2006-12-20 11:55:08 · 6 answers · asked by Rawkus 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
They can and do leak. Three Mile Island leaked a lot. So did Calder Hall in the UK. However, the steam in the turbines is in a separate system to the coolant in the reactor (which is not always water) so unless there is a leak the steam will not be radioactive.
2006-12-20 20:36:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
no absolutly not...
The steam you are seeing is not in any way touching any raidoactive material. The cooling system and the system that has harmful materials are completely secluded from eachother. There is no place that the water (which is the steam) comes in contact with raidoactive material.
2006-12-20 20:03:16 · answer #2 · answered by travis R 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No they do not. There are two independent pluming circuits one radioactive the other not. Heat is transferred from one to the other without the loss of radioactive material.
Also, you should note that nuclear reactors do not contribute to the green house effect and emit no air pollution at all.
2006-12-20 20:07:16 · answer #3 · answered by jeffrcal 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, the steam is recycled back to the water storage unit and processed into steam again.
2006-12-20 19:59:21 · answer #4 · answered by Haven17 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Radioactive properties exist in much simpler things you breath, eat and drink. It is used to purify water, fertilize crops, it's also used in some processes of food manufacturing. Nuclear power plants do, however, produce ridiculous amounts of toxic waste that is becoming more and more of a challenge to get rid of. That you should worry about much more than radioactive material.
But in most cases, no... toxic waste very very rarely finds itself in contact with populated areas. In modern countries, anyway... Russia excluded.
2006-12-20 20:02:58 · answer #5 · answered by DNA-Groove 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
no
2006-12-20 20:02:33 · answer #6 · answered by j.b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋