TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES FROM OLDER NUCLEAR PLANTS
USNC’s MMR technology is considerably different from the traditional nuclear plants of the past for a number of reasons. Simply put, conventional nuclear plants split uranium atoms to release a significant amount of heat. This heat boils water, turning it into steam that rises and spins turbines to generate energy. Cooling towers are used to cool the steam to convert it back into water, which is then reused. Used fuel contains radioactive material, which is extremely hazardous to human health, and can leak out of its containment areas if some type of damage occurs to the nuclear plant. One example is the Fukushima Daiichi Accident (2011), which happened when an earthquake-triggered tsunami crashed into the nuclear plant and caused three nuclear meltdowns that leaked radioactive materials for several days. An aerial view of Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station in Fukushima, Japan captured on February 21, 2007. (TEPCO/ Wikimedia Commons )( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Darlington said that SMRs