Atmospheric considerations regarding the impact of heat dissipation from a nuclear energy center

Technical Report · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7351782· OSTI ID:7351782

Rotty, R. M.; Bauman, H.; Bennett, L. L.

Potential changes in climate resulting from a large nuclear energy center are discussed. On a global scale, no noticeable changes are likely, but on both a regional and a local scale, changes can be expected. Depending on the cooling system employed, the amount of fog may increase, the amount and distribution of precipitation will change, and the frequency or location of severe storms may change. Very large heat releases over small surface areas can result in greater atmospheric instability; a large number of closely spaced natural-draft cooling towers have this disadvantage. On the other hand, employment of natural-draft towers makes an increase in the occurrence of ground fog unlikely. The analysis suggests that the cooling towers for a large nuclear energy center should be located in clusters of four with at least 2.5-mile spacing between the clusters. This is equivalent to the requirement of one acre of land surface per each two megawatts of heat being rejected.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 7351782
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-5122; TRN: 76-016128
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
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COOLING TOWERS
PLUMES
NUCLEAR PARKS
THERMAL EFFLUENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
CLIMATES
METEOROLOGY
PLANNING
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220503* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Environmental Aspects- Chemical & Thermal Effluents
200101 - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Cooling & Heat Transfer Equipment & Systems