- Table View
- List View
Nuclear Decommissioning and Society: Public Links to a New Technology (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Martin J. PasqualettiOriginally published in 1990. This book argues that a better understanding of the social impact of decommissioning - in areas such as jobs, waste, economics, opinion, law, public policy, land-use and legacies - is vital to the successful application of any technical solution. The issues raised are divided into three areas which deal with those problems that have already been recognized, the questions that decommissioning itself will raise and those that may result from likely future developments. The book aims to initiate a process of appraisal by examining several of the more obvious social ties to decommissioning.
Nuclear Economy 1: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Economic Analysis
by Jacques Percebois Nicolas ThiollièreThis book presents the factual, precise, complete and accessible economic elements of nuclear energy in order to contribute to an informed and dispassionate debate. It begins with an in-depth analysis of the strategic policies relating to nuclear energy in France and around the world. The methodological aspects are presented exhaustively and illustrated with detailed examples and case studies. This book provides a relevant economic study of the fuel component of nuclear energy. In this context, aspects of the uranium market are presented, before describing in detail the technical and economic components upstream of the nuclear cycle.
Nuclear Economy 2: Nuclear Issues in the Energy Transition
by Jacques Percebois Nicolas ThiollièreThis book presents the factual, precise, complete and accessible economic elements of nuclear energy in order to contribute to an informed and dispassionate debate. It analyzes the economic aspects of spent fuel management, including the costs and financing of long-term storage and deep geological disposal. The economic costs of a nuclear accident are also discussed from both theoretical and applied angles, based on the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Nuclear Economy 2 also examines the industrial and political aspects of the future energy mix. Nuclear energy is thus placed in the more global context of the European electricity market. Finally, this book offers a panorama of energy scenarios on the scale of France, but also of the world.
Nuclear Emergencies: A Holistic Approach to Preparedness and Response (Current Topics in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine)
by Georg Steinhauser Akio Koizumi Katsumi ShozugawaThis book discusses nuclear events that may become imminent threats to the fabric of our society, and elucidates strategies for preventing these threats or mitigating their adverse effects. It addresses multidisciplinary aspects of various nuclear emergencies, including nuclear accidents, terror attacks involving nuclear materials, illicit trafficking of nuclear materials, and problems related to nuclear forensics and strikes with nuclear weapons/warheads. Very often, nuclear emergencies are only discussed within certain, specific communities. However, this volume brings together experts from various fields to provide a more holistic approach to the problem. Physical, chemical, environmental, social, and medical scientists, together with representatives from the media and authorities, present their views on and strategies for events that cause fear and anxiety among the public – an aspect that can be even more threatening than the direct health effects. The book offers a valuable guide for nuclear scientists, such as radioecologists, health physicists, radioanalytical scientists and nuclear engineers, as well as decision-makers and national/international authorities.
Nuclear Energy: An Answer to Climate Change?
by Glen W. S. Dowell James Weber Michael W. ToffelEnvironmental activist groups have traditionally opposed nuclear energy. However, the growing environmental problems associated with global climate change requires major changes to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation. Should environmental groups reverse course and support the construction of new nuclear plants--using technology that could be rapidly deployed at scale--to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global climate change?
Nuclear Energy: An Answer to Climate Change?
by Glen W. S. Dowell James Weber Michael W. ToffelEnvironmental activist groups have traditionally opposed nuclear energy. However, the growing environmental problems associated with global climate change requires major changes to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation. Should environmental groups reverse course and support the construction of new nuclear plants--using technology that could be rapidly deployed at scale--to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global climate change?
Nuclear Energy Development in Asia
by Xu Yi-ChongAn exploration of how and why Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and India have initiated and developed nuclear energy programs and what challenges they face today. Were the nuclear programmes driven by the low energy endowment, a desire to pursue international prestige, national security concerns, environmental pollution or economic development?
Nuclear Energy Safety and International Cooperation: Closing the World's Most Dangerous Reactors (Routledge Studies in Environmental Policy)
by Spencer Barrett Meredith, IIITwenty-five years after the Chernobyl explosion, disaster struck once again after a tsunami overwhelmed the considerable safety measures at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. However, Fukushima had in place a solid containment structure to reduce the spread of radiation in the event of a worst-case scenario; Chernobyl did not. These two incidents highlight the importance of such safety measures, which were critically lacking in an entire class of Soviet-designed reactors. This book examines why five countries operating these dangerous reactors first signed international agreements to close them within a few years, then instead delayed for almost two decades. It looks at how political decision makers weighed the enormous short-term costs of closing those reactors against the long-term benefits of compliance, and how the political instability that dominated post-Communist transitions impacted their choices. The book questions the efficacy of Western governments’ efforts to convince their Eastern counterparts of the dangers they faced, and establishes a causal relationship between political stability and compliance behavior. This model will also enable more effective assistance policies in similar situations of political change where decision makers face considerable short-term costs to gain greater future rewards. This book provides a valuable resource for postgraduate students, academics and policy makers in the fields of nuclear safety, international agreements, and democratization.
Nuclear Juggernaut: The transport of radioactive materials (Energy and Infrastructure Set)
by Martin BondEvery day throughout Britain, by road, by rail and by sea, there are large numbers of routine movements of radioactive cargo. Materials at all stages of the nuclear cycle, from uranium ore to nuclear waste, from nuclear warheads to radioactive isotopes used in medicine, are constantly on the move. In normal circumstances handling low-level material exposes workers to small doses of radiation, but a serious accident could lead to widespread contamination and to the major risk of additional deaths from cancer. The accident record is not good. There are repeated small accidents and many people believe that the major accident is simply waiting to happen. This book gives a thorough account of what is moved, by wham and far what purpose. It considers the risks, including that of terrorism, the safety record and the precautions. It also highlights the perils of the secrecy surrounding the industry: for example, local councils are responsible for coping with any accident, but are not told when or where nuclear movements are taking place. Martin Bond's careful work is a large step towards order in a chaotic industry. Originally published in 1992
Nuclear Power: Today and Tomorrow (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Kenneth JayOriginally published in 1961. This book gives the layman a better understanding of the nature of nuclear power and explains some of the major problems which have to be overcome in making practical use of it. It is concerned mainly with the different kinds of nuclear reactors - their underlying principles are explained and illustrated by reference to particular plants or design studies. Interested readers will find that the discussion of principles is full enough, and the range covered wide enough, to provide a broad view of the subject and a useful introduction to some more technical literature.
Nuclear Power: Siting and Safety (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Stan OpenshawOriginally published in 1986. Nuclear power is now regarded as essential to survival in the twenty-first century. But the safety of nuclear power stations is a highly controversial topic, and where they will be sited is a most vital question. In this independent critique, based on four years of research, Stan Openshaw argues that reactor siting provides a simple means of offering additional, design-independent margins of safety. Reactor siting policies in the UK and USA are examined and it is suggested that UK siting practices need to be updated. The large number of potential alternative sites should be used to devise new planning strategies – strategies which will minimise both the residual health risks from accidents and the danger that a future change in public opinion might lead to calls for the closure of many existing sites on safety grounds.
The Nuclear Power Debate: A Guide to the Literature (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Jerry W. MansfieldOriginally published in 1984. This annotated bibliography will serve as a starting point for information on the issue of nuclear power. Arranged for easy use into three sections – Pro-Nuclear, Anti-Nuclear, and Neutral – the book cites over a hundred of the most important books on the subject, offering for each full bibliographic data and a lengthy annotation that is balanced and informative. This work, which features author, title and subject indexes, is simultaneously a collection-building tool, a guide for non-specialist library patrons and an invaluable aid for research.
The Nuclear Power Decisions: British Policies, 1953-78 (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Roger WilliamsOriginally published in 1980. More so than any other energy resource, nuclear power has the capacity to provide much of our energy needs but is highly controversial. This book discusses the major British decisions in the civil nuclear field, and the way they were made, between 1953 and 1978. It spans the period between the decision to construct Calder Hall – claimed as the world’s first nuclear power station – and the Windscale Inquiry – claimed as the world's most thorough study of a nuclear project. For the period up to 1974 this involves a study of the internal processes of British central government. The private issues include the technical selection of nuclear reactors, the economic arguments about nuclear power and the political clashes between institutions and individuals. The public issues concern nuclear safety and the environment and the rights and opportunities for individuals and groups to protest about nuclear development. The book demonstrates that British civil nuclear power decision making had many shortcomings and concludes that it was hampered by outdated political and administrative attitudes and machinery and that some of the central issues in the nuclear power debate were misunderstood by the decision makers themselves.
Nuclear Power, Economic Development Discourse and the Environment: The Case of India (Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies)
by Manu V. MathaiNuclear power is often characterized as a "green technology." Technologies are rarely, if ever, socially isolated artefacts. Instead, they materially represent an embodiment of values and priorities. Nuclear power is no different. It is a product of a particular political economy and the question is whether that political economy can helpfully engage with the challenge of addressing the environmental crisis on a finite, inequitable and shared planet. For developing countries like India, who are presently making infrastructure investments which will have long legacies, it is imperative that these investments wrestle with such questions and prove themselves capable of sufficiency, greater equality and inclusiveness. This book offers a critique of civilian nuclear power as a green energy strategy for India and develops and proposes an alternative "synergy for sustainability." It situates nuclear power as a socio-technical infrastructure embodying a particular development discourse and practice of energy and economic development. The book reveals the political economy of this arrangement and examines the latter’s ability to respond to the environmental crisis. Manu V. Mathai argues that the existing overwhelmingly growth-focused, highly technology-centric approach for organizing economic activity is unsustainable and needs to be reformed. Within this imperative for change, nuclear power in India is found to be and is characterized as an "authoritarian technology." Based on this political economy critique the book proposes an alternative, a synergy of ideas from the fields of development economics, energy planning and science, technology and society studies.
Nuclear Power in Crisis: Politics and Planning for the Nuclear State (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by Andrew Blowers David PepperOriginally published in 1987. The Chernobyl disaster intensified the whole debate on the nuclear power industry. There was great public concern about the industry regulation, about the siting of nuclear facilities, including the dumping of nuclear waste, and about the alleged secretiveness of the industry. This book examines these and many other important aspects of the industry worldwide and provides much important original research. It focuses in particular on the political processes which control the industry, on waste disposal and on the social impact.
Nuclear Power in India: A Comparative Analysis (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources)
by David HartOriginally published in 1983. The Indian nuclear power programme, both the earliest in the Third World and also one of the most comprehensive, is an important and instructive subject for a wide-ranging and detailed study. This book examines the origins and rationale of the Indian programme in the context of energy resources and consumption. It traces the progress of its historical development and leads up to an evaluation of its performance, in both technical and economic terms of both individual reactors and the programme as a whole. In addition, the book discusses India's nuclear explosion of 1974 and the possibilities for novel developments in nuclear power and other energy sources, such as coal, biogas, hydro and solar power. The author then sets the Indian programme into the world picture by comparing developments in India with those of the Third World (including developments in China and South Africa) and discusses the overall prospects for the Third World. This extremely informative account will appeal to readers with interest in energy, science, technology and Third World developments.
Nuclear Power in Stagnation: A Cultural Approach to Failed Expansion (Routledge Studies in Energy Policy)
by David Toke Geoffrey Chun-Fung Chen Antony Froggatt Richard ConnollyThis book studies the extent to which nuclear safety issues have contributed towards the stagnation of nuclear power development around the world, and accounts for differences in safety regulations in different countries. In order to understand why nuclear development has not met widespread expectations, this book focusses on six key countries with active nuclear power programmes: the USA, China, France, South Korea, the UK, and Russia. The authors integrate cultural theory and theory of regulation, and examine the links between pressures of cultural bias on regulatory outcomes and political pressures which have led to increased safety requirements and subsequent economic costs. They discover that although nuclear safety is an important upward driver of costs in the nuclear power industry, this is influenced by the inherent need to control potentially dangerous reactions rather than stricter nuclear safety standards. The findings reveal that differences in the strictness of nuclear safety regulations between different countries can be understood by understanding differences in cultural contexts and the changes in this over time. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and policymakers working on energy policy and regulation, environmental politics and policy, and environment and sustainability more generally.
Nuclear Power, Man and the Environment (Routledge Library Editions: Energy Resources #No. 51)
by R. J. PentreathOriginally published in 1980. A clear understanding of how radioactivity moves through the environment is essential to discussions on nuclear power. This book describes, in didactic rather than polemic style, the nature of radioactivity, how it arises in the day-to-day running of nuclear reactors, how and why a small fraction is introduced into the environment in a controlled manner, and on what basis judgements on these processes should be made.
Nuclear Power Safety and Governance in East Asia (Routledge Studies in the Modern World Economy)
by Soocheol Lee Weisheng Zhou Kiyoshi FujikawaConfronting the challenges of nuclear power governance, this book provides pathways to nuclear safety cooperation between countries in East Asia where regional cooperation is challenged by geopolitical tensions. The book is split into three parts: first looking at nuclear risk and safety communications, second on nuclear policy and harmonization of safety standards, and third a comparative analysis of nuclear regulatory agencies in East Asia. Taken as a whole, the contributors recommend the establishment of a nuclear safety system that, which allows for mutual verification of safety standards at the regional level, and a regulatory framework with international credibility, which will help standardize risk communication. They suggest that the exchange of experiences involving nuclear power plant safety, efforts toward common safety standards, safety management, and collaborative efforts between Japan, China, and South Korea are extremely urgent issues. By comparing the European system of nuclear governance with that of East Asia, the book highlights the need for nuclear safety organizations in East Asia to strengthen interconnections and build regional linkages. This book will be of interest to policymakers, academics, and researchers in the field of energy policy, energy economics, nuclear safety, nuclear governance, and nuclear engineering.
Nuclear Roulette: The Truth About the Most Dangerous Energy Source on Earth
by Gar SmithNuclear power is not clean, cheap, or safe. With Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, the nuclear industry's record of catastrophic failures now averages one major disaster every decade. After three US-designed plants exploded in Japan, many countries moved to abandon reactors for renewables. In the United States, however, powerful corporations and a compliant government still defend nuclear power-while promising billion-dollar bailouts to operators. Each new disaster demonstrates that the nuclear industry and governments lie to "avoid panic," to preserve the myth of "safe, clean" nuclear power, and to sustain government subsidies. Tokyo and Washington both covered up Fukushima's radiation risks and-when confronted with damning evidence-simply raised the levels of "acceptable" risk to match the greater levels of exposure. Nuclear Roulettedismantles the core arguments behind the nuclear-industrial complex's "Nuclear Renaissance. " While some critiques are familiar-nuclear power is too costly, too dangerous, and too unstable-others are surprising:Nuclear Rouletteexposes historic links to nuclear weapons, impacts on Indigenous lands and lives, and the ways in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission too often takes its lead from industry, rewriting rules to keep failing plants in compliance. Nuclear Roulettecites NRC records showing how corporations routinely defer maintenance and lists resulting "near-misses" in the US, which average more than one per month. Nuclear Roulettechronicles the problems of aging reactors, uncovers the costly challenge of decommissioning, explores the industry's greatest seismic risks-not on California's quake-prone coast but in the Midwest and Southeast-and explains how solar flares could black out power grids, causing the world's 400-plus reactors to self-destruct. This powerful exposé concludes with a roundup of proven and potential energy solutions that can replace nuclear technology with a "Renewable Renaissance," combined with conservation programs that can cleanse the air, and cool the planet.
Nuclear Security: The Nexus Among Science, Technology and Policy
by Michael Nacht Michael Frank Stanley PrussinThis textbook is the first comprehensive and systematic account of the science, technology and policy issues associated with nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Throughout their account of the evolution of nuclear policy, from its origin to the early Trump presidency, the authors interweave clear technical expositions of the science and technology that underpin and constrain it. The book begins by tracing the early work in atomic physics, the discovery of fission, and the developments that led to the Manhattan Project and the delivery of atomic bombs against Japan that ended World War II. It follows the initial failed attempts at nuclear disarmament, the onset of the Cold War nuclear arms competition, and the development of light water reactors to harness nuclear energy for electric power generation. The authors thoroughly unpack the problem of nuclear proliferation, examining the strategy and incentives for states that have and have not pursued nuclear weapons, and providing an overview of the nuclear arsenals of the current nuclear weapon states. They trace the technical, political and strategic evolution of deterrence, arms control and disarmament policies from the first attempts for an Outer Space Treaty in 1957 through the new START treaty of 2009. At critical junctures in the narrative, the authors explain the relevant nuclear science and technology including nuclear fission and criticality; nuclear materials and enrichment; nuclear detonation and nuclear weapons effects; nuclear weapons stockpile constraints, stewardship and surveillance; nuclear fusion and thermonuclear weapons; technologies for monitoring, verification and proliferation; and nuclear forensics. They conclude with an assessment of contemporary issues ranging from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons development program, to the threat of nuclear terrorism, the perceived nuclear weapons policies of Russia and China, and the US efforts to provide disincentives for its allies to acquire their own nuclear weapons by maintaining credible security guarantees.
Nuclear Tube Assembly Room (A) (Condensed)
by John J. GabarroSupervisory practices and social structure in an electronics company assembly room. To be used with the (B) case. Based on American Radiatronics Corp. (A) by M.J. Steckler and P.R. Lawrence.
Nuclear Waste Management: Science, Technology, and Policy (Lecture Notes in Energy #83)
by Man-Sung YimThis book lays a comprehensive foundation for addressing the issue of safety in the lifecycle of nuclear waste. With the focus on the fundamental principles, the book covers key technical approaches to safety in the management of spent nuclear fuel, reprocessed high-level waste, low-level waste, and decommissioning wastes. Behaviors of nuclear waste in natural and engineered systems in relation to safety assessment are also described through the explanation of fundamental processes. For any country involved with the use of nuclear power, nuclear waste management is a topic of grave importance. Although many countries have heavily invested in nuclear waste management, having a successful national program still remains a major challenge. This book offers substantial guidance for those seeking solutions to these problems. As the problem of nuclear waste management is heavily influenced by social factors, the connection between technical and social issues in nuclear waste management is also discussed. The book is a core text for advanced students in nuclear and environmental engineering, and a valuable reference for those working in nuclear engineering and related areas.
Nuclear Waste Management and Legitimacy: Nihilism and Responsibility (Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies)
by Mats AndrénNuclear technology places special demands on society and both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes require a large measure of security and monitoring at the international level. This book focuses on nuclear waste management, which can work in democratic countries only if viewed as legitimate by the population. This book posits the inability of democracies to establish such legitimacy as an explanation for the current absence of public policy decisions that can identify a solution. The problems are such that they can be resolved only if fundamental aspects of the modern notion of legitimacy are set aside.
Nuclear Waste Management in a Globalised World
by Urban Strandberg Mats AndrénHigh-level nuclear waste (HLW) is a controversial and risky issue. For the next 100 years, the HLW will be subject to policy decisions and value assessments. Physically safe, technologically stable, and socio-economically sustainable HLW-management will top the agenda. That must be accomplished in a society whose segments are both stable and in a rapid state of flux, under the influence of global as well as national factors, private interests as well as the vagaries of national politics. Among the challenges to be faced is how to codify responsibilities of nuclear industry, governments and international organisations, and any adopted management policy must attain legitimacy at the local, national, regional and global levels. All such considerations raise questions about the practical and theoretical knowledge. This special issue book will address these questions by exploring HLW-management in Canada, France, Germany, India, Sweden, the UK and the USA. Special emphasis will be placed on highlighting national context, current trends and uncertainties, with relevance to a socially sustainable contemporary and future HLW-management.