Nuclear Power – Safety

Three factors to consider

• Danger of handling radioactive
materials – the fuel and the
waste safely so workers and
the public are safe

• Danger of a ‘melt down’ – a

nuclear accident

• Danger of terrorist attacks –

possibility of stealing nuclear
material to make weapons or
just blowing up the power
station!
Let’s look at the normal operation
of the plant…
• Fuel rods contain uranium (both isotopes are
alpha (and gamma) emitters with a long half
life).
• Why are radioactive isotopes dangerous to us?
Radioactivity
• The natural
decay products
of the fuel are
radioactive – as
are the daughter
nuclei…
Radioactivity
• Note the
variation in half
life…
• What affect does
this variation
have on activity?
• What affect will
this have on the
fuel rods?
Radioactivity

• The fission fragments

are radioactive (most
often neutron rich)
• The natural decay
products of the
fission fragments are
radioactive – as are
their daughter nuclei.
Radioactivity

• The fission fragments

are often rare
isotopes
• What does that tell
you about their half
life?
• What affect will that
have on the fuel
rods?
Radioactivity

• The instruments used in the

reaction vessel, moderator and
control rods all become
radioactive by artificial
transmutation as the reactor
operates – as do the walls of
the vessel and the shielding
around it.
 Criteria for the Selection of a
Shield Material
• Theoretically any material can be used for radiation shielding
as long as it is thick enough to attenuate the radiation to safe
limits.
• The choice of the shield material is dependent upon many
varied factors. All of these need to be considered:
• The final desired attenuated radiation levels,
• The ease of heat dissipation
• Resistance to radiation damage,
• Required thickness and weight,
• Multiple use considerations (e.g., shield and/or structural),
• Uniformity of shielding capability,
• Permanence of shielding, and
• Availability and cost.
Shielding Materials
Material Half Thickness /cm Density / (g/cm³)

lead 1.0 11.30

concrete 6.1 3.33

steel 2.5 7.86

packed soil 9.1 1.99

water 18 1.00

wood 29 0.56
depleted uranium 0.2 19.10

air 15000  
Shielding

• In exam questions they
expect you to name concrete
as the shield as it is the
principal material - but steel
and lead is also employed to
get the structure strong
and to give a very low
radiation level to workers.
Waste
Three categories:
• High level
• Intermediate level
• Low level
High Level Waste
• This waste requires very heavy shielding
as it is very radioactive.
• The intense radioactive decay generates
a large amount of heat. This needs to be
carefully considered when thinking
about storage and final disposal.
• High Level Waste includes spent fuel
and highly radioactive liquids generated
during reprocessing operations.
High Level Waste
• Spent fuel is all stored at Sellafield in
high-integrity stainless steel tanks
fitted with cooling coils to remove the
heat generated.
• Management and disposal of this
waste is difficult due to:

1. the high levels of activity (due to the

short half life nuclides),
2. the heat continually generated as a
result of decay processes needs to
be removed. 
Spent Fuel Rods
• Spent fuel rods have to be
moved by remote control
as they are so radioactive.
• They are placed in cooling
ponds for several months to
allow short half life isotopes
to decay.
• When they have reduced in
activity enough they are
reprocessed.
 Spent Fuel Rods
• The remaining waste can then be
vitrified (encased within glass)
and encased in air cooled steel
drums for 50 years to allow the
heat generated to reduce to
manageable levels. They can then
be buried deep underground in
repositories (often deep mine
shafts reinforced with concrete)
that need to be highly shielded and
carefully monitored at a
geologically stable site.
Spent Fuel Rods

• For transportation purposes - any casing has

to be high impact resistant and transport
convoys have to be secure and slow moving -
in case of terrorist action or any accident
occurring.
Intermediate Level Waste

• This waste also needs to be heavily shielded,

as it can be extremely radioactive, but does not
generate as much heat as High Level Waste.
• Some of the radioactive particles present in
this waste may have very long half-lives and so
require isolation for many thousands of years.
 Intermediate Level Waste
• Intermediate Level Waste
includes fuel element claddings
removed prior to reprocessing,
various sludges and ion
exchange resins from fuel
storage pond water treatment;
concentrates of liquid waste
streams; heavily contaminated
scrap equipment; plutonium
contaminated materials and
graphite sleeves and steel
components from AGR fuel
assemblies.
 Intermediate Level Waste
• Large volumes of
Intermediate Level Waste
are expected from
decommissioning
operations are expected in
the coming years.
• Because of the wide range
of Intermediate Level
Waste sources many
different forms of
conditioning and packaging
are required.
Low Level Waste

• This waste tends to be low in radioactivity and high in

bulk.
• It ranges from general rubbish (gloves, clothing,
packaging, paper towels, over shoes, laboratory
glassware, etc.) to some very low-level plutonium
contaminated materials.
• A lot of material classified as Low Level Waste, may in
fact not be radioactive at all, but it is potentially
radioactive through being in an active/contaminated
area.
 Low Level Waste
• The low levels of radioactivity and the
short-lives of the contaminants mean
this waste is relatively harmless if
handled properly.
• However, any site used for Low Level
Waste disposal will need to be subject
to land use restrictions for around
300 years after the site is closed.
• There is also always a risk of
environmental problems if water
leaching through the waste site finds
its way into surface and ground
waters.