What is Nuclear Wastewater? How did it come to be? To answer this question, we must first understand the principle of nuclear power generation. Nuclear power generation is a way of using the fission or fusion of atomic nuclei to release huge amounts of energy, which in turn drives generators to produce electricity. At present, the vast majority of nuclear power plants in the world use the principle of nuclear fission to generate electricity, that is, they are by converting some heavy elements, such as uranium or plutonium, into lighter elements, and at the same time emitting a large amount of neutrons and heat energy to achieve nuclear reactions. These neutrons can then proceed to initiate other nuclear fissions, forming a chain reaction that keeps the nuclear reaction going.
In the process of nuclear reactions, some by-products are produced, which are often referred to as radioactive materials, or radionuclides. These radioactive substances have some special properties, their nuclei are unstable and will constantly decay and at the same time emit some rays, such as rays, rays, rays, etc. These rays are harmful to the human body and the environment, so we must properly dispose of these radioactive materials to prevent them from causing contamination and damage.
Nuclear wastewater is actually water containing radioactive materials, which mainly comes from the cooling system of nuclear power plants. The cooling system of a nuclear power plant is used to convert the heat energy generated by the nuclear reaction into steam, which in turn converts the steam into water, which drives turbines and generators, while also ensuring that the temperature of the nuclear reactor is not too high to avoid the risk of a meltdown. Cooling systems often use water as a coolant because water has good heat transfer properties and is also inexpensive. However, during the cooling process, the water comes into contact with the radioactive material inside the nuclear reactor and becomes contaminated and becomes nuclear wastewater.
The degree of contamination of nuclear wastewater varies depending on the time, temperature, pressure, and type and amount of radioactive material in which the water comes into contact with radioactive material. Generally speaking, nuclear wastewater can be divided into three grades, namely low-level radioactive wastewater, medium-level radioactive wastewater, and high-level radioactive wastewater.
Low-level radioactive wastewater refers to those that contain only a small amount of radioactive material, or only a radioactive material with a short half-life, which has a low level of radioactivity and is very harmful to humans and the environment. High-level radioactive wastewater is wastewater containing a large amount of radioactive materials or a long half-life, which has a high level of radioactivity and is also very harmful to the human body and the environment.
Tritium is a special type of hydrogen that has one proton and two neutrons in its nucleus, which makes it unstable, so it is constantly changing. It will turn a neutron into an electron and an antineutrino and fly out, which is called decay. In this way, it becomes helium, a stable gas. This process lasts for 123 years, until half of it turned into helium. That's its half-life.
Tritium is the most radioactive substance in nuclear wastewater, and it combines with water molecules to form tritium water. Tritium water looks the same as normal water, but it emits faint rays.
These rays are easily blocked, a piece of paper or your ** can block them, so they don't hurt your body. But if you drink tritium water, or eat foods that contain tritium, it may have an impact on your health.
However, tritium has a special property, that is, it can combine with oxygen to form tritium water, which is radioactive heavy water. Tritium water is no different from ordinary water, and their chemical and physical properties are the same, so it is difficult to separate them by ordinary methods. Moreover, tritium water can be absorbed by living organisms and enter the cells and tissues of the human body, thus causing potential effects on human health. As a result, tritium is one of the most difficult radioactive substances to dispose of in nuclear wastewater.
But in recent months, Japan's discharge that has sparked worldwide condemnation is not ordinary nuclear wastewater, and it is more appropriate to describe it as nuclear wastewater.
On March 11, 2011, 9The magnitude 1 was large**, which caused a tsunami and caused a serious accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Three reactors melted down, releasing large amounts of radioactive material. In order to cool the melted fuel rods, crews had to continuously inject seawater into the reactor. When this seawater comes into contact with the fuel rods, it becomes contaminated water containing various radioactive isotopes.
In order to prevent polluted water from flowing into the surrounding environment, Japan** collects them all and uses a special equipment to remove most of the radioactive elements. However, there is a radioactive hydrogen called tritium, which is difficult to isolate. Tritium is a light element that can bind to water molecules, and its half-life is 123 years, that is, it takes 12It takes 3 years to halve the radioactivity. At present, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has more than 1.3 million tons of tritium-containing contaminated water in about 1,000 huge tanks. These sinks take up most of the space in the nuclear power plant and are constantly increasing. Japan** says that if measures are not taken, the space in the sink will be depleted by 2022.
No, in 2023, Japan** will give the ultimate solution - dilute the treated polluted water to a concentration below the international standard of tritium, and then gradually discharge it into the Pacific Ocean.
This proposal is very strangely supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which believes that it is in line with international practice and has negligible impact on people and the environment. Japan** claims that the water is absolutely safe and has reached the drinking standard, before the discharge, Fumio Kishida also came to a sushi show, and ate some Yusheng from Fukushima in front of **, but the next day it was exposed to poisoning, which is really a bit ironic!
Japan** said the water would be discharged through an underwater tunnel into the sea away from the conventional fishing area, without affecting fisheries and marine ecology. So far, the nuclear sewage has been discharged several times, and no one knows how much impact it will have on the marine environment!
However, there have been several recent mass fish kills in Japanese waters, and it is not known whether it is related to the discharge of nuclear wastewater.