Floating nuclear plants‏

There is no limit to human imagination: Russia is now building its first floating nuclear power plant. The Russian government has decided to build a new type of nuclear plants: They are floating ! The first prototype should be ready in 2011. It will have the capacity to produce enough electricity for a small town of 200 000 habitants and will cost approximately 300 millions Euros. It will measure 140 meters of length for 30 meters width. There will be 140 persons working on the plant. The floating plant will be brought in a secure and quiet port in the baltic sea. The russian engineers believe that this type of nuclear plants could also be useful in the future for the desalinization of water. What about vulnerability to terrorism ? According to Russian authorities, everything has been forseen and the plant security will be taken care of by sophisticated electronic access control equipments ( eyes and finger print laser recognition and other things), and anti submarine attacks control systems. The plant is also expected to resist to the crash of a kamikaze plane. Apparently there is already a number of countries which expressed their interest of buying floating plants in the future. The list includes Canada, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea.

Let us wish us all good luck for the future...

Have you ever heard about “Radon” gas ?

All of you know about the Radium that was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie, but only a few may know what is the radon.
The radon is a radioactive gas of natural origin. It has no smell and no colour. You can find it anywhere on the planet. It is a product of the disintegration of radium, itself a product of the uranium that can be found anywhere in the soil. Concentration of radon in the air depends on the type of soils. With granite or volcanic soils the production of radon is usually higher.
Radon can be used in medical radiotherapy . At the same time it was confirmed by the World Health Organization that it
can provoke cancers.
In France measures of radon gas levels are undertaken regularly on the whole territory by the National institute of nuclear safety, based on the principle that you can find Uranium almost anywhere in the soils.
While it is important to understand better the impact of Radon gas on public health and particularly cancer incidence, it cannot be compared with other major factors such as for example tobacco consumption, or urban pollution.
To prevent risks there should be a good ventilation of the room, and a covering of the soil.

France, the HEART of nuclear world.

Source: "L Atlas 2009 le Monde diplomatique Hors série , un monde à l'envers"

Nuclear Energy

The nuclear energy discussion


The civil nuclear energy has reach it highest production just after the oil crisis, but since several accidents such as Three Miles Island in 1979 and Tchernobyl in 1986, this development slowed down.

But this production isn’t starting again Nowaday?


Maybe we can suppose that:

• The augmentation of oil price (150 $ the barrel in 2008)
  
• The anticipation of oil shortage
• The climate changement

Are reasons of this new tendancy

The governement has found 2 solutions; The renewable energy and the nuclear energy.
Unfortunatly, the first solution could have limits and we all that nuclear energy is not the miracle solution. Indeed it we can indentify different problems: for instance:

• The irradiation worker, neighbour population.
• Radioactif material
• The nuclear wast management
• The nuclear weapon proliferation

In a few years time, it would be necessary to create an international organisation able to control nuclear energy production with the intention of reducing climate problems at the moment.

Radioactivity and human activity

During them destructions, the radioactive elements emit different radiations: alpha, beta and gamma.
The radiations alpha and beta are particles but the radiations gamma are electromagnetic waves. A paper can stop a radiation alpha, a plate of alumunim for a radiation beta, while a thick concrete wall, a plate of cast iron or gold is necessary for stop one radiation gamma.
The radiations affect the bodies by way external or internal.

A large part of the radioactivity is natural (for example in France, the natural radioactivity is 1.64 millisieverts a year).

But there is also an artificial radioactivity:
In France, the exposure comes mainly from the medical irradiation with 0.8 millisievert, only 0,06 millisievert a year results from fallout from the tries of nuclear weapons and from the leaks of the atomic energy.

But it is not the case everywhere...

The ITER project

Control on Earth of a «miniature Sun " to get back the energy which it emit: such is the objective of the program of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

These new reactors shall use the principle of the nuclear fusion, and not the fission, as make it current reactors.

Advantages:
-iter will not emit of greenhouse gases - iter will not generate radioactive waste persistent element radioactive the period of which is lower or 30-year-old equal (the period of the tritium is 12,3-year-old equal)
- abundance of reagent necessities
- Possibility of covering all the needs in energy of the planet

Inconveniences:
-the nuclear fusion is maybe only a dream - project enormously costly (10 billion euro) which is not on to make a success. This money could serve for developer the renewable and useful energies of today.

-Concern the long term (not before 2050)

Nuclear technology and food preservation and water‏

Nuclear technology may have a growing impact on the food we eat and the water we drink. Let us explain why and how.

The use of nuclear reactors for desalinisation of water.

With growing shortage of water in many parts of the world due to climate change and population growth , the desalinisation of sea water is considered as a useful technology to obtain drinking water. The problem of this technology, is that it needs a lot of energy.... With decreasing oil resources, the use of nuclear technology for water desalinisation could be a interesting alternative. Recent research conducted by the French centre for Atomic Energy already indicates that production of water with nuclear plants would be 30 to 60% cheaper than using oil for this purpose.

The use of Nuclear radiations for preserving food.

Nuclear radiations can be used and are used for preserving food. The radiations destroy micro-organisms, and germs and as a result the food will be ''more healthy'' ( this may be a little exaggerated to use this word but it is the intent of the technique !) and preserve for longer. The radiation is of low intensity. Because of the low intensity the food treated is not considered as radioactive. In France, for example the following food products can be irradiated and authorized for selling: aromatic herbs, spices, dry fruits, cereals, frog legs, and shrimps.
While there is strong resistance in the public on the use of nuclear radiation technique for food sanitation and preservation, the technique is apparently used more and more often.......