Cover image: Courtesey of EDF Energy — www.edfenergy.com/energy CONTENTS... 1 AT A GLANCE... 2 A BRIEF HISTORY OF NUCLEAR ENERGY... 4 BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY... 5 WHAT THE PUBLIC THINK... 6 HOW NUCLEAR CREATES ENERGY... 7 HOW A REACTOR WORKS... 8 THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE... 9 MANAGING WASTE... 10 RADIATION EXPLAINED... 12 NUCLEAR AROUND THE WORLD... 14 UK NUCLEAR SITES... 16 NUCLEAR NEW BUILD... 17 NEW BUILD IN NUMBERS... 18 LOOKING TO THE FUTURE... 19 DECOMMISSIONING... 20 CAREERS IN NUCLEAR... 21 FUTHER INFORMATION... AT A GLANCE... Nuclear is a major part of our energy mix. Today it accounts for 21% of electricity generated in the UK and has been providing secure low carbon electricity for over 60 years. Low carbon energy, including There are 15 nuclear power and renewables, nuclear power account for almost 51% of the reactors operating UK’s generation electricity mix across eight sites in the UK In 2016 nuclear energy avoided 22.7 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions in the UK BEIS,Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2018 That’s equivalent to taking around a third of all cars in the UK off the road Civil nuclear contributes over £6 billion to the jobs in the UK civil nuclear sector UK economy as much as aerospace manufacturing 12,159 Women in civil nuclear 1,981 People on apprenticeships Three quarters of the public 914 believe nuclear should be part People on graduate schemes of the clean energy mix Jobs Map figures generated from participating NIA members 1 This simple timeline charts some of the key people, events and legislation A BRIEF HISTORY OF NUCLEAR ENERGY... that have helped to shape the civil nuclear industry in the UK today. Y DISCOV ALL ERS NT X- E RA ID Y J. J. THOMSON PIERRE & MARIE CURIE C & C 1896 RUTHERFORD LEARNS TO I 1905 A O DISCOVERS THE EXPERIMENT USING N N HENRI BECQUEREL MANIPULATE ELEMENTS BY E I SAMUEL PRESCOTT ALBERT EINSTEIN PUTS S G ELECTRON, YEARS LATER RADIUM TO CURE I N T DISCOVERS G USES RADIATION BOMBARDING THEM WITH N FORWARD HIS THEORY R Ö RECEIVING A NOBEL CANCER, A PROCESS A R RADIOACTIVITY TO KILL BACTERIA ALPHA PARTICLES D RELATING MASS TO ENERGY M I A L PRIZE IN PHYSICS FOR STILL USED TODAY 1897 1898 1902 E T IN FOOD H I O L I N W THIS DISCOVERY 1895 TO REAC R OP AR EN LE ED IAEA C B HERMAN BLUMGART U Y ENRICO FERMI N Q 1954 1913 FORMED L USES RADIOACTIVE I U ATOMIC ENERGY 1932 E ACHIEVES THE FIRST NIELS BOHR PUBLISHES V to promote I E C N CHADWICK DISCOVERS TRACERS TO DIAGNOSE ACT: THE UNITED safe, secure and T CONTROLLED SELF- E HIS MODEL OF THE S L HEART DISEASE I R NEUTRONS AN IMPORTANT Z peaceful nuclear I KINGDOM ATOMIC A F SUSTAINING NUCLEAR ATOMIC STRUCTURE B S ’ technologies E PARTICLE IN NUCLEAR FISSION D T L ENERGY AUTHORITY FISSION REACTION H WHICH IS STILL TAUGHT 1934 R I O I W (UKAEA) IS CREATED 1927 IN CLASSROOMS TODAY 1957 1956 YL AC Two nuclear waste 1971 B C SIZEWELL B, THE UK’S FIRST O I stores are to be NINE MAGNOX AFTER GOVERNMENT BRITISH NUCLEAR FUELS N D 95 E PRESSURISED WATER R - -71 built at Sellafield, NUCLEAR POWER APRROVAL SEVERAL LIMITED IS CREATED TO E N T REACTOR IS BUILT AND for intermediate H STATIONS OPEN ADVANCED GAS TAKE CONTROL OF THE UK’S C STARTS GENERATING level waste for the ACROSS THE UK COOLED REACTORS FUEL CYCLE OPERATIONS ELECTRICITY IN 1995 next 50 years with 1997 another 10 planned 1988 1962 1965-88 ARE BUILT 1986 UK NEW BUILD PLANS: T N E C S L A E OYA NE GAINS R 2006 EDF ENERGY R 2009 GY ACT 2008 2005 at Hinkley & Sizewell In a speech to business THE NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING 27% WHITE PAPER AGREES OF ELECTRICITY IN HORIZON NUCLEAR POWER leaders Prime Minister Blair AUTHORITY IS CREATED TO TAKE NEW NUCLEAR SHOULD THE UK IS SUPPLIED £12.5BN at Wylfa & Oldbury calls for a new generation STRATEGIC RESPONSIBILITY FOR EDF TAKEOVER PLAY A ROLE IN THE BY NUCLEAR POWER NUGENERATION LTD of nuclear power stations THE UK’S NUCLEAR LEGACY BRITISH ENERGY 2008 FUTURE UK ENERGY MIX 2011 in Cumbria FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT: APPROVED CHIEF NUCLEAR EDF ANNOUNCE FINAL 2017 FIRST CONCRETE INSPECTOR SAYS 2015 WYLFA INVESTMENT DECISION ABWR AND AP1000 NUCLEAR SECTOR DEAL GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN the world's last POURED AT HINKLEY UK PLANTS HAVE FOR HINKLEY POINT C, THE PLANT DESIGNS ENSURING NUCLEAR’S NUCLEAR RESEARCH AND operating Magnox POINT C NO FUNDAMENTAL reactor shuts down UK’S FIRST NEW NUCLEAR APPROVED FOR KEY ROLE IN PROVIDING DEVELOPMENT FOR PLANT IN OVER 20 YEARS DEVELOPMENT LOW CARBON ENERGY SAFETY WEAKNESSES 2016 FUTURE TECHNOLOGY IN THE UK 2018 SUPPLY FOR THE UK 2 3 BENEFITS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY... Nuclear energy has a number of benefits that makes it essential as part of a secure low carbon balanced energy mix. A kilogram of coal would power a 40 watt bulb for six days, a kilogram of uranium would power Compared the same bulb for to other low over 1,000 years carbon technologies nuclear energy is cost competitive Investing in low carbon technologies will create jobs and boost the UK skills base Nuclear is a Nuclear energy is ‘homegrown’ essentially carbon source of power free, no carbon reducing our dioxide is produced dependence on in its operation imported fuels Nuclear power boosts Baseload capacity is security of supply in a increasingly important diverse and balanced to balance intermittent energy mix renewable generation 4 WHAT THE PUBLIC THINK... Public support for nuclear energy, alongside other low carbon sources, has been strong for several years and nuclear comes first in the energy sources the public believe are needed to keep the lights on. Nuclear energy is seen as most Nuclear energy is ranked highest secure for keeping the lights on for jobs creation and investment 44% of people say nuclear could 1 OFFSHORE 2 ONSHORE meet increased demand from Men are more in favour of electric cars nuclear new build than women More people support nuclear as part of a low carbon energy mix All results are from a survey of 2,016 people, conducted on behalf of the Nuclear Industry Association by YouGov, 7 to 16 August 2017 . 5 HOW NUCLEAR CREATES ENERGY... Nuclear power stations generate electricity by releasing energy held within atoms. Atoms are building blocks of matter and in the middle there is a nucleus. In a process called fission the nucleus of an atom is split apart releasing lots of energy. The most common material used for this is uranium. Uranium Uranium is a heavy metal and occurs naturally in rocks. It has been used for over 2,000 years, originally to colour glass, but the uranium atom was only discovered in 1789. Uranium is radioactive but safe to be around because it takes a long time to decompose. It has a half-life of about 4.5 billion years. Half-life is the time taken for the radioactivity of an isotope to fall to half its original value. Uranium has several isotopes which have different numbers of neutrons inside their atoms. The isotope uranium -235 is used as a nuclear fuel as it can undergo nuclear fission. Fission Fission simply means splitting an atom using a neutron. It was discovered in 1938 and its potential was quickly realised. When atoms fission they release more neutrons, which keeps the reaction going. We use control rods in reactors to absorb excess neutrons and manage the nuclear reaction. The absorption of a neutron causes uranium to become unstable and split apart. Potential energy inside the atom is released as heat which is used to make electricity by turning a turbine. On average 2.5 neutrons are released. These neutrons are managed so there is just the right amount in the reactor. Too few and the reaction will stop, too many and it will go too fast. Fission products are created. These also split contributing to about 7% of a reactor’s power. 6 HOW A REACTOR WORKS... There are many types of nuclear reactor which essentially work the same way, by heating water to create steam which turns a generator to produce electricity. In a nuclear reactor, heat is produced by splitting U-235. Uranium fuel is assembled in a way that a controlled chain reaction is achieved. In a pressurised water reactor heat is generated from a nuclear reaction and is transferred to a secondary coolant loop The heat boils the surrounding water and turns it into steam Steam turns a turbine and drives a generator to make electricity Electricity is transported to homes, businesses, schools and hospitals using the national grid Sea or river water is used to absorb excess heat 7 MANAGING WASTE... What is nuclear waste? NON-HEAT Producing electricity with nuclear energy EMITTING creates waste that is radioactive. But most of LOW LEVEL WASTE (LLW) our waste comes from the previous generation Produced by hospitals, industry of power stations and early nuclear facilities. and nuclear energy. It comprises of paper, rags, tools and clothing. A fleet of new plants would only add around 93% of waste volume but only 10% to the volume of existing waste over their 0.5% of the radioactivity. 60-year lifespan. INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTE (ILW) Although High Level Made up of resins, chemical Waste (HLW) contains sludges and metal fuel cladding, the greatest amount of requires shielding.