Selection of Site for Nuclear Power Station

Selection of  Site for Nuclear Power Station:

The following points should be kept in view while selecting the site for a nuclear power station :

(i) Availability of water.  As sufficient water is required for cooling purposes, therefore, the plant site should be located where ample quantity of water is available,  e.g., across a river or by sea-side.

(ii) Disposal of waste. The waste produced by fission in a nuclear power station is generally radioactive which must be disposed off properly to avoid health hazards.The waste should either be buried in a deep trench or disposed off in sea quite away from the sea shore.Therefore, the site selected for such a plant should have adequate arrangement for the disposal of radioactive waste.

(iii) Distance from populated areas.  The site selected for a nuclear power station should be quite away from the populated areas as there is a danger of presence of radioactivity in the atmosphere near the plant.  However, as a precautionary measure,  a dome  is used in the plant which does not allow the radioactivity to spread by wind or underground waterways.

(iv) Transportation facilities.  The site selected for a nuclear power station should have adequate facilities in order to transport the heavy equipment during erection and to facilitate the movement of the workers employed in the plant.

From the above mentioned factors it becomes apparent that ideal choice for a nuclear power station would be near sea or river and away from thickly populated areas.