Atucha I nuclear power plant
Encyclopedia
Atucha I is one of two operational nuclear power plant
s of Argentina
. It is located in the town of Lima
, Zárate
, Buenos Aires
, about 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) from Buenos Aires
, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River
.
The plant is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). It employs a mixture of natural uranium
and enriched uranium
(0.85% of 235U), and uses heavy water
for cooling and neutron moderation. It has a thermal power of 1,179 MWt, and generates 357 MWe of electricity, which is delivered at 220 kilovolts
to the Argentine Interconnection System, supplying about 2.5% of the total electricity production (2005).
Atucha I was started in 1968 and began operation in 1974; it was the first nuclear power plant in Latin America
. When nearly built in 1973, Atucha I was taken over by fifteen guerrillas for publicity purposes. They quickly overpowered five armed guards, and wounded two other guards whom they encountered while withdrawing.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
s of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It is located in the town of Lima
Lima, Buenos Aires
Lima is a town in Zárate Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina with a population of 8,375 ....
, Zárate
Zárate Partido
Zárate Partido is a partido of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 101,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Zárate, which is located around from Buenos Aires.-External links:...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, about 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) from Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, on the right-hand shore of the Paraná de las Palmas River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
.
The plant is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). It employs a mixture of natural uranium
Natural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
and enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
(0.85% of 235U), and uses heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
for cooling and neutron moderation. It has a thermal power of 1,179 MWt, and generates 357 MWe of electricity, which is delivered at 220 kilovolts
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
to the Argentine Interconnection System, supplying about 2.5% of the total electricity production (2005).
Atucha I was started in 1968 and began operation in 1974; it was the first nuclear power plant in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. When nearly built in 1973, Atucha I was taken over by fifteen guerrillas for publicity purposes. They quickly overpowered five armed guards, and wounded two other guards whom they encountered while withdrawing.
See also
- National Atomic Energy CommissionNational Atomic Energy CommissionThe National Atomic Energy Commission is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.CNEA's facilities include the...
- Atucha II nuclear power plantAtucha II nuclear power plantAtucha II is a nuclear power plant in Argentina, located in Lima, Buenos Aires, on a site next to Atucha I. Its construction started in June 1981 under a contract with Siemens, but it has not been finished . Like Atucha I, it is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor , but was planned to have a much...
- Embalse nuclear power plantEmbalse nuclear power plantThe Embalse Nuclear Power Station is one of the two operational nuclear power plants in Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of a reservoir on the Río Tercero, near the city of Embalse, Córdoba, 110 km south-southwest of Córdoba City....
- Brittle PowerBrittle PowerBrittle Power: Energy Strategy for National Security is a 1982 book by Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, prepared originally as a Pentagon study, and re-released in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. The book argues that U.S. domestic energy infrastructure is very vulnerable to...
External links
Monografias.com RinconDelVago.com- energiaslimpias.org Por un futuro energético limpio, sustentable y democrático.