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[cdn-nucl-l] ANS Position: Use of Nuclear Energy for Desalination
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----- Original Message -----
From: Gene
To: mbrexchange@list.ans.org
Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2005 6:28 PM
Subject: [MbrExchange] EnLG 2005mar ANS Position: Use of Nuclear Energy for
Desalination
Use of Nuclear Energy for Desalination
ANS Position Statement March 2005
http://www.ans.org/pi/ps/docs/ps62.pdf
The American Nuclear Society (ANS) endorses the use of nuclear power
reactors for desalination of
seawater. Desalination is the process that removes dissolved minerals from
seawater or brackish water.
All of the technologies currently in use for desalination require
significant amounts of energy, either as
low-temperature process heat or electricity. As stated in Position Statement
No. 14 on the "Use of
Nuclear energy for the Production of Process Heat," the ANS believes that
nuclear reactors are a safe and
environmentally benign source of process heat and electricity for
desalination plants.
Currently, it is estimated that one fifth of the world population, or more
than 1 billion persons worldwide
do not have access to potable water. (1,2,3) This results in more than 3
billion cases of illness and two
million deaths per year because of water related diseases. (1,2) This
situation is likely to deteriorate in the
future because of increasing population, commercialization and
industrialization, particularly in arid and
semi-arid regions, as well as the cost of tapping new water reservoirs. It
is anticipated that by the 2025,
33% of the world population, or more than 1.8 billion people, will live in
countries or regions without
adequate supplies of water unless new desalination plants become
operational. (4) In many areas, the rate
of water usage already exceeds the rate of replenishment, and in the U.S.,
severe water shortages have
already occurred in some regions, e.g., California, Florida, and Texas.
Nuclear reactors have already been used for desalination on relatively
small-scale projects. In total, over
150-reactor-years of operating experience with nuclear desalination have
been accumulated worldwide.
Eight nuclear reactors coupled to desalination projects are currently in
operation in Japan. India has
nearly completed a demonstration plant, and Pakistan has launched a similar
project.
However, the great majority of the more than 7,500 desalination plants in
operation worldwide today use
fossil fuels with the attendant emission of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases. Increasing the use
of fossil fuels for energy-intensive processes such as large-scale
desalination plants is not a sustainable
long-term option in view of the associated environmental impacts. Thus, the
main energy sources for
future desalination are nuclear power reactors and renewable energy sources
such as solar, hydro or wind,
but only nuclear reactors are capable of delivering the copious quantities
of energy required for large-scale
desalination projects.
(1) Faibish, R. S. & Konishi, T., "Nuclear desalination: a viable option for
producing fresh water." IAEA, Desalination, 157
(2003) 241-252
(2) International Atomic Energy Agency, "Isotope Techniques in Water
Resources Development and Management." Proceedings
of an International Symposium, 1999.
(3) "Nuclear Desalination," Information and Issue Brief by the World Nuclear
Association. August 2004.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf71.htm
(4) "Projected Water Scarcity in 2025" by the International Water Management
Institute.
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/home/wsmap.htm