What Countries Use Nuclear Energy?
High oil prices and concern over global warming have renewed interest in nuclear energy. Fifteen percent of the world's electricity comes from nuclear power, with some countries, such as France and Japan, being heavily dependent upon it. It is a technology and source of electricity that is widespread around the world, and its importance will only increase in the near future as more countries begin or expand nuclear power production.
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Identification
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Nuclear energy is created through a mechanism called a reactor. The power source is the heat produced by a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction, either of uranium or plutonium. This reaction involves an element, such as uranium or plutonium, being struck by a neutron and splitting. The result of the fission of these large atoms are the creation of new, smaller atoms as byproducts, radiation and more neutrons. Those neutrons speed out and strike other uranium/plutonium atoms, creating a chain reaction. The chain reaction in a reaction is controlled by neutron moderators, which vary depending on the design of the reactor. This can be anything from graphite rods to simple water.
Once the heat has been released, a nuclear reactor produces electricity in exactly the same manner as any other thermal-based power plant. The heat converts water into steam, and the steam is used to turn the blades of a turbine, which runs the generator.
Geography
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The following countries have a nuclear power industry: the United States, France, Russia, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Ukraine, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, Spain, Belgium, India, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia, Brazil, South Africa, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Mexico, Argentina, Slovenia, Holland, Pakistan, Armenia and Iran.
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Size
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According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there were 436 nuclear power plants in operation in 2007. The five countries most reliant on nuclear energy are France, Lithuania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine.
Expert Insight
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Under legislation advocated by the Green Party and enacted by a joint Green-Social Democrat government, Germany is committed to phasing out nuclear power. Belgium is considering getting out of nuclear energy, and Lithuania agreed to dismantle its Soviet-made reactor as a condition of being admitted into the EU (the reactor is of the same type as Chernobyl). China, on the other hand, is committed to an ambitious reactor-building program to meet its future energy needs.
Considerations
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There are two types of dangers involving nuclear energy. The first would be an accident resulting in loss of control over the fission chain reaction. The danger here is that the heat produced would outstrip the ability of the reactor coolant to cope, causing the nuclear reaction. This could cause system failures which would release radioactivity into the environment. In the case of an extreme failure, the result would be a nuclear meltdown, where the reacting nuclear material burns or melts its way through its containment vessel, into the ground, and then into the water table. This would throw a huge cloud of radioactive steam and debris into the atmosphere. Accidents of this type have the potential to release radioactivity over an immense area. A small, well-contained accident might just contaminate the power plant, while a major one could result in fallout being spread worldwide.
To date, there have been two major accidents involving a nuclear power plant: Three Mile Island in the United States, and Chernobyl in the former USSR.
The second danger stems from the disposal of waste from the reactor. Spent fuels from a nuclear power plant are radioactive and highly toxic.They also pose security risks, as a terrorist who acquired a substantial amount of nuclear waste could construct a so-called "dirty bomb," with the purpose of spreading radioactive materials over a large area. An accident or attack involving radioactive waste would likely contaminate a strictly local area.
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