Nuclear n Canada

Nuclear n Canada

Letter of Transmittal

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Dear:

SUBJECT: TRANSMITTAL ON THE STATE OF NUCLEAR IN CANADA.

I submit herewith a report on the various factors that surround nuclear energy production in Canada. The report outlines the significance of the Indian-Canadian nuclear production partnership. Secondly, there is the development of high-level atomic reactors concerning uranium mining in low-income nations. Also, the reason why the Canadian government had to stop a twenty billion nuclear upgrade project in Ontario. Lastly, the significance of hydrogen holds considerable potential in the future of energy production. All in all, nuclear power generation will continue to play a significant role in Canada.

Nuclear in Canada

Introduction

Today electricity is generated from various sources; for instance, sunlight, coal, hydrogen, and natural gas. In Canada, the primary source of power is hydro, which accounts for over half the population of Canada. It is closely followed by nuclear power, which accounted for sixteen percent of Canada’s power demand by 2016 (Sarkar, 2019). Globally, Canada is number six in terms of the leading nuclear energy producers. What is more, Canada is amongst the thirty nations that have nuclear power generation plants; as a result, it contributes to four percent of the atomic energy all over the globe. Therefore, by outlining a descriptive analysis of various aspects surrounding nuclear in Canada, it is clear that despite the continually increasing cost of nuclear production the atomic energy plays a vital role in the current and future energy demand all over the globe.

Background

In response to the current and future times, nuclear power generation will continue to play a significant role in Canada. Therefore this report presents various aspects that involve the state of nuclear energy in Canada. That is an Indian-Canadian nuclear production partnership. Also, the development of high-level nuclear reactors concerning uranium mining in low-income nations; and how they will improve the Canadian and the global nuclear industry. That aside, the reports indicate why it was important for the Canadian government to stop twenty billion nuclear upgrade projects in Ontario. Lastly, this report explains the significance hydrogen holds as a massive potential in the future of energy production. Besides, about sixty million tones of hydrogen are consumed all over the globe in a year.

India-Canada Relations

Since India gained independence, the government has made it a priority to develop a self-sustainable scientific, technological, military, and industrial capability (Benerjee, 2017). As a result, in the early 1950s, the United Nations insisted on the need for nuclear in India since the nation had inadequate energy systems. Later in late 1950, India initiated an experimental nuclear power reactor known as the APSARA. The nuclear produced power, and according to estimations, the power was more than the Indian scientists and engineers could handle. As a result, the Canadian government, through the ministry of external affairs, showed interest in constructing an experimental nuclear reactor in India to help manage and develop the atomic energy plant. Therefore, the two governments formulated the Colombo Plan to initiate nuclear power collaboration. And Canada was to depend on CANDU (Canadian Deuterium Uranium) as the primary source of energy. India was to primarily benefit from CANDU since it uses natural uranium, a commodity that is readily available in the world market; the fuel that is used in Canadian Deuterium Uranium is relatively cheap. What is more, the CANDU project had the potential of expanding into a thorium fuel cycle, and this meant the production of a nuclear reactor that would be beneficial in the short term and, most importantly, the long run. However, Canada had other nuclear partnerships with nations like Argentina, and this made it hard to prioritize India’s cooperation. As a result, India stated that the only way they could continue working with Canada was if the Canadian government ceased nuclear operations with other nations. In the long run, the two countries split, and India started constructing two plutonium separation plants with the capacity of the nuclear reactor in the CANDU agreement.  India cooperated with Canada for mutual benefit. Without any involvement with Canada, the ability to detonate a bomb would, at the most, have experienced only a marginal delay (Benerjee, 2017). Despite two instances of nuclear relationship disagreements between India and Canada, the current atomic cooperation is a vital pillar of the union that facilitates economic partnerships. Mutual nuclear agreements that exist between India and Canada are not meant for the two nations only. However, they serve a broader global commercial platform. What is more, India has a promising economic development potential; as a result, Canada is looking to foster their relationship. On the other hand, the federal state of India has the interest to strengthen the relation to ensure they attain adequate technology and resources from Canada to achieve development goals and objectives. Despite the federal states of India and Canada sharing various political views, there have been significant lows and highs. However, through the Paris Climate Change Agreement (2015) and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Act, India initiated a relationship that later became Ottawa’s political. Still, the link did not last since India had various challenges. However, after 1998 India developed its Nuclear weapon status and to the point of the equation to Washington. As a result, through the Paris Climate Change Agreement, the India-Canada relationship was fostered and made official in 2015.

Nuclear Power and Uranium Mining

The development of high-level nuclear reactors and the development of uranium mining in low-income and high-income nations will extensively improve the nuclear industry. Despite all that, these developments result in various public health challenges. As opposed to Canada, Africa and Asia are considered the core uranium producers due to weak labor laws as a result of affordable costs of operations and regulation policies that are less-strict (Sarkar, 2019). Despite the massive amounts of uranium, there are unethical practices that could have severe impacts on the public. Thus, the public’s safety should be the priority before fostering them as preferable alternatives. Through an extensive analysis of the Uranium market, the stages of atomic production are very complex; therefore, each step of the nuclear making process is associated with the release of large amounts of hard-to-manage waste that requires perpetual management systems. As a result, the current energy consumption imposes costs and potential risks for future generations. What is more, due to a wide range of radioactive and harmful pollutants, there could be severe impacts on groundwater quality and surface water safety. After the Fukushima power plant accident, Canada has been more vigilant in strategically monitoring their whole nuclear production process to ensure the public’s safety. What is more, since Canada has nuclear partnerships with other developing nations like India, the protection and security of nuclear plants have escalated from the Canadian national level to the international level. However, the technological trends that are continually emerging have given rise to various challenges concerning public health. To be more precise, due to substantial power demands, the overall cost of production of energy form nuclear power plants is quite high. What is more, Africa and Asia indicate high levels of atomic production challenges due to labor laws that are poorly regulated and ineffectual regulatory frameworks, which have resulted in low operating costs (Sarkar, 2019). There is sufficient evidence on unethical practices environmental transgressions that pose severe threats to the general public. As a result, all safety issues concerning the new uranium reactors need to be solved before implementing the process as a viable alternative. Since Canada is already an established nuclear energy producer, the government can offer support to other developing nations like India to foster partnerships and boost overall energy production. The whole production process of nuclear energy ranging from the uranium mining stage to radioactive waste has a significant radiation hazard. Besides, the Fukushima power plant accident has led to extensive questions on nuclear technology safety. Despite that, the atomic energy department in Canada and other leading states remain optimistic regarding the role of technology to support nuclear production sufficiently and minimize environmental threats. Also, there has been a public opinion on the closure of nuclear plants due to the dangers that they pose. As a result, nuclear energy is facing significant policy changes that implement new technologies that enhance safety and cost-effective frameworks. What is more, there is an excellent emphasis on the analysis and supervision of uranium mining in developing nations.

Privatization of Nuclear Project

According to Lorinc’s writing on the New York Times, the Canadian government stopped the twenty billion nuclear upgrade projects in Ontario due to a competitive bidding process that left no option to privatize the atomic plant. The project was already two years old, and it was primarily meant to replace the reactors that are out of date with next-generation nuclear technology (Lorinc, 2019). And despite the highly-potential privatization of the nuclear plant, its core purpose remains to foster emission-free atomic power. Generally, nuclear energy supports about fifty percent of Ontario’s power supply. However, it poses a federal set back from the privatization of the plant that has been government-owned for the last fifty-seven years since there is no certainty that the future owners will facilitate similar management like the government. After the upgrade, the energy justice system seeks to recommend justice principles on policies, production processes, consumption, and safety in terms of climate change. Most importantly, it serves the purpose of providing everyone with affordable and sustainable energy irrespective of their backgrounds. Energy justice offers the opportunity to identify and explore injustice by indicating burden misdistribution. It enables the new processes that facilitate the precise remediation and recognition of new actors in the nuclear energy industry. Even though the possible privatization of the twenty billion nuclear upgrade projects in Ontario, the minister of the province insists that the primary intention of the nuclear plant project is to develop an emission-free nuclear power company to foster the well-being of the public at large (Lorinc, 2019). Over fifty percent of the power supply in Ontario comes from nuclear energy. Therefore, the government plans to shut down the coal-fired generators to develop atomic power all over the Ontario province primarily. Emission-free nuclear power production will mean deficient levels of environmental pollution. Nuclear power has no known ecological effects; however, nuclear energy is very hazardous to living organisms. Therefore, the government of Canada will consider a bidder who has the capability of managing nuclear wastes sufficiently to ensure the environment and the public are all safe. Also, the plant’s fuel supply could be upgraded from uranium to thorium, and this means a ‘greener’ production process. In other words, thorium has fewer environmental effects. What is more, it is cost-effective, and it means the future of nuclear energy could be very beneficial to the Canadian government. Also, the governments of Canada will consider a private company that can use the breeder reactors and fusion reactors to boost sustainability. In that, atomic fusion is useful, providing unlimited power from a limited source of uranium or thorium; however, minimal private nuclear producers can implement the process. As a result, the preferred bidder will be the one with the industrial capability of boosting extensive atomic energy production by minimizing the cost and resources.

Reopening the Medical Isotope Reactor

The Canadian government is extensively working on a regulation that will see the reopening of a nuclear reactor that is very significant to the global pharmaceutical industry since it produces a substantial amount of a medical diagnostic isotope. Atomic energy of Canada is the federal organization that owns the reactor. And it was temporarily closed down for regular maintenance. However, the Canada Nuclear Regulatory agency closed the plant down after a discovery that the plant had out-dated machinery. After the reactor is reopened, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission will ensure the peaceful usage of Nuclear power in Canada. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is constituted by quasi-judicial tribunal commissioners who are independent and other senior staff members who provide sound decisions and recommendations for the commissioners. What is more, authoritative advisors provide the licenses that are issued by the commission. As Canada’s primary nuclear regulator, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission provides consent and compliance of remediation activities at legitimate atomic sites. Initially, the two faces nuclear reactor was owned by MDS Nordion of Ottawa, a unit of the Toronto-based health and science institution MDS (Austen, 2017). However, after eight years in running, the organization injected millions of dollars, but there were delays in production. As a result, the nuclear energy regulatory commission transferred the sole ownership to Atomic Energy as part of a mediation agreement. However, there is still one challenge with pant: increase in the reactor core is supposed to slow down the nuclear reactions. Instead, the opposite is occurring, and the chief engineers insist the problem is unknown. Therefore before proper operations begin, the government is hopeful that the atomic energy will conduct a series of tests and investigations to ensure the issue is discovered. The nuclear reactor that is very significant to the global pharmaceutical industry since it produces a substantial amount of a medical diagnostic isotope. Medical nuclear began about fifty years ago, but it has developed to become very important in the healthcare industry. As a result, one-third of all the medical procedures in modern hospitals involve radioactivity. Medical nuclear primarily means radiation for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, and they are considered some of the best and most effective treatment methods and life-saving strategies. What is more, medical nuclear is usually painless, and patients do not need anesthesia during treatment. Additionally, it is helpful in cardiology to psychiatry to monitor the stages of an illness and the overall treatment progress. In nuclear medicine, the radioisotopes are usually used in the internal organs, while radiology X-rays are used to monitor the internal progress externally. The significance of medical nuclear indicates the importance of reopening the nuclear reactor that is very significant to the global pharmaceutical industry since it produces a substantial amount of medical diagnostic isotope to many medical facilities all over the globe.

Advances in Nuclear Hydrogen Production

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had a successful Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the technology and economic aspects of nuclear hydrogen (El-Emam & Khamis, 2019) And it primarily involved eleven nations; for instance, Canada, India, and the United States of America, to name a few. Through the four years of the coordinated research project, there were more efficient methods of fostering hydrogen production. As a result, the coordinated research project led to the finalizing of case studies that were essential for nations that were considering utilizing nuclear energy for hydrogen production. Also, Emam and Khamis outline the developments in atomic hydrogen production. That is the vital Assessment Tool: HEEP. More precisely, the HEEP is computer software that serves the essential function of analyzing and monitoring the technical and economic factors of the crucial process of nuclear hydrogen production. More specifically, through computer programming, there is a pre-process that avails vital data. Secondly, it implements a module cost by making the overall cost of hydrogen production cheaper.  As one of the lightest elements, hydrogen holds vast potential in the future of energy production. As a result, as time goes by, the concept of a global hydrogen economy is gradually becoming a reality. Currently, about sixty million tones of hydrogen are consumed all over the globe in a year. However, it occurs as feedback by chemical industries and petroleum manufacturers. Despite all that, the use of hydrogen as a fuel is continuously increasing in the transportation, residential, and other commercial sectors. What is more, the use of hydrogen as a power generator is also highly anticipated. Developing and promoting hydrogen fuel cell transportation benefits the economy of Ontario by the increase of jobs (El-Emam & Khamis, 2019). According to an economic impact study by the Canadian government, in about ten years, 14,500 new employment opportunities will come as a result of the growth in hydrogen technology. What is more, the total revenue of $1.2 billion is expected from the potential hydrogen industries in Ontario. All in all, this projection presents an opportunity for the development of hydrogen technology, which will, in turn, foster the gross domestic product, the tax revenues, and the prestige of Ontario as a leading province in the nation’s decarburization process. The accomplishments of the current and the projected hydrogen projects in the region of Ontario indicate a bright future that fosters hydrogen-energy production as a clean resource. One of the IAEA’s primary objectives is to ensure atomic energy contributes to peaceful relations, advanced healthcare, and prosperity in energy production. And one way in which it will implement this initiative is by producing hydrogen on a precise nuclear energy scale that is comparable to the overall nuclear power demand (El-Emam & Khamis, 2019). As a result, the steadily growing interest of various member States in fostering hydrogen-energy production has enabled the IAEA to initiate a project that ensures the assessment of nuclear hydrogen production all over the globe.

Conclusion

This paper presents a report on the general factors surrounding nuclear energy in Canada. To be more precise, it illustrates how Indian and the Canadian governments formulated the Colombo Plan to initiate atomic power collaboration. Secondly, the report outlines the development of high-level nuclear reactors and the development of uranium mining in low-income and high-income nations and how they will improve the nuclear industry. That aside, the Canadian government stopped a twenty billion nuclear upgrade project in Ontario due to a competitive bidding process that left no option but to privatize the atomic plant to a giant nuclear producer. Lastly, hydrogen holds massive potential in the future of energy production. Besides, about sixty million tones of hydrogen are consumed all over the globe in a year. By outlining a descriptive analysis of various aspects surrounding nuclear in Canada, it is clear that despite the continually increasing cost of nuclear production the atomic energy plays a vital role in the current and future energy demand all over the globe.

Executive summary

This paper presents a report on the general factors surrounding nuclear energy in Canada. To be more precise, it illustrates how Indian and the Canadian governments formulated the Colombo Plan to initiate atomic power collaboration. Secondly, the report outlines the development of high-level nuclear reactors and the development of uranium mining in low-income and high-income nations and how they will improve the nuclear industry. That aside, the Canadian government stopped a twenty billion nuclear upgrade project in Ontario due to a competitive bidding process that left no option but to privatize the atomic plant to a giant nuclear producer. Lastly, hydrogen holds considerable potential in the future of energy production. Besides, about sixty million tones of hydrogen are consumed all over the globe in a year.

Reference

Austen, I. (2017, December 13). Canada Acts to Reopen Reactor Producing Medical Isotope. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/business/worldbusiness/13reactor.html

Banerjee, S. (2017). India–Canada Relations: The Nuclear Energy Aspect. India Quarterly, 73(3), 342-356.

El-Emam, R. S., & Khamis, I. (2019). Advances in nuclear hydrogen production: Results from an IAEA international collaborative research project. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 44(35), 19080-19088.

Lorinc, J. (2019, July 1). Ontario Puts Nuclear Upgrade Plans on Ice. New York Times.            https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/ontario-puts-nuclear-expansion-plans-on-ice/

Sarkar, A. (2019). Nuclear power and uranium mining: current global perspectives and emerging public health risks. Journal of public health policy, 40(4), 383-392.