NEXT STOP: Bataan Nuclear Power Plant!

     There are many sources of energy found here in this world, renewable and non-renewable sources. As of today, we are more dependent on coal to generate electricity. And by the way, coal is a non-renewable source of energy; that means, coal will only be available for a couple more years, that’s why many people are finding alternatives for this. One of which is NUCLEAR ENERGY…

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

     That type of energy is what we’re going to talk about today because the other site that we went to in our trip to Bataan was the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). The BNPP is located in Napot Pt. in Morong, Bataan. It is also the only nuclear power plant in the Philippines, but sadly, it has never been fueled. And, maybe, you might be wondering, what’s nuclear energy?

     Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms in a process called fission. At the power plant, the fission process is used to generate heat for producing steam, which is used by a turbine to generate electricity.

     There are also many advantages and disadvantages of generating nuclear energy. Let’s first start off with the advantages:

Little Pollution:

Nuclear power produces less pollution than coal, which is our primary source of electricity…

 

Safety:

Generating nuclear energy is one of the safest ways on producing electricity….

 

Reliability:

The cost of electricity will be lowered and there will be no brownouts. And also, Nuclear Power Plants need little fuel to work. 

 

Now, let’s go down to our disadvantages:

Sustainability:

Uranium (which is used to power Nuclear Power Plants) is a scarce source. Furthermore, there is no URANIUM found in the Philippines.

 

Meltdowns:

Radiations:

The 3 Major effects of radiation are: Cancer, Radiation Sickness, and genetic mutation (WHAT??!!!).

 

Waste disposal:

Nuclear wastes remain toxic (OUCH!) for hundreds of thousands of years…

 

     After reading, we have one question for you: Which side are you on? Are you in favor of harnessing energy? OR is it the other way around?

    

     Some of us had mixed emotions when asked if we are in favor of harnessing nuclear energy or not, but most of us said that we are not in favor of harnessing nuclear energy. We would love to tell you the reasons why, but that’s for our next blog post…

     Now, let’s leave that topic behind to discuss about our 2^nd SITE, The BNPP! Before we went to BNPP, we expected that we will see the different parts of the power plant and to know their functions and we also wanted to learn LOTS more about nuclear energy.

    

     After the field trip, we surely learned a LOT about the BNPP. First of all, we learned about the kind of structure of the plant and we learned that there were “back-ups” just in case a part of the BNPP goes wrong. We also learned that nuclear power plants are difficult to build and it is also difficult to select a place to build the plant. And also, the plant is safe as long as the structure is good.

     After touring the plant, the best part that we liked in the plant is the dome and the reactor. Why? SIMPLE ANSWER: It is where most of the EXCITEMENT takes place.

CONTROL RODS

     SO that’s about it for now, we hope that you learned a lot about nuclear energy (And we know you did) and we also hope that someday, when you get older, you’ll be able to help and solve the issue concerning the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Until NEXT time!!! BYE!!!