Where is fission produced today

Nuclear power plants heat water to produce steam. The steam is used to spin large turbines that generate electricity. Nuclear power plants use heat produced during nuclear fission to heat water. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Fission takes place inside the reactor of a nuclear power plant. At the center of the reactor is the core, which contains uranium fuel.

The uranium fuel is formed into ceramic pellets. Each ceramic pellet produces about the same amount of energy as gallons of oil. These energy-rich pellets are stacked end-to-end in foot metal fuel rods. A bundle of fuel rods, some with hundreds of rods, is called a fuel assembly. A reactor core contains many fuel assemblies. The heat produced during nuclear fission in the reactor core is used to boil water into steam, which turns the blades of a steam turbine.

As the turbine blades turn, they drive generators that make electricity. Nuclear plants cool the steam back into water in a separate structure at the power plant called a cooling tower, or they use water from ponds, rivers, or the ocean.

The cooled water is then reused to produce steam. Nuclear reactors in the United States may have large concrete domes covering the reactors, which are required to contain accidental releases of radiation. Not all nuclear power plants have cooling towers. Some nuclear power plants use water from lakes, rivers, or the ocean for cooling. As of December 31, , 94 nuclear reactors were operating at 56 nuclear power plants in 28 states.

Thirty-two of the plants have two reactors, and three plants have three reactors. Learn more about the U. Boron has the property of absorbing neutrons without re-emitting any. When the control blades are fully inserted, they absorb so many neutrons from the uranium that there are not enough to allow a chain reaction to continue. To put the reactor into operation, the control blades are raised very slowly. As fewer and fewer neutrons are absorbed, more and more neutrons are available to cause the splitting of uranium nuclei, until finally enough neutrons are available to sustain a chain reaction.

In the MIT reactor, one other group of components is essential to the maintaining and controlling a chain reaction. That's because uranium atoms split apart relatively easily.

Uranium is also a very common element, found in rocks all over the world. However, the specific type of uranium used to produce nuclear energy, called U , is rare.

U makes up less than one percent of the uranium in the world. Although some of the uranium the United States uses is mined in this country, most is import ed. The U. Once uranium is mined, it must be extract ed from other mineral s. It must also be processed before it can be used. Because nuclear fuel can be used to create nuclear weapon s as well as nuclear reactors, only nations that are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT are allowed to import uranium or plutonium , another nuclear fuel.

The treaty promotes the peaceful use of nuclear fuel, as well as limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. A typical nuclear reactor uses about tons of uranium every year. Complex processes allow some uranium and plutonium to be re-enriched or recycled. This reduces the amount of mining , extracting, and processing that needs to be done. Nuclear Energy and People Nuclear energy produces electricity that can be used to power homes, schools, businesses, and hospitals.

The first nuclear reactor to produce electricity was located near Arco, Idaho. The Experimental Breeder Reactor began powering itself in The first nuclear power plant designed to provide energy to a community was established in Obninsk, Russia, in Building nuclear reactors requires a high level of technology , and only the countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty can get the uranium or plutonium that is required. For these reasons, most nuclear power plants are located in the developed world.

Nuclear power plants produce renewable, clean energy. They do not pollute the air or release greenhouse gas es. They can be built in urban or rural area s, and do not radically alter the environment around them.

The steam powering the turbines and generators is ultimately recycle d. It is cooled down in a separate structure called a cooling tower. The steam turns back into water and can be used again to produce more electricity. Excess steam is simply recycled into the atmosphere , where it does little harm as clean water vapor. However, the byproduct of nuclear energy is radioactive material. Radioactive material is a collection of unstable atomic nuclei.

These nuclei lose their energy and can affect many materials around them, including organisms and the environment. Radioactive material can be extremely toxic , causing burn s and increasing the risk for cancer s, blood diseases, and bone decay. Radioactive waste is what is left over from the operation of a nuclear reactor.

Radioactive waste is mostly protective clothing worn by workers, tools, and any other material that have been in contact with radioactive dust.

Radioactive waste is long-lasting. Materials like clothes and tools can stay radioactive for thousands of years.

The government regulates how these materials are disposed of so they don't contaminate anything else. Used fuel and rods of nuclear poison are extremely radioactive. The used uranium pellets must be stored in special containers that look like large swimming pools. Water cools the fuel and insulate s the outside from contact with the radioactivity.

Some nuclear plants store their used fuel in dry storage tanks above ground. The storage sites for radioactive waste have become very controversial in the United States. For years, the government planned to construct an enormous nuclear waste facility near Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for instance. Environmental groups and local citizens protested the plan. They worried about radioactive waste leaking into the water supply and the Yucca Mountain environment, about kilometers 80 miles from the large urban area of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Although the government began investigating the site in , it stopped planning for a nuclear waste facility in Yucca Mountain in Chernobyl Critics of nuclear energy worry that the storage facilities for radioactive waste will leak, crack, or erode. Radioactive material could then contaminate the soil and groundwater near the facility.

This could lead to serious health problems for the people and organisms in the area. All communities would have to be evacuate d. This is what happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in A steam explosion at one of the power plants four nuclear reactors caused a fire, called a plume.

This plume was highly radioactive, creating a cloud of radioactive particles that fell to the ground, called fallout. The fallout spread over the Chernobyl facility, as well as the surrounding area.