Thermal Pollution of the Waters of the State of TN Effects

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Thermal Pollution of the Waters of the State of TN

• Effects of Current and Planned Nuclear Generating
  Plants on the Tennessee River

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What is Thermal Pollution?

• Increase in the normal temperatures of natural
  waters caused by intervention of human
  activities.
• Temperature is a physical characteristic of water
  which is regulated under the Clean Water Act and
  the TN Water Quality Act.

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Thermal Pollution
Suffocated fish
Altered food web
Low dissolved oxygen
Decreased fish population
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Waste Heat from Power Plants
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Nuclear Power Plants

• Nuclear power plants use water as a cooling
  agent.
• After the water is used, it is put back into a
  water supply at 9-20oC warmer

This 1988 thermal image of the Hudson River
highlights temperature changes caused by
discharge of 2.5 billion gallons of water each
day from the Indian Point power plant. The plant
sits in the upper right of the photo hot water
in the discharge canal is visible in yellow and
red, spreading and cooling across the entire
width of the river. Two additional outflows from
the Lovett coal-fired power plant are also
clearly visible against the natural temperature
of the water, in green and blue.
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Red reservoirs Yellow Fossil Plants
Purple Nuclear Plants
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The water level at Douglas Lake in Dandridge,
Tenn., in June was below average. TVA officials
say unless the area gets unexpected rainfall this
summer, lake levels are unlikely to rise. July 7,
2007
Two gallons of water are needed by coal and
nuclear power plants for every kWh they produce.
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Drought Conditions Worsen Across the Scorched
South
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Effects of Increased Water Temperature

• Thermal shock aquatic life adapted to a certain
  water temperature can go into shock when the temp
  is changed even 1 or 2 degrees C.
• Oxygen dissolved in water decreases
• Increases the rate of photosynthesis, which
  increases the amount of plant growth, developing
  eutrophic conditions
• Increases the metabolic rate of fish, which
  increases their need for oxygen

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Biotic Effects of Thermal Pollution

• Changes in the environment may also result in a
  migration of organisms to another, more suitable
  environment, and to in-migration of organisms
  that normally only live in warmer waters
  elsewhere. As a result one has the problem of
  compromising food chains of the old and new
  environments. Biodiversity can be decreased as a
  result.
• Changes of even one to two degrees Celsius can
  cause significant changes in organism metabolism
  and other adverse cellular biology effects.
  Principal adverse changes can include rendering
  cell walls less permeable to necessary osmosis,
  coagulation of cell proteins, and alteration of
  enzyme metabolism. These cellular level effects
  can adversely affect mortality and reproduction.

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Under Drought Conditions

• Less water is absorbing more heat.
• Water flow is lower and slower.
• Insufficient water to function as a heat
  exchanger.
• Water gets hotter.
• This summer, Chickamauga Lake had at times
  temperature of 89 degrees, making the cooling of
  the Sequoyah Plant inefficient.

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Dissolved Oxygen vs Temp
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Fish Oxygen Use vs. Temperature
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Fish Response to Temperature
Solid dot Upper lethal Limit for a Given
species Open dot Best T for spawning Solid
blocks Preferred Temperature Range
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The Future is Now
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Wanted Water Quality Board Actions

• The Water Quality Board requests TDEC conduct a
  study of the cumulative water quality impacts of
  the thermal pollution caused by existing and
  proposed power generating plants on the Tennessee
  River, including the climatic scenarios of
  prolonged drought and warmer temperatures.
• The Water Quality Board requests that TDEC
  participate in the environmental scoping of the
  impacts upon the waters of the State of TN of the
  proposed TVA Bellefonte, AL nuclear power plants
  and report periodically to the Board.