Differentiating characteristics of nuclear energy

Speaking from the point of view of the nuclear industry risks, and compared to those
of other conventional sources of electricity production, there are several special
features that we are not going to find in other industries, and are important for safety.
• The accumulation of energy in the core. After refuelling, the new core has
energy stored for 18-24 months of full power production. This is a huge
amount of energy that should be confined, and its release would be
devastating.

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station spent fuel pool, by Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
2014, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0.

A good simile of this is a dam, and all the water stored in it, accumulating a huge
amount of potential energy. In the reactor core we have stored the "fuel", which also
represents, in this case, a huge amount of thermal energy that will be transformed in
a controlled pace during a long period of time but, as in the dam, an accidental
instantaneous release would have devastating effects downstream.

Edertalsperre, Zerstörung, 1943, Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

To see an example, in 1975 the Banqiao Dam suffered a failure due to heavy rainfalls.
The dam sluice gates were not able to handle the overflow of water, finally causing
the dam failure. The resulting flood waters caused a wave 10 kilometres wide and 3–
7 meters high swiping, that rushed onto the plains below at nearly 50 kilometres per
hour, almost wiping out an area 55 kilometres long and 15 kilometres wide, creating
temporary lakes as large as 12,000 square kilometres. More than 25,000 casualties
were caused directly from the flooding, and another 145.000 more due to subsequent
epidemics and famine.

• Also, it uses radioactive materials and they should be contained, both during
operation and after they have been used, as its release can cause
contamination.

Central Interim Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Würenlingen (ZWILAG), Switzerland, by

Gaetan Bally, 2014, Swissinfo (https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/desechos-nucleares-
_%C3%BAltima-parada-antes-de-su-entierro/37664524)

Another special feature of the nuclear industry is the residual heat, even after shutting
down the reactor, there is still a huge production of energy. That is going to decrease
with time, but it is enough to provoke accidents. In our case, the fuel cladding can be
affected by a steam-cladding reaction, which produces hydrogen, and it is highly
exothermic.