Selection of site for Nuclear Power Station

A generating station in which nuclear energy is converted into Electrical energy is known as Nuclear Power Station.

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. Nuclear power plants heat produced during nuclear fission process. Heavy elements such as Uranium 235 & Thorium 232 are subjected to nuclear fission in a special apparatus known as reactor. The heat generated by nuclear fission is used to generate high temperature & pressure steam that drives a Steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity.

Selection of site for Nuclear Power Station

1. Availability of Water: Sufficient water is required for cooling purpose. So the plant site should be located where huge quantity of water is available. Eg: across a river

2. Disposal of Waste: Bi product of fission process, is radioactive. Radioactive wastes if not disposed carefully may have bad effect on the health of workers and other population. In a nuclear power plant the major problem faced is the disposal of highly radioactive waste in form of liquid, solid and gas without any injury to the atmosphere. Therefore, the site selected for a such plant should have adequate arrangement for the disposal of radioactive waste.

3. Distance from populated area: The site selected for the plant should be quite away from the populated area as there is a danger of presence of radio activity in the atmosphere near the plant.

4. Transportation facility: Power station often requires the transportation of materials and machinery. Therefore, adequate transportation facilities must exist.

5. Labour should be available at reasonable charges at the time of construction of the plant.