UK Nuclear Industry

www.nuclearinst.com@NuclearInst

Why Nuclear poWer?• Nuclearpowersuppliesaround11%oftheworld’selectricity,withanaverageofaround21%intheUK• Therearecurrentlyover430commercialnuclearpowerstationsoperatingin31countriesandanadditional67are

underconstruction.• Incomparisontotraditionalfossilfuels,nuclearfuelgeneratesmillionsoftimesmorepower,savesbillionsof

tonnesofCO2emissions,andcausesnoairpollution.Unlikefossilfuels,uraniumhasamuchgreatershelf-life.• Uraniumissourcedfromarangeofcountries,includingmanywhicharenotmajorsuppliersofotherfuelssuchas

oilandgas.TheseincludeCanadaandAustralia,whichaccountforaboutahalfoftheworld’sknownreservesofuseableuranium.

• IntheUK,wecurrentlyhave16nuclearreactorsgeneratingabout18%ofitsoverallelectricityandallbutoneofthesewillberetiredby2023.Thespentfuelfromthecurrentgenerationofnuclearreactorsisrecycledforre-use.

• TheUKnuclearindustrycurrentlyemploysover60,000peopleinvolvedinarangeofactivitiesfrompowergenerationtoclean-upandconstruction.Thisislikelytoincreaseintheyearstocomeaswebuildnewpowerstations.

neutron

neutron

neutron

neutron

target nucleus

fission product

fission product

DiD you kNoW...? Nuclear technologies have many uses, including powering Mars rovers.

• NuclearEnergyistheenergythatisstoredinthenucleusofanatom.Thisenergycanbeusedbyreleasingit,eitherbyfusionor,fission.NuclearPowerPlantsusefissiontomakeelectricity.

• Powerplantsusetheheatgivenoffduringfissionasfueltomakeelectricity.

• Atomsofuranium,acommonelementthatcanbeminedfromtheEarth,areusedinnuclearreactions.Itisacheapandplentifulfuelsource.

• Intheprocesscallednuclearfission,atinyparticlecalledaneutronhitsauraniumatom;splittingitandreleasingtwoorthreeneutronsandgeneratingachainreaction.Ahugeamountofenergyisreleasedduringthisprocessasheat.Eachoftheneutronswhichareproducedcouldthenhitanotheruraniumatomandcauseanotherfission,thuscreatingachainreaction.

• Thisenergycanboilwatertocreatesteam,whichinturncausesturbinestospin,generatingelectricityinapowerplant.

UK National Average Fuel Mix

2012-2013

Source: www.gov.uk

Coal

Natural Gas

Nuclear

Renewables

Other Fuels

38%

28%

21%

11%

2%

hoW Does Nuclear eNergy Work?

DiD you kNoW...? Nuclear power plants can generate electricitycontinuously for many months at a time, without interruption

it’s all arouND us• Radiationistheenergythatemanatesfromasourceandtravelsthroughsomematerialorspace.Light,heatandsoundarealltypesofradiation.

• Ourbodiesareexposedtonaturalradiationeveryday--fromsoilandundergroundgasestocosmicradiationfromthesunandouterspace.We’realsoexposedtoradiationfromourowninventions--medicalprocedures,televisions,mobilephonesandmicrowaveovens.

• Theionizingradiationiscalledsoasitcanproducechargedparticles,knownas‘ions’inmatter.Ionisationcauseschemicalchangesinmaterials,andcanaffectourbodiesandotherthingsaroundus.

• Thereareseveraltypesofionisingradiationwithvaryingpenetrativepowers,ofwhichthemostimportantarealpha,betaandgamma(andX-ray).Theradioactivityofasubstance,ortherateatwhichdecayistakingplace,ismeasuredinbequerels(Bq),andtheunitwhichestimatestheeffectadoseofbackgroundradiationhasonlivingmatteristhemillisievert(mSv).

raDiatioN...

alpha:fast-movingheliumnucleus,stoppedbyskinorpaper

beta:highenergyelectron,stoppedbyaluminiumplate

gamma high energy:photons,stoppedbydensematerial

AverageannualradiationdosestopeoplelivingintheUK:totalaveragedose2.6mSv

IndustrialDisposal <0.1%Products <0.1%Fallout 0.2%Occupational 0.2%

Radon 50%In air, buildings

1.3 mSv

Gamma 13.5%

Rocks, soils, granite

0.35 mSv

Internal 10%Food,

drink 0.3 mSv

Cosmic 12%Sun, flying 0.25 mSv

Medical 14%X-rays, spine

2 mSv

Ionizing Radiation

α

β

γ

hoW Do Nuclear poWer statioNs Work?

• Anuclearreactoristhecentreofapowerstationwherenuclearfissiontakesplace.Piecesofuraniumaboutthesizeofyourfingertipgetstackedupin12-foot-longmetaltubes,calledrods.Theserodsformthecoreofthereactorandensurethatenoughneutronsarecapturedbytheuraniumtoestablishafissionchainreaction.

• Theneutronsreleasedduringfissionmovesoquicklythattheytendtobounceoffotheruraniumatoms,sothefuelrodsaresurroundedbya‘moderator’toslowthemdown.Thisisusuallywaterorgraphite.

• Theamountofenergyreleasedinsideanuclearreactorcanbecontrolledbyusing‘controlrods’.Thesearemadefromsubstancessuchasboronsteelandfitbetweenthefuelrods,andcanbeloweredorraised.Thecontrolrodsabsorbneutronsandloweringthemreducesthenumberofneutronsavailabletocausefissionofuranium.Iftheyareloweredcompletely,thereactorwillshutdown.

• Theheatenergyreleasedbythenuclearfissionprocessiscontinuallyremovedfromthereactorcorebya‘coolant’.Thecoolantflowsatahightemperaturefromthecoretoaheatexchanger(or‘boiler’),whereitconvertswaterintosteam,whichdrivesasteamturbineconvertingtherotationintoelectricity.

DiD you kNoW...?1 gram of

Uranium when undergoing fission in a

nuclear reactor gives energy equivalent to

burning around 3 tonnes of coal

or 2 tonnes of oil.

TheexistinggenerationofnuclearpowerstationsintheUKaregascooledwithcarbondioxideexceptthemostmodernonebuiltatSizewellBinSuffolk,whichisapressurisedwaterreactor(PWR).ThenextgenerationofpowerstationstobebuiltintheUKwillbelightwatercooled,eitherpressurisedwaterreactors(PWR)orboilingwaterreactors(BWR).

• TheUKGovernmenthasrecentlyannouncedaprogrammetobuild19newpowerstationsintheUK,withthefirstatHinkleyPointinSomerset.

• HinkleyPointisexpectedtobeonlineby2023with12reactorsbuilttosupply16gigawattsatfivesitesoperatingby2030.

• TheUKhasimplementedaverythoroughassessmentprocessforitsnewreactordesignsandlocation,overseenbyindependentregulators,theOfficeofNuclearRegulation(ONR)andtheEnvironmentAgency(EA).

• Theinvestmenttobuildthesepowerstationsiscomingfromprivateutilitiesandisestimatedatmorethan£70billion.• Thedevelopersareallusingdifferentformsoflightwatermoderatedreactors.NNBGen.Co.usingaformof

PressurisedWaterReactor(PWR,www.epr-reactor.co.uk),HorizonNuclearPowerusingaformofAdvancedBoilerWaterReactor(ABWR,www.hitachi-hgne-uk-abwr.co.uk)andNuGenerationusingaformofPressurisedWaterReactor(PWR,www.ukap1000application.com)

aN excitiNg time for Nuclear - NeW poWer statioNs built!

DiD you kNoW...? Hinkley Point power station is expected to provide up to 25,000 jobs during the lifetime of the project and once built will provide about 900 full-time jobs

Thisisanexcitingtimeforthesectorwiththecreationofmanynewjobsandopportunities.• Thereisaneedforscientists,engineersandmanyotherprofessionalswhocan; o designandbuildnuclearpowerplants o helpmaintainnuclearpowerstationsduringtheiroperatinglivesand o supporttheoperationsofthefuelcycleincluding‘enriching’uraniumtocreatereactor fuel,turningthefuelintopelletsandassembliesforuseinthepowerstations, transportingfuelsafelyanddealingwithusedfuel.

o takethepowerstationsapartattheendoftheirlives,whichiscalleddecommissioning. Thisinvolvesdevelopingundergroundwastedisposalfacilitiesand,induecourse, operatingthesefacilities.

• ThereisalsoaneedforspecialistswhocanundertakeassuranceandensureregulatorycomplianceincludingQualityAssurance,Safety,EnvironmentalandHealthPhysicists(radiationexperts).

careers iN NuclearDoes this sound exciting? Do you want to get involved?

• TheNuclearInstituteistheUKprofessionalbodyandlearnedsocietyforthenuclearsectorandhasalargenumberofmembersworkinginallareasofthenuclearsector.Wepromoteexcellenceinnuclearbytheconceptofthe‘NuclearDelta’intoourownmembershipgradesbutalsointotheeducation&trainingofallindividualsworkinginthenuclearindustry.

• TheNuclearInstitutecontributestopublicunderstandingofnuclearenergythroughgovernmentconsultations,publiclecturesandeducationaloutreachthroughouttheUK.SomeoftheseactivitiesincludeSTEMoutreachtoSecondaryEducation,attendanceatengineering/sciencefairssuchastheBigBangFairandasuccessfulYoungPeopleSpeakingCompetition.

• OfthenationwidegroupswithintheNI,theYoungGenerationNetwork(YGN),offeryoungermembersoftheNuclearIndustrytheopportunitytofurthertheirknowledge,networkwiththeirpeers,facilitateknowledgetransferbetweengenerationsandsupportscareerprogression.

• Wedeliverover60conferencesandseminarseveryyearbothnationallyandviaourbranchnetwork,alargenumberofthesebeingfreetoattendandopentoeveryone.

• TheNuclearInstituteoffersgreatnetworkingandprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.HoldinglicencesfromboththeEngineeringCouncilandScienceCouncil,theNuclearInstituteregistersCharteredEngineers,IncorporatedEngineers,EngineeringTechniciansandCharteredScientists.

CK International House, 1-6 Yarmouth Place, London W1J 7BU T: 0203 4754701 admin@nuclearinst.com www.nuclearinst.com

the Nuclear iNstitute

Organisation Website

NuclearInstitute www.nuclearinst.com

NuclearInstitute–YGN www.ygn.nuclearinst.com

NuclearIndustryAssociation www.niauk.org

WorldNuclearAssociation www.world-nuclear.org

NSANuclear www.nuclear.nsacademy.co.uk

NuclearGraduates www.nucleargraduates.com

CogentSSC www.cogent-ssc.com

NuclearCareers www.sciencecareerpathways.com/nuclear-careers

NSANuclear-Careers www.nuclear.nsacademy.co.uk/careers

NuclearIsland www.nuclearisland.co.uk/

OfficeforNuclearRegulation www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear

UKNuclearUniversityNetwork www.uknuclear.net

for further iNformatioN oN Nuclear eNergy aND careers visit the folloWiNg liNks...