How do power plants dissipate energy from nuclear reactions?

Question

and if possible i'd like to know how this poses a threat to some aquatic life?

thanks!

Answer 1

There are actually 2 types of reactors used in this country.  A Boiling Water Reactor and a Pressurized Water Reactor.  In both, steam drives the turbine to produce electricity.  In a BWR it is the steam from the reactor that drives the turbine and this steam stays in a sealed system as it passes through a cooling tower to condense back to water and return to the reactor.  In a PWR the steam from the reactor heats clean water through a heat exchanger.  And this clean steam is what powers the turbine.  As it runs through the cooling tower some of it is reused and some of it is released back into the environment.  In either case, The water that is released back into the environment is safe.  A little warm maybe but no radiation.

Answer 2

Well this is something you might not have thought of did you know that the electricity generated might be radioactive.

Answer 3

Approximately 33% of the energy goes into generating electricity. It is impossible by the way for electricity to be radioactive, that is just silly.

The remaining 66% of the energy is released into the surroundings as heat. Often nuclear reactors are built near rivers so the river flow can be used to cool the reactor.

That extra heat does sometimes cause problems for the aquatic life down stream because the river can actually be heated quite a bit more than life in the river has evolved to deal with. In some cases some species die off locally.