The Nuclear Power Deception: U.S. Nuclear Mythology from Electricity "Too Cheap to Meter" to "Inherently Safe" Reactors

by Arjun Makhijani and Scott Saleska

Publisher: The Apex Press

Year Published: 1999

Pages: 264 pp.

Binding: Paperback

ISBN: 0945257929

This book provides critical analysis and historical evidence to refute claims that nuclear power can alleviate the build-up of greenhouse gases and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. It also reveals the hazards of further proliferation of nuclear weapons from the growing quantities of plutonium generated by existing nuclear power plants throughout the world. Essential background reading for students, teachers, peace and environmental activists, and others concerned about nuclear power.

"The authors base their analysis on a sound grasp of the technology and a sophisticated understanding of the subterranean military, economical, political, and technical issues that lead to the failure of the first nuclear power era. Makhijani and Saleska successfully demystify the technology with lucid and accurate explanations." – Professor Lawrence Lidsky, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Summary and Recommendations

Main Findings

Recommendations

Other Recommendations

Part One: History - Nuclear Power Propaganda and Reality

Chapter 1: Romance with the Atom

Chapter 2: Electricity Production and Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear Fuel

1. Uranium Fuel

2. Plutonium Fuel

Nuclear Reactors

1. Thermal Reactors

2. Breeder Reactors (Fast Neutron Reactors)

The "Nuclear Fuel Cycle"

Chapter 3: The Early Years - Atomic Messiahs, Propagandists, and Skeptics

Atomic Messiahs and Propagandists

1. "Atoms for Peace"

Atomic Skeptics

1. Early Practical Assessments

Chapter 4: Plutonium, the Nuclear Navy, and Nuclear Power Development

Round One: Dual-Purpose Reactors

Round Two: Admiral Rickover, the Nuclear Navy, and the Light Water Reactor

1. Propaganda Aspects

2. Shippingport

Other Skeptics

Chapter 5: From "Too Cheap" to Bust

The First Civilian Reactors

Safety

1: Reactor Safety Basics

2. Light Water Reactors: Basics about Loss-of-Coolant Accidents

3. Historical Aspects of the Light Water Reactor Accident Debate

4. Sodium-Cooled Fast Breeders

Cost

1. The 1950s to the 1970s

2. The 1980s and the Early 1990s

Chapter 6: Radioactive Waste

Radioactive Waste Basics

1. Waste Categories

2. Quantities of Weapons-Usable Materials

High-Level Waste Management: Short- and Medium-Term Issues

1. Nuclear Waste and Nuclear Power

2. Reprocessing

Long-Term Management Issues

Concluding Observations

Part Two: More Nuclear Power Plants or a Sound Energy Policy?

Chapter 7: "Inherently Safe" Reactors - Commercial Nuclear Power's Second Generation?

New Reactor Designs: An Overview

New Light Water Reactor Designs

Other Reactor Designs

1. The MHTGR

Background

Safety Concerns

The Semantics of "Inherent Safety"

Accidents and Nuclear Technology

1. Chernobyl

Health Effects

2. Some Lessons of the Chernobyl Disaster

Chapter 8: Plutonium Disposition, Military Tritium, and Commercial Reactors

Plutonium Disposition

Military Tritium

Concluding Observations on the Civilian-Military Nuclear Power Connection

Chapter 9: Nuclear Power and Energy Policy

Energy Concepts

Renewable Energy Sources

Integrating Renewables with Energy Efficiency in the Electricity Sector

1. Obstacles to Efficiency

2. A Proposal for a Financing Structure

3. Improving Efficiency in Existing Large Buildings

4. Improving Efficiency in Existing Small Building

5. Other Measures

Combined-Cycle Plants, Nuclear Power Plants, and CO2 Emissions

The Kyoto Protocol

1. Major Provisions of the Kyoto Protocol

2. Joint Implementation

Appendices

Appendix A: Basics of Nuclear Physics and Fission

Structure of the Atom

Radioactive Decay

Binding Energy

Nuclear Fission

Fertile Materials

Appendix B: Uranium

The Mining and Milling Process

Conversion and Enrichment

Regulations in the U.S.

The Future

Appendix C: Plutonium

Nuclear Properties of Plutonium

Chemical Properties and Hazards of Plutonium

Important Plutonium Compounds and Their Uses

Formation and Grades of Plutonium-239

Glossary

References

Index