Question

Suppose a town decides to shut down its nuclear power plant, which runs on U-235 and can release a total power of 500 MW. Does the power plant completely “turn off” (i.e. stop releasing energy) immediately when the town shuts it down? How can the town remove the decay heat of the power plant (name at least one way)?

Answer 1

No, this power plant does not immediately " turn off " because there are several chain reactions going on even after shutting down the reactor. These chian reactions are difficult to stop and they continue at slow rates even after one year after the shut down of reactor.

To remove the decay, The deep geological disposal can be thought. It is the most widely accepted and the safest way to dispose the nuclear waste that is undergoing reactions. In this method, the waste is dumped deep into earth into the land so that the radiations and particle emissions into the environment can be minimised