Identifying the most suitable locations for nuclear power in Abu-Ghraib district using GIS and remote sensing

Abstract

Following the industrial revolution that the world witnessed in recent centuries, the need arose for energy sources to supply factory machinery and means of transportation with the power that enables them to perform their work, the need to find diverse energy sources through which countries can generate electricity. This research aims to identify suitable locations for establishing nuclear power plants in the Abu-Ghraib district using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and satellite imagery to study and analyze land use and the area's topography, including slope, elevation, and water sources, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Assigning relative weights to each criterion according to its importance in the suitability of the nuclear site and producing the final suitability map. All criteria are integrated into a final suitability map highlighting the most suitable sites for nuclear energy using a hierarchical analysis method and integrating the relative weights of each criterion according to its relative importance in determining the location of nuclear energy. The results showed that there are large areas in the Abu-Ghraib district suitable for the construction of nuclear power plants, due to the availability of water sources for cooling the plants, low population density. That the very high suitability category (26.07%) and the high suitability (30.91%) and their sum (56.98%). The potential application of nanotechnology in supporting the safety and performance of nuclear facilities for protection against nuclear radiation.