HCS – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

LECTURE- 7 NUCLEAR ENERGY

DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY
• On 3 August 1954, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was set up with the vision of empowering
India through technology, more wealth creation and providing better quality of life. This can be
achieved by making India energy-independent, contributing to provision of sufficient, safe and
nutritious food and better health care to our people through development and deployment of
nuclear and radiation technologies and their applications. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
is a department under the direct control of the Prime Minister of India, with headquarters in
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SECTOR IN ENERGY GENERATION
• The following institutions are set up for research and development in energy generation in India.
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
• Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre
• Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership
• Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
• Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Research
• Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre: It is the premier multidisciplinary research centre of India which
has excellent infrastructure that facilitates advanced research and development covering the entire
spectrum of nuclear science as well as areas related to engineering.
• Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre: A premier centre for frontier research and development in the
fields of Accelerator Science & Technology, Computer Science & Technology, Nuclear Science
(Theoretical and Experimental), Material Science and such other relevant areas.
• Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership: Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP)
is under construction at Kheri Jasaur, near Bahadurgarh, Haryana, India. The centre will consist of
five schools for advance research, study and training of nuclear systems and facilities.
• Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research: Under the Department of Atomic Energy in 1971, IGCAR
was established. Since its inception, it has been engaged in broad-based multidisciplinary
programme of scientific research and advanced engineering aiming towards the development of fast-
breeder reactor technology.
• Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Research: The Department of Atomic Energy, established Raja
Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology. This enables India to expand the activities carried out at
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, in two major areas of science and technology,
namely, lasers and accelerators. The first batch of scientists from BARC, Mumbai, moved to PRCAT
in June 1986, and this initiated the scientific activities.
• Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research: Identification and evaluation of uranium
resources required to successfully implement atomic energy programme of the country is the
mandatory factor for Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research.
TYPES OF NUCLEAR REACTIONS
• There are basically two types of reactions which take place to release nuclear energy:
▪ Nuclear Fission
▪ Nuclear Fusion
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 Difference Between Nuclear Fission and Fusion

Characters Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion

Definition The splitting of a large atom The fusing of two or more

into two or more smaller lighter atoms to form a larger
ones is known as fission. or heavier one is termed as
fusion.

Natural occurrence of the It does not occur normally in Fusion occurs naturally and
process nature and need to be is source of energy of stars
induced. such as sun.

By-products of the reaction Many highly radioactive Few radioactive particles are
particles are produced. produced, but using a fission
‘trigger’ will result in
radioactive particles.

Conditions Critical mass of the High density, temperature

substance and high-speed environment are basic
neutrons are basic requirements.
requirements.

Energy Requirement Splitting requires little Extremely high energy is

energy in a fission reaction. required to bring two or
more protons close enough
resulting in overcoming of
electrostatic repulsion by the
nuclear forces of the
participating atoms.

Energy Released The energy so released is Three to four times greater

million times greater than energy is released.
that released in chemical
reactions, but lower than that
by nuclear fusion.
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 Nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon or fission A nuclear weapon is the
bomb, also known as an hydrogen bomb, using a
atomic bomb or atom bomb fission reaction to ‘trigger’ a
is produced through fusion reaction.
application of nuclear
fission.

Energy production Nuclear power plants are An experimental technology

practical applications of for producing power.
nuclear fission reactions.

Fuel Uranium is the primary fuel Hydrogen isotopes

used in power plants. (Deuterium and Tritium) are
the primary fuel used in
experimental fusion power
plants.

INDIA’S THREE-STAGE CIVIL NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME

• Dr. Homi Bhabha conceived of the three-stage nuclear programme to overcome India’s limited
uranium resources and develop nuclear energy. India has rich deposits of Thorium; however,
Thorium itself is not a fissile material. Thus, energy cannot be produced by fission of Thorium. And
hence, it needs to be first converted into the fissile isotope uranium-233 by transmutation in a
reactor fuelled by other fissile materials.
• Bhabha presented the three-stage plan for national development, at the conference on
‘Development of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes’ in November 1954. It was also attended by
India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The three-stage plan was formally adopted by Indian
government after 4 years that is in 1958.
First Stage, Second Stage and Third Stage
• First Stage
• Fuel – Natural uranium
• Reactor-PHWR (Pressurized heavy water reactor)
• Moderator – D2O (Heavy water)
• Coolant – D2O (Heavy water)
▪ Natural uranium-fuelled pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) produce electricity during
the first stage of the programme which generates plutonium-239 as by-product.
▪ The fissile isotope content is only 0.7% in natural uranium-235 (U-235). However, most of the
remaining 99.3% is uranium-238 (U-238) which is although not fissile but in a reactor, it can be
converted to the fissile isotope plutonium-239.
Second Stage
• Fuel – Plutonium
• Reactor – FBR (Fast Breeder Reactor)
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• Moderator – Not in use

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• Coolant – Liquid Sodium (Liquid Na)

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 The fast breeder reactors (FBRs) would used a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel made from plutonium 239, which
is recovered by reprocessing spent fuel from the first stage and natural uranium. And this is the major
process occurring during second stage. In FBRs, plutonium-239 undergoes fission producing energy. On
the other hand uranium-238 present in the mixed oxide fuel transmutes to additional plutonium-239.
Thus, the stage II FBRs are designed to ‘breed’ more fuel than their consumption. After the inventory of
plutonium-239 is built up, thorium can be introduced as a blanket material in the reactor and
transmuted to uranium-233. The U-233 so produced can be used in third stage. Prototype Fast Breeder
Reactor was designed by Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCCAR). Bharatiya Nabhikiya
Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (Bhavini), a public sector company under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is
responsible for building the fast breeder reactors in India.

Third Stage
• Fuel – Thorium
• Reactor – AHWR (Advanced Heavy Water Reactor)
• Moderator – Light water (Demineralised water)
• Coolant – D2O (Heavy water)
▪ A Stage III reactor or an advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of
thorium-232-uranium-233 fuelled reactors. This would be a thermal breeder reactor, which
principally is enabled to be refuelled – after its initial fuel charge-that too with the utilization of
only naturally occurring thorium. As per this three-stage programme, Indian nuclear energy
could grow to about 10 GW through PHWRs fuelled by domestic uranium. The growth above
that would have to come from FBRs till about 50 GW. Only after achieving this capacity, the
third stage is to be deployed.
URANIUM NUCLEAR FUEL
• In, nature uranium is found as uranium-238 small amount of uranium-235 (0.7204%) and a very small
amount of uranium-234 (0.0054%). It emits an alpha particle on slow decay. The half-life of uranium-
238 is about 4.47 billion years and that of uranium-235 is 704 million years. Under certain conditions,
U-235 isotope can readily split with a high yield of energy and thus adds to its importance. It is hence,
called to be ‘fissile’ and the expression ‘nuclear fission; is used. U-238 decays very slowly but U-235
decays slightly faster.
Enriched uranium
• A type of uranium in which through the process of isotope separation, the percent composition of
uranium-235 has been increased is called enriched uranium. For both, civil nuclear power generation
and military nuclear weapons, enriched uranium serves as a critical component. The monitoring and
controlling of enriched uranium supplies and processes are attempted by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) in its efforts to ensure nuclear power generation safety and curb nuclear
weapons proliferation.
• From uranium ore to reactor fuel – The enrichment percentage composition of U-235 is as follows:
▪ Low-Enriched Uranium (Reactor Grade): 3 – 5% -92U235
▪ High-Enriched Uranium (Weapon Grade): 90 – 95% -92U235
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 Plutonium
• The U-235 nucleus is ‘fissile’ while the nucleus is U-238 is said to be ‘fertile’. It implies that it can
capture one of the neutrons which are flying about in the core of the reactor and become (indirectly)
plutonium-239 that is the fissile form. Pu-239 and U-235 are both similar, in terms of fission process
on hitting by a neutron, yielding enormous energy. Due to huge amount of U-238 in a reactor core
(most of the fuel), the reactions so occurring are frequent. As a matter of fact, about one-third of the
fuel’s energy yield comes from ‘burning’ Pu-239. However, sometimes, on capturing neutron,
splitting of Pu-239 atom does not happen and instead it becomes Pu-240. Due to more unstable
nature of Pu-239, it is used for atom bomb. The first two atom bomb named which were dropped on
Hiroshima (had Uranium-235) and Nagashaki (had Plutonium-239) were Little boy and Fatman. Pu-
240 has less instability so it is used in nuclear reactor for electricity generation. After addition of a
single neutron Pu-239 becomes Pu-240.
Thorium
• Thorium is estimated to be about four times more abundant than uranium in the Earth’s crust and is
a by-product, while extracting rare earths from monazite sands.
• It is much better than 3-5% of uranium that comes in the form we require. Unlike U235, thorium is not
fissile, that is they will not start splitting on their own and exploding, no matters how many thorium
are packed together.
Difference between thorium and uranium:
• Thorium is more abundantly present in nature than uranium. Thorium is not fissile; and hence cannot
go critical and generate a nuclear chain reaction. Thorium produces less radioactive waste products
and generates more energy per ton, so it is safe for environment also. Thorium reactors do not
produce plutonium, which is what you need to make a nuclear warhead. Thorium-derived U-233 is
better fuel on the basis of efficiency of energy generation in nuclear reactor, in comparison to U-235.
Distinction between fissile and fissionable
• Fissile materials can fission by absorbing a neutron with very low kinetic energy. The addition of
neutron adds enough energy for the fissile material to undergo fission, owing to the odd number of
neutrons in the nucleus, which will ‘rearrange’ themselves for releasing energy. U-235, Pu-239 and
Pu-241 are all fissile materials.
• Fissionable materials can fission through absorption of neutron if it has enough kinetic energy. The
neutron needs to bring enough kinetic energy to the nucleus so that it can undergo fission. U-238
and Pu-240 are fissionable.
• All fissile nuclides are fissionable, but only some fissionable nucleus are also fissile.
Nuclear Reactor
• A nuclear reactor, or an atomic pile, is a device used to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain
reaction, used at nuclear power plants to generate electricity and in propulsion of ships. Heat so
produced from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which runs through steam
turbines. They either serve as ship’s propellers or to turn electrical generators. Some reactors also
serve to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of weapons-grade
plutonium, while some are run only for research.
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 Components of a Nuclear Reactor
• There are several components common to most types of reactors:
Fuel
• Uranium is the basic fuel. Usually pellets of uranium oxide (UO2) are arranged in tubes forming fuel
rods. In the reactor core, these rods are arranged into fuel assemblies.
• A neutron source is required for continuation of reaction, in different reactor with a new fuel. Usually
it is beryllium mixed with polonium, radium or other alpha-emitter.
Moderator
• Moderators are used to slow down the emitted neutrons, which have a high velocity range. Some
common moderators are graphite, heavy water, beryllium, beryllium oxide and some organic liquids.
Control rods
• The control rods are used in initiating and stopping the nuclear reactor. Due to large absorption
cross-section area, cadmium and boron rods are used as control rods.
Coolant
• A coolant removes the tremendous amount of heat developed inside the reactor core.
• Water, steam, helium, CO2, air, molten metals, etc., are used as coolants.
Types of reactors: Total six main types of reactors have been developed world wide. Pressurised water
Reactor is very common among them and is highly used. Approximately 450 reactors are working
worldwide out of which 50% are pressurized water reactors.
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 Types of Reactors Developed Worldwide
Reactor type Fuel Moderator Coolant
Pressurized water Enriched UO2 Water Water
reactor (PWR)
Boiling water reactor Enriched UO2 Water Water
(BWR)
Pressurised heavy Natural UO2 Heavy water Heavy water
water reactor
(PHWR)
Gas-cooled reactor Natural U, enriched Graphite Carbon dioxide
(GCR) UO2
Light water graphite Enriched UO2 Graphite Water
reactor (LWGR)
Fast breeder reactor PuO2 and UO2 None Liquid sodium
(FBR)

Types of Nuclear Power Reactors Operating in India

Reactor State Type
Tarapur 1&2 Maharashtra GE BWR
Kaiga 1&2 Karnataka PHWR
Kaiga 3&4 Karnataka PHWR
Kakrapar 1&2 Gujarat PHWR
Kalpakkam 1&2 Tamil Nadu PHWR
Narora 1&2 Uttar Pradesh PHWR
Rawatbhata 1&2 Rahasthan Candu PHWR
Rawatbhata 3&4 Rajasthan PHWR
Rawtbhata 5&6 Rajasthan PHWR
Tarapur 3&4 Maharashtra PHWR
Kukdankulam 1 Tamil Nadu PWR (VVER)
Total (21)

Nuclear Energy Parks

• These are those places where we will set up the nuclear power plant for energy generation. Various
nuclear energy parks will be established in coming future to fulfil the nuclear vision of India. The
vision of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is to empower India through technology and to
have 20,000 MW nuclear capacity on line by 2020 and 63,000 MW by 2032. It aims to supply 25% of
electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
New Energy Parks
Kudankulam Tamil Nadu
Jaitapur Maharashtra
MithiVirdi (or ChayamithiVirdi) Gujarat
Kavvada Andhra Pradesh
Haripur West Bengal
Kumharia or Gorakhpur Haryana
Bargi or Chuttka Madhya Pradesh
Markandi (Pati Sanapur) Orissa
Bhimpur Madhya Pradesh
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Madras Tamil Nadu

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Mahi Baswara Rajasthan

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 INTERNATIONAL THERMONUCLEAR EXPERIMENTAL REACTOR (ITER)
• International Thermonuclear Experimental/Reactor (ITER) is a large-scale scientific experiment with
the key objective to demonstrate the possibility of producing commercial energy from fusion in the
range of Q10, where Q symbolizes or implies the ratio of fusion power to input power. It implies
that the scientific objective of the ITER project is to deliver 10 times the power it consumes. For
instance, from 50 MW of input power, that ITER machine is designed to produce 500 MW of fusion
power (the first of all fusion experiments to produce net energy).
ITER Background and Indian participation
• In November 1985, at the Geneva Superpower Summit, following discussions with President
Mitterrand of France and Prime Minister Thatcher of the United Kingdom, General Secretary
Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union proposed to President Reagan of the United States an
international project with primary goal to develop fusion energy for peaceful purposes. US President
Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev of the Soviet Union agreed to pursue an international
effort that can help in the development of fusion energy to benefit all mankind, in Geneva in 1985,
leading to the ITER project.
ITER Agreement is signed:
• Ministers from the seven ITER members signed the ITER Agreement, at the Elyse Palace in Paris on
21 November 2006. The initial signatories included: the former Soviet Union, the USA, the European
Union (via EURATOM) and Japan. They were latter joined by the People’s Republic of China and the
Republic of Korea in 2003, and by India in 2005. Over half of the world’s population is represented
by these seven nations together now 35 nations have signed ITER Agreement.
▪ Since the 1950s, there have been constant efforts to harness the fusion energy for peaceful
purposes by the scientists all over the world. However, only small amount of energy has been
produced by the fusion machines so far. Hence, a change to this is planned through ITER.
▪ Why nuclear fusion also because Fuel required for fusion is abundant and inexhaustible, hence,
the fusion process is considered safe and comparatively environment-friendly.
• ITER is being constructed in southern France at Cadarache. Though, it was scheduled to be
operational by 2016, but still not functional will be in December.
India Included
• Our scientists have already designed and fabricated two tokamak devices [a kind of nuclear reactor,
the ITER will also be a tokamak device] Aditya and (steady states upper-conducting tokamak) SSTI.
Our scientists and researchers, in collaboration with our industries have been involved in developing
many technologies of relevance to the forefront of fusion research. This brings us to the table of
combination of strong commitment from the government and special scientific and technological
skills, which are significantly relevant to ITER and to fusion research.
India’s contributions to the ITER project
• All the seven partners will contribute to build ITER, that is, each will built its share of ITER
components through an appropriately formed domestic agency (DA) and industries and finally
assembled. India’s contribution, like other partners except the host EU, was about 10% of the ITER
construction cost (EU pays about 40% since the ITER is being built in France and remaining all six
members including India have to contribute 10% each). Most of this will be in the form of
components made by the Indian industry and delivered to ITER, and a small part (1%) is to be paid in
cash to a common fund for in-cash procurements by the ITER International Team.
India will deliver various components in ITER research
• Vessel ferromagnetic inserts
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• Cryolines and cryo-distribution system

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• Heat rejection and water cooling system components

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 • Some diagnostics systems
• Cryostat and vacuum vessel pressure suppression system
• Ion cyclotron heating and current drive sources, power supplies and control systems
• Start-up electron cyclotron heating source, power supply and control system.
• Diagnostic neutral beam.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy
Advantages
• Currently, the world derives 12-18% of the world’s electricity through nuclear energy because of its
advantages in terms of green house gases. Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, ozone,
chlorofluorocarbon), are not released during nuclear reaction.
• Even small amount of uranium generates huge energy through fission. A single nuclear power plant
can generate high amount of energy, also, nuclear fuel is comparatively inexpensive and can be
transported easily.
Disadvantages
• Nuclear energy can lead to production and proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• This proves them a major threat to the world, causing large-scaled devastation.
• A nuclear power plant requires large capital cost and is time consuming as well, since around 15-20
years are taken to develop a single plan, proving it not to be feasible.
• The fission reactions produce wastes containing unstable elements that are highly radioactive,
proving them dangerous to the environment as well as human health, and their after effects also
remain so, for thousands of years.
• Professional handling is mandatory for the nuclear reactor and it need to be isolated from the living
environments. Since, over a period of time, the radioactivity gets reduced, after decaying, thus, there
is adequate and effective storage practices required.
WORLD’S MAJOR NUCLEAR DISASTERS
Chernobyl, Ukraine 1986 – Level 7
• It has been thought to be the worst nuclear accident in history, being one of the only two that are
classified as the level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Over 5,00,000 workers and
an estimated cost of 18 billion rubbles were involved in the battle to hold contamination and avert a
greater devastation. Not only this, long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being
accounted for.
Fukushima, Japan 2011 – Level 7
• The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (the largest nuclear tragedy since the Chernobyl disaster of
1986) represents a series of catastrophes (Tohoku Tsunami) resulting in equipment failures, nuclear
meltdowns and release of radioactive materials at the Fukushima, Nuclear Power Plant, that took
place on 11 March 2011.
Windscale Fire (Sellafield), UK 1957 – Level 5
• It is the worst nuclear disaster in the history of Great Britain; the worst nuclear disaster was
Windscale Fire (Sellafield) and measured as a level 5 on the INES scale. On catching fire, the Unit 1
reactor core released considerable amounts of radioactive contamination which adversely affected
the nearby area. The after effects were observed in the incidences of 240 cancer cases being linked
to the fire and all the milk from within about 500 km of radius of nearby countryside got spoilt for a
month.
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 Three Mile Island Accident, Pennsylvania USA 1979 – Level 5
• On 28 March, two nuclear reactor failures occurred, and hence it was recorded as the worst disaster
in commercial nuclear power plant history. Due to this disaster, radioactive gases and radioactive
iodine were released into the environment.
SL-1 Experimental Power Station, Idaho USA 1961 – Level 4
• A US army experimental nuclear power reactor witnessed a steam explosion and failure, which killed
three operators on 03 January 1967. The control rod, with function of absorbing neutrons in the
reactor core, was inappropriately handled and hence the accident was caused. It is recorded as the
only known fatal reactor accident in the USA, which released about 80 curies of Iodine-131.
Saint-Laurent France 1969 - Level 4
• The uranium in one of the gas-cooled reactors began to melt on 17 October 1969. It ranked as Level
4 on the INES and is recorded in French history, as the most serious civil nuclear disaster.
Buenos Aires, Argentina 1983 – Level 4
• An operator died 2 days later because of absorbing 2,000 rad of gamma and 1700 rad of neutron
radiation, after making blunders during a fuel plate reconfiguration.
Tokaimura, Japan 1999 – Level 4
• A tragedy occurred due to over-addition of enriched uranium in a precipitation tank more than the
permitted level, by a group of unqualified workers. This led to death of two workers in due course
and another 56 workers were exposed to high levels of radiation. On top of these loses, 21 civilians
were also exposed to high doses of the radiation and evacuation happened within a 1,000 feet of the
plant.
• Radiation refers to the particle or energy that travels through a medium or space.
Types of Radiation:
• Particle Radiation: such as alpha radiation (α), beta radiation (β), and neutron radiation.
• Gravitational Radiation: such as radiation that takes the form of gravitational waves, or ripples in the
curvature of space-time.
• Acoustic Radiation: such as ultrasound, sound, and seismic waves.
• Electromagnetic radiation: such as radio waves, visible light, x-rays, and gamma radiation (γ).
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 • Radioactivity: Spontaneous emission of electromagnetic radiations of particles by certain
materials.
• Radioactive Decay Law: says that number of radioactive nuclides (atoms) decreases with time
• The radioactive atoms undergo transmission to stable state by emitting radiations in several forms;
▪ As charged particles
▪ As uncharged particles
▪ As electromagnetic radiations

HALF LIFE PERIOD

• The interval of time required for one-half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive
sample to decay (change spontaneously into other nuclear species by
emitting particles and energy), or, equivalently, the time interval required
for the number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive material to
decrease by one-half.
Some other uses of NUCLEAR ENERGY

• Food and Agriculture: Nuclear applications in agriculture rely on the use of

isotopes and radiation techniques to combat pests and diseases, increase
crop production, protect land and water resources, ensure food safety and authenticity, and increase
livestock production.
• FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been expanding knowledge and
enhancing capacity in this area for over 50 years. And the results have led to some major success
stories around the world.eg. fast maturing rice variety BINADHAN-7
Fertilizers :
• Increasing Genetic Variability:In order to increase genetic variability for chickpea improvement, the
Kabuli genotype, variety Ghab4, was treated with 280 cycles of gamma rays (Cobalt 60).
• In Mali improved varities of Sorghum and Rice have been produced
Insect Control: Sterile Insect Technique(SIT)
• SIT has been successful in controlling a number of high-profile insect pests, including fruit flies
(Mediterranean fruit fly, Mexican fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, melon fly); tsetse fly; screwworm; moths
(codling moth, pink bollworm, false codling moth, cactus moth, and the Australian painted apple
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moth); and mosquitoes.

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 Food Preservation and Food Packaging
• Water Resources; Isotope Hydrology uses naturally occurring stable and radioactive isotopic
techniques to evaluate the age and origins of surface and groundwater and the processes within the
atmospheric hydrologic cycle.
Radioisotopes in Medicine
• There is widespread awareness of the use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine, particularly for
diagnosis (identification) and therapy (treatment) of various medical conditions.
• Nuclear medicine uses radiation to provide diagnostic information about the functioning of a
person's specific organs, or to treat them. Diagnostic procedures using radioisotopes are now
routine.
• Radiotherapy can be used to treat some medical conditions, especially cancer, using radiation to
weaken or destroy particular targeted cells.
Radioisotopes in Medicine
• Sterilization of medical equipment is also an important use of radioisotopes.
Nuclear medicine diagnosis
• Diagnostic techniques in nuclear medicine use radioactive tracers which emit gamma rays from
within the body.
• They can be given by injection, inhalation, or orally.
• Single photon emission computerised tomography (SPECT) is the current major scanning technology
to diagnose and monitor a wide range of medical conditions.
• Positron emission tomography (PET) which is a more precise and sophisticated technique using
isotopes produced in a cyclotron.
• A positron-emitting radionuclide is introduced, usually by injection, and accumulates in the target
tissue. As it decays it emits a positron, which promptly combines with a nearby electron resulting in
the simultaneous emission of two identifiable gamma rays in opposite directions. These are detected
by a PET camera and give very precise indications of their origin.
• PET's most important clinical role is in oncology, with fluorine-18 as the tracer, since it has proven to
be the most accurate non-invasive method of detecting and evaluating most cancers.
Nuclear medicine therapy
• Cancerous growths are sensitive to damage by radiation. For this reason, some cancerous growths
can be controlled or eliminated by irradiating the area containing the growth
• External irradiation (sometimes called teletherapy) can be carried out using a gamma beam from a
radioactive cobalt-60 source,
• An external radiation procedure is known as gamma knife radiosurgery, and involves focusing gamma
radiation from 201 sources of Co-60 on a precise area of the brain with a cancerous tumour.
Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals
• Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals can be used to examine blood flow to the brain, functioning of the
liver, lungs, heart, or kidneys, to assess bone growth, and to confirm other diagnostic procedures.
Another important use is to predict the effects of surgery and assess changes since treatment.
• The radioisotope most widely used in medicine is Tc-99, employed in some 80% of all nuclear
medicine procedures.
• These are:
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▪ It has a half-life of six hours which is long enough to examine metabolic processes yet short
enough to minimize the radiation dose to the patient.
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 ▪ It decays by an 'isomeric' process, which involves the emitting of gamma rays and low energy
electrons. Since there is no high-energy beta emission the radiation dose to the patient is low.
▪ The low-energy gamma rays it emits easily escape the human body and are accurately detected
by a gamma camera.

• Thallium-201 chloride is important for detection and prognosis of coronary artery disease.
• Fluoro-deoxy glucose (FDG) incorporating F-18 – with a half-life of just under two hours – as a tracer.
• The FDG is readily incorporated into the cell without being broken down, and is a good indicator of
cell metabolism.
• Internal radionuclide therapy is administered by planting a small radiation source, usually a gamma
or beta emitter, in the target area.
• Short-range radiotherapy is known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main means of
treatment.
• Iridium-192 implants are used especially in the head and breast. They are produced in wire form and
are introduced through a catheter to the target area. After administering the correct dose, the
implant wire is removed to shielded storage.
• Iodine-131 is commonly used to treat thyroid cancer, probably the most successful kind of cancer
treatment. It is also used to treat non-malignant thyroid disorders.
• Many therapeutic procedures are palliative, usually to relieve pain. For instance, strontium-89 and
(increasingly) samarium-153 are used for the relief of cancer-induced bone pain.
• In a disease called Polycythemia vera, an excess of red blood cells is produced in the bone marrow.
P-32 is used to control this excess.
• Ac-225 itself is an alpha-emitter and may be used directly, bonded to a protein or antibody such as
PSMA for prostate cancer.
Sterilisation
• Many medical products today are sterilised by gamma rays from a Co-60 source, a technique which
generally is much cheaper and more effective than steam heat sterilisation.
• The disposable syringe is an example of a product sterilised by gamma rays. Because it is a 'cold'
process radiation can be used to sterilise a range of heat-sensitive items such as powders, ointments,
and solutions, as well as biological preparations such as bone, nerve, and skin to be used in tissue
grafts.
• Apart from syringes, medical products sterilised by radiation include cotton wool, burn dressings,
surgical gloves, heart valves, bandages, plastic, and rubber sheets and surgical instruments.
Advantages of Sterilisation by radiation
• It is safer and cheaper because it can be done after the item is packaged.
• The sterile shelf-life of the item is then practically indefinite provided the seal is not broken.
RADIOACTIVE MANAGEMENT WASTE/ NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT
• Nuclear power is characterised by the very large amount of energy produced from a very small
amount of fuel, and the amount of waste produced during this process is also relatively small.
However, much of the waste produced is radioactive and therefore must be carefully managed as
hazardous material.
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 Types of radioactive waste
• Radioactive waste includes any material that is either intrinsically radioactive, or has been
contaminated by radioactivity, and that is deemed to have no further use.
• Radionuclides with long half-lives tend to be alpha and beta emitters – making their handling easier
– while those with short half-lives tend to emit the more penetrating gamma rays. Eventually all
radioactive waste decays into non-radioactive elements. The more radioactive an isotope is, the
faster it decays. Radioactive waste is typically classified as either low-level (LLW), intermediate-level
(ILW), or high-level (HLW), dependent, primarily, on its level of radioactivity.
Low-level waste
• LLW does not require shielding during handling and transport, and is suitable for disposal in near
surface facilities.
• LLW is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. It comprises paper,
rags, tools, clothing, filters, etc., which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. To
reduce its volume, LLW is often compacted or incinerated before disposal. LLW comprises some 90%
of the volume but only 1% of the radioactivity of all radioactive waste.
Intermediate-level waste
• Due to its higher levels of radioactivity, ILW requires some shielding.
• ILW typically comprises resins, chemical sludges, and metal fuel cladding, as well as contaminated
materials from reactor decommissioning. Smaller items and any non-solids may be solidified in
concrete or bitumen for disposal. It makes up some 7% of the volume and has 4% of the radioactivity
of all radioactive waste.
High-level waste
• High-level waste (HLW) is sufficiently radioactive for its decay heat (>2kW/m3) to increase its
temperature, and the temperature of its surroundings, significantly. As a result, HLW requires cooling
and shielding.
• HLW arises from the 'burning' of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. HLW contains the fission products
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and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core. HLW accounts for just 3% of the volume,
but 95% of the total radioactivity of produced waste. There are two distinct kinds of HLW:
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▪ Used fuel that has been designated as waste.

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 ▪ Separated waste from reprocessing of used fuel
▪ Where and when is waste produced

• Radioactive waste is produced at all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle – the process of producing
electricity from nuclear materials. The fuel cycle involves the mining and milling of uranium ore, its
processing and fabrication into nuclear fuel, its use in the reactor, its reprocessing (if conducted), the
treatment of the used fuel taken from the reactor, and finally, disposal of the waste. Whilst waste is
produced during mining and milling and fuel fabrication, the majority (in terms of radioactivity)
comes from the actual 'burning' of uranium to produce electricity. Where the used fuel is
reprocessed, the amount of waste is reduced materially.
Reprocessing of used fuel
• Any used fuel will still contain some of the original U-
235 as well as various plutonium isotopes which have
been formed inside the reactor core, and U-238. In
total these account for some 96% of the original
uranium and over half of the original energy content
(ignoring U-238). Used nuclear fuel has long been
reprocessed to extract fissile materials for recycling
and to reduce the volume of HLW
• Reprocessing allows for a significant amount of
plutonium to be recovered from used fuel, which is
then mixed with depleted uranium oxide in a MOX
fabrication plant to make fresh fuel. This process
allows some 25-30% more energy to be extracted from the original uranium ore, and significantly
reduces the volume of HLW (by about 85%)
• Commercial reprocessing plants currently operate in France, the UK, and Russia.
Different level of radioactive waste

Volume Radioactive Content

High-level waste 3% 95%

Intermediate-level waste 7% 4%

Low-level waste 90% 1%

• The most substantial high-level waste produced from a nuclear reactor comprises the used nuclear
fuel left after spending more or less than 3 years in the reactor.
• Low-level waste consists of lightly adulterated items such as small tools and clothing from power
plant set-up. Hence, it makes up the majority of radioactive wastes.
• The items that are considered as intermediate-level waste may include used filters, the steel
constituents from within the reactor and certain wastes from reprocessing.
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 Managing Used Fuel
• Used nuclear fuel shows a very high temperature and is radioactive. For safe
handling and storage, it needs to be shielded from the radiation, with the help of
a dense material such as concrete or steel or even by a few metres of water.
• Water serves as the most convenient medium to provide both cooling and
shielding. And hence, usually the reactor has its fuel removed under water and
then transferred to dry ventilated containers made of concrete after about 5 years.
However, it can, otherwise, safely remain in the pool ad infinitum - usually for up
to 50 years.
Managing Used Fuel
• Through reprocessing of used fuel to uranium and plutonium, we can get the
wastage of a valuable resource evaded. The reprocessed uranium and plutonium,
both, have been recycled into new fuel. Plutonium, when mixed with uranium in
their oxide forms is called as mixed fuel (MOX).
• The High-level wastes (be it the used fuel after 50 years of cooling, or the seperated
3% of reprocessed fuel) will be disposed to geological repositories which are deeply concealed.
Intermediate and low-level wastes
• are disposed off closer to the surface ,not much different from normal Municipal waste sites.
NUCLEAR WINTER
• Nuclear winter, as the theory describes is the climatic after-effects of nuclear war.
• The smoke from the fires caused by nuclear weapons, mainly the sooty, black smoke from cities and
industrial areas, would get heated by the sun, lofted into the upper stratosphere and thus spread
globally, leading it to last for years.
• This results in cool, dark, dry condition at the earth’s atmosphere because it does not allow the
sunlight to enter into the atmosphere so that it would prevent crop growth at least for one growing
season, resulting in mass starvation in the world.
Consequences
• Biological consequences
• Ozone Depletion
• Nuclear Summer
• Mitigation Techniques
• Fire Control
• Policy Implications
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