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 The
very first nuclear reactor was built in a squash court at the
University of Chicago during the second world war. It consisted
of a stack of uranium rods and graphite blocks that were steadily
built up until a self-sustaining chain reaction took place. This
occurred on December 2nd 1942. Because of the way the first one
was built, nuclear reactors are often referred to as Atomic or
Nuclear Piles.
After the early demonstration model the first reactors built were
used to produce plutonium for the manufacture of nuclear bombs
and, by August 1945, enough had been made to destroy Nagasaki.
During
the operation of the first reactors it was realised that the mechanism
had to be cooled or the heat produced would melt the uranium fuel
rods. Water or air used to remove this heat could be used to drive
a turbine producing electricity. Hence the power reactor was conceived.
The first nuclear power station at Calder Hall in Britain was
built primarily to produce plutonium and the electricity was a
by-product. Present power reactors are being built to produce
electricity but necessarily produce plutonium also. The two go
hand-in-hand.
Nuclear power stations
are fabulously expensive to build and maintain. In Britain, when
the Thatcher Government tried to privatise all utilities, no one
wanted to buy the nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is increasingly
unpopular in Britain, with Government subsidies to the nuclear
industry of $2b per annum.
In the United States, there has not been one new order for a nuclear
power station since 1979. To survive, U.S. companies are working
hard to sell their domestically unwanted technology overseas.
 Chernobyl
One of the darkest consequences of using nuclear power to generate
electricity is the possibility of an accident. On April 26, 1986,
the fears became reality at Chernobyl.
Research
Reactors
 Following
the war, the next group of reactors was built to study nuclear
physics and nuclear engineering, and to produce artificial radioactive
materials for use in many research fields including medicine,
engineering, and hydrology. These are called research reactors
and are considerably smaller than power reactors. The Australian
Reactor HIFAR situated at Lucas Heights near Sydney, is of this
type. It is used for engineering and physics research and to produce
radio-pharmaceuticals such as radioactive iodine used to diagnose
thyroid malfunction. HIFAR regularly releases radioactive iodine
into the surrounding suburbs and the campaign to shut it down
and cancel the replacement reactor is shaping up to be one of
the key anti-nuclear campaigns of the next few years.
Nuclear
Waste
Nuclear reactors produce the most dangerous waste products on
earth. Immediately after being unloaded, the boiling fuel is held
in interim storage until it
is cool enough to be handled.
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