Review Questions
Q1. Which of the following is NOT a commonly cited disadvantage of nuclear power?
(a) High construction costs (b) High through-life fuel costs (c) Long-term waste storage requirements (d) High regulatory compliance costs
Answer: (b) — Nuclear fuel costs are low compared to fossil fuels. The main cost disadvantage is the high up-front capital cost of construction, not fuel costs.
Q2. Which of the following regions has no nuclear power stations?
(a) Africa (b) Australasia (c) South America (d) Central America
Answer: (d) — Central America has no nuclear power stations. South Africa has a nuclear plant (Koeberg) in Africa. Argentina and Brazil have nuclear plants in South America. Australasia has no power reactors either, but the question refers specifically to Central America. Note: Australasia also has no nuclear power stations; both (b) and (d) are defensible, but Central America is the more definitive answer as Australia has a research reactor (OPAL).
Q3. Greenhouse gas release from the nuclear power and fuel cycle is negligible in which phase?
(a) Mining and milling phase (b) Enrichment phase (if using diffusion) (c) Operational (power generation) phase (d) Decommissioning and waste processing phase
Answer: (c) — During the operational (power generation) phase, the reactor itself produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions. Mining, enrichment (especially gaseous diffusion), and decommissioning all involve some energy use and hence indirect greenhouse gas emissions.
Q4. The fissile isotope produced in the thorium fuel cycle is:
(a) Th-232 (b) U-232 (c) U-233 (d) Th-234
Answer: (c) — Th-232 is fertile. Under neutron irradiation it captures a neutron to become Th-233, which beta-decays to Pa-233, which beta-decays to the fissile isotope U-233.
Q5. Which site was not included in the final list for potential new-build UK reactors?
(a) Dungeness (b) Hinkley Point (c) Bradwell (d) Sizewell
Answer: (a) — Dungeness was the one nominated site that was found not to be strategically suitable and was excluded from the final Nuclear National Policy Statement.
Q6. Approximately what percentage of the world’s electricity is generated by nuclear power?
(a) 2% (b) 10% (c) 25% (d) 40%
Answer: (b) — Nuclear power provides approximately 10% of global electricity.
Q7. The WNA Reference Scenario projects global nuclear capacity will reach approximately what level by 2040?
(a) 391 GWe (b) 486 GWe (c) 686 GWe (d) 931 GWe
Answer: (c) — The Reference Scenario projects 686 GWe by 2040. The Lower Scenario gives 486 GWe and the Upper Scenario gives 931 GWe.
Q8. What is the primary purpose of enrichment in the nuclear fuel cycle?
(a) To remove impurities from uranium ore (b) To increase the proportion of fissile U-235 (c) To convert uranium oxide into uranium hexafluoride (d) To fabricate uranium into fuel pellets
Answer: (b) — Enrichment increases the proportion of the fissile isotope U-235 from its natural abundance (~0.711%) to the level required by the reactor (typically 3—5% for a PWR).
Q9. Which organisation is the UK government’s delivery body for new nuclear projects?
(a) Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) (b) Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) (c) Great British Nuclear (GBN) (d) EDF Energy
Answer: (c) — Great British Nuclear (GBN), established in 2023, is the government’s dedicated delivery body for new nuclear.
Q10. In a closed fuel cycle, spent fuel is reprocessed to recover which two materials?
(a) Thorium and plutonium (b) Uranium and neptunium (c) Uranium and plutonium (d) Plutonium and americium
Answer: (c) — Reprocessing separates spent fuel into three streams: uranium, plutonium, and fission products/actinides (waste). The uranium and plutonium are the recoverable, usable materials.