A Background on Nuclear Power
Photo by Lukáš Lehotský on Unsplash
A Background on Nuclear Power:
Key Terms
Nuclear Power: Often presented as "clean" energy, nuclear power plants work by splitting uranium atoms (fission). This process is not Green House Gas free if the total life cycle from mining, transportation to building a plant of a nuclear facility is considered. The process also creates waste which will remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.
SMNRs/SMRs: Small Modular Reactors, more properly known as small modular nuclear reactors are being promoted by the nuclear industry. They aren't actually small and they don’t actually exist yet either. The plans are to make the operational part fit on a flatbed of a transport truck, and the housing would cover the size of a football field. "Small" means under 300 Megawatts of power, which is currently just under the threshold to trigger an environmental assessment. Current plans are to build these reactors on the grounds of aging reactors, including Darlington, east of Toronto in a densely populated area and Point Lepreau N.B. on the ecologically sensitive Bay of Fundy.
Greenwashing: Greenwashing is a tactic used by industry and others to hide environmental concerns. The nuclear industry portrays nuclear power as clean, non-emitting, safe and an answer to the climate change crisis. It would be wonderful if this portrayal were true, but unfortunately, instead, it is an example of heavily subsidized greenwashing.
Plutonium: Plutonium is a radioactive element, ‘human made ’as it is extremely rare in nature. It was first extracted from uranium just prior to 1945 to make the Nagasaki bomb. Today, it can be extracted from CANDU waste which contains around 2% plutonium. The nuclear industry hopes to use it in small modular nuclear reactors. The risk is diversion of plutonium to non-state actors with subsequent dirty bomb creation or nuclear weapons proliferation.
Uranium: a naturally occurring material that is mined for the production of nuclear energy and nuclear bombs. In fact, it was mined first for nuclear bombs and only later was the concept of the “peaceful atom” introduced with the idea of creating nuclear energy. Uranium mining and milling are activities which can create harmful consequences, contaminating the environment with radioactive dust, radon gas, water-borne toxins, and increased levels of background radiation.
““Supplying a typical Canadian household with nuclear-generated electricity results in the production of 14 kg of toxic and radioactive mine tailings and up to 440 kg of waste rock every year” ”
The caribou connection: The concentration of airborne radionuclides in lichens that are then eaten by caribou which are in turn eaten by people, is considered one of the most serious threats to the health of those living in the area of uranium mining operations. (Pembina Institute)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): IAEA was created by the United Nations in 1957 to promote the peaceful use of nuclear power and also to provide international safeguards against misuse and diversion of nuclear materials. IAEA was designed as both the international nuclear power promoter and the international nuclear power regulator.
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC): is the Canadian agency, equivalent of the IAEA for Canada. The CNSC promotes and regulates the use of nuclear energy. It’s mandate is to protect the health, safety, security and the environment, however, both the IAEA and CNSC are in a potential conflict of interest situation as they are both a promoter and a regulator. Hence the CNSC has been referred to as a “captured regulator”. To confuse matters more, the CNSC is the successor to the Atomic Energy Control Board.
The Impacts of Nuclear Power
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Presently, there are 57,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste in storage at Canadian nuclear reactor sites, increasing every day. Nuclear energy produces extremely hazardous radioactive waste for which there is no acceptable disposal method
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Chronic exposure to atomic radiation has the potential to cause cancer, genetic disease, birth defects, infertility and other illnesses. Uranium mines have been shown to cause levels of radiation which can affect the health of people who live nearby, often first nations peoples. Studies show that people, especially children, living near nuclear power facilities have higher rates of some cancers. This is important in Canada where most of the Ontario reactors are located in the most populated area of the country on the largest body of fresh water in the world, the source of drinking water to 40 million people. See separate section on Radiation effects on health.
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1.5% of all nuclear power plants ever built have melted down to some degree, causing detrimental climate and health impacts. Additionally, nuclear power plants are often the target for international conflict, as seen in Zaporizhzhia.
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Nuclear energy projects consistently run many years behind schedule, making them irrelevant to our urgent climate crisis. Why spend taxpayers’ money on long projects when investment in sustainable renewable energy (such as hydro, wind and solar) can address the climate crisis now.
Spotlight: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
"Weaponization" of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, during the Ukraine Russian war has created fear of "another Chernobyl".
Twenty percent of Ukraine’s electricity was produced by the Zaporizhzhia plant. After the war started with shelling nearby and a close hit, IAEA advised the creation of a demilitarized zone around the plant. After this failed, the six reactors of the plant were shut down.
Despite shutdown, there is still danger because of the intense radioactivity of the spent nuclear fuel. The nuclear waste in the cooling pools must have a constant supply of water to flush it . This is necessary to avoid heating, explosion and dispersal of the radioactive material. A secure outside power supply with backup diesel is needed at all times.
One year into the war, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency gave another stark warning underlining “persistent nuclear safety and security risks” after the fifth loss of back-up power caused by military actions.
To make matters worse, Ukrainian power plant workers have reportedly been forced to work at gunpoint. This situation makes their highly technical jobs even more difficult.
As of date of writing (March 2023), this is a fluid situation. Watch for updates.