Nuclear Energy: The Basics - Houston, Texas

Science and its applications can be used toward good or bad ends. When the American scientists figured out how to split the atom, the technology would impact humanity in positive and negative ways. The destructive power of nuclear weapons is balanced by the possibilities granted by nuclear-generated electricity. How are we taking advantage of these possibilities, and what effect does nuclear power have on Texas energy?

According to the Energy Information Administration, there are 104 operational nuclear power plants in thirty-one of the fifty states. Nuclear power accounts for only a small percentage of the electricity generated nationwide, as well as in Texas; this number is approximately 11 percent. Even though this seems like a small percentage, nuclear plants in the Lone Star state generated an average of 38 million megawatt hours of electricity each year. This is a marked increase over the average numbers in the decade of the nineties. (The majority of Texas' electricity was provided by natural gas and coal. In 2004, that represented 48 and 39 percent, respectively.)

There are four nuclear reactors in Texas, both in the eastern half of the state. Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant's two reactors are in Somervell County, while the South Texas Nuclear Generating Station is located on the Colorado River, just inland from the Gulf of Mexico. STP, as the latter is called, was the first of the plants to go online, in 1988.

So what forces create all of this electricity? If you'll recall from middle-school science class, the atom is made up of three different kinds of particles: protons, neutrons and electrons. Nuclear power comes from conversion of the powerful forces holding the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus (central clump of particles). Splitting the nucleus apart is called nuclear fission. While, theoretically, any atom is fissionable, scientists have only been able to do so with a few elements. These include uranium and plutonium, radioactive elements that you've probably heard a lot about. When a neutron collides with the nucleus of a uranium atom, heat and gamma rays are released. That heat is used to power steam turbines that create electricity through the principles of electromagnetism.

As a result of this constant need for water, nuclear power plants are often located near large rivers or bodies of water. In addition to being used in the turbine, water is also required to keep the reactor cool. Even though this water doesn't become contaminated by radiation, it still absorbs some of the surplus energy generated by the reaction.

Unfortunately, there is always a catch in everything. The radioactive rods that control the reaction eventually lose their power and must be replaced. The spent rods must be disposed of in a safe manner, as they will be radioactive for many millennia. The threats include a higher rate of cancer for those who are exposed to them, but the nuclear waste is stored in a way that is pretty safe. It is stored deep within mountains that serve to shield people from the radioactivity. (Interestingly, the waste is labeled not only in English, but in pictograms that try to communicate the hazard for any non-English speaking civilizations in the distant future who may stumble upon it.) There are also ways to reprocess and recycle waste for reuse, and these methods will get better in time.

There is also the issue of a reactor failure, commonly referred to as a "meltdown." These occur when an unstable reaction becomes uncontrollable. One of these happened at the plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979. While it sounds scary, there were no deaths directly attributed to the accident. Significant radiation was released, however, and that could have caused health problems in the long-term. Thankfully, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees the operation of all the plants in the United States. Nuclear reactors both within our borders and abroad have experienced a surprisingly clear record of safety. France has been particularly bullish about nuclear energy. In fact, the country gets the majority of its electricity from nuclear power.

As nuclear-generated electricity doesn't require the burning of fossil fuels, greater reliance on nuclear plants has been a part of many agencies' solutions to greenhouse gas-caused global warming. Proposed plants in Texas and in other states may soon be built, contributing to a future in which humanity is able to rely less upon natural gas and petroleum, and more upon our ingenuity.