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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgment | |
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| Fundamentals | |
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| What is energy, and what is power? | |
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| Is most energy that people use derived from nuclear energy? | |
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| What is the origin of nuclear energy? | |
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| What is "radioactivity"? | |
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| Why is ionizing radiation a health concern? | |
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| What is radioactive half-life, and how can knowing it help increase a country's security? | |
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| How much more energetic is nuclear energy compared to chemical energy? | |
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| Why has it been so difficult to commercialize nuclear fusion? | |
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| How was nuclear fission discovered? | |
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| What role, if any, did Albert Einstein play in the discovery of nuclear energy? | |
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| What is a fission chain reaction? | |
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| What is uranium, where did it come from, and how was it discovered? | |
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| What is plutonium, how was it discovered, and how hazardous is it? | |
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| Why can't nuclear reactors explode like a nuclear bomb? | |
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| What is the nuclear fuel cycle? | |
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| Why are certain activities in the nuclear fuel cycle called "dual use"? | |
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| What are the various uranium-enrichment methods? | |
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| What are the nuclear-proliferation concerns for uranium enrichment? | |
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| What is the thorium fuel cycle? | |
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| How does a nuclear reactor generate electricity? | |
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| How many people's electricity demands can be supported with one large nuclear reactor? | |
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| What are the different types of nuclear reactors used for electricity generation? | |
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| Why were only a few types of reactor designs chosen for the present fleer of reactors? | |
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| What are the Generation IV reactors, and why are they considered potentially revolutionary? | |
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| What can nuclear reactors do besides generate electricity? | |
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| Energy Security and Costs of Building Power Plants | |
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| What is energy security? | |
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| Is energy independence feasible? | |
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| Have countries ever been shut out of the nuclear-fuel market? | |
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| Are European countries too dependent on Russian energy supplies? | |
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| What role has nuclear energy played in reducing certain countries' dependence on fossil fuels? | |
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| How could nuclear energy further reduce dependence on fossil fuels? | |
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| What countries use commercail nuclear power, and how much electricity do they obtain from it? | |
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| How many more countries are likely to acquire commercial nuclear power plants? | |
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| How do the costs of nuclear plants compare to other types of power plants? | |
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| How can nuclear power plants be made more cost-compelltive? | |
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| Why is it difficult for the supply chain to keep up with forecasts of demand for new nuclear plants? | |
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| How many skilled people are required to build and operate nuclear plants? | |
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| Can construction of nuclear power plants keep pace with the increasing demands for electricity? | |
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| Will the world run out of uranium and, if so, when? | |
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| Why have some countries pursued reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel for commercial purposes? | |
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| Why did the United States decide to not pursue reprocessing, and will it revive this practice? | |
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| Climate Change | |
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| What is the greenhouse effect? | |
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| What is the difference between global warming and climate change? | |
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| What are the observed and forecasted effects of climate change? | |
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| What can people do to reverse excess global warming? | |
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| Why don't nuclear plants amir greenhouse gases? | |
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| Why does the nuclear fuel cycle emit some greenhouse gases? | |
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| How helpful have nuclear power plants been in preventing more greenhouse gases from being emitted from coal and natural gas plants? | |
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| How many additional nuclear plants would be needed to make a further major reduction in greenhouse gas emissions? | |
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| Have nuclear power plants ever been built as fast as would be needed to make another major reduction in greenhouse gas emissions | |
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| Will global warming actually reduce the ability to use nuclear power plants to their full capacity? | |
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| Should nuclear power be considered a "clean" energy source for climate-change agreements among nations? | |
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| What are the differing views among environmentalists on nuclear power? | |
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| Proliferation | |
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| What is nuclear proliferation? | |
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| Which countries have developed nuclear weapons, and how did they do it? | |
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| How many nuclear weapons do the nuclear-armed countries have? | |
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| How much weapons-usable fissile material is available worldwide, and where is it located? | |
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| Has a country ever completely dismantled or given up its nuclear arsenal? | |
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| What is the nonproliferation regima? | |
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| What is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? | |
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| What is the International Atomic Energy Agency, and what role does it play in preventing proliferation? | |
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| What are nuclear safeguards, and how have they evolved? | |
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| Are nuclear safeguards effective? | |
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| What is the Nuclear Suppliers Group? | |
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| Has commercial nuclear power ever been used to make nuclear weapons? | |
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| What can be done to prevent proliferation? | |
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| Can the nuclear fuel cycle be made more proliferation resistant? | |
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| Can terrorists make nuclear weapons? | |
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| What can be done to prevent nuclear terrorisom? | |
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| Safety | |
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| What is nuclear safety? | |
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| How safe is safe enough, and what is safety culture? | |
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| What is the defense-in-depth safety concept? | |
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| What are the major types of nuclear accidents? | |
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| How is nuclear safety measured? | |
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| How safe are today's nuclear power plants? | |
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| Should a country choose one plant design instead of multiple designs, and what are the implications of such a choice? | |
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| What is the China syndrome? | |
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| How did the Three Mile Island accident happen and what were the consequences? | |
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| How did the Chemobyl accident happen and whar were the consequences? | |
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| What happened to Soviet-designed reactors after the Chernobyl accident | |
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| How did the nuclear industry form self-policing organizations? | |
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| Can the nuclear Industry survive if another major accident occurs? | |
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| How long can nuclear power plants operate? | |
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| How can future nuclear power plants be made safer? | |
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| Can nuclear power expand too fasr to keep plants safe? | |
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| How can nuclear facilities be made resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis? | |
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| How did the Fukushima Daiichi accident happen? | |
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| Were there design flaws in the Fukushima Daiichi reactors and were there safety concerns prior to the accident? | |
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| What are the concerns about nuclear safety culture in Japan? | |
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| What are the likely Implications for the nuclear industry as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi accident? | |
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| Why did the Fukushima Daiichi accident raise renewed concerns about the use of plutonium in nuclear fuel? | |
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| Physical Security | |
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| What is nuclear security? | |
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| What is a design-basis threat assessment? | |
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| How are safety and security different? | |
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| Why would someone attack a nuclear power plant or related nuclear facility? | |
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| Who would attack nuclear facilities? | |
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| What are the potential modes of attack or sabotage, and what has been done to protect against them? | |
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| What more can be done to sterngthen the security of existing and future facilities? | |
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| What military attacks have there been on nuclear reactors? | |
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| What can countries do to protect their nuclear facilities from military attacks? | |
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| Radioactive Waste Management | |
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| What are the types of radioactive waste, and how are they generated? | |
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| What is the typical composition of spent nuclear fuel? | |
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| How long does the radioactivity in spent fuel last? | |
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| How hazardous is radioactive waste? | |
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| How much spent nuclear fuel has been produced? | |
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| What are the storage options for dealing with radioactive waste? | |
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| What is the volume of radioactive waste, and how does this compare to the industrial toxic waste? | |
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| How vulnerable are spent fuel pools? | |
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| Does reprocessing reduce the amount of nuclear waste? | |
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| How do nuclear plants and coal plants compare in terms of radioactivity emitted? | |
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| What country is closest to opening a permanent nuclear waste repository? | |
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| How hazardous is the transportation of radioactive waste? | |
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| Why was Yucca Mountain chosen as the permanent repository in the United States, and what will be its fate? | |
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| Will delays in opening a permanent repository for radioactive waste derail continued or expanded use of nuclear power in the United States? | |
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| Sustainable Energy | |
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| What is meant by a "sustainable energy system"? | |
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| What is a "renewable energy source"? | |
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| Is nuclear energy a renewable energy source? | |
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| Can nuclear energy contribute to developing sustainable energy systems? | |
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| Can renewable energies compete with nuclear and other base-load electrical power sources? | |
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| Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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| Index | |