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Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?

Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?

Edited by
C.R. Hill (Institute of Cancer Research, Univ. of London)
B. van der Zwann (Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, France)
G Ripka (Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, France)
A. L. Mechelynck (Huldenberg, Belgium)

World Scientific

©1999
  1. Preface


    2.
  2. Chapter 1: Nuclear Electricity - An Aide Memoire


    3.
    1. Introduction
    2. Basics
    3. Thermal Reactors
      • The Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)
      • The Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
      • Heavy Water Reactors
      • Gas Cooled, Graphite Moderated Reactors
      • Water Cooled, Graphite Moderated Reactors (RBMK)
    4. Radioactive and Fissile Products
    5. Health Hazards
    6. Further Developments
      • "Enhanced Safety" Reactor Designs
      • Plutonium Fuelled Thermal Reactors: MOX
      • Fast Reactors
      • Thorium Reactors
      • Accelerator Hybrids: "Incinerators
      • Fusion Reactors
    7. Resources for Nuclear Fission Power
    8. Economics
    9. References
  3. Chapter 2: Preventing Climate Change: The Role of Nuclear Energy


    4.
    1. Introduction
    2. The Objective of Emission Controls
    3. Selecting a Stabilization Target
    4. Limits on Fossil-fuel Emissions
      • Other greenhouse gases
      • Carbon emissions
      • Non-fossil-fuel carbon emissions
      • Fossil-fuel emissions
    5. Carbon-ftee Energy Supply
    6. The Potential Role of Fission
    7. Conclusion
  4. Chapter 3: World Energy and Climate in the Next Century


    5.
    1. Introduction
    2. Energy Consumption and the Environment
    3. Alternatives to Carbon Emitting Fuels
    4. Some Conclusions
  5. Chapter 4: Energy Efficiency is the Key


    6.
    1. Introduction
    2. Development and energy demand
    3. Scenarios for the Future
    4. How to do it?
    5. Reference
  6. Chapter 5: Problems and Prospects for Nuclear Power in India


    7.
    1. Introduction
    2. Milestones
    3. Nuclear Power Programme
    4. Lessons Learned
    5. Environmental Aspects and Technology Development
    6. Other Nuclear Energy Production Techniques
      • Subcritical systems
      • Fusion
      • Fast breeder reactors
    7. How Market Forces Can Impede the Development of New Technologies
    8. Influence of Capital
      • India
    9. Appendix: Milestone Chart and Important Dates
    10. References
  7. Chapter 6: Energy in a Changing World


    8.
    1. Introduction
    2. Distribution of electric energy
    3. Energy consumption patterns
    4. Energy consumption patterns for Germany
    5. Energy for big, rapidly developing countries
    6. Energy for least-developed countries
    7. Conclusions
  8. Chapter 7: Safety of Nuclear Power - Some Observations


    9.
    1. Introduction
    2. Relevance of "Defence in Depth" to the Three Mile Island Accident
    3. History and Future of Water-cooled Reactors
    4. Water Reactor with Passive Safety Features
  9. Chapter 8: The Nature and Management of Nuclear Wastes


    10.
    1. Introduction
    2. General Background on Back-end Nuclear Wastes
    3. Some Issues Related to Nuclear Wastes
    4. The Management of Spent Fuels and of Separated Plutonium
    5. Transmutation as a Complementary Option to Geological Disposal?
    6. Waste Management in Relation to Long-term Nuclear Development and the Use of Thorium
    7. Conclusion
  10. Chapter 9: The Storage of Nuclear Wastes


    11.
    1. Introduction
    2. The Nature of Radioactive Waste from Nuclear Power Reactors
    3. Existing Strategies
      • The regulatory framework log
      • Low and very low level waste
      • Short-lived ILW
      • HLW and long-lived ILW
    4. Long Term Storage/Disposal
      • Process modelling
      • The near-field
      • The geosphere
      • The biosphere
      • Summary: the state of repository modelling
    5. Utilisation in Power Reactors
    6. Transmutation and Sub-Critical Reactor Systems
  11. Chapter 10: Spent Fuel Management


    12.
    1. Introduction
    2. The Energy Framework and Breeders
    3. The Non-proliferation Issue
      • A US perspective
      • A European perspective
        • Historical background
        • The proliferation risk
      • All In My Back Yard (AIMBY) or Regional Centres?
    4. Economic Considerations
    5. Conclusions
  12. Chapter 11: The Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Does Reprocessing Make Sense?


    13.
    1. Introduction
    2. The US Fuel Cycle
    3. The French Nuclear Fuel Cycle
    4. Criteria For Choice
      • Radiation and accident hazard
      • Proliferation potential
      • Economics
    5. Nuclear Fuel Supply
      • When the breeder reactor?
    6. Disposal Of Spent Fuel Or High-Level Nuclear Wastes
    7. Conclusion
  13. Chapter 12: Why Reprocess? - A UK Case Study


    14.
    1. Early Hopes for Nuclear Power
    2. Disillusionment
    3. Nuclear Power Retains its Attractions in some Countries
    4. Tighter Controls needed on the Spread of nuclear Power
    5. Nuclear Proliferation - the Hidden Costs
    6. Reprocessing and Waste Management in Britain
    7. History of Nuclear Waste Policy in the UK
  14. Chapter 13: The Disposal of Separated Plutonium Stocks


    15.
    1. Introduction
    2. The Issue
      • Weapons-Grade Plutonium (WPu)
      • Separated Reactor-Grade Plutonium
      • Reactor-Grade Plutonium in Spent Nuclear Fuel
    3. Management of Weapons-Grade Plutonium
      • Options available
        • The US National Academy of Sciences Analysis
      • Facing Reality
      • Priority actions
    4. Management of Separated Reactor-grade Plutonium
      • General Background
      • The UK situation
      • The Belgian situation
      • Separated civilian plutonium stocks
      • The Alternatives
      • Storage
      • Immobilisation and Disposal
      • The MOX option
      • Utilisation of UK MOX fuel in overseas reactors
      • Alternative fuels and reactor designs
    5. Separated Plutonium Management: Comparing the situation in the US and in Europe
      • Plutonium Storage
      • MOX fabrication
      • MOX-fuel irradiation
      • Economic evaluation
        • In Europe
      • In the United States
    6. Recommendations
      • Military weapons-grade plutonium
      • Civilian separated reactor-grade plutonium stocks
    7. Appendix: Cost Comparison of Plutonium Disposal Options (A Numerical Example)
  15. Chapter 14: The Disposal of Plutonium


    16.
    1. Introduction
    2. Weapon Plutonium
    3. Building On Other Chapters in This Book
    4. Prescription
      • Excess US weapon plutonium
      • Russian excess weapon plutonium
      • Disposal of separated civil plutonium
      • Spent fuel containing plutonium
    5. Competitive, Commercial, Mined Geological Repositories
    6. The Highly Enriched Uranium Problem
    7. The Long-Term Future
  16. Chapter 15: Fast Neutron and Accelerator-Driven Reactors


    17.
    1. The Prospects of Nuclear Energy
    2. Fast Neutron Reactors
    3. Accelerator-Driven Systems
    4. References
  17. Chapter 16: Prospects for Accelerator-Driven Reactors: The Energy Amplifier


    18.
    1. Introduction
    2. Reactor Safety
    3. Accelerator Technology
    4. Thorium Fuel and Plutonium Reduction
    5. Thorium Fuel and Non-Proliferation
    6. Technical Obstacles
    7. Waste Transmutation
    8. Conclusion
  18. Chapter 17: The Risk of Proliferation and International Safeguards


    19.
    1. Introduction
    2. Genesis and Development of the Non-Proliferation Policy
    3. The Most Critical Threats to Non-Proliferation
      • Countries Non-Signatories of the NPT
      • Secret Facilities
      • Illegal Trafficking of Fissile Materials
      • Fissile Materials from Dismantled Weapons
    4. The Safeguards System: a Barrier against Proliferation
      • The Instruments of the Safeguards System
      • Technical Limitations of the Safeguards System
      • Legal Limitations of the Safeguards System
      • Improvements in IAEA Safeguards: Strengthened ("93+2") Safeguards System
      • Preliminary Legal Amendments
      • The Strengthened ('93+2") Safeguards System
    5. Conclusion
  19. Chapter 18: The Risk of Proliferation: the Role of International Agencies


    20.
    1. Treaty Coverage: The NPT and Regional Weapon-Free-Zones
    2. The European Union
    3. The Zangger Committee and the NSG
    4. The Evolution of IAEA Safeguards
      • The Strengthened ("93+2") Safeguards System
    5. International Control of Plutonium?
    6. The International Bodies Administering the CWC, BWC and CTBT
    7. A Cut-off Convention
    8. The Role of the Security Council
    9. Some Conclusions
      • Nuclear threats
      • The IAEA
      • Chemical and biological threats and the need for a complete elimination of nuclear weapons
      • Co-operation between the verification agencies and the Security Council
  20. Concluding Impressions


    21.
    1. Global Energy Management Health and the Environment
    2. Nuclear Weapons Proliferation
  21. Appendix: Technical Notes and Units


    22.
    1. Prefixes
    2. Time
    3. Mass
    4. Temperature
    5. Pressure
    6. Energy
    7. Power
    8. Carbon and Carbon Dioxide
    9. Energy Sources and Use
    10. Economies of Energy
    11. Radioactivity
    12. Element Symbols
  22. List of Abbreviations


    23.
  23. Biographies


    24.
  24. Acknowledgements


    25.
  25. Index