Transcript No Slide Title

PUBLIC & POLITICAL ACCEPTANCE
OF
NUCLEAR POWER
PUBLIC & POLITICAL ACCEPTANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER
The support or opposition to nuclear power does not have a set
trend globally. It varies from country-to-country and depends on the
level of development i.e., its per capita consumption, future growth
projection and the resources available. In most of the developed
countries the consumption level is already very high, future growth
has saturated and there is enough scope for optimisation of present
level of energy use. Due to above reasons, public opinion for
nuclear power has turned against it and the thrust in public
awareness is to counter this opinion.
This is not so in most of the developing countries and certainly not
in India. A few individual speak against nuclear energy in “public”.
There is total support of Government for nuclear energy in India.
INDIAN SCENARIO
• The present energy consumption per capita is very low.
• The gap in supply and demand is large
• Population growth - expected to reach 1500 million by mid of next
millennium.
• Future requirements of energy / electricity is very high.
• Concerted efforts are on to improve Plant Load Factor, conserve
energy, efficient utilisation and reduction of transmission and
distribution losses, in a bid to bridge the gap. However, new
capacities are required to be added.
• India is poorly placed in terms of coal, oil and gas resources.
Uranium reserves are modest, but is endowed with a sizable
thorium resources. The coal resources are localised. Presently, it
is next energy importing country and it forms a sizable part of our
meager foreign exchange earning.
• As such, all the resources have role to play.
INDIAN SCENARIO (Public Acceptance of Nuclear Power)
India urgently needs increase in electricity supply.
 Power plants are being set up utilising Thermal (coal, gas, diesel,
naptha) hydel and nuclear resources.

There is no specific public opposition or support for any particular
resource of power and no public opinion is mobilised against
nuclear power in India.
 There are few individuals / group which talk in public against
nuclear power / larger dams, etc.
 Development of nuclear power with indigenous resources is a
matter of national pride.
 The project affected personnel are ‘concerned’ about their proper
rehabilitation and initial opposition is to get satisfactory
rehabilitation package.
 However, there is public concern about safety, environment, waste
management and economics of nuclear power.

We have undertaken systematic public awareness programme for
following target groups :
 General
public
(particularly
surrounding
the
nuclear
establishment)
 Students & teachers
 Authorities of local, state and central government, public leaders
and media
 The decision makers
The public awareness activities have included • Exhibitions throughout the country.
• Seminar & workshop
• Lectures in different centres
• Essay competition on a national level
• Tours to our power stations
• Extensive publicity to non-power application of nuclear energy agriculture, health care, water resource management, industry
and food preservation.
NUCLEAR POWER
 RELATED CONCERNS
SAFETY
ENVIRONMENT & NUCLEAR
WASTES
ECONOMICS
Homo Sapiens
appears at 23:59:58
Plant invade
land
22
Multicellular
Organisms
Modern
Cells
23
24
1
Birth of
Planet Earth
2
21
Ancient
bedrocks
3
20
4
19
5
18
6
17
First Bacterial
organisms
7
16
8
15
9
14
Atmospheric Oxygen
13
12
11
Blue-green algae;
photosynthesis
10
Source : IAEA Bulletin
The “Cosmic Clock” : 4.5 billion years of the planet Earth
compressed into one day
Evolution of Life, Humans and Culture (Approximate Dates)
Life
First Vertebrates
First Reptiles
First Mammals
First Primates
Humans
Earliest Homides
Stone tools
Homo Sapiens
Culture
Invention of
agriculture
First Cities and
writing
Scientific Age
(Copernicus)
Industrial Age
Twentieth Century
Years before
present
Time on 24-hour
cosmic clock
500 million
300 million
200 million
70 million
2 hrs and 30 min
1 hr and 30 min
1 hr
20 min
4 million
2 million
100 000
80 sec
40 sec
2 sec
10 000
0.2 sec
5 000
0.1 sec
500
0.01 sec
250
100
0.004 sec
0.002 sec
Source : IAEA Bulletin
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION BY HUMAN
ACTIVITIES IN LAST 2000 YEARS (20TH CENTURY)
 Green house effect caused by release of CO2, by
burning of fossil fuels and by other gases
 Global warming
 Hole in Ozone layer
 Mobilisation of chemicals in soil, water and
atmosphere
At present level of population, every second
 We loose 1000 tonnes of top soil
 We loose 3000 sq. metres of forest
 2000 sq. metres arable land becomes desert
 1000 tonnes of unwanted gases are released
Annual Individual Radiation Exposure
60
Human - made
Natural
48.4
Percentage
50
40
30
20
11.2
10
0
14.5
17.1
8.6
0.2
Other
Medical
Internal
Cosmic
Earth
Radon
Average Lifetime Radiation Exposure
600
Chernobyl Accident
Natural Background
400
300
200
100
Low
Medium
High
UK
Switzerland
Sweden
Spain
Greece
France
Finland
0
Austria
Exposure (mSv)
500
Chernobyl
THE COMPOSITION OF THE TOTAL
POPULATION EXPOSURE IN INDIA
NATURAL 79.7 %
MEDICAL 16.2 %
ARTIFICIAL 4.1 %
RADIOACTIVE DISCHARGES 0.0003%
INHALATION
32.1 %
INGESTION
14.7 %
AIR
TRAVEL 0.002%
TERRESTRIAL
17.7 %
MEDICAL
16.2 %
COSMIC
15.2 %
PHOSPHOGYPSUM 3.2%
FALLOUT 0.6%
MISCELLANEOUS 0.25%
PHOSPHATE FERTILIZERS 0.04%
OCCUPATIONAL
EXPOSURE 0.006%
COAL BASED POWER STATIONS 0.01%
N U C L E A R
P O W
E R
C O R P O R A T I O N
O F
I N D I A
L I M
I T E D ,
M
U M
B A I
EQUIVALENT RISK FACTOR
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
650 kms air travel
100 kma car travel
Three fourth of cigarette smoking
1.5 mts. of mountain climbing
20 mts. of life at age 60
Use of oral contraceptive pills for two & half weeks
Half a bottle of wine or
Exposure to 0.10 mSv of Ionizing radiation, which is
half a days occupational exposure at the annual dose
equivalent level or living three years in the vicinity of
a nuclear power station.
RADIATION : A FACT OF LIFE
CHEST X - RAY (ONE FILM)
20 - 25 MR
DENTAL X-RAY (WHOLE MOUTH)
900 MR
BREAST MAMMOGRAPHY (ONE FILM)
1500 MR
BARIUM ENEMA, GISERIES
8000 MR
HEART CATHETERIZATION
BEFORE BYPASS SURGERY
45,000 MR
(9 YEAR ALLOWANCE FOR A
RADIATION
WORKER
Short Term Fatalities (1970-1992)
Events
Coala
Oil
Natural Gas
Liquid
propane Gas
Hydro
Nuclear
Fatalities
Range
Total
Average
fatalities per
GW(e).a
133
295
88
77
5-434
5-500
5-425
5-100
6418
10273
1200
2292
0.32
0.36
0.09
3.1
13
1
10-2500
31
4015
31
0.8
0.01
a) The total is some 10 times higher if accidents with less than
5 fatalities are included.
Long Term Health Effects Of Chernobyl
Number of
people
Emergency workers
Liquidators
(nationwide)
Evacuated 1986
Residents in the
high zone
Infants 1986
(upto 4 years)
1000
650000
Cancer
deaths from
other causes
180
90000
Cancer deaths
from radiation
(increase)
20 (2.0%)
2000 (0.3%)
115000
300000
17000
40000
400 (0.3%)
1000 (0.3%)
1000000
a
b
a) Fifty thyroid cancers (treatable).
b) Several thousand thyroid cancers (treatable).
Energy Density Comparisons
1 kg Coal
1 kg Oil
1 kg Uranium
3 kw.h
4 kw.h
50000 kw.h (3,500,000 kw.h with closed fuel cycles)
Fuel Required for 1000 MWe Plant (annual)
Coal
Oil
Nuclear
(Uranium)
2,600,000 t
2,000,000 t
30t
2000 train cast of 1300 t each
10 super tanker
10 m3 of reactor core
Land Required for 1000 MWe Plant
Fossil Nuclear Site
Solar (thermal or Photovoltaic)
Wind Field
Bio Mass Plantation
1-4 km2
20-50 km2 (a small city)
50-100 km2
4000-6000 km2
Environmental Impacts
Fossil Fuels
Global climate change
Air quality degradation (coal, oil)
Lake acidification and forest damage (coal, oil)
Toxic waste contamination (coal, ash and slag, abatement residues)
Groundwater contamination
Marine and coastal pollution (oil)
Land disturbance
Large fuel and transport requirements
Resource depletion
Hydroelectric
Population displacement
Land loss and change in use
Ecosystem changes and health effects
Environmental Impacts (Contd…)
Loss of biodiversity
Dam failure
Decommissioning
Renewables (Solar, wind, geothermal, biomass)
Air quality degradation (geothermal, biomass)
Extensive land use
Ecosystem changes
Fabrication impact (solar photovoltaic cells)
Noise pollution (wind)
Nuclear (full energy chain)
Severe reactor accident release
Waste repository release
Health Effects From Fossil Fuel Releases
Sulphur dioxide (SO2) - respiratory disorders, impaired breathing.
Nitrous oxide (NOx) - respiratory disorders, infections, pulmonary diseases.
Carbon monoxide (CO) - fatal angina, various other effects.
Ozone (O3) - respiratory disorders, impaired breathing, asthma, edema.
Particulate matter (PM10) - various toxic particle (organic matter, carbon,
mineral dusts, metal oxides and sulphates and
nitrate salts) effects, main mortality factor due
to fossil fuels.
Toxic substances, heavy metals - specific substance effects.
CO2 EQUIVALENT EMISSION FACTORS OF DIFFERENT
ENERGY SOURCES
( FULL ENERGY CHAIN; MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM VALUES )
CO2 equivalents per kWh electric (gram of CO2)
1400
1290
1234
1200
1000
860
890
800
686
600
460
410
400
279
200
9
4
0
Coal
Oil Natural gas Hydro
30
75
Nuclear
Wind
11
30
Solar PV
116
37
Biomass
Source : IAEA Bulletin
Waste Strategies
Atmosphere
Partial removal
to solid waste
Toxic
pollutants
Radioactive waste
SO2
NOx CO2
Solid waste
Volume reduction
Shallow ground
disposal
Dispersion Strategy
Shallow or deep ground disposal
Confinement Strategy
FUEL REQUIRED AND WASTES FROM COAL FIRED AND
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OF 500 MWe CAPACITY
COAL FIRED PLANT (PER DAY)
Fuel
Coal Required (650 gm/kwh)
Waste
Ash (40 %)
Fly Ash (2 %)
:
:
:
7800 Te / day
2900 Te / day
58 Te / day
Lead (50 ppm), Arsenic (10ppm), Uranium, Natural Thorium, Radium 226 present in ash.
Effluent Gases
CO2 (1144 gms./ kwh)
: 13680 Tonnes
SO2 (0.6%)
:
47 Tonnes
CO
(0.05 Lb/T)
:
12 Tonnes
 Current practice for disposal of ash sludge is dumping in surface ponds and land-fills.
 This waste contains many hazardous substances (e.g. toxic heavy metals) which may
leach into surface waters and underground aquifiers.
1 of 3
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Fuel
Fuel required (24 kg of UO2 / million kwh)
: 288 kg
Waste
Low level wastes
: 0.7m3 / day
Intermediate level wastes (Spent resins etc.) : 0.05m3 / day
High level waste (Reprocessing for Pu &
: 0.003m3 *
unused Uranium recovery)
* Vitrified, to be deposited in deep stable geological formation.
Gaseous effluent
No toxic or green house gases. Some low level radioactive gases
without public health significance.
Total radiation dose received is less than 1% of the “Natural
background radiation level”.
2 of 3
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
 Nuclear wastes
are low-level wastes (contaminated
clothing, tools, etc.) from operation and maintenance
activities of nuclear power plants.
 Alpha-bearing or transuranic wastes from fuel fabrication
and high-level wastes from reprocessing.
 Nuclear wastes are small in volume, in comparison to the
wastes from a coal-fired power plant.
 Nuclear wastes are treated and disposed off in carefully
controlled ways employing multiple engineered barriers to
totally
isolate them from human
and
natural
environments.
3 of 3
NUCLEAR POWER : CLEANEST SOURCE OF ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN
LAND REQUIREMENTS
MUCH LESS THAN FOR COAL AND HYDRO PROJECTS OF SAME
SIZE. LEAST DISPLACEMENT OF PROJECT AFFECTED PEOPLE &
THEIR REHABILITATION.
(FOR PLANTS OF 1000 MWe CAPACITIES)
NUCLEAR PLANT
COAL - THERMAL PLANT
FUEL REQUIRED
70 T OF URANIUM / YEAR FOR
3.5 MILLION TONNES
PLF AT 75%
ENVIRONMENT
NO GREEN HOUSE GASES,
6.5 M.T. OF CO-2
NO ACID-RAIN
(GREEN HOUSE GAS)
ALSO SO2 AND NOx
RADIATION
EMIT S ONLY 5 % OF NATURAL
ALSO
EMITS
DUE
TO
BACKGROUND
PRESENCE OF Ra. 226, 228 &
K-40.
NUCLEAR POWER : CLEANEST SOURCE OF ENERGY AND
ENVIRONMENTALLY BENIGN
(contd...)
NUCLEAR PLANT
COAL - THERMAL PLANT
WASTE
HIGH LEVEL : 27 T SPENT FUEL
OR ABOUT 3 CU.M. WHEN
REPROCESSED AND VITRIFIED.
1.2 MILLION Te OF ASH CONTAINING
TOXIC METALS LIKE ARSENIC,
CADMIUM LEAD AND MERCURY.
THEY MAY LEACH INTO WATER
RESOURCES.
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL : 310 T
LOW LEVEL
: 460 T
LOW LEVEL RADIATION GASES
WITHOUT PUBLIC
HEALTH
SIGNIFICANCE.
HIGHLY CONTAINED, PRESERVED & DISPERSED AND NO SURVEILLANCE
WITH CONTINUOUS SURVEILLANCE.
NO CHANCE OF ITS RELEASE TO
ENVIRONMENT.
Externality Cost
4
$200/t C value
$30/t C value
Fuel
Capital, O&M
Normalized Cost
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Coal
Gas
Nuclear
Carbon value generation cost
Non-hydro
renewable
Externality Costs
Costs
Equivalent
(mEcu/kW.h) lives lost
(per GW.a)
Coal
Lignite
Oil
Gas
Wind
Hydro
Nuclear
15
10
12
0.6
2.2
2.2
0.4
37
27
32
2
0.3
0.8
1
NUCLEAR POWER - GREEN & ECONOMIC SOURCE

Nuclear Power is “Green Power”

No emission of green house and acid rain gases.

Radiation exposure is a tiny fraction of natural background.

Waste generated is many folds (lakh times) less in volume as
compared to coal and is technologically manageable.

NPP design addresses all issues pertaining to safety,
environment etc related measures are built-in plant and are
included in costs.

If similar requirements are specified for coal fired plants and
related costs included in plant costs, nuclear power, which has
proved to be cost-effective in coal deficient areas, would
emerge as clear favourite.