December 03, 2008

10 things one should know about nuclear power plants

1. Nuclear power plants provide about 17% of the world's electricity. France uses nuclear power to generate around 80% of its electricity needs.

2. According to the IAEA, as of 2007, there are around 439 nuclear power plants around the world.

3. A new 1,000 MW nuclear power plant would cost around USD 2 billion and take five years to build. By contrast, a new 1,000 MW pulverized coal plant would cost USD 1.2 billion and take three to four years to build.

4. All nuclear power plants are designed for a finite period, of around 60 years. After this, they have to be decommissioned, decontaminated and demolished so that the site is made available for other uses.

5. The first man made reactor was made in the United States, known as Chicago Pile 1, which achieved criticality on December 2nd 1942. The world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall in England was opened in 1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW.

6. Russia has begun building floating nuclear power plants. The USD 205 million vessel, the Lomonosov to be completed in 2010, is the first of seven plants that Moscow says will bring vital energy resources to remote Russian regions.

7. The world's most famous nuclear power station is not in Chernobyl, or Three Mile Island. It is the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, owned by Montgomery Burns and workplace of Homer Simpson.

8. The death toll during the Chernobyl disaster in Russia includes the 50 workers who died of acute radiation syndrome and nine children who died from thyroid cancer. An estimated 4,000 people are expected to die from cancer-related illness.

9. In Europe, there are 400,000 people employed in nuclear power plants.

10. Australia's uranium reserves are the world's largest, with 24% of the total. Production and exports average about 10,000 tonnes of uranium oxide per year.