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Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima

Curse of the Nuclear Genie

  • Book
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Thomas Filburn

    1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hartford, West Hartford, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Stephan Bullard

    1. Hillyer College, University of Hartford, West Hartford, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Shows historical context for development of the three reactors involved in the most notable nuclear accidents

  • Details accident timelines for TMI, Chernobyl and Fukushima, with consequences to local population

  • Intricate details of incidents/technologies that greatly impacted accidents (Steam Generator design at TMI, Chernobyl accident started with safety exercise, Fukushima hillside removed to save pump power)

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
    Download chapter PDF

  2. How Do Nuclear Reactors Work?

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 1-13

  3. Why Pressurized Water?

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 15-28

  4. Three Mile Island

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 29-41

  5. Russian Reactor Design History

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 43-53

  6. Chernobyl Accident

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 55-66

  7. Why Boiling Water?

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 67-76

  8. Fukushima Daiichi Development and Operation Prior to Great East Japan Earthquake

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 77-89

  9. The Great East Japan Earthquake and Its Immediate Effects on Fukushima

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 91-96

  10. Fukushima Daiichi Today

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 97-104

  11. Nuclear Fuel, Cladding, and the “Discovery” of Zirconium

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 105-114

  12. Summary

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages 115-120

  13. Erratum

    • Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard
    Pages E1-E1
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Keywords

About this book

This book examines the three most well-known and socially important nuclear accidents. Each of these accidents had significant, yet dramatically different, human and environmental impacts. Unique factors helped shape the overall pattern and scale of each disaster, but a major contributing factor was the different designs used for each reactor. Fukushima was a boiling water reactor (BWR), Chernobyl was a graphite moderated boiling water reactor, and TMI was a pressurized water reactor (PWR). This book traces the history of nuclear power and the development of each reactor type. We examine how GE’s work with a sodium cooled design did not fare well with the US Navy, and led GE to promulgate the BWR design. We explore the Russian atomic bomb program, its use of graphite moderated reactors, and their design modifications to create power production units. We trace the developments in the US that led the US Navy to select the PWR design, and caused the PWR to be used for nearly 2/3 of all US commercial reactors. In sum, the book uses the three major nuclear accidents as a lens to trace the technological history of nuclear energy production and to link these developments with long-term societal and environmental consequences. The book is intended for readers with an interest in nuclear power and nuclear disasters. The detailed and compelling account will appeal to both the expert and the interested lay-person.   

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hartford, West Hartford, USA

    Thomas Filburn

  • Hillyer College, University of Hartford, West Hartford, USA

    Stephan Bullard

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima

  • Book Subtitle: Curse of the Nuclear Genie

  • Authors: Thomas Filburn, Stephan Bullard

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34055-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Energy, Energy (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-34053-1Published: 17 November 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-81666-1Published: 22 April 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-34055-5Published: 08 November 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: X, 120

  • Number of Illustrations: 22 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Nuclear Energy, Environmental Management, History of Science

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