Avaliação ambiental integrada da geração de energia elétrica brasileira via energia nuclear

Abstract

The electrical energy generated by a nuclear source is obtained by the fission of uranium atoms that generate heat for heating water in a boiler, which from the generated steam drives the plant's turbines, starting an electric generator. However, for this process to occur, a set of steps/phases is needed to obtain the raw material,in which case uranium is called the nuclear fuel cycle. These Steps consist of extraction from natural reserves­mining, conversion, enrichment, reconversion, pellet and fuel manufacturing and the generation of electricity, that is,in each of these steps, energy is input as raw material and energy generation is output. waste. Thus, this work aims to assess the environmental impacts in the production stages and their cumulative effects on the activity as a whole, integrated environmental assessment. For that, the environmental impacts were surveyed and classified by the expertise of specialists and by studies previously carried out in similar areas, for each of the phases of the activity and in eachen vironment (physical, biotic and socio economic).With this it was possible to verify that both the physical and the biotic environment were classified as having moderate impacts and the socio­economic one classified as light, as it is the only environment that has significant positive impacts. Or an important aspect was the synergy between the impacts of thephysical and biotic environment, characterized as mild, whereas the impacts between the physical versus socio­economic and biotic & socio­economic environment were identified as negligible, pointing to alow Synergy between these environmental components.