In this blog post, we will look at how we can manage the risks of nuclear power generation and ensure safety in the face of rising electricity demand.
Ghost, one of the characters in the game StarCraft, has the ability to drop nuclear missiles on enemy lines. Most of the enemies hit by the nuclear missiles are wiped out in an instant. Even in a losing situation, nuclear missiles can be a springboard for a comeback, and their dangers are enormous in the real world. While there was no consideration of radioactivity in the game, in reality, the dangers of radioactivity have led to the creation of treaties to prevent the proliferation of nuclear missiles internationally. Nuclear missiles and nuclear power plants are fundamentally the same in that they both use nuclear fission. Nuclear power plants are less dangerous than nuclear missiles, but they still pose a certain level of risk.
Fission is a phenomenon in which an element splits into two different elements, releasing energy from the nucleus of the element. This energy is released explosively, and if it is not controlled and used, it becomes a nuclear missile. On the other hand, if the amount of energy released is properly controlled, it can be used to generate electricity in a nuclear power plant. When a magnet is moved around a coil made by winding up a wire, a current is generated by changing the magnetic field inside the coil, which is called the electromagnetic induction phenomenon. Inside a nuclear power plant, the process of using the energy generated by nuclear fission to boil water to create steam, which then turns a turbine to generate electricity, takes place. The problem lies in the radioactive materials that remain after the nuclear fission is complete. The substances created after nuclear fission are very unstable and decay on their own, releasing radiation in the process.
Radiation can cause serious damage by modifying the cells and DNA of living organisms, and can cause cancer in humans. Radiation, which can penetrate ordinary materials, can penetrate even concrete walls when the intensity is high. Because nuclear power plant waste emits this radiation, the process of disposing of it is very difficult. Currently, the radioactive material is sealed in thick concrete and buried in the ground to prevent it from being released. Radioactive material can emit radiation for decades, so there is a risk of radiation leakage if a crack forms in the waste storage facility due to an earthquake or tectonic movement. This has led to opposition from local residents who are concerned about safety.
Some argue that these concerns are excessive. Professor Jeong Beop-jin of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Kyung Hee University said that there have been no deaths from nuclear accidents in Korea, and that there were no deaths in the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States or the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. However, the strong radiation from radioactive materials can cause death within hours to weeks of being in the vicinity. If a nuclear missile were to explode, the first thing that would happen is that the surrounding area would be burned by the heat generated by nuclear fission. The second thing that would happen is that people at a distance would be exposed to radiation, which is a powerful radioactive substance, and would suffer cell damage and die. People living at a greater distance will be exposed to radioactive materials carried by the wind, which will slowly lead to death from cancer or other diseases. Nuclear power plants strictly control these nuclear fission reactions, so even if an accident occurs, there will be no immediate deaths in the surrounding area. If nuclear power plants had not taken these measures, nuclear power would have been classified as a high-risk power generation and would not have been allowed to be developed.
It is unclear how much the incidence of cancer or mortality from other diseases has increased due to the nuclear power plant accident. For example, even if it is known that a certain drug can directly destroy cells when it enters the body, it is difficult to test the results when a person takes it. The damage caused by the nuclear power plant accident is similar to this, in that the risk is theoretically known, but the actual clinical results are difficult to verify. This is because it is difficult to find people to participate in experiments to determine the risks of nuclear power plants. This is why it is difficult to conclude that nuclear power plants are safe.
In the summer, the demand for electricity surges as many people use air conditioners to control the indoor temperature. In particular, the power usage reaches its peak around 2 p.m. in the summer. According to the Korea Energy Agency, most Koreans are at school, work, or other business sites during this time, and few are at home. Also, the power reserve rate during the summer is higher on weekends than on weekdays, which shows that the main source of the increased power demand due to air conditioning is businesses.
The electricity bill for businesses is usually paid by many people. Companies pay for it at their own expense, and business owners pay for department stores, etc. Company employees and customers do not care about electricity bills, they just want a pleasant environment. In fact, the current electricity rate system only applies a progressive tax to homes, not to industrial electricity, so electricity used at business sites is cheaper than residential electricity.
Many modern devices use electricity, and because it is easy to use and store, it is widely used after fossil fuels such as coal and oil. The current power generation facilities do not take into account the storage function, so they must produce more electricity than is needed. Since demand peaks in the summer, maintaining the amount of power generation in line with this means that the power reserve rate reaches 30% in the spring and fall. Generally, a power reserve rate of 10% is considered to be a match between supply and demand, but a lot of unnecessary power is wasted in the spring and fall. With recent advances in battery technology, if this technology is applied to power generation facilities to increase their storage capacity, it will be possible to flexibly supply electricity according to demand without having to build additional power plants. In fact, in 2014, a large-scale battery power plant consisting of 25,600 lithium-manganese cells began operation in Germany. This system stores surplus electricity and supplies it when demand is high.
According to the Korean National Statistical Office, the average annual growth rate of electricity consumption from 2015 to 2023 was 1.6% in 2015, 2.1% in 2016, 2.0% in 2017, 1.3% in 2018, 0.5% in 2019, and 1.0% in 2020. The growth rate has been on a downward trend, at 9% in 2021, 1.7% in 2022, 1.2% in 2023, and 1.1% in 2023. Under these growth rates, building additional nuclear power plants is costly both economically and environmentally. Meeting electricity demand through changes in power generation facilities and electricity rate adjustments will be a way to reduce waste and risk in the future.
