Radiation safety

France's Revolutionary Nuclear Reactor Is a Leaky, Expensive Mess

France’s new energy minister has called a major French nuclear project “a mess” in public interviews. The European pressurized reactor (EPR) that was commissioned for the Flamanville nuclear power plant, where it joins two existing pressurized water reactors, has been delayed and plagued by problems. The latest extension takes the project timeline from 13 years to 17 at least.

The goal with the EPR design was to continue to kit out the world’s highest-output nuclear plants, with individual reactors that were more powerful and safer. The EPR uses less uranium because its chemical design is more efficient. And it’s not any kind of major technological leap; instead, it’s an iteration on a previous design that’s just a little bit better.

Radiation safety

Russia denies its nuclear plants are source of radiation leak

Russia has said a leak of nuclear material detected over Scandinavia did not come from one of its power plants.

Nuclear safety watchdogs in Finland, Norway and Sweden said last week they had found higher-than-usual amounts of radioactive isotopes in the atmosphere.

A Dutch public health body said that, after analysing the data, it believed the material came "from the direction of western Russia".

It said the material could indicate "damage to a fuel element".

But in a statement, Russia's nuclear energy body said its two power stations in the north-west - the Leningrad NPP and the Kola NPP - were working normally and that no leaks had been reported.

"There have been no complaints about the equipment's work," a spokesperson for the state controlled nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom told Tass news agency.

Radiation safety

Four things you didn’t know about nuclear waste

Some of what you’ve heard about nuclear waste is true. It really can take thousands of years to decay, and even the briefest exposure to the most dangerous kind can be lethal.

But in my ten years working with and researching nuclear waste, I’ve also encountered a lot of nonsense. It’s simply not as bad as many of the scare stories make out. And with the UK and other countries having to decide where to host the next generation of nuclear waste disposal facilities, such misconceptions can be very damaging.

Nuclear waste can be thought of as anything that comes from a site licensed to handle nuclear material which is no longer useful. Radioactive waste is anything that isn’t useful and also gives off harmful ionising radiation. I want to clear up a few things about these types of waste:

Radiation safety

Britain has 139 tons of plutonium. That’s a real problem.

The United Kingdom’s last plutonium reprocessing plant, B205, located in Sellafield in northern England, will shut down by the end of 2020. It will bring an end to the era of plutonium separation in the country, which began 68 years ago. Because the United Kingdom never used any of the material it recouped from reprocessing except in nuclear weapons, today it has amassed a stockpile of almost 139 metric tons of separated plutonium.

This creates lasting problems: Plutonium stored in Sellafield is highly toxic and poses a permanent risk of proliferation. It is enough material to build tens of thousands of nuclear weapons. According to parliamentary estimates, storage will cost the British government about 73 million pounds a year for the next century. But after decades of public and private consultation, there is still no accepted plan for its disposition. In the meantime, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is working on the consolidation of the stockpiles in Sellafield and developing the capability to retreat the packages to allow for long-term storage once the government makes a final decision on permanent disposal.

Radiation safety

Water leak shuts down one of two nuclear reactors at North Anna Power Station

Dominion Energy has shut down one of its two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station after operators discovered what a spokesman for the company called a “small leak of water” in the reactor’s coolant pumps.

Unit 2 at the plant in Louisa County was shut down at about 1:30 a.m. on Thursday and remained offline on Friday afternoon. Unit 1 was unaffected and was still operating at 100% capacity on Friday.

The water leak was about 0.1 gallons per minute at the time the unit was shut down, said Ken Holt, a spokesman for Dominion.

“The water from the leak was contained in the containment building and did not go into the environment,” Holt said. “The source has been identified, and repairs are underway. All the systems operated as designed during the shutdown, and the reactor is currently offline and stable while repairs are being made.”

Radiation safety

U.S. tests ways to sweep space clean of radiation after nuclear attack

The U.S. military thought it had cleared the decks when, on 9 July 1962, it heaved a 1.4-megaton nuclear bomb some 400 kilometers into space: Orbiting satellites were safely out of range of the blast. But in the months that followed the test, called Starfish Prime, satellites began to wink out one by one, including the world’s first communications satellite, Telstar. There was an unexpected aftereffect: High-energy electrons, shed by radioactive debris and trapped by Earth’s magnetic field, were fritzing out the satellites’ electronics and solar panels.

Starfish Prime and similar Soviet tests might be dismissed as Cold War misadventures, never to be repeated. After all, what nuclear power would want to pollute space with particles that could take out its own satellites, critical for communication, navigation, and surveillance? But military planners fear North Korea might be an exception: It has nuclear weapons but not a single functioning satellite among the thousands now in orbit. They quietly refer to a surprise orbital blast as a potential “Pearl Harbor of space.”

Radiation safety

New form of uranium found that could affect nuclear waste disposal plans

A new form of uranium has been discovered which is likely to have implications for current nuclear waste disposal plans, say scientists.

Many governments are planning to dispose of radioactive waste by burying it deep underground. However, new research has found that in such storage conditions a new chemical form of uranium can temporarily occur, while small amounts of uranium are released into solution. If uranium is in solution, it could make its way into groundwater.

The nuclear industry currently provides 20% of the UK’s power, and radioactive waste in the UK is estimated to amount to 750,000 cubic metres – enough to fill about 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools. It is currently stored in surface sites, but it could be hundreds of thousands of years before this waste ceases to be hazardous.

Governments are searching for a way to safely dispose of the waste, and an international consensus is moving towards geological nuclear waste disposal – burying it several hundred metres underground. Many countries are already building such disposal units.

Radiation safety

World War 3: How US detonated 23 nuclear bombs creating radioactive wasteland

The US was engaged in a Cold War nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union to build more advanced bombs from 1947 until 1991. As part of its nuclear weapon testing, the US went to Bikini Atoll, located in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean.

The first series of explosive tests were undertaken in 1946 at the Bikini Atoll region under the code name ‘Operation Crossroads’, and the first test was dropped from 520ft, detonating above its target.

The second test, nicknamed ‘Baker’, forming a huge cloud of explosion as it struck its target ships with devastating effect.

Eight years later in 1954, the second round of tests were undertaken by US military.

Codenamed ‘Operation Castle’, the tests would prove yet more monstrous than the previous detonations. The detonation of ‘Castle Bravo’ saw a thermonuclear bomb dropped near Bikini Atoll on March 1 1954.

The explosion was measured at 15 megatons, and created a blast 1000 times more powerful than the deadly Hiroshima and Nagasaki explosions of 1945, which ultimately led to Japan’s surrender from World War 2.

The explosion was predicted to reach about four megatons of energy, meaning the scientists involved with the tests were blown away by the sheer force of the weapons they had created.

To make the tests possible the US had requested that residents of the area evacuate, and were promised thet they would be able to return home once they were completed.

Radiation safety

Germany is closing all its nuclear power plants. Now it must find a place to bury the deadly waste for 1 million years

When it comes to the big questions plaguing the world's scientists, they don't get much larger than this.

Where do you safely bury more than 28,000 cubic meters -- roughly six Big Ben clock towers -- of deadly radioactive waste for the next million years?

This is the "wicked problem" facing Germany as it closes all of its nuclear power plants in the coming years, according to Professor Miranda Schreurs, part of the team searching for a storage site.

Experts are now hunting for somewhere to bury almost 2,000 containers of high-level radioactive waste. The site must be beyond rock-solid, with no groundwater or earthquakes that could cause a leakage.

The technological challenges -- of transporting the lethal waste, finding a material to encase it, and even communicating its existence to future humans -- are huge.

But the most pressing challenge today might simply be finding a community willing to have a nuclear dumping ground in their backyard.

Radiation safety

Earthquake hits France's nuclear power output

French electricity giant EDF on Thursday cut its forecast for nuclear energy production this year after suspending operations at an atomic plant in the south of the country following a highly unusual earthquake.

EDF took three reactors at the Cruas plant in the Ardeche region offline after Monday's earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.4 and was felt across a vast area between the cities of Lyon and Montelimar.
The tremors were particularly felt in Teil, just 15 kilometres from the power plant.
The reactors were halted for checks, as required by the law in these circumstances, although no damage has so far been found.
EDF said as a result it was cutting its projection for nuclear energy production this year to 384-388 terawatt-hours (TWh), down from the previous forecast of 390 TWh.
The original forecast had already been cut due to stoppages at other reactors and weather conditions.

Radiation safety

The ultimate Middle East missile target: Nuclear reactors

What if a nuclear reactor had been the target of last month’s accurate missile attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities? We might now be mopping up a Middle East Chernobyl. The lesson should be clear: Don’t build more large reactors in the region. They’re radioactive sitting ducks.

Saudi Arabia has plans to build an array of large nuclear power plants. Next door, the United Arab Emirates is spending $20 billion to complete four commercial reactors at Barakah. Egypt and Turkey both have begun constructing two massive Russian-designed nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, Iran has two operating reactors and has begun constructing two more. After Iran’s Sept. 14 missile attack against Saudi Arabia, though, all of these plants risk being wiped out.

Precision guided missiles are the reason why. Shortly after the Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia, pictures revealed each of the oil tanks struck at Abqaiq were hit in the exact same spot. The missiles’s estimated accuracy was one meter. That makes even the hardiest of large reactors easy marks. Rather than target the most protected part of the plant, the large concrete containment building covering the reactor’s core, accurate missiles can put key auxiliary reactor facilities at risk.

Radiation safety

How to protect yourself from nuclear radiation

On Aug. 8, residents of Severodvinsk, Russia, witnessed a tremendous explosion. Experts across the world are still trying to piece together exactly what happened—and Russian media outlets are demanding answers from the Kremlin—but it seems clear the explosion came from somewhere close to the Russian Navy's nearby missile-testing range.
The current theory is that the blast, which killed five scientists and blanketed the immediate region with a still-unknown amount of radiation, most likely involved a missile equipped with a miniature nuclear reactor.
Though the incident doesn’t seem to have involved a live nuclear warhead, submarines armed with such weapons are a key component of Russia’s nuclear deterrence strategy—same as in the United States. And following the collapse earlier this year of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty that limited weapons-testing, the world may see more and more nuclear weapons tests. With them comes the increased likelihood of accidents and exposure to radiation.
As anyone who watched HBO's Chernobyl miniseries this spring can tell you, massive releases of radiation are also possible in entirely peaceful scenarios.

Radiation safety

New details on Russia's mysterious missile disaster suggest a nuclear reactor blew up

A mysterious explosion at a Russian weapons testing site earlier this month released various radioactive isotopes, creating a cloud of radioactive gases that swept across a nearby town, the country's state weather agency said Monday, and experts said the mixture removes all doubt about what blew up.

The deadly August 8 blast at the Nyonoksa military weapons testing range released a handful of rapidly decaying radioactive isotopes — strontium-91, barium-139, barium-140, and lanthanum-140 — which have half-lives ranging from 83 minutes to 12.8 days, the Roshydromet national weather and environmental monitoring agency said in a statement on test samples.

"These are fission products," Joshua Pollack, a leading expert on nuclear and missile proliferation, told Insider. "If anyone still doubts that a nuclear reactor was involved in this incident, this report should go a long way toward resolving that."

Radiation safety

Lithuania Stocks Up on ‘Millions of Iodine Pills’ Fearing Radiation Leak at Belarus Nuclear Plant

Vilnius, which abandoned nuclear energy a decade ago, has repeatedly voiced opposition to the construction of a nuclear power plant close to its border, branding it a threat to national security. Belarus calls these concerns groundless, citing regular stress tests and close cooperation with foreign partners.

Lithuania has reportedly decided to buy over 4 million iodine tablets in preparation for the opening of a nuclear power plant in neighbouring Belarus.

The Lithuanian government told AP in a statement that the pills, worth roughly $1 million, are expected to be delivered in mid-September.

Citizens will get them for free in case of a radiation leak at the nuclear power plant, which Belarus plans to unveil later this year.

The thyroid cells are damaged or destroyed when they absorb radiation, and iodine is used to block the thyroid gland from radiation exposure.

Radiation safety

Three Accidents That Derailed The Nuclear Power Industry

When nuclear power was first commercialized in the mid-1950s, many viewed it as an ideal solution for the electricity needs of a growing global population. One pound of uranium-235 can produce two to three million times as much electricity as one pound of coal or oil – but without producing any direct atmospheric emissions under normal operations.

But then a couple of accidents in the 1970s and 1980s seriously damaged enthusiasm for nuclear power. The Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1979 remains the most serious nuclear power accident in U.S. history. There weren't any injuries as a result of this accident, but there was a small release of radioactive material during the incident.

Thus, growing opposition to nuclear power began to appear in the U.S. following the Three Mile Island accident.

Radiation Fears

One thing I have observed over the years is that people have a high degree of fear when it comes to radiation. You can explain to someone that a banana (like our own bodies) is naturally radioactive and they will still eat it, but "radioactive release from a nuclear power plant" strikes terror in many.

Radiation safety

MILLION A WEEK CLUB – YRTW 2019.16 – YOUR CUMULATIVE RADIATION

The nearby Targeted Individuals of US nuclear power plants is 160,876,377 people by the official 2010 US Census. The next official census starts in 2020.
The poor souls live within range of a leaking nuclear power plant and catch radiation poisoning.
All nuke power plants leak radiation; the nukes leak because they have to. The Rad, heat, and pressure cannot be contained; it never has been.
Worse still the Rad plants and factories cannot be sued.
The rich owners think the trade-off for your health and life is worth the money. I do not.
No Agency will tell you this. All physicists know this is true. Their jobs depend on their not telling you. What a world!

Radiation safety

Japan's nuclear horror relived as people return to Fukushima's ghost towns

The government is keen residents return as soon as it is safe, and this month around 40% of the town of Okuma, which sits just west of the plant, was declared safe for habitation thanks to ongoing decontamination efforts carried out on an superhuman scale.

The official mandatory evacuation order was lifted, and while reports reveal just 367 residents of Okuma's original population of 10,341 have so far made the decision to return, and most of the town remains off-limits, the Japanese government is keen this be seen as a positive start to re-building this devastated area.

"This is a major milestone for the town," Toshitsuna Watanabe, mayor of Okuma, told Japanese news outlets, as six pensioners locally dubbed 'The Old Man Squad', who had taken it upon themselves to defy advice and keep their town secure, finally ceased their patrols.

Radiation safety

CLIMATE CHANGE COULD CAUSE FUKUSHIMA-STYLE MELTDOWNS IN THE US

Most nuclear power plants in the United States are not prepared for the increase in flooding and severe weather that climate change will soon bring.

Of the roughly 60 operational plants in the U.S., 90 percent have at least one design flaw that will render them susceptible to flood damage and storm surge, according to Bloomberg. If preventative measures aren’t taken and upgrades made, then the U.S. may face radiation leaks like the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

Meltdown

Speaking to Bloomberg, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s Matthew Wald argued that such a meltdown was incredibly unlikely in the U.S. thanks to emergency equipment installed in some reactors.

“There is a perennial problem in any high-tech industry deciding how safe is safe enough,” Wald said, “The civilian nuclear power industry exceeds the NRC-required safety margin by a substantial amount.”

But often, individual reactors and nuclear industry organizations are allowed to set those standards themselves. Bloomberg reports that these groups were allowed to estimate not only their own reactors’ resilience in the face of climate change, but also just how bad they expected the effects of climate change to get in their area.

Radiation safety

U.S. nuclear regulators do not recognize real danger of dirty bombs, watchdog says

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is failing to recognize the full range of dangers posed by a potential dirty bomb attack and needs to take more action to secure high-risk radioactive material, according to a government watchdog report released Thursday.

In assessing the possible effect of a radioactive dirty bomb detonated in an American city, the U.S. nuclear regulator has only focused on the possible health effects caused by the spread of radiation, the Government Accountability Office report said. But the NRC has not taken into account the potential consequences of a panic-driven evacuation and costly decontamination effort, according to the report.

"NRC's regulatory approach in many ways is based on the idea that a dirty bomb would not be a high consequence event," said David Trimble, director of the National Resources and Environment office at the GAO.

Radiation safety

Qatar: UAE nuclear plant threat to Gulf stability, environment

Qatar has said a nuclear plant under construction in the UAE poses a serious threat to regional stability and the environment.

In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), seen by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday, Qatar also called the Vienna-based organisation to create a framework for nuclear security in the Gulf.

Relations between Qatar and its neighbour are already strained after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with the government in Doha in June 2017. The breach came over allegations that Qatar supports "terrorism", a charge the country denies.

In its letter, Qatar said that a radioactive plume from an accidental discharge could reach its capital in five to 13 hours and a radiation leak would have a devastating effect on the region's water supply because of its reliance on desalination plants.

The contested Barakah nuclear power plant is located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.