• Question: what is the most dangerous thing when working with nuclear power ?

    Asked by anon-232585 to Mark, Liam, Laura, Kasia, Gina, Felix on 15 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Felix Warren

      Felix Warren answered on 15 Nov 2019:

      Tritium gas, its hydrogen gas with 2 extra neutrons in the atom this makes it mildly radioactive emitting beta radiation, if you inhale it it can be quite dangerous. Luckily there are a lot of tools we use to protect against this such as gas masks and ventilated suits.

    • Photo: Liam Gaffney

      Liam Gaffney answered on 18 Nov 2019:

      For modern nuclear power stations, it is the waste disposal. There is no good solution for the long-term storage of radioactive waste yet and it is going to cost a lot of money to make sure it is done right.

    • Photo: Laura Sinclair

      Laura Sinclair answered on 21 Nov 2019:

      Meltdowns, waste and possible terrorist attacks.

      Chernobyl is obviously a famous case of what can happen when things go wrong, a lot of lessons have been learnt.

      Proper storage and disposal of nuclear waste is a huge priority.

      In 1982, Chaim Nissim (an anti-nuclear activist) shot five rocket-propelled grenades at the Superphénix nuclear plant in France. The grenades damaged the outer concrete shell, and not much else. So facilities need security in the form of guards and gates.

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