completely to shut down the reactor.

Control rods materials:-

• Silver, Ag
• Indium, In
• Cadmium, Cd
• Boron, B
• Hafnium, Hf

In a more proper way of writing, the purpose of control rods includes:-

1. Coarse control and/or to remove reactivity in relatively large amounts - Shim rods.
2. Fine control and to maintain desired power or temperature - Regulating rods.
3. Provides fast shut down in the event of unsafe and emergency condition - Safety rods.

 

Image from Google

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Image from Google
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Image from Google
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Again, we can see that Nuclear Reactor is full of safety features!                               

Apa Kata Survey???

semoga dapat menjawab survey ini dgn hati yang tabah dan ikhlas

PART 1

PART 2

THANK YOU FOR YOU TIME AND COOPERATION..

HERE IS A PICTURE OF KITTEN AS A REWARD 

Myth Buster

Nuclear power plant myths

1) Uranium is running out

There is 600 times more uranium in the ground than gold and there is as much uranium as tin. There has been no major new uranium exploration for 20 years, but at current consumption levels, known uranium reserves are predicted to last for 85 years. Modern reactors can use thorium as a fuel and convert it into uranium  and there is three times more thorium in the ground than uranium.

Uranium is the only fuel which, when burnt, generates more fuel. In short, there is more than enough uranium, thorium and plutonium to supply the entire world’s electricity for several hundred years.

2) Nuclear is not a low-carbon option

During its whole life cycle, nuclear power releases three to six grams of carbon per kiloWatthour (GC kWh) of electricity produced, compared with three to 10 GC/kWh for wind turbines, 105 GC/kWh for natural gas and 228 GC/kWh for lignite (‘dirty’ coal).

3) Nuclear power is expensive

With all power generation technology, the cost of electricity depends upon the investment in construction , fuel, management and operation. Like wind, solar and hydroelectric dams, the principal costs of nuclear lie in construction. Acquisition of uranium accounts for only about 10 per cent of the price of total costs, so nuclear power is not as vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of fuel as gas and oil generation.

4) Reactors produce too much waste

Production of all the electricity consumed in a four-bedroom house for 70 years leaves about one teacup of high-level waste, and new nuclear build will not make any significant contribution to existing radioactive waste levels for 20-40 years.

5) Building reactors takes too long

The best construction schedules are achieved by the Canadian company AECL, which has built six new reactors since 1991, from the pouring of concrete to criticality (when the reactors come on-line), the longest build took six-and-a-half years and the shortest just over four years.

6) Leukemia rates are higher near reactors

Childhood leukemia rates are no higher near nuclear power plants than they are near organic farms. ‘Leukemia clusters’ are geographic areas where the rates of childhood leukemia appear to be higher than normal, but the definition is controversial because it ignores the fact that leukemia is actually several very different diseases with different causes. Men who work on nuclear submarines or in nuclear plants are no more likely to father children with leukaemia than workers in any other industry.

7) Reactors lead to weapons proliferation

More nuclear plants would actually reduce weapons proliferation. Atomic warheads make excellent reactor fuel; decommissioned warheads (containing greatly enriched uranium or plutonium) currently provide about 15 per cent of world nuclear fuel. Increased demand for reactor fuel would divert such warheads away from potential terrorists

8) Reactors are a terrorist target

Terrorists have already demonstrated that they prefer large, high visibility, soft targets with maximum human casualties rather than well-guarded, isolated, low-population targets. Any new generation of nuclear reactors  will be designed with even greater protection against attack than existing plants, and with ‘passive’ safety measures that work without human intervention or computer control.

Biler nuclear disalah guna..

maybe ape aku nk post nh korang da bace.. but then.. anggap dia sbg refresment utk korang..

kt bawah ade lah graph yg menunjukkan kekuatan letupan sesebuah bom atom.. as a comparison cube tgk kekuatan bom yg meletup di hiroshima dan nagasaki. dibandingkn dengan Tsar bombar. imagine how much energy that uranium/plutonium can generate.

Secara negative nya. this picture can tell u how can we destroy the world and what nuclear fuel can do to mankind. tp secara positive ini menunjukkan betapa besarnya energy yg boleh dihasilkan dari uranium/plutonium yg boleh digunakan utk generate electric energy.. fikir-fikirkn..

APA KATA SURVEY??

Selain daripada membuat blog yang yg blog biasa2 tu, kumpulan kami juga telah ditugaskan untuk melakukan survey ataupun dalam bahasa melayu, kaji siasat sebagai salah satu platform untuk mengetahui apakah pendapat umum berkaitan projek nuklear di Malaysia.

In every country, it is likely that for a success nuclear development, it is heavily dependable on the support of its people, and in this case, the fellow countryman. Since the early beginning, the rise of nuclear power won't be complete without the advocate of its dangerous and hazardous effects. Skeptic have their own stereotype thinking, which states that even with the most advanced technology, it wont be suffice to control the nuclear power from becoming a ticking time bomb. The unfortunate nuclear incidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima had only provides a breeding ground for doubts and public concerns of the credibility and safety of a nuclear power plant.

apa boleh buat...

sila buat survey di bawah ini dengan hati yang terbuka:

Click here to take survey

note: this survey are meant only as a drill. the real survey is yet to come.

mutan radiasi photoshop

Nuclear Testing