Difference between revisions of "What is nuclear energy?"

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[[Category:Nuclear energy]]
== Reactor history ==
 
  
[http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2015/12/08/nuclear-power-reactor-technology-1950-1953-part-1/ Nuclear Power Reactor Technology, 1950-1953 (Part 1)]
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[[File:Banana-Single.jpg|thumb|180px|A banana contains naturally occurring radioactive potassium-40|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose]]
 +
When we burn coal, oil, gas, wood (and other biomass), hydrogen etc, their chemical molecules react with Oxygen to produce heat (or in the case of fuel cells, electricity). The molecules of fuel get broken down and their constituent atoms re-arranged into different molecules - for example Carbon and Hydrogen atoms in gas or oil break away from each other and combine with Oxygen into water and Carbon Dioxide – {{H2}}O and {{CO2}}. However the Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms themselves are unchanged.
  
[http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/news/10.1063/PT.5.2029 Why did the US abandon a lead in reactor design?] Cheryl Rofer; Physics Today; 7 Aug 2015
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Nuclear energy is produced by the splitting or combining of atoms themselves. The combining of atoms – [[Nuclear fusion | fusion]] – is the subject of experiment and development, but the technology is probably decades away from producing useful amounts of energy commercially.
:Sometime in the late 1960s, a great shakeup occurred in nuclear reactor research. [T]he Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory at that time ... was suddenly dissolved. ... The key player was Milton Shaw, who directed the Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) Reactor Development and Testing Division (RDTD) at that time. Shaw refocused the US civil nuclear program toward a single goal of the liquid-metal fast breeder reactor, making a number of strategic mistakes that have had long-term safety consequences for the industry.
 
  
== Reactor Types ==
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The splitting of atoms is ''fission'' and is the basis of our current nuclear power stations.
  
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor Nuclear Reactor] Wikipedia
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Another process in which atoms split is the spontaneous ''decay'' of radioactive [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotope isotopes], including some of the Carbon and Potassium atoms in our bodies (and in bananas!). The heat generated by radioactive decay (of Plutonium) is used to power some spacecraft including the [https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ Voyagers], and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_(rover)#Rover_and_lander_specifications Curiosity] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)#Design Perseverance] Mars rovers.
  
[http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/energy/nuclear-power.cfm Nuclear power] IET
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== Fission, fissile, and fertile ==
: An introduction to nuclear power technologies
 
  
: A wide range of nuclear issues, ranging from the use of nuclear power in the UK, decommissioning of nuclear power stations, the nuclear fuel cycle, a glossary of nuclear terms, and the decay rate of Uranium238.
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[[File:Nuclear fission.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|How a neutron splits a Uranium-235 atom producing more neutrons|alt=A diagram showing a chain transformation of uranium-235 to uranium-236 to barium-141 and krypton-92]]
  
[http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/energy/nuc-reac-page.cfm Nuclear reactor types] IET
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Uranium has several isotopes, all of which are unstable, making it (weakly) radioactive. (See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium Wikipedia] for details.)
: Introduction to the various types of nuclear reactors worldwide and information on prototype designs
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Naturally occurring Uranium comprises mostly the Uranium-238 isotope, with less than three-quarters of a percent of Uranium-235. U-235 is "fissile": it has a certain probability of spontaneously splitting up into smaller atoms, releasing neutrons in the process. Its splitting up ("fission") can be triggered by it being hit by a neutron, releasing yet more neutrons which can split more U-235 atoms, in a chain reaction. The reaction also releases a lot of energy -- 1.5 million times as much as burning the same weight of coal.
  
: Many different reactor systems have been proposed and some of these have been developed to prototype and commercial scale. Six types of reactor (Magnox, AGR, PWR, BWR, CANDU and RBMK) have emerged as the designs used to produce commercial electricity around the world. A further reactor type, the so-called fast reactor, has been developed to full-scale demonstration stage. These various reactor types will now be described, together with current developments and some prototype designs.
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Plutonium-239 is another fissile isotope. It doesn't occur naturally but it can be produced when neutrons hit Uranium-238 atoms. Isotopes like U-238 and Thorium-232 are known as "fertile" because they can transmute into fissile isotopes (Pu-239 and U-233, respectively) when hit by neutrons.
  
[https://whatisnuclear.com/articles/nucreactor.html What is a nuclear reactor?]
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{{Clear}}
Overview of common reactor types
 
  
[http://www.senseaboutscience.org/data/files/resources/Nuclear_Information_Library/NuclearFission.pdf What is a fission reactor a fission reactor and how does it fission reactor and how does it work? and how does it work?] Sense About Science
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=== Fast, moderate and thermal ===
:Summary of predominantly UK sold-fuel reactor types
 
  
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_II_reactor Generation II reactor] Wikipedia
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When a Uranium-235 atom splits, the neutrons it releases travel fast, and they are far less likely to make another U-235 atom split than slower-moving neutrons do. In a mass of concentrated U-235 (such as in an atom bomb) there can be enough neutrons making atoms split and releasing more neutrons etc for a chain reaction to occur, but with less concentrated Uranium (containing less of the U-235 isotope mixed with more of the non-fissile U-238) nothing will happen. (This is why nuclear reactors can't explode like a bomb, and ordinary nuclear reactor fuel can't be used to make a bomb.)
  
== Existing Nuclear ==
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However if some of the neutrons emitted by splitting U-235 atoms are slowed down before hitting other atoms they are about 1,000 times more likely to make them split and sustain a chain reaction. Slower neutrons are called "thermal" and the slowing-down process is called "moderating". Water and graphite are good at slowing down neutrons so most nuclear reactors use either water or graphite as moderators. Water can also be used to transfer heat from the reaction to provide useful energy.
  
=== IPCC ===
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=== Breeders and Burners ===
  
[http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg3/index.php?idp=128 Nuclear Power] IPCC Working Group III: Mitigation
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Fast neutrons can be captured by various atoms and turn them into other isotopes. This process can burn up radioactive isotopes (such as those in the spent fuel of conventional reactors) which are hard to dispose of, and by the process of "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_activation neutron activation]" it can turn fertile isotopes such as U-238 into fissile ones such as Plutonium-239. The latter process is called "breeding" and is designed to occur in "fast breeder" reactors, although it also happens in conventional ("thermal spectrum") ones.
* Present Situation
 
* Nuclear Economics
 
* Waste Disposal
 
  
=== IEA ===
+
== Types of Reactors ==
  
[http://www.iea.org/topics/nuclear/ Nuclear] IEA
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There are many sorts of fission reactors which have been tried, and a huge variety which have been proposed. They can be classified by important characteristics:
: Nuclear fission is a mature technology that has been in use for more than 50 years. The latest designs for nuclear power plants build on this experience to offer enhanced safety and performance, and are ready for wider deployment over the next few years. There is great potential for new developments in nuclear energy technology to enhance nuclear’s role in a sustainable energy future. Nevertheless, important barriers to a rapid expansion of nuclear energy remain. Governments need to set clear and consistent policies on nuclear to encourage private sector investment. Gaining greater public acceptance will also be key, and this will be helped by early implementation of plans for geological disposal of radioactive waste, as well as continued safe and effective operation of nuclear plants.
 
  
[http://www.iea.org/media/workshops/2014/hknuclearrmworkshop/Session0IntroTam.pdf ROADMAP OVERVIEW AND ROLE OF NUCLEAR IN IEA SCENARIOS] Cecilia Tam; IEA; 2014
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* '''Fuel''': Uranium, Plutonium, Thorium etc
: slideshow
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** '''Uranium''': natural (around 0.72% uranium-235) or enriched (and by how much: most conventional reactors use material enriched 3 to 5% 235-U)
 +
** '''Fuel''': solid (fuel rods in conventional reactors) or molten (in [[Molten Salt Reactors]])
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* '''Thermal spectrum''': Fast or slow neutrons
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** ''(For Thermal reactors)'': '''Moderator''': regular (light) water, heavy water, graphite etc
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* '''Heat transfer/coolant medium''': gas or liquid
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** '''Heat transfer gas''': Argon, Helium, {{CO2}} etc
 +
** '''Heat transfer liquid''': water, metal, salt:
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*** '''water''': regular (light water) or heavy water,
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*** '''metal''': sodium, lead, mixture etc,
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*** '''salt''': fluoride, chloride, mixture (e.g. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLiBe FLiBe]) etc
 +
* '''Purpose/product''': experimental, research, production of isotopes, electricity, heat etc
 +
and, last but not least:
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* whether they are a paper (or academic) reactor or a real (practical) one.
  
[http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/technology-roadmap-nuclear-energy-2015-.html Technology Roadmap: Nuclear Energy]
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{{Template:BlockQuoteGrey| <h3>Paper v. Real reactors</h3>
: Since the release in 2010 of Technology Roadmap: Nuclear Energy (IEA/NEA, 2010), a number of events have had a significant impact on the global energy sector and on the outlook for nuclear energy. They include the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident in March 2011, the global financial and economic crises that hit many industrialised countries during the period 2008-10 and failings in both electricity and CO2 markets. Despite these additional challenges, nuclear energy still remains a proven low-carbon source of base-load electricity, and many countries have reaffirmed the importance of nuclear energy within their countries’ energy strategies.  
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US Admiral [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover Hyman Rickover], who brought nuclear reactors for the navy and civilian power stations to reality, [http://ecolo.org/documents/documents_in_english/Rickover.pdf observed] that:
  
: To achieve the goal of limiting global temperature increases to just 2 degrees Celsius (°C) by the end of the century, a halving of global energy-related emissions by 2050 will be needed. A wide range of low-carbon energy technologies will be needed to support this transition, including nuclear energy.  
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An academic reactor or reactor plant almost always has the following basic characteristics:  
 +
# It is simple.
 +
# It is small.
 +
# It is cheap.
 +
# It is light.
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# It can be built very quickly.
 +
# It is very flexible in purpose.
 +
# Very little development will be required. It will use off-the-shelf components.
 +
# The reactor is in the study phase. It is not being built now.
  
[http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Nuclear_RM_2015_FINAL_WEB_Sept_2015_V3.pdf Technology Roadmap - Nuclear Energy] IEA; 2015
+
On the other hand a practical reactor can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
: Current trends in energy supply and use are unsustainable. Without decisive action, energy related emissions of carbon dioxide will nearly double by 2050 and increased fossil energy demand will heighten concerns over the security of supplies. We can change our current path, but this will take an energy revolution in which low carbon energy technologies will have a crucial role to play. Energy efficiency, many types of renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and new transport technologies will all require widespread deployment if we are to sharply reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
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# It is being built now.
 +
# It is behind schedule.
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# It requires an immense amount of development on apparently trivial items.
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# It is very expensive.
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# It takes a long time to build because of its engineering development problems.
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# It is large.
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# It is heavy.
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# It is complicated.
 +
}}
  
=== economics ===
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== Real Reactors ==
  
[http://www.dieterhelm.co.uk/energy/energy/the-cma-energy-market-investigation-companies-5-0-cma-2/ After Hinkley - how to contract for the rest of the nuclear programme] Dieter Helm; April 2016
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=== Oklo: naturally occurring reactors ===
: Whilst a great deal of attention has focussed on the project to build twin European Pressurised Water Reactors (EPR) at Hinkley, less has been paid to what happens next. There are ambitious plans for another twin EPR reactor at Sizewell, and other types of reactors at Moorside, Wyfra and at Bradwell. Together they amount to over 10 GWs. There is a considerable consensus that whatever the right contractual framework for the first new nuclear reactor Hinkley, it is not necessarily the best model for what might follow. Yet almost nothing yet has been proposed as to how to do it differently.  Whilst neutral on whether more nuclear should be built, this paper suggests how, if more are to be built, they could be done. It focuses on the policy contexts, the underlying nuclear strategy, the cost of capital and the role of the government in financing.
 
  
[http://www.energypost.eu/new-paradigms-nuclear-energy-sector/ New paradigms for the nuclear energy sector] Dan Yurman; energy post; 5 May 2016
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Probably the simplest reactors, and certainly the earliest &mdash; by almost 2 billion years &mdash; were those at Oklo, in Gabon in West Africa.
: A wave of innovation is sweeping across the nuclear sector – so much so that it is difficult for financiers to pick winners at this stage. But the biggest innovation in nuclear energy may come in the form of a new investment paradigm that involves private investors much more than in the past
 
  
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-09/trump-s-team-is-asking-for-ways-u-s-can-keep-nuclear-alive Trump Team’s Asking for Ways to Keep Nuclear Power Alive] Mark Chediak, Catherine Traywick; Bloomberg; 9 Dec 2016
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[[Image:Gabon Geology Oklo.svg|right|thumb|The geology of the Oklo reactors: <br>(1) reactor zones <br>(2) Sandstone <br>(3) Uranium ore layer <br>(4) Granite]]
: President-elect Donald Trump’s advisers are looking at ways in which the U.S. government could help nuclear power generators being forced out of the electricity market by cheaper natural gas and renewable resources. In a document obtained by Bloomberg, Trump’s transition team asked the Energy Department how it can help keep nuclear reactors “operating as part of the nation’s infrastructure” and what it could do to prevent the shutdown of plants. Advisers also asked the agency whether there were statutory restrictions in resuming work on Yucca Mountain, a proposed federal depository for nuclear waste in Nevada that was abandoned by the Obama administration.
 
  
=== technology ===
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These comprised veins of rock rich in Uranium ore, into which water permeated. The water acted as a moderator, slowing neutrons released by spontaneous fission and creating a chain reaction. The reaction released heat which boiled the water off until the reaction stopped, after which the rocks cooled and water returned to start the reaction again. It is estimated that the reactors ran for hundreds of thousands of years, until the U-235 in the rocks had been burned up too much to sustain further activity.
  
[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601121/this-new-fuel-could-make-nuclear-power-safer-and-cheaper/ This New Fuel could make nuclear power safer and cheaper] Richard Martin; MIT Technology Review; 31st Mar 2016
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The same thing could not happen now. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium-235 Uranium-235] has a half life of about 700 million years compared to 4.5 billion years (about the same as the age of the Earth) for U-238, so whilst natural Uranium now contains only about 0.7% U-235, at the time of the Oklo reactors the concentration was around 3%, which is similar to that used in present-day light-water reactors, and is sufficient to sustain reactions.
: Lightbridge has developed a metallic fuel for nuclear reactors that it claims will tackle some of the industry’s biggest challenges, but safety questions remain
 
  
==== MOX ====
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The Oklo reactors probably produced less than 100kW of heat, compared to several GW in modern man-made reactors (about one-third of which gets converted to electricity).
  
[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mox-fuel-nuclear/ MOX Battle: Mixed Oxide Nuclear Fuel Raises Safety Questions] John Matson; Scientific American; 25  Mar 2011
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* In our classification (above) the Oklo reactors were ''solid Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using light water as moderator and heat transfer medium (and Real)''.
: One of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi reactors contains a blend of uranium and plutonium fuel that may soon find use in the U.S. Does it pose more risks than standard uranium fuel?
 
  
=== US ===
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''The ''Scientific American'' article ''[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-nuclear-reactor/ The Workings of an Ancient Nuclear Reactor]'' by Alex Meshik discusses the discovery of the Oklo (and other) natural reactors, and what we have learned from them. Wikipedia also discusses the Oklo reactors in it article:
 +
"[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_nuclear_fission_reactor Natural nuclear fission reactor]''
  
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EETr44JW9z0 "Nuclear Power as a Solution to Climate Change: Why the Public Discussion is Such a Mess"] Karen Street
+
{{Clear}}
  
[https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/sep/12/carbon-free-plants-nuclear-energy-future-power-state-sources Can our need for a carbon-free future override our fears of nuclear energy?] Debbie Carlson; The Guardian; 12 Sep 2016
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=== Man-made reactors ===
: Unlike coal and natural gas plants that emit carbon emissions while producing electricity, nuclear generates none. So why aren’t more states getting onboard?
 
  
[[Tritium]]
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The earliest artificial reactor was the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pile-1 Chicago Pile] experimental reactor, built as part of the WW2 Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb.  It used about 50 tonnes of Uranium, with graphite as a moderator, and produced half a watt of power.
[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/radioactive-leaks-found-at-75-of-us-nuke-sites/ Radioactive leaks found at 75% of US nuke sites]
 
  
==== Indian Point ====
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* We would classify it as a ''solid Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum, graphite moderated, experimental, real'' reactor.
*[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/indian-point-nuclear-power-plant-called-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen/ Indian Point nuclear plant called "disaster waiting to happen"]
 
* [http://gizmodo.com/new-yorks-indian-point-nuclear-power-plant-is-leaking-1757565772 New York's Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Is Leaking, But You Shouldn't Freak Out]
 
  
==== Diablo Canyon ====
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==== Pressurised and Boiling Water reactors ====
 +
[[File:PressurizedWaterReactor.gif|right|480px|thumb|Pressurised Water Reactor]]
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After WW2 the United States developed a nuclear reactor as propulsion for submarines, allowing them to stay submerged for weeks or months at a time and to cross oceans without surfacing, unlike earlier diesel-electric designs which had limited range and duration while submerged.
  
[http://neutronbytes.com/2015/07/12/greens-target-license-renewal-for-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant/ Greens target license renewal for Diablo Canyon nuclear plant]
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The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571) USS Nautilus] was the first nuclear powered submarine, launched in 1954. It used a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressurized_water_reactor Pressurised Water Reactor]. PWRs were used at the US' first commercial power station at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shippingport_Atomic_Power_Station Shippingport] (which also later housed a Thorium-fuelled [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeder_reactor#Thermal_breeder_reactor thermal breeder reactor]).
  
==== Watts Bar ====
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Pressurised Water Reactors are widely used in the USA, France, Germany, Russia, China, South Korea and many other countries, as well as in military submarines and aircraft carriers, and icebreakers.
[http://www.knoxnews.com/story/money/business/2016/10/19/tvas-watts-bar-unit-2-achieves-commercial-operation/92381838/ TVA's Watts Bar Unit 2 achieves commercial operation] Ed Marcum; Knoxville News Sentinel; 19 Oct 2016
 
: TVA began construction of the Unit 2 reactor in 1973, but stopped in 1985 because power demand had slowed, but costs associated with nuclear plants rose. TVA resumed work on the reactor in 2007 after deciding that it could be completed at a cost of $2.5 billion. However, TVA announced a revised budget and schedule in 2012, when the federal utility determined the project was $1.5 billion to $21 billion over budget and about three years behind schedule.TVA re-estimated that cost at nearly $4.5 billion with commercial operation to begin by June of this year. Since then, TVA managed to keep the project close to the new budget and schedule, although in February, the TVA board authorized an additional $200 million after flood prevention steps required after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident added to the initial cost.
 
  
[http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/The-First-US-Nuclear-Plant-In-20-Years-Begins-Production.html The First U.S. Nuclear Plant In 20 Years Goes Online] Zainab Calcuttawala; Oilprice; 19 Oct 2016
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''See also the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/pwrs.html PWR page]''
: Roughly 650,000 homes in Tennessee will be powered by the first nuclear power generator to enter into commercial operation in the United States in 20 years, according to a new report by The Hill. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar 2 reactor will produce 1,150 megawatts of power, the company’s announcement on Wednesday said. The Nuclear Energy Institute counts Watts Bar 2, which formally connected to Tennessee’s power grid in June, as the 100th nuclear power reactor to operate in the United States.
 
  
==== Vogtle ====
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{{clear}}
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Multiple-milestones-for-Vogtle-3-and-4-2903167.html Multiple milestones for Vogtle 3 and 4] World Nuclear News; 29 Mar 2016
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[[File:BoilingWaterReactor.gif|right|480px|thumb|Boiling Water Reactor]]
 +
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_water_reactor Boiling Water Reactors] are similar to PWRs but have a simpler heat transfer/cooling system. They are widely used in Japan, including in the Fukushima Daiichi reactors which suffered [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster meltdowns] after being hit by the tsunami generated by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami 2011 Tohoku earthquake].
  
 +
''See also the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/bwrs.html BWR page]''
  
==== POLICY ====
+
{{clear}}
 +
* PWRs and BWRs are ''solid, low-enriched-Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using light water as moderator and heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity''.
  
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2015/08/03/final-clean-power-plan-drops-support-for-existing-nuclear-plants/ Final Clean Power Plan Drops Support For Existing Nuclear Plants] Jeff McMahon; Forbes; 3 Aug 2015
+
==== Magnox and AGRs ====
 +
[[File:AGR.jpg | right | thumb | Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR)]]
 +
After the war Britain built gas-cooled graphite-moderated pile reactors using un-enriched ("natural") Uranium, at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windscale_Piles Windscale] (one of which suffered a near-catastrophic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windscale_fire fire] in 1957). These led to the design of Britain's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnox Magnox] reactor, which was used in the first commercial-scale power reactor in the world at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield#Calder_Hall_power_station Calder Hall] (at what is now called the Sellafield nuclear plant).
  
=== France ===
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Magnox reactors are ''solid, natural Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite as moderator and {{CO2}} as heat transfer medium, designed to produce plutonium as well as electricity''.
Fessenheim
 
* [http://www.thelocal.fr/20160304/germany-demands-france-shut-old-nuclear-plant-near-border Germany demands France shut old nuclear plant]
 
  
 +
The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Gas-cooled_Reactor Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor] is a development of the Magnox intended to be better at producing electricity whilst dropping the function of producing plutonium.
  
Bugey
+
* AGRs are ''solid, low-enriched-Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite as moderator and {{CO2}} as heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity''.
* [http://www.thelocal.fr/20160303/swiss-criminal-complaint-french-nuclear-plant-bugey Swiss sue French over 'dangerous' nuclear plant]
 
* [http://www.thelocal.ch/20160303/geneva-sues-france-over-dangerous-nuclear-plant Geneva sues France over 'dangerous' nuclear plant]
 
  
=== Finland ===
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''For more on the AGR see [https://archive.uea.ac.uk/~e680/energy/energy_links/nuclear/How_an_AGR_power_station_works.pdf How an AGR power station works] by British Energy Group plc, 2006''
 +
{{clear}}
  
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Finland Nuclear Power in Finland] Wikipedia
+
==== CANDU ====
  
=== Belgium ===
+
[[File:CANDU.jpg | right | thumb | CANDU reactor]]
[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-to-give-iodine-pills-to-entire-country-in-case-of-nuclear-fallout-radiation-terrorist-attack-a7006651.html  Belgium to give iodine pills to entire population in case of nuclear disaster] Jess Staufenberg; Independent; 29 Apr 2016
 
: 'We know they don't really have a grip on the terrorist situation in Belgium,' a Green Party MEP has said
 
  
=== Germany ===
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* The basic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANDU_reactor Canada Deuterium Uranium] design is a pressurised water reactor using ''solid, natural Uranium fuel, thermal spectrum using [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water heavy water] as moderator and heat transfer medium to generate electricity''.
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Vattenfall-sues-Germany-over-phase-out-policy-16101401.html Vattenfall sues Germany over phase-out policy] World Nuclear News; 16 Oct 2016
 
: Swedish utility Vattenfall is suing Germany at the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes over the closure of the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel nuclear power plants. The move follows the German government's decision to withdraw from nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Vattenfall spokesman Magnus Kryssare declined to confirm German media reports that the Swedish company is seeking €4.7 billion ($6 billion) in damages.
 
  
[https://cleantechnica.com/2016/10/17/swedish-utility-suing-germany-closure-brunsbuttel-krummel-nuclear-power-plants/ Swedish Utility Suing Germany Over Closure Of Brunsbüttel & Krümmel Nuclear Power Plants] Glenn Meyers; Cleantechnica; 17 Oct 2016
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See also the University of Calgary's page on CANDU reactors on their [https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/CANDU_reactor Energy Education] website.
  
=== China ===
+
In a post on Facebook by [[Christoffer Keyfor]] his friend Chris Adlam says of the CANDU:
 +
{{Quote|
 +
Back in the 1950's while the US and the rest of the world were hotly pursuing atomic weapons, Canada, who had no desire for nuclear arms, saw the power of the atom as a way to produce abundant and inexpensive electricity. Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) was the Federal thinktank comprised of brilliant engineers whose goal was exactly that: come up with a nuclear reactor that didn't require enrichment (we didn't have enrichment capability because we didn't have a nuclear arms program) and whose purpose was to be used for power generation.
  
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_China Nuclear Power in China] Wikipedia
+
Utilizing deuterium as a moderator, which allowed the use of a fuel with very low fissile content (natural uranium), what would become the foundation for the CANDU was in its infancy. A pressure tube design was chosen as the low fissile content fuel would need to be swapped out frequently, thus it was a requirement that the reactor could be refuelled online.
 +
After a small radiological release incident at Chalk River, it was determined that multiple levels of containment and redundant safety systems would be absolutely necessary. A family of designs was born from this philosophy with safety being the top priority.
  
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Fourth-Ningde-unit-connected-to-grid-3103164.html Fourth Ningde unit connected to grid] World Nuclear News; 31 Mar 2016
+
After NPD was constructed and successfully demonstrated the CANDU concept the first commercial unit for the purpose of power generation was constructed. This was in the early 1960's at Douglas Point, now part of the massive Bruce Power site. This ~200MWe unit was a proof-of-concept design and led to the construction of the 4 units at Pickering A in a partnership between AECL, the Federal Government, the Ontario government and Ontario Hydro. Pickering was built instead of a similar capacity (4GW) coal plant.
: Unit 4 at the Ningde nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has been connected to the electricity grid, China General Nuclear (CGN) announced yesterday. The 1087 MWe CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor was connected to the grid at 11.02pm on 29 March, CGN said. Work on the nuclear island at Ningde 4 officially began in September 2010. The dome of its reactor building was successfully lowered into place in May 2012. Four Chinese-designed CPR-1000 units have been built as Phase I of the Ningde plant, near Fuding city. Work on the first unit started in February 2008, with construction of units 2 and 3 beginning in November 2008 and January 2010, respectively. Unit 1 began commercial operation in April 2013, while unit 2 began supplying electricity to the grid in January 2014. Unit 3 came online in June 2015.
 
  
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Grid-connection-for-Hongyanhe-4-0104164.html Grid connection for Hongyanhe 4] World Nuclear News; 1 Apr 2016
+
Pickering was a massive success and by this point AECL had come up with a larger design and Ontario Hydro was keen. This led to the construction of Bruce A whose steam generators were intentionally oversized so the units could produce process steam to run operations on the grounds, such as the massive heavy water plant designed to produce deuterium both for domestic use and export. It was expected that the CANDU would be popular abroad, as we had managed to obtain partnerships and construction contracts with India, Romania, New Brunswick, Quebec...etc. CANDU was going places and we wanted to be ready.
: Unit 4 of the Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province today began supplying electricity to the grid. The reactor is expected to enter commercial operation later this year. The 1087 MWe CPR-1000 pressurized water reactor was connected to the grid at 9.52am today, China General Nuclear (CGN) said. Its grid connection came just two days after the connection of unit 4 at CGN's Ningde plant in Fujian province. Construction of Phase I of the Hongyanhe plant, comprising four CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors, began in August 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014, respectively, while unit 3 entered commercial operation last August.
 
  
[http://www.nature.com/news/the-nuclear-option-1.19844 The nuclear option] Nature (editorial) 4 May 2016
+
On the heels of Bruce A came Pickering B, now based on the standardized CANDU 6 design, but with some changes on the steam and generation side to make it more similar to the A plant, thus reducing output. Then Bruce B was built, as efforts were made to cement the design for what would be the next export-ready unit, the CANDU 9. This led to the first commercial construct of that unit design: Darlington.
: China is vigorously promoting nuclear energy, but its pursuit of reprocessing is misguided.
 
  
=== Japan ===
+
Darlington is probably the best known and most maligned nuclear plant in Ontario's entire nuclear fleet. Construction started while Bruce B hadn't even come online yet (similar to Bruce A and Pickering B) and was well underway when disaster struck: Half a world away a massive and unweildly reactor designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium succumbed to operator incompetence and suffered a meltdown. Because it lacked secondary containment found on every CANDU including Douglas Point, a hydrogen explosion resulted in a large radiological release.
  
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Shikoku-moves-closer-to-Ikata-3-restart-0403164.html Shikoku moves closer to Ikata 3 restart] 4 Mar 2016
+
Everything stopped.
  
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Japanese-institute-sees-19-reactor-restarts-by-March-2018-2807164.html Japanese institute sees 19 reactor restarts by March 2018] World Nuclear News; 28 Jul 2016
+
Construction at Darlington ceased. The world scrambled to reconcile with what happened and the entire nuclear industry, even here in Canada, despite sharing absolutely nothing in common with the Soviet RBMK design at Chernobyl, went back to the drawing board. They had to prove it couldn't happen here. While this was taking place time, and debt, marched on. Interest rates were soaring, the cost of the Darlington project, despite no actual work being done, was increasing rapidly. By the time the first unit entered commercial service 10 years had passed, a far cry from the 6 years shovel to breaker for the Bruce A units. This led to a construction cost of $14.4 billion. Darlington was a white elephant and thus the B plant was never built.
: Seven Japanese nuclear power reactors are likely to be in operation by the end of next March and 12 more one year later, according to an estimate by the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ).
 
  
=== India ===
+
Darlington was the most mature design in the CANDU fleet. It was, at the time, the epitome of CANDU engineering. Deep water inlet and outlet diffusers, better heat transfer loop design, higher power output...etc. The list goes on.
  
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-India-budgets-to-boost-nuclear-projects-0103167.html India budgets to boost nuclear projects] 1 Mar 2016
+
We never exported CANDU 9.
: extra 30 billion rupees ($442 million) to boost nuclear power generation projects over the next 15-20 years
 
: India has 21 nuclear power plants in operation, with six under construction, and plans for further construction of both indigenous pressurized heavy water reactors and projects with overseas partners. In April 2015 the government gave its approval in principle for new nuclear plants at ten sites in nine states: indigenous PHWRs at Gorakhpur in Haryana's Fatehabad; Chutka and Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh; Kaiga in Karnataka; and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan; and plants with foreign cooperation at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu (VVER); Jaitapur in Maharashtra (EPR); Mithi Virdhi in Gujarat (AP1000); Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh (ESBWR) and Haripur in West Bengal (VVER). Two 600 MWe fast breeder reactors are also proposed at Kalpakkam.
 
: In January, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and French president Francois Hollande said that the two countries are on course to finalize a deal on the construction of six EPR units at Jaitapur by the end of the year. The same month, the Indian cabinet confirmed that commercial negotiations between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Westinghouse on the construction of six AP1000 units at Mithi Virdi in India were also on course to be finalized this year.
 
  
[http://phys.org/news/2010-10-future-energy-giant-india-thorium-based.html A future energy giant? India's thorium-based nuclear plans] phys.org; 1 Oct 2010
+
After Chernobyl the global nuclear industry never recovered. AECL managed to land a few CANDU 6 sales but the 9 went nowhere and it was abandoned. Darlington is the only operating example of the CANDU 9.
  
=== Russia ===
+
Since then, AECL managed to partner with China on the Enhanced CANDU 6, which the Chinese had interest in because as had been demonstrated in various tests in Canada, the high neutron economy and inherently flexible nature of the deuterium pressure tube design meant that the CANDU could run on a huge variety of fuel combinations, something other reactors were simply incapable of. China's intention for the units at Qinshan was for them to run on the used fuel coming out of their neighbouring American-style light water units, and they do.
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Russia-plans-start-up-of-first-Gen-III-unit-this-summer-30031601.html Russia plans start-up of first Gen-III+ unit this summer] World Nuclear News; 30 Mar 2016
+
When AECL failed to secure the construction contract for the ACR1000's that were supposed to be built at Darlington B in the 20-teens it was sold off to SNC Lavalin. Ontario had screwed itself with insanely generous fixed-rate contracts for industrial wind and even more highly subsidized solar projects. This drove rates through the roof, leaving no consumer tolerance for a 25 billion dollar nuclear development.
: ASE Group has announced plans for Russia to connect its first Generation-III+ nuclear power unit to the grid this summer. The first fuel assembly was loaded at unit 1 of the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant in western Russia on 24 March at 3.28am, while the "active phase" of the loading process began the following day. Novovoronezh 6 is a Generation-III+ VVER 1200/392M pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit with a design net capacity of 1114 MWe. It is the first of two units at Novovoronezh II - the lead project for the deployment of the AES-2006 design incorporating a Gidropress-designed PWR, an evolutionary development from the VVER-1000. Construction of Novovoronezh II units 1 and 2, also known as Novovoronezh units 6 and 7, began in June 2008 and July 2009, respectively. The original Novovoronezh site nearby already hosts three operating reactors and two that are being decommissioned.
 
  
=== Switzerland ===
+
As OPG continues to refurbish Darlington, now on Unit 3, and Bruce Power refurbishes the remaining 6x Bruce units while providing the 2nd lowest cost generation in the province I think it important to note that these things are not widely celebrated. Ontario has one of the lowest emissions grids in the world and that's mostly due to our massive nuclear fleet. Who knew that before reading this?
  
[http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/november-27-vote_poll-finds-support-for-nuclear-phase-out/42529278 Poll finds support for nuclear phaseout] Urs Geiser; swissinfo.ch; 21 Oct 2016
+
Today, as Darlington Unit 1 soldiers on after setting the world record for continuous operation at 963 days of almost zero emissions generation we should be proud of what that stands for: a Canadian design built by Canadians for Canadians for the purpose of peaceful power production. Operated by your fellow Ontarians providing valuable employment in all corners of this massive province and, along with hydro, being one of the only things keeping your rates down after the disaster that was the GEA. This is something we can, and should, all be proud of."
: A proposal to decommission Switzerland’s nuclear power plants by 2029 has the backing of a majority of citizens, according to a survey conducted seven weeks ahead of a nationwide vote. Despite this, pollsters believe the initiative is likely to be defeated on November 27.
+
}}
  
=== UK ===
+
{{clear}}
  
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_the_United_Kingdom Nuclear Power in the United Kingdom] Wikipedia
+
==== RBMK ====
  
[http://euanmearns.com/nuclear-options/ Nuclear Options] Euan Mearns; Energy Matters; 4 Aug 2016
+
[[File:RBMK.jpg | right | thumb | RBMK ]]
: With Hinkley Point C and nuclear new-build in the UK very much in the public eye, I have found the range of nuclear options being discussed rather confusing. This post provides an overview of the 6 main reactor designs that are vying for the global market today focussing on the large, >1 GW Generation III reactors. While the post focusses on the UK, the part on generic designs should be of interest to all readers.
 
  
==== [[Hinkley Point C]] ====
+
This Soviet-designed reactor is notorious as the type involved in the [[Chornobyl]] accident in 1986.
  
==== Sellafield ====
+
* The original design was ''solid, natural Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite moderator and water as heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity and able to produce plutonium'', but modifications to the design after Chernobyl required it to use ''low-enriched-Uranium''.
  
[http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/britains-nuclear-secrets-inside-sellafield-6120416 Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield will show viewers the reality of atomic power] Daily Mirror; 23 Jul 2015
+
{{clear}}
: Physicist Jim Al-Khalili will present Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield and aim to tell the story of the country's often controversial nuclear industry
 
  
==== Moorside ====
+
== FURTHER READING ==
  
[http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/other/First-look-at-new-Moorside-nuclear-plant-dc7fb86e-5384-4960-8baa-6fc15be7479c-ds First look at new Moorside nuclear plant] Andrew Clarke; Times & Star; 27 Apr 2016
+
Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor article] on nuclear reactors and associated topics, with links to more detailed articles.
: This is the first glimpse of what the new £10 billion Moorside nuclear power station could look like. NuGen - the firm behind the plans for Moorside - has published the artist's impression ahead of 28 public events being held across the county to give people the chance to have their say. Plans for the three-reactor site on land next to Sellafield - and its associated accommodation and transport links - are likely to have widespread impacts.
+
----
 
+
[https://whatisnuclear.com/about.html What Is Nuclear?] have some resources including:
[https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-moorside-biggest-nuclear-development-in-europe STOP MOORSIDE: "BIGGEST NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE"] Marianne Birkby; 38 Degrees
+
* [https://whatisnuclear.com/ an overview of what is nuclear energy]
 
+
* [https://whatisnuclear.com/articles/nucreactor.html What is a nuclear reactor?] - a discussion of several reactor types
==== Bradwell ====
+
* [https://whatisnuclear.com/msr.html Molten Salt Reactors] - discusses some of the pros and cons of MSRs and their history ''(note however this article is a few years out of date, for example having no mention of the demise of [[Transatomic Power]], or of [[Moltex]])''.
 
+
----
[http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-nuclear-idUKKBN14U11T UK to start approval process for Chinese nuclear reactor at Bradwell] Nina Chestney; Reuters; 10 Jan 2017
+
The IET has [https://www.theiet.org/impact-society/factfiles/energy-factfiles/nuclear-power/ several factfiles on nuclear power] including:
: The British government has asked nuclear regulators to start the process for approving a Chinese-designed reactor for a proposed plant in Britain, expected to be one of the first new plants in decades. General Nuclear Services (GNS), an industrial partnership between French utility EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation(CGN), hopes to use the design at a new nuclear station planned to be built in Bradwell, Essex. CGN intends to make a number of investments in Britain's nuclear power sector, most notably the new Hinkley Point C project in southwest England which was approved by the government last September.
+
* [https://www.theiet.org/media/1274/nuclear-principles.pdf Principles of nuclear power] which discusses the structure of atoms, the concept of fission, chain reactions, and the essential elements of a power reactor (using the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor as example),
 
+
* [https://www.theiet.org/media/1275/nuclear-reactors.pdf Nuclear Reactor Types] discusses and compares Magnox, AGR, PWR, BWR, CANDU, and RBMK reactors, and some future designs.
=== Kenya ===
 
 
 
[http://www.esi-africa.com/news/iaea-approves-kenya-nuclear-power-application/ IAEA approves Kenya nuclear power application] 25 Apr 2016
 
 
 
== [[New Nuclear Reactor Technologies]] ==
 
 
 
== Safety ==
 
 
 
=== operations / plant safety ===
 
 
 
[http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1848-i-work-in-nuclear-power-plant-5-insane-realities.html I Work In A Nuclear Power Plant: 5 Insane Realities] Ryan Menzies; Cracked; 8 Sep 2015
 
: Thanks to the documentary The Simpsons, most of us think that nuclear power plants belch out poisonous gas, pour fish-mutating slime into our rivers, and are ready to melt down at the slightest provocation. We're barely exaggerating here -- multiple generations today owe all their knowledge on the subject to a wacky cartoon, and those fears might define the energy production of the world. We had a sneaking suspicion that there might be more going on behind the scenes at these plants, and infiltrating them to investigate probably isn't an option. So we talked to Alex, an engineer at a nuclear plant in the Midwest. He told us that ...
 
 
 
[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nuclear-power-plants-vulnerable-hacking-attack-cyber-nightmare-united-nations-a7479546.html Nuclear power plants vulnerable to hacking attack in 'nightmare scenario', UN warns] Ben Kentish; Independent; 16 Dec 2016
 
: Experts fear 'Fukushima-style' disaster as terrorists use new technology to attempt attacks
 
 
 
=== [[Nuclear radiation]] * ===
 
 
 
=== reactor safety ===
 
[http://www.oecd-nea.org/ndd/reports/2010/nea6862-comparing-risks.pdf Comparing Nuclear Accident Risks With Those From Other Energy Sources] OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
 
:Safety from Gen I to Gen III, defence in depth, estimation of risk probabilities
 
 
 
[https://howwegettonext.com/why-nuclear-energy-isn-t-getting-safer-427561b4c110 The Generation Game: Why Nuclear Energy Isn’t Getting Safer] Duncan Gere; How We Get To Next; 4 Feb 2016
 
: history of nuclear energy, generations of reactors, we are not building latest gen
 
 
 
[http://acsh.org/news/2015/08/10/nuclear-energy-safe-clean-nothing-to-fear-despite-fear-mongering/ Nuclear energy: safe, clean, nothing to fear despite fear-mongering] American Council on Science and Health; 10 Aug 2015
 
: criticises The Lancet for claiming that evidence from Hiroshima & Nagasaki is relevant to civilian nuclear accidents
 
 
 
[http://www.theenergycollective.com/charlesbarton/59635/are-safer-reactors-possible Are Safer Reactors Possible?] Charles Barton; The Energy Collective; 17 Jun 2011
 
: tritium - and Canadian exposure - Plutonium, underground reactors, oklo
 
 
 
==== Chernobyl ====
 
 
 
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26933-rise-in-wildfires-may-resurrect-chernobyls-radiation/ Rise in wildfires may resurrect Chernobyl’s radiation] New Scientist; 9 Feb 2015
 
: Nikolaos Evangeliou at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research and colleagues have analysed the impact of forest fires in the region, and calculated their future frequency and intensity. To do so they fed satellite images of real fires in 2002, 2008 and 2010, and measurements of radioactive caesium-137 deposited on the area, to models of air movements and fires. They estimate that of the 85 petabecquerels of radioactive caesium released by the Chernobyl accident, between 2 and 8 PBq still lurk in the upper layer of soil in the exclusion zone. In another ecosystem this might gradually fall with erosion or the removal of vegetation. But in these abandoned forests, says Evangeliou, “trees pick up the radioactive ions, then dead leaves return it to the soil”. The team calculates that the three fires released from 2 to 8 per cent of the caesium, some 0.5 PBq, in smoke. This was distributed over eastern Europe, and detected as far south as Turkey and as far west as Italy and Scandinavia. “The simulation probably underestimates the potential risks,” says Ian Fairlie, former head of the UK government’s radiation risk committee, who has studied the health impacts of Chernobyl. That’s because the estimate depends on the half-life the team assumed for Cs-137, he says, and some investigators believe it is longer. The team’s calculated release would have given people in the nearby Ukrainian capital, Kiev, an average dose of 10 microsieverts of radiation – 1 per cent of the permitted yearly dose. “This is very small,” says Tim Mousseau of the University of South Carolina at Columbia, a co-author of the study. “But these fires serve as a warning of where these contaminants can go. Should there be a larger fire, quite a bit more could end up on populated areas.”
 
 
 
===== health =====
 
 
 
[http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/backgrounder/en/ Health effects of the Chernobyl accident: an overview] World Health Organisation: Ionizing Radiation; Apr 2006
 
: According to UNSCEAR (2000), 134 liquidators received radiation doses high enough to be diagnosed with acute radiation sickness (ARS). Among them, 28 persons died in 1986 due to ARS. Other liquidators have since died but their deaths could not necessarily be attributed to radiation exposure.
 
 
 
: The Expert Group concluded that there may be up to 4 000 additional cancer deaths among the three highest exposed groups over their lifetime (240 000 liquidators; 116 000 evacuees and the 270 000 residents of the SCZs). Since more than 120 000 people in these three groups may eventually die of cancer, the additional cancer deaths from radiation exposure correspond to 3-4% above the normal incidence of cancers from all causes.
 
 
 
: Projections concerning cancer deaths among the five million residents of areas with radioactive caesium deposition of 37 kBq/m2 in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine are much less certain because they are exposed to doses slightly above natural background radiation levels. Predictions, generally based on the LNT model, suggest that up to 5 000 additional cancer deaths may occur in this population from radiation exposure, or about 0.6% of the cancer deaths expected in this population due to other causes. Again, these numbers only provide an indication of the likely impact of the accident because of the important uncertainties listed above.
 
 
 
[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pinning-health-problems-nuclear-disaster/ Radiation's Complications: Pinning Health Problems on a Nuclear Disaster Isn't So Easy] Charles Q. Choi; Scientific American; 18 Mar 2011
 
: Radioactive fallout seems like the obvious culprit behind the negative medical consequences that arose after the explosion at Chernobyl, but it's hard to measure even the dosage those contaminated received, let alone link it to medical problems
 
 
 
 
 
===== wildlife =====
 
 
 
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/arts/television/radioactive-wolves-on-pbs-review.html?_r=0 In Dead Zone of Chernobyl, Animal Kingdom Thrives] MIKE HALE; New York Times; 18 Oct 2011
 
 
 
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32452085 Cameras reveal the secret lives of Chernobyl's wildlife] Mark Kinver, Environment reporter; BBC; 26 Apr 2015
 
:Automatic cameras in the Ukrainian side of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone have provided an insight into the previously unseen secret lives of wildlife that have made the contaminated landscape their home.
 
 
 
[http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/radioactive-wolves-introduction/7108/ Radioactive Wolves] PBS; 19 Oct 2011
 
: In 1986 a nuclear meltdown at the infamous Chernobyl power plant in present-day Ukraine left miles of land in radioactive ruins. Residents living in areas most contaminated by the disaster were evacuated and relocated by government order, and a no-man’s land of our own making was left to its own devices. In the ensuing 25 years, forests, marshes, fields and rivers reclaimed the land, reversing the effects of hundreds of years of human development. And surprisingly, this exclusion zone, or “dead zone,” has become a kind of post-nuclear Eden, populated by beaver and bison, horses and birds, fish and falcons – and ruled by wolves.
 
 
 
: Access to the zone is now permitted, at least on a limited basis, and scientists are monitoring the surviving wildlife in the area, trying to learn how the various species are coping with the invisible blight of radiation. As the top predators in this new wilderness, wolves best reflect the condition of the entire ecosystem because if the wolves are doing well, the populations of their prey must also be doing well. Accordingly, a key long-term study of the wolves has been initiated to determine their health, their range, and their numbers.
 
 
 
[http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/nuclear_power/2013/01/wildlife_in_chernobyl_debate_over_mutations_and_populations_of_plants_and.html Do Animals in Chernobyl’s Fallout Zone Glow?] Mary Mycio; Slate; ; Jan 2013? (from URL)
 
: The scientific debate about Europe’s unlikeliest wildlife sanctuary. With discussion of Moller and Mousseau's claims
 
 
 
===== Moller & Mousseau =====
 
 
 
[http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/274/1616/1443 Birds prefer to breed in sites with low radioactivity in Chernobyl] A.P Møller, T.A Mousseau; Proceedings of the Royal Society / Biological Sciences; 7 Jun 2007
 
: Low-level radioactive contamination may affect choice of breeding site and life-history decisions if (i) radioactivity directly affects body condition or (ii) it affects resource abundance that then secondarily influences reproductive decisions. We tested the effects of radioactive contamination on nest-site choice and reproduction in a community of hole nesting birds by putting up nest boxes in areas differing in levels of background radiation. Great tit Parus major and pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca significantly avoided nest boxes in heavily contaminated areas, with a stronger effect in flycatchers than in tits. These preferences could not be attributed to variation in habitat quality or resource abundance, as determined by analyses of habitat use and the relationship between radiation and life-history characters. Likewise, none of these effects could be attributed to individuals of a specific age breeding in the most contaminated areas. Laying date and clutch size were not significantly related to dose rate in either species. Hatching success was depressed by elevated radioactive contamination, interacting with habitat in the great tit and with laying date in the pied flycatcher. Interspecific differences in effects of radiation on nest-site choice suggest that species respond in a species-specific manner to radiation, perhaps related to differences in migratory habits. We suggest that individual body condition rather than secondary effects of radiation on resource abundance account for the effects on nest box use and hatching success.
 
 
 
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11473-chernobyl-based-birds-avoid-radioactive-nests/ Chernobyl-based birds avoid radioactive nests] Catherine Brahic; New Scientist; 28 Mar 2007
 
 
 
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6946210.stm Chernobyl 'not a wildlife haven'] Mark Kinver, Science and nature reporter; BBC; 14 Aug 2007
 
:The idea that the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has created a wildlife haven is not scientifically justified, a study says.
 
  
 +
''These documents date from around 2008 and, whilst they have since been "redesigned", they still refer to, for example, the [[EPR]] as a future design.''
 
----
 
----
 +
In this video<ref>
 +
Also available on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGj_aJz7cTs YouTube]
 +
</ref> from the BBC's "Bang Goes The Theory", [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jem_Stansfield Jem Stansfield] shows the basic principle of operation of a nuclear (or other steam-generating thermal) power station, describes the process of nuclear fission of Uranium atoms, and shows the inside of a never-used Boiling Water Reactor at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plant Zwentendorf nuclear power plant]<ref>
 +
The Zwentendorf nuclear power plant was completed but it was prevented from going into operation by a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Austrian_nuclear_power_referendum referendum on nuclear power]. It was replaced by a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCrnrohr_Power_Station coal fired power station].
 +
</ref> in Austria:
  
[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.01009.x/full Condition, reproduction and survival of barn swallows from Chernobyl] A. P. MØLLER, T. A. MOUSSEAU, G. MILINEVSKY, A. PEKLO, E. PYSANETS, T. SZÉP; Journal of Animal Ecology; 17 Oct 2005
+
[[File:Inside a nuclear reactor core - Bang Goes The Theory - BBC.mp4 | center]]
 
 
[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0426_060426_chernobyl.html Despite Mutations, Chernobyl Wildlife Is Thriving] Kate Ravilious; National Geographic; 26 Apr 2006
 
: But while wildlife seems to be proliferating in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, not everyone is convinced that these plants and animals are healthy.
 
: Moller and Mousseau have shown that certain species in the area have a higher rate of genetic abnormalities than normal.
 
: "We find an elevated frequency of partial albinism in barn swallows, meaning they have tufts of white feathers," Mousseau said.
 
: Late last year Moller and Mousseau published a paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology showing that reproductive rates and annual survival rates are much lower in the Chernobyl birds than in control populations.
 
: "In Italy around 40 percent of the barn swallows return each year, whereas the annual survival rate is 15 percent or less for Chernobyl," Mousseau said.
 
 
 
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7949314.stm Chernobyl 'shows insect decline'] Victoria Gill, Science reporter; BBC News; 18 Mar 2009
 
: According to researchers working in the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl, there is a "strong signal of decline associated with the contamination". The team found that bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies and spiders were affected. They report their findings in the journal Biology Letters. Professor Timothy Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, and Dr Anders Moller from the University of Paris-Sud worked together on the project. The two researchers previously published findings that low-level radiation in the area has a negative impact on bird populations.
 
 
 
[https://theconversation.com/at-chernobyl-and-fukushima-radioactivity-has-seriously-harmed-wildlife-57030 At Chernobyl and Fukushima, radioactivity has seriously harmed wildlife] Timothy A. Mousseau; The Conversation; 25 Apr 2016
 
: in the past decade population biologists have made considerable progress in documenting how radioactivity affects plants, animals and microbes. My colleagues and I have analyzed these impacts at Chernobyl, Fukushima and naturally radioactive regions of the planet. Our studies provide new fundamental insights about consequences of chronic, multigenerational exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation. Most importantly, we have found that individual organisms are injured by radiation in a variety of ways. The cumulative effects of these injuries result in lower population sizes and reduced biodiversity in high-radiation areas.
 
 
 
[http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/scientific-meltdown-at-chernobyl-2009-03-24/ Scientific meltdown at Chernobyl?] Brendan Borrell, Scientific American blog; 24 Mar 2009
 
: Twenty years after the Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine, radiation is still hammering the region's insect, spider, and bird populations. At least that's what Reuters and the BBC reported last week based on a paper published in the journal Biology Letters by ecologists Timothy Mousseau of the University of South Carolina and Anders Møller of the University of Paris-Sud. For the past 10 years, the duo has been running transects through the region counting wildlife and measuring radiation levels with dosimeters. "We wanted to ask the question: Are there more or fewer animals in the contaminated areas," Moller told Reuters. "Clearly there were fewer." But at least one scientist formerly associated with the team is questioning the new research. Sergey Gaschak, a researcher at the Chernobyl Center in Ukraine, told the BBC that he drew "opposite conclusions" from the same data the group collected on birds. This might seem like little more than blunt criticism, but I knew that Møller's research ethics had previously been called into question.
 
 
 
==== Fukushima ====
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster Radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster] Wikipedia
 
: There is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster dispute about the neutrality of this article]
 
 
 
[https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601011/the-effects-of-fukushima-linger-after-five-years-but-not-from-radiation/ The Effects of Fukushima Linger After Five Years - But Not From Radiation] Richard Martin; MIT Technology Review; 10 Mar 2016
 
 
 
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35761136 Is Fukushima's exclusion zone doing more harm than radiation?] Rupert Wingfield-Hayes; BBC; 10 Mar 2016
 
: includes [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35761141 interview with Professor Geraldine Thomas of Imperial College]
 
 
 
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/9094430/The-world-has-forgotten-the-real-victims-of-Fukushima.html#disqus_thread The world has forgotten the real victims of Fukushima] Michael Hanlon; Daily Telegraph; 21 Feb 2012
 
: A natural disaster that cost the lives of thousands of people was ignored in favour of a nuclear 'disaster’ that never was, argues Michael Hanlon.
 
 
 
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17287740 Global fallout: Did Fukushima scupper nuclear power?] Richard Black, Environment correspondent; BBC News;
 
10 Mar 2012
 
 
 
[http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a19871/fukushima-five-years-later/ Five Years Later, Cutting Through the Fukushima Myths] Andrew Karam; Popular Mechanics; 11 Mar 2016
 
: March 11, 2011 was a day of unimaginable tragedy in northern Japan, a tragedy exacerbated by the reactor meltdowns and release of contamination. But the nuclear part of this horrible day was, if the longest-lasting, certainly the least lethal event. Yet it's the part that still engenders so much fear. With the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima accident upon us this month, let's take a look at where things stand today with recovering from this calamity, and what might be happening next.
 
 
 
Onagawa: [http://energyforhumanity.org/nuclear/nuclear-is-normal-when-your-local-reactor-is-the-safest-place-in-the-world/ Nuclear is Normal: When Your Local Reactor is the Safest Place in the World]
 
 
 
[http://new.atmc.jp/ Radioactivity monitoring around Fukushima]
 
: graphics and tables from atmc.jp
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster Radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster] Wikipedia
 
 
 
===== Chris Busby =====
 
 
 
[https://www.rt.com/op-edge/335362-fukushima-nuclear-japan-bbc/ Is Fukushima's nuclear nightmare over? Don’t count on it] Chris Busby; RT; 12 Mar 2016
 
: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network) Wikipedia article on Russia Today]
 
 
 
[http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/14/national/fukushima-evacuations-were-not-worth-the-money-study-says/ Fukushima evacuations were not worth the money, study says] WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH; The Japan Times; 14 Mar 2016
 
:The costs of evacuating residents from near the Fukushima No. 1 plant and the dislocation the people experienced were greater than their expected gain in longevity, a British study has found. ... at best evacuees could expect to live eight months longer, but that some might gain only one extra day of life.
 
 
 
[http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2987398/no_matter_what_bbc_says_fukushima_disaster_is_killing_people.html No matter what BBC says: Fukushima disaster is killing people] Chris Busby; The Ecologist; 14 Mar 2016
 
: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Busby Wikipedia article on Chris Busby]
 
 
 
==== post-Fukushima reactor safety improvements ====
 
 
 
[http://www.nei.org/Issues-Policy/Safety-Security/Fukushima-Response Fukushima Response]
 
 
 
[http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/fukushima-five-years-later-safer.html Fukushima Five Years Later: SAFER Response Within 24 Hours to Any US Reactor] 7 Mar 2016
 
 
 
[http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/japan-dashboard.html Japan Lessons Learned] NRC
 
:On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck Japan and was followed by a 45-foot tsunami, resulting in extensive damage to the nuclear power reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi facility. The NRC has taken significant action to enhance the safety of reactors in the United States based on the lessons learned from this accident. This page is intended to serve as a navigation hub to follow the NRC's progress in implementing the many different lessons-learned activities.
 
 
 
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Spains-post-Fukushima-safety-measures-near-completion-0703164.html Spain's post-Fukushima safety measures near completion]
 
 
 
[http://www.nei.org/News-Media/News/News-Archives/US-Nuclear-Energy-Industry-Even-Safer-Since-Fukush US Nuclear Energy Industry Even Safer Since Fukushima] Nuclear Energy Institute; 1 Mar 2016
 
: Leaders from the U.S. and Japanese nuclear energy industry last week detailed the many ways that safety has been enhanced in both countries in the five years since the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident. The U.S. nuclear industry has invested more than $4 billion and devoted thousands of person-hours to put in place new responses to extreme events, Nuclear Energy Institute Chief Operating Officer Maria Korsnick said at an NEI-sponsored briefing, “Fukushima Daiichi Five Years Later: A Progress Report.”
 
 
 
==== US ====
 
 
 
Turkey Point: [http://fusion.net/story/278064/turkey-point-leaking-radiation-into-biscayne-bay/ Miami’s oceanfront nuclear power plant is leaking]
 
 
 
==== UK ====
 
 
 
[http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14324343._Prolonged_and_repeated_failure__led_to_workers_being_irradiated_at_Trident_nuclear_submarine_base__MoD_report_finds/ 'Prolonged and repeated failure' led to workers being irradiated at Trident nuclear submarine base, MoD report finds]
 
:TRIDENT submariners were guilty of a “prolonged and repeated failure” which resulted in 20 workers being exposed to radiation at the Faslane nuclear base, according to an internal investigation by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The damning indictment is published in MoD documents seen by the Sunday Herald that also expose a series of radiation blunders on Trident submarines docked at the Clyde naval port. They reveal how safety procedures were flouted when visitors were not given radiation badges, a contaminated sponge was taken from a submarine, and another worker was irradiated. The documents, just released a full two years after a Freedom of Information request, conclude that submariners showed a “lack of understanding of the magnitude of the hazards”.
 
 
 
== Sustainability ==
 
 
 
[http://www.theenergycollective.com/charlesbarton/35111/will-we-run-out-uranium Will We Run Out of Uranium?] Charles Barton; The Energy Collective; 7 Feb 2010
 
: Barton estimates U reserves and compares with MacKay
 
 
 
[http://bravenewclimate.com/2015/10/19/sustaining-the-wind-part-3-is-uranium-exhaustible/ Sustaining the Wind Part 3 – Is Uranium Exhaustible?] NNadir; Brave New Climate;
 
 
 
[http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=26472 U.S. uranium production is near historic low as imports continue to fuel U.S. reactors] EIA; 1 Jun 2016
 
 
 
=== Uranium from seawater ===
 
see also Pollution
 
 
 
[http://futurism.com/uranium-seawater-keep-lights-13000-years/ Uranium From Seawater Could Keep Our Lights On for 13,000 Years] Futurism; 23 Apr 2016
 
: The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a more cost-efficient material to harvest uranium from the ocean. This development has experts looking into seawater uranium as a potential energy source. the DOE team has developed new adsorbents that brought the costs of seawater uranium extraction down by three to four times and in just five years. The team created braids of polyethylene fibers that contain amidoxime, a chemical species that binds uranium. Tests show the new material has the ability to hold more than 6 grams of uranium per kilogram of adsorbent in 56 days of submersion in natural seawater.
 
 
 
[https://www.ornl.gov/news/advances-extracting-uranium-seawater-announced-special-issue Advances in extracting uranium from seawater announced in special issue] Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 21 Apr 2016
 
: The oceans hold more than four billion tons of uranium—enough to meet global energy needs for the next 10,000 years if only we could capture the element from seawater to fuel nuclear power plants. Major advances in this area have been published by the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
 
 
 
: Uranium from terrestrial sources can last for approximately 100 years, according to Erich Schneider of the University of Texas–Austin
 
 
 
[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/uranium-extraction-from-seawater-takes-a-major-step-forward/ Uranium Extraction from Seawater Takes a Major Step Forward] Jennifer Hackett; Scientific American; 1 Jul 2016
 
: Earth’s oceans hold four billion tons of the element used to power nuclear plants
 
: The earth's oceans hold enough uranium to power all the world's major cities for thousands of years—if we can extract it. A project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy is making notable advances in this quest: scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a material that can effectively pull uranium out of seawater. The material builds on work by researchers in Japan and consists of braided polyethylene fibers coated with the chemical amidoxime. In seawater, amidoxime attracts and binds uranium dioxide to the surface of the braids, which can be on the order of 15 centimeters in diameter and run multiple meters in length depending on where they are deployed. Later, an acidic treatment recovers the uranium in the form of uranyl ions, a product that requires processing and enrichment before becoming fuel. The procedure was described in a special report this spring in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
 
 
 
== [[Nuclear waste ]] ==
 
 
 
== CO2 emissions / LCOE ==
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse-gas_emissions_of_energy_sources Life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions of energy sources] wikpedia
 
: surveys various sources
 
 
 
=== IPCC ===
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse-gas_emissions_of_energy_sources#2014_IPCC.2C_Global_warming_potential_of_selected_electricity_sources 2014 IPCC, Global warming potential of selected electricity sources]
 
: median 12 g(CO2e)/kWh for nuclear GHG emissions
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse-gas_emissions_of_energy_sources#2011_IPCC_aggregated_results_of_the_available_literature 2011 IPCC aggregated results of the available literature]
 
: 16g CO2/kWh
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse-gas_emissions_of_energy_sources#2014_IPCC.2C_Global_warming_potential_of_selected_electricity_sources 2014 IPCC, Global warming potential of selected electricity sources]
 
: 3.7 - 12 - 110 g/kWh
 
 
 
=== StormSsmith ===
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Willem_Storm_van_Leeuwen#Nuclear_energy_study Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen: Nuclear energy study] Wikipedia
 
: The study was heavily criticized, such as a rebuttal by researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute.[4] With further criticism from Sevior and Flitney who issued the following statement:
 
:: We compared the predicted energy cost [using Storm van Leeuwen's study[3]] of Uranium mining and milling for Ranger, Olympic Dam and Rössing to the energy consumption as reported. All are significantly over predicted (5 PJ, 60 PJ and 69 PJ vs 0.8 PJ, 5 PJ and 1 PJ respectively). [...]
 
 
 
:: The energy consumption is predicted to be so large that is comparable to the energy consumption of a particular sub-section of the economy. In the case of Rössing, the over prediction is larger than the energy consumption of the entire country of Namibia.
 
 
 
J.W.Storm van Leeuwen [http://www.stormsmith.nl/i12.html Life cycle analysis of the nuclear energy system] from website [http://www.stormsmith.nl/insight-items.html Nuclear power insights]
 
 
 
[http://energyrealityproject.com/point-refuted-a-thousand-times-nuclear-is-not-low-carbon/ Point Refuted a Thousand Times: “Nuclear is not low-carbon”] Luke Weston; Energy Reality Project;
 
:The meme that nuclear energy is bad because it has poor whole-of-lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, or poor EROEI, that are not comparable to wind energy, hydroelectricity and other climate-change-friendly energy technologies, but are in fact comparable to greenhouse-gas-intensive fossil fuel combustion is perhaps one of the oldest, most comprehensively debunked PRATT concerning arguments that emerged during the resurgence of public debate in the early 2000s about the importance of nuclear energy.
 
 
 
: If you find any anti-nuclear energy activist who makes this claim, and you trace its roots back to the source (in the rare cases where they’re trying to be remotely credible and are actually citing reference material), in 99% of cases you’ll find that this argument originates from exactly the same place: just one pair of authors and their non-peer-reviewed website.
 
 
 
: Jan Willem Storm van Leeuwen and Phillip Smith’s original essay “Nuclear power – the energy balance“, which is where all this stuff originates from, has never been published in a scientific journal or subjected to any kind of formal peer-review process. In fact, it has only ever been published on the authors’ own website.
 
 
 
: Their work has been widely debunked and discredited for many years, with some of the more egregious errors and assumptions discussed here:
 
 
 
 
 
=== Sovacool ===
 
 
 
[http://tuda.triumf.ca/Global_warming/nuclear_power/sovacool_nuclear_ghg-1.pdf Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power: A critical survey]
 
Benjamin K. Sovacool; Energy Policy; 2008
 
 
 
=== MacKay ===
 
 
 
[http://beta.metafaq.com/faq/mackay/wha/?_mftvst:entryModule=%24wha&_mftvst:entryRef=%24http:%2f%2fapi.transversal.com%2fmfapi%2fobjectref%2fEntryStore%2fEntry%2fhttp:%2f%2fwww.metafaq.com%2fmfapi%2fMetafaq%2fClients%2fmackay%2fModules%2fwha:146221:1&id=KA2N237MD7SSGJUH70QB4HHUD2&page=answer Sustainable Energy - Without The Hot Air metafaq]
 
: I heard it takes more energy to build a nuclear power plant than you ever get back from it... is that true?
 
 
 
:: No, of course not! Why would France and Finland and Sweden build so many power plants if that were true? They could just use the energy directly. The energy cost of uranium enrichment is described in my book, along with figures for the amount of concrete and steel used in the materials of the power station. The exact figures vary from country to country, but as a ballpark figure the carbon footprint of enrichment, building, decommisioning, and waste management is about 20 grams CO2 per kWh (compare with coal power stations at 1000 g CO2 per kWh) and raw petrol and gas at about 250 grams per kWh. Nuclear power stations produce at least ten times as much energy as it takes to make them, make their fuel, and decommision them.
 
 
 
== Lifetime ==
 
 
 
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/02/23/80-year-nuclear-plants-trump-renewables-and-gas/ Nuclear Plants Running For 80 Years Trump Renewables And Gas] Conca; Forbes
 
 
 
[http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/02/01/u-s-senate-wants-to-decrease-co2-by-increasing-nuclear-energy/ U.S. Senate Wants To Decrease CO2 By Increasing Nuclear Energy] Conca; Forbes
 
: Advanced Nuclear Summit
 
 
 
== Decommissioning ==
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_decommissioning Nuclear Decommissioning] Wikipedia
 
 
 
=== UK ===
 
 
 
[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-provision-explaining-the-cost-of-cleaning-up-britains-nuclear-legacy Nuclear Provision: explaining the cost of cleaning up Britain's nuclear legacy] Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; updated: 1 Sep 2016
 
: [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-provision-explaining-the-cost-of-cleaning-up-britains-nuclear-legacy/nuclear-provision-explaining-the-cost-of-cleaning-up-britains-nuclear-legacy document]
 
:: The 2016 forecast is that future clean-up across the UK will cost around £117 billion spread across the next 120 years or so. This is broadly unchanged from the previous year’s estimate. However, forecasts for work that will be carried over the next century are inevitably uncertain: the future is impossible to predict. It will be a number of years, for example, before many site programmes resolve exactly how the work will be delivered and identify suitable technologies. In recognition of this uncertainty, the NDA publishes a range of estimates that could potentially be realistic. Based on the best data now available, different assumptions could produce figures somewhere between £95 billion and £219 billion.
 
:: 73.1% Sellafield
 
 
 
[http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR-UK-nuclear-clean-up-cost-estimate-dips-to-154-billion-15071602.html UK's nuclear clean-up cost estimate dips to $154 billion] World Nuclear News; 15 Jul 2016
 
 
 
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Decommissioning_Authority Nuclear_Decommissioning_Authority] Wikipedia
 
: he Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the British Department of Energy and Climate Change, formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry. It came into existence during late 2004, and took on its main functions on 1 April 2005. Its purpose is to deliver the decommissioning and clean-up of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy in a safe and cost-effective manner, and where possible to accelerate programmes of work that reduce hazard. The NDA does not directly manage the UK's nuclear sites. It oversees the work through contracts with specially designed companies known as site licence companies. The NDA determines the overall strategy and priorities for managing decommissioning. Although the NDA itself only employs 300 staff, its annual budget is £3.2 billion. The vast majority of the NDA budget is spent through contracts with site licence companies, who also sub contract to other companies which provide special services. The NDA aims to do this by introducing innovation and contractor expertise through a series of competitions similar to the model that has been used in the United States.
 
 
 
== proliferation ==
 
 
 
[https://newmatilda.com/2016/04/21/blowing-up-the-myths-around-nuclear-power-and-terrorism/ Blowing-Up The Myths Around Nuclear Power And Terrorism] Geoff Russell; New Matilda; 21 Apr 2016
 
: Nuclear weapons and nuclear power are not the same thing. Even the much feared ‘dirty bomb’ is less of a challenge than many would have you think
 
 
 
=== reactor grade Pu ===
 
 
 
[https://fas.org/rlg/980826-pu.htm Reactor-Grade Plutonium Can be Used to Make Powerful and Reliable Nuclear Weapons: Separated plutonium in the fuel cycle must be protected as if it were nuclear weapons] Richard L. Garwin, Senior Fellow for Science and Technology; Council on Foreign Relations, New York; 26 Aug 1998
 
: As access to technology advances throughout the  world,  the barrier to the acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorists or nations is more and more the  barrier  to  weapon-usable fissionable material -- traditionally high-enriched uranium or "weapon-grade" plutonium. Even a modest nuclear weapon delivered by aircraft, missile, ship, or truck can threaten the lives of 100,000 people. Therefore it is important to understand whether reactor-grade plutonium from the nuclear fuel cycle -- typically 65%  fissile (by thermal neutrons) compared with 93% fissile for weapon-grade material -- can readily be used to create nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, the answer is that it can be so used. The conclusion, therefore, is that separated reactor-grade plutonium must be guarded in just the same way as if it were weapon-grade plutonium if it is not to contribute greatly to the spread and possible use of nuclear weaponry.
 
 
 
=== dirty bomb ===
 
 
 
[http://www.wbir.com/news/local/global-security-experts-warn-of-dirty-bomb-interest/105208211 Global security experts warn of dirty bomb interest] Rachel Wittel; WBIR; 27 Mar 2016
 
: (WBIR) Less than a week after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, authorities are investigating whether the suicide bombers were involved in the secret videotaping of a Belgian nuclear scientist. Investigators found a camera with hours of footage while searching the apartment of a suspect in the Paris terror attacks last fall. “Those terrorists had an intention of apparently either sabotaging a nuclear plant or acquiring nuclear material," Dean Rice, Global Fellow for UT's Institute for Nuclear Security, said. "The only reason they would acquire nuclear material would be to use it as a terror device as a dirty bomb.” A dirty bomb isn't a weapon meant to kill masses of people like a nuclear bomb would.  “It’s an area denial and economic impact weapon," Howard Hall, UT Governor’s chair for nuclear security, said. “What it does is it terrifies the public. There’s a great deal of fear in our culture over radiation, and so, that fear is what radiological dispersal device, or the dirty bomb as they’re called, play on.”
 
 
 
== public ==
 
 
 
=== communicating risk ===
 
 
 
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928050-200-risk-expert-why-radiation-fears-are-often-exaggerated Risk expert: Why radiation fears are often exaggerated] Alison George; New Scientist; 23 Mar 2011
 
: David Speigelhalter
 
: What is it about nuclear energy that makes people particularly fearful?
 
: There has been a lot of research on this. Nuclear radiation ticks all the boxes for increasing the fear factor. It is invisible, an unknowable quantity. People don’t feel in control of it, and they don’t understand it. They feel it is imposed upon them and that it is unnatural. It has the dread quality of causing cancer and birth defects. Nuclear power has been staggeringly safe, but that doesn’t stop people being anxious about it, just as airplanes and trains are an amazingly safe way to travel but people still worry far more about plane crashes than car crashes.
 
 
 
=== anti-nuclear movements ===
 
 
 
[http://euanmearns.com/germanys-energiewende-as-a-model-for-australian-climate-policy/ Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ as a model for Australian climate policy?] Graham Palmer, Energy Matters; June 2014
 
: history of anti-nuclear movements in Germany & Australia
 
 
 
=== advocacy ===
 
[https://thoughtscapism.com/2015/03/06/energy-solutions-in-a-changing-climate/ Energy solutions in a changing climate] Iida Ruishalme; Thoughtscapism; 6 Mar 2015
 
: Many people respect the views of the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) on the state of the climate – at least roughly half of the global population perceives global warming as a threat. Most of them whole-heartedly acknowledge that we need to take action to mitigate climate change. The odd thing is, though, that a great many seem to ignore a significant portion of what the IPCC is saying when it comes to climate solutions.
 
 
 
[https://theconversation.com/its-time-for-environmentalists-to-give-nuclear-a-fair-go-35488 It’s time for environmentalists to give nuclear a fair go] Barry W. Brook, Corey Bradshaw; The Conversation; 15 Dec 2014
 
: Should nuclear energy be part of Australia’s (and many other countries') future energy mix? We think so, particularly as part of a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent dangerous climate change. But there are other reasons for supporting nuclear technology. In a paper recently published in Conservation Biology, we show that an energy mix including nuclear power has lowest impact on wildlife and ecosystems — which is what we need given the dire state of the world’s biodiversity. In response, we have gathered signatures of 66 leading conservation scientists from 14 countries in an open letter asking that the environmental community: ''weigh up the pros and cons of different energy sources using objective evidence and pragmatic trade-offs, rather than simply relying on idealistic perceptions of what is ‘green’.''
 
 
 
[https://climategamble.net/2016/05/18/david-mackays-foreword-to-cop21-edition-of-climate-gamble/ David MacKay’s foreword to COP21 edition of Climate Gamble] J. M. Korhonen; Climate Gamble; 18 May 2016
 
: Professor Sir David J C MacKay, famous for his excellent book “Sustainable Energy: Without hot air,”  very kindly provided the following foreword for our COP21 edition of Climate Gamble.
 
 
 
[http://mothersfornuclear.org/mothers-stories/2016/6/6/sarah-spath Sarah Spath] Sarah Spath; Mothers for Nuclear; 8 Jun 2016
 
: I believe in sustainability. It angers me to think that poor decisions that we make today for convenience, frugality, or some political pat on the back to corporations are destroying our environment. We use nature as a credit card with no spending limit and overdraft the environment to live a plush existence with little concern for the eventual consequences.
 
 
 
==== Hansen & Co ====
 
 
 
[http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/372493/c25ebfa5d2/1603503199/be41125912/ Top Climate Scientists Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Tom Wigley, Dr. Ken Caldeira and Dr. Kerry Emanuel to Issue Stark Challenge at Paris COP21 Climate Conference] 12 Nov 2015
 
:Press Conference to take place on Thursday, December 3 at 14:00 in the Gallery of Solutions – Media Stage – Air and Space Museum, Paris, Le Bourget
 
 
 
: Four of the world’s leading climate scientists, Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Tom Wigley, Dr. Ken Caldeira and Dr. Kerry Emanuel, will issue a stark challenge to world leaders and environmental campaigners attending the COP21 climate summit at a scheduled press conference in Paris on December 3.
 
 
 
: Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Tom Wigley, Dr. Ken Caldeira and Dr. Kerry Emanuel will present research showing the increasing urgency of fully decarbonizing the world economy. However, they will also show that renewables alone cannot realistically meet the goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees C, and that a major expansion of nuclear power is essential to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system this century. (1)
 
 
 
==== Shellenberger - TED ====
 
 
 
[http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_how_fear_of_nuclear_power_is_hurting_the_environment How fear of nuclear power is hurting the environment] Michael Shellenberger TED; Jun 2016
 
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_how_fear_of_nuclear_power_is_hurting_the_environment/transcript?language=en transcript]
 
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_how_fear_of_nuclear_power_is_hurting_the_environment/citations footnotes]
 
* [http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shellenberger_how_fear_of_nuclear_power_is_hurting_the_environment/recommendations reading list]
 
 
 
=== The Left ===
 
 
 
[http://atomicinsights.com/the-left-needs-to-reconsider-its-automatic-position-against-nuclear-energy/ The Left Needs to Reconsider its Automatic Position Against Nuclear Energy]
 
 
 
[http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/09/media-and-progressives-turn-on-bernie-over-nuclear-power/ Media And Progressives Turn On Bernie Over Nuclear Power] Andrew Follett, Energy and Environmental Reporter; The Daily Caller; 4th Apr 2016
 
: The same progressives and media elites who typically fawn over presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders are now attacking him for his opposition to nuclear power, which they claim is an essential tool in the fight against global warming.
 
 
 
: Sanders’s plan to phase out all of America’s nuclear reactors, which currently provide 20 percent U.S. electricity, is a “serious defect” in his global warming plans, progressive website Mother Jones published last week. Other media critics such as Slate andUSA Today have slammed Sanders for his anti-nuclear stance in the last month, claiming getting rid of nuclear power would do more harm than good.
 
 
 
: Scientists are also lining up to oppose Sanders’s plan. Despite environmental opposition, most scientists and engineers agree nuclear power is actually great for the environment.
 
 
 
[https://newrepublic.com/article/132654/peoples-fission People’s Fission - A supporter's plea for Bernie Sanders to change his mind and embrace nuclear energy] LEIGH PHILLIPS; New Republic; 14 Apr 2016
 
: One of the main reasons that lefties like me don’t just back Bernie Sanders, but have an uncommon amount of trust in him, is his dogged, unflappable, remarkably un-politician-like hyperconsistency. For 40 years, he has stuck to the same script on campaign finance, on the billionaire class (even referring to “the richest one-half of one percent” way back in 1971, long before Occupy Wall Street), on the death penalty, on workers’ rights. In 1983, he was fighting for LGBT civil rights when Reagan administration officials still regularly subjected gays, lesbians, and people with AIDS to hate-filled ridicule. He opposed a dodgy trade deal with Panama long before the Panama Papers were leaked. On issue after issue, he’s been on the right side of history, years ahead of schedule.
 
 
 
: But there’s one issue on which Sanders has been hyperconsistently wrong. One yuuuuge-ly important, planet-saving, tiny little thing. It’s his irrational, evidence-free opposition to nuclear energy.
 
 
 
: Sanders—along with much of the left—needs to take another look at this issue. Because with his democratic-socialist, public-sector ethic, Sanders may just be the only candidate who could actually deliver the sort of mass build-out of nuclear power that the world desperately needs if we are to stave off catastrophic climate change. And even if he doesn’t become president, an informed change of heart on nuclear could convince many of his fans to follow suit.
 
 
 
== (Mis)information ==
 
 
 
[http://flibe-energy.com/?page_id=318 Myths vs. Facts]
 
* Thorium is just another idea being pushed by the nuclear industry.
 
* Thorium as a nuclear fuel has been a failure
 
* We know that it will take at least thirty years to build a thorium reactor.
 
* Thorium reactors still need uranium or plutonium. This is a proliferation risk.
 
* Using thorium would require a resumption of reprocessing in the United States
 
* There’s no point to developing thorium reactors because it will still produce radiation.
 
* Molten salt will explode on contact with air and water.
 
* All radiation is dangerous at any dose level.
 
* Radiation is a silent threat that is difficult to detect.
 
* All radioactive material is dangerous, and a long half life means it is really dangerous.
 
* radioactivity lasts forever
 
* Nuclear energy equals nuclear weapons
 
* The world will never change and accept energy from thorium.
 
 
 
[http://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/oceans/heres-your-go-to-source-for-debunking-all-the-fukushima-fables HERE'S YOUR GO-TO SOURCE FOR DEBUNKING ALL THE FUKUSHIMA FABLES] (SARAH KEARTES, Earth Touch news network; 25 Feb 2016)
 
 
 
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDcjW1XSXN0 Disneyland - 3.14 - Our Friend the Atom]
 
 
 
[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-entine/post_10952_b_9111688.html Denialism and the 'Scientific Consensus': Naomi Oreskes' Attacks on Nuclear Energy and GMOs Expose Deep Divide Among Environmentalists] Jon Entine; HuffPo
 
 
 
 
 
[http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/06/15/whats-really-going-on-at-fukushima/ What’s Really Going on at Fukushima?]
 
 
 
[http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/radiation-alert-l-a-gas-well-spewing-lethal-levels-of-breathable-nuclear-material-fukushima-class-disaster_02042016 Radiation Alert: L.A. Gas Well Spewing LETHAL LEVELS Of Breathable Nuclear Material: “Fukushima Class Disaster”]
 
 
 
[http://glasstone.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/ten-largest-nuclear-tests.html Hiroshima and Nagasaki anti-nuclear propaganda debunked by the hard facts]
 
: lots of links
 
 
 
[http://media.mcclatchydc.com/static/features/irradiated/ IRRADIATED]
 
The hidden legacy of 70 years of atomic weaponry: At least 33,480 Americans dead
 
Will the nation’s new nuclear age yield more unwanted fallout?
 
 
 
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150414165036/http://depletedcranium.com/why-you-cant-build-a-bomb-from-spent-fuel/ Why You Can’t Build a Bomb From Spent Fuel]
 
 
 
[http://www.offgridquest.com/energy/an-hour-every-day-workout-can-power-your An hour every day workout can power your home for twenty-four hours]
 
 
 
[http://www.realfarmacy.com/whales-die-pacific-ocean-scientists-suspect-fukushima/ Whales Continue to Die Off in Pacific Ocean: Scientists Suspect Fukushima Radiation at Fault] RealFarmacy
 
 
 
[http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/emission-free-nuclear-power-is-more-greenwash/blog/26582/ ‘Emission free’ nuclear power is more greenwash] Justin McKeating; Greenpeace blog
 
 
 
[https://m.facebook.com/1561335957440623/photos/a.1561349920772560.1073741827.1561335957440623/1681156132125271/?type=3&source=54 what you get searching Google images for Fukushima] Refutations to Anti-Nuclear Memes; facebook
 
 
 
[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/hot-water-film-review-876170 'Hot Water': Film Review] Frank Scheck; The Hollywood Reporter; 16 Mar 2016
 
: The doc features extensive commentary by scientists and academics who testify to the negative long-term effects, including Dr. Helen Caldicott, who has devoted much of her career to opposing nuclear power. Another party heard from is former congressman and environmental activist Dennis Kucinich, who happens to be married to the film's co-producer, Elizabeth Kucinich.
 
 
 
: But the array of talking heads, impressive and convincing as they are, don't have the impact of the personal stories included, such as the moving accounts by the members of a Native American South Dakota clan who have suffered abnormally high cancer rates (the director actually steps out from behind the camera to comfort one tearful subject). Comments are often blunt and to the point, such as when one testifier declares, "Water killed my mother."
 
  
: We hear about such things as the contamination of livestock, resulting in tainted meat; high levels of cancers and birth defects among people living in affected areas; and the huge costs of clean-ups, which are inevitably passed on to the public.
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Latest revision as of 02:25, 26 October 2022


A banana contains naturally occurring radioactive potassium-40

When we burn coal, oil, gas, wood (and other biomass), hydrogen etc, their chemical molecules react with Oxygen to produce heat (or in the case of fuel cells, electricity). The molecules of fuel get broken down and their constituent atoms re-arranged into different molecules - for example Carbon and Hydrogen atoms in gas or oil break away from each other and combine with Oxygen into water and Carbon Dioxide – H
2
O and CO
2
. However the Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms themselves are unchanged.

Nuclear energy is produced by the splitting or combining of atoms themselves. The combining of atoms – fusion – is the subject of experiment and development, but the technology is probably decades away from producing useful amounts of energy commercially.

The splitting of atoms is fission and is the basis of our current nuclear power stations.

Another process in which atoms split is the spontaneous decay of radioactive isotopes, including some of the Carbon and Potassium atoms in our bodies (and in bananas!). The heat generated by radioactive decay (of Plutonium) is used to power some spacecraft including the Voyagers, and the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers.

Fission, fissile, and fertile

A diagram showing a chain transformation of uranium-235 to uranium-236 to barium-141 and krypton-92
How a neutron splits a Uranium-235 atom producing more neutrons

Uranium has several isotopes, all of which are unstable, making it (weakly) radioactive. (See Wikipedia for details.) Naturally occurring Uranium comprises mostly the Uranium-238 isotope, with less than three-quarters of a percent of Uranium-235. U-235 is "fissile": it has a certain probability of spontaneously splitting up into smaller atoms, releasing neutrons in the process. Its splitting up ("fission") can be triggered by it being hit by a neutron, releasing yet more neutrons which can split more U-235 atoms, in a chain reaction. The reaction also releases a lot of energy -- 1.5 million times as much as burning the same weight of coal.

Plutonium-239 is another fissile isotope. It doesn't occur naturally but it can be produced when neutrons hit Uranium-238 atoms. Isotopes like U-238 and Thorium-232 are known as "fertile" because they can transmute into fissile isotopes (Pu-239 and U-233, respectively) when hit by neutrons.

Fast, moderate and thermal

When a Uranium-235 atom splits, the neutrons it releases travel fast, and they are far less likely to make another U-235 atom split than slower-moving neutrons do. In a mass of concentrated U-235 (such as in an atom bomb) there can be enough neutrons making atoms split and releasing more neutrons etc for a chain reaction to occur, but with less concentrated Uranium (containing less of the U-235 isotope mixed with more of the non-fissile U-238) nothing will happen. (This is why nuclear reactors can't explode like a bomb, and ordinary nuclear reactor fuel can't be used to make a bomb.)

However if some of the neutrons emitted by splitting U-235 atoms are slowed down before hitting other atoms they are about 1,000 times more likely to make them split and sustain a chain reaction. Slower neutrons are called "thermal" and the slowing-down process is called "moderating". Water and graphite are good at slowing down neutrons so most nuclear reactors use either water or graphite as moderators. Water can also be used to transfer heat from the reaction to provide useful energy.

Breeders and Burners

Fast neutrons can be captured by various atoms and turn them into other isotopes. This process can burn up radioactive isotopes (such as those in the spent fuel of conventional reactors) which are hard to dispose of, and by the process of "neutron activation" it can turn fertile isotopes such as U-238 into fissile ones such as Plutonium-239. The latter process is called "breeding" and is designed to occur in "fast breeder" reactors, although it also happens in conventional ("thermal spectrum") ones.

Types of Reactors

There are many sorts of fission reactors which have been tried, and a huge variety which have been proposed. They can be classified by important characteristics:

  • Fuel: Uranium, Plutonium, Thorium etc
    • Uranium: natural (around 0.72% uranium-235) or enriched (and by how much: most conventional reactors use material enriched 3 to 5% 235-U)
    • Fuel: solid (fuel rods in conventional reactors) or molten (in Molten Salt Reactors)
  • Thermal spectrum: Fast or slow neutrons
    • (For Thermal reactors): Moderator: regular (light) water, heavy water, graphite etc
  • Heat transfer/coolant medium: gas or liquid
    • Heat transfer gas: Argon, Helium, CO
      2
      etc
    • Heat transfer liquid: water, metal, salt:
      • water: regular (light water) or heavy water,
      • metal: sodium, lead, mixture etc,
      • salt: fluoride, chloride, mixture (e.g. FLiBe) etc
  • Purpose/product: experimental, research, production of isotopes, electricity, heat etc

and, last but not least:

  • whether they are a paper (or academic) reactor or a real (practical) one.

Paper v. Real reactors

US Admiral Hyman Rickover, who brought nuclear reactors for the navy and civilian power stations to reality, observed that:

An academic reactor or reactor plant almost always has the following basic characteristics:

  1. It is simple.
  2. It is small.
  3. It is cheap.
  4. It is light.
  5. It can be built very quickly.
  6. It is very flexible in purpose.
  7. Very little development will be required. It will use off-the-shelf components.
  8. The reactor is in the study phase. It is not being built now.

On the other hand a practical reactor can be distinguished by the following characteristics:

  1. It is being built now.
  2. It is behind schedule.
  3. It requires an immense amount of development on apparently trivial items.
  4. It is very expensive.
  5. It takes a long time to build because of its engineering development problems.
  6. It is large.
  7. It is heavy.
  8. It is complicated.

Real Reactors

Oklo: naturally occurring reactors

Probably the simplest reactors, and certainly the earliest — by almost 2 billion years — were those at Oklo, in Gabon in West Africa.

The geology of the Oklo reactors:
(1) reactor zones
(2) Sandstone
(3) Uranium ore layer
(4) Granite

These comprised veins of rock rich in Uranium ore, into which water permeated. The water acted as a moderator, slowing neutrons released by spontaneous fission and creating a chain reaction. The reaction released heat which boiled the water off until the reaction stopped, after which the rocks cooled and water returned to start the reaction again. It is estimated that the reactors ran for hundreds of thousands of years, until the U-235 in the rocks had been burned up too much to sustain further activity.

The same thing could not happen now. Uranium-235 has a half life of about 700 million years compared to 4.5 billion years (about the same as the age of the Earth) for U-238, so whilst natural Uranium now contains only about 0.7% U-235, at the time of the Oklo reactors the concentration was around 3%, which is similar to that used in present-day light-water reactors, and is sufficient to sustain reactions.

The Oklo reactors probably produced less than 100kW of heat, compared to several GW in modern man-made reactors (about one-third of which gets converted to electricity).

  • In our classification (above) the Oklo reactors were solid Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using light water as moderator and heat transfer medium (and Real).

The Scientific American article The Workings of an Ancient Nuclear Reactor by Alex Meshik discusses the discovery of the Oklo (and other) natural reactors, and what we have learned from them. Wikipedia also discusses the Oklo reactors in it article: "Natural nuclear fission reactor

Man-made reactors

The earliest artificial reactor was the Chicago Pile experimental reactor, built as part of the WW2 Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb. It used about 50 tonnes of Uranium, with graphite as a moderator, and produced half a watt of power.

  • We would classify it as a solid Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum, graphite moderated, experimental, real reactor.

Pressurised and Boiling Water reactors

Pressurised Water Reactor

After WW2 the United States developed a nuclear reactor as propulsion for submarines, allowing them to stay submerged for weeks or months at a time and to cross oceans without surfacing, unlike earlier diesel-electric designs which had limited range and duration while submerged.

The USS Nautilus was the first nuclear powered submarine, launched in 1954. It used a Pressurised Water Reactor. PWRs were used at the US' first commercial power station at Shippingport (which also later housed a Thorium-fuelled thermal breeder reactor).

Pressurised Water Reactors are widely used in the USA, France, Germany, Russia, China, South Korea and many other countries, as well as in military submarines and aircraft carriers, and icebreakers.

See also the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's PWR page

Boiling Water Reactor

Boiling Water Reactors are similar to PWRs but have a simpler heat transfer/cooling system. They are widely used in Japan, including in the Fukushima Daiichi reactors which suffered meltdowns after being hit by the tsunami generated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

See also the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's BWR page

  • PWRs and BWRs are solid, low-enriched-Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using light water as moderator and heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity.

Magnox and AGRs

Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR)

After the war Britain built gas-cooled graphite-moderated pile reactors using un-enriched ("natural") Uranium, at Windscale (one of which suffered a near-catastrophic fire in 1957). These led to the design of Britain's Magnox reactor, which was used in the first commercial-scale power reactor in the world at Calder Hall (at what is now called the Sellafield nuclear plant).

Magnox reactors are solid, natural Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite as moderator and CO
2
as heat transfer medium, designed to produce plutonium as well as electricity
.

The Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor is a development of the Magnox intended to be better at producing electricity whilst dropping the function of producing plutonium.

  • AGRs are solid, low-enriched-Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite as moderator and CO
    2
    as heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity
    .

For more on the AGR see How an AGR power station works by British Energy Group plc, 2006

CANDU

CANDU reactor
  • The basic Canada Deuterium Uranium design is a pressurised water reactor using solid, natural Uranium fuel, thermal spectrum using heavy water as moderator and heat transfer medium to generate electricity.

See also the University of Calgary's page on CANDU reactors on their Energy Education website.

In a post on Facebook by Christoffer Keyfor his friend Chris Adlam says of the CANDU:

Back in the 1950's while the US and the rest of the world were hotly pursuing atomic weapons, Canada, who had no desire for nuclear arms, saw the power of the atom as a way to produce abundant and inexpensive electricity. Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) was the Federal thinktank comprised of brilliant engineers whose goal was exactly that: come up with a nuclear reactor that didn't require enrichment (we didn't have enrichment capability because we didn't have a nuclear arms program) and whose purpose was to be used for power generation.

Utilizing deuterium as a moderator, which allowed the use of a fuel with very low fissile content (natural uranium), what would become the foundation for the CANDU was in its infancy. A pressure tube design was chosen as the low fissile content fuel would need to be swapped out frequently, thus it was a requirement that the reactor could be refuelled online. After a small radiological release incident at Chalk River, it was determined that multiple levels of containment and redundant safety systems would be absolutely necessary. A family of designs was born from this philosophy with safety being the top priority.

After NPD was constructed and successfully demonstrated the CANDU concept the first commercial unit for the purpose of power generation was constructed. This was in the early 1960's at Douglas Point, now part of the massive Bruce Power site. This ~200MWe unit was a proof-of-concept design and led to the construction of the 4 units at Pickering A in a partnership between AECL, the Federal Government, the Ontario government and Ontario Hydro. Pickering was built instead of a similar capacity (4GW) coal plant.

Pickering was a massive success and by this point AECL had come up with a larger design and Ontario Hydro was keen. This led to the construction of Bruce A whose steam generators were intentionally oversized so the units could produce process steam to run operations on the grounds, such as the massive heavy water plant designed to produce deuterium both for domestic use and export. It was expected that the CANDU would be popular abroad, as we had managed to obtain partnerships and construction contracts with India, Romania, New Brunswick, Quebec...etc. CANDU was going places and we wanted to be ready.

On the heels of Bruce A came Pickering B, now based on the standardized CANDU 6 design, but with some changes on the steam and generation side to make it more similar to the A plant, thus reducing output. Then Bruce B was built, as efforts were made to cement the design for what would be the next export-ready unit, the CANDU 9. This led to the first commercial construct of that unit design: Darlington.

Darlington is probably the best known and most maligned nuclear plant in Ontario's entire nuclear fleet. Construction started while Bruce B hadn't even come online yet (similar to Bruce A and Pickering B) and was well underway when disaster struck: Half a world away a massive and unweildly reactor designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium succumbed to operator incompetence and suffered a meltdown. Because it lacked secondary containment found on every CANDU including Douglas Point, a hydrogen explosion resulted in a large radiological release.

Everything stopped.

Construction at Darlington ceased. The world scrambled to reconcile with what happened and the entire nuclear industry, even here in Canada, despite sharing absolutely nothing in common with the Soviet RBMK design at Chernobyl, went back to the drawing board. They had to prove it couldn't happen here. While this was taking place time, and debt, marched on. Interest rates were soaring, the cost of the Darlington project, despite no actual work being done, was increasing rapidly. By the time the first unit entered commercial service 10 years had passed, a far cry from the 6 years shovel to breaker for the Bruce A units. This led to a construction cost of $14.4 billion. Darlington was a white elephant and thus the B plant was never built.

Darlington was the most mature design in the CANDU fleet. It was, at the time, the epitome of CANDU engineering. Deep water inlet and outlet diffusers, better heat transfer loop design, higher power output...etc. The list goes on.

We never exported CANDU 9.

After Chernobyl the global nuclear industry never recovered. AECL managed to land a few CANDU 6 sales but the 9 went nowhere and it was abandoned. Darlington is the only operating example of the CANDU 9.

Since then, AECL managed to partner with China on the Enhanced CANDU 6, which the Chinese had interest in because as had been demonstrated in various tests in Canada, the high neutron economy and inherently flexible nature of the deuterium pressure tube design meant that the CANDU could run on a huge variety of fuel combinations, something other reactors were simply incapable of. China's intention for the units at Qinshan was for them to run on the used fuel coming out of their neighbouring American-style light water units, and they do. When AECL failed to secure the construction contract for the ACR1000's that were supposed to be built at Darlington B in the 20-teens it was sold off to SNC Lavalin. Ontario had screwed itself with insanely generous fixed-rate contracts for industrial wind and even more highly subsidized solar projects. This drove rates through the roof, leaving no consumer tolerance for a 25 billion dollar nuclear development.

As OPG continues to refurbish Darlington, now on Unit 3, and Bruce Power refurbishes the remaining 6x Bruce units while providing the 2nd lowest cost generation in the province I think it important to note that these things are not widely celebrated. Ontario has one of the lowest emissions grids in the world and that's mostly due to our massive nuclear fleet. Who knew that before reading this?

Today, as Darlington Unit 1 soldiers on after setting the world record for continuous operation at 963 days of almost zero emissions generation we should be proud of what that stands for: a Canadian design built by Canadians for Canadians for the purpose of peaceful power production. Operated by your fellow Ontarians providing valuable employment in all corners of this massive province and, along with hydro, being one of the only things keeping your rates down after the disaster that was the GEA. This is something we can, and should, all be proud of."

RBMK

RBMK

This Soviet-designed reactor is notorious as the type involved in the Chornobyl accident in 1986.

  • The original design was solid, natural Uranium fuelled, thermal spectrum using graphite moderator and water as heat transfer medium, designed to produce electricity and able to produce plutonium, but modifications to the design after Chernobyl required it to use low-enriched-Uranium.

FURTHER READING

Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive article on nuclear reactors and associated topics, with links to more detailed articles.


What Is Nuclear? have some resources including:


The IET has several factfiles on nuclear power including:

  • Principles of nuclear power which discusses the structure of atoms, the concept of fission, chain reactions, and the essential elements of a power reactor (using the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor as example),
  • Nuclear Reactor Types discusses and compares Magnox, AGR, PWR, BWR, CANDU, and RBMK reactors, and some future designs.

These documents date from around 2008 and, whilst they have since been "redesigned", they still refer to, for example, the EPR as a future design.


In this video[1] from the BBC's "Bang Goes The Theory", Jem Stansfield shows the basic principle of operation of a nuclear (or other steam-generating thermal) power station, describes the process of nuclear fission of Uranium atoms, and shows the inside of a never-used Boiling Water Reactor at Zwentendorf nuclear power plant[2] in Austria:

Footnotes and references

  1. Also available on YouTube
  2. The Zwentendorf nuclear power plant was completed but it was prevented from going into operation by a referendum on nuclear power. It was replaced by a coal fired power station.