Nuclear Power
- Nuclear power, Hinkley Point, Hinkley Point A nuclear power station, Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station, Hinkley Point C nuclear power station
- ToDo: good maps of UK LLW, ILW and HLW sites, + short paras re who runs them + their record. See [1] >> Map of the UK nuclear industry and LLW management facilities (check date)
Sustainable solutions for radioactive waste, Why the UK nuclear renaissance plan is doomed to failure, Nuclear Power : Strategic Asset, Liability or Increasingly Irrelevant ? (Download link), Nuclear's carbon footprint, w-search, Nuclear Liabilities Fund
Why is the govt so desperate for nuclear power? Because the British nuclear submarine industry depends on continuation of UK civil nuclear power. Consumers are going to fund nuclear weapons by paying the exorbitant costs of nuclear power stations like Hinkley Point C. Researchers at the Science Policy Research Unit found evidence of desperation to keep expertise for submarine reactors alive. ref, ref
ToDo: compare this report with the IAEA's: The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017, https://www.worldnuclearreport.org/-2017-.html "this 2017 World Nuclear Industry Status Report is perhaps the most decisive document in the history of nuclear power. The report makes clear, in telling detail, that the debate is over. Nuclear power has been eclipsed by the sun and the wind. These renewable, free-fuel sources are no longer a dream or a projection-they are a reality that are replacing nuclear as the preferred choice for new power plants worldwide. Nuclear power is far from dead but it is in decline and renewable energy is growing by leaps and bounds. Most revealing is the fact that nowhere in the world, where there is a competitive market for electricity, has even one single nuclear power plant been initiated. Only where the government or the consumer takes the risks of cost overruns and delays is nuclear power even being considered. Since 1997, worldwide, renewable energy has produced 4 times as many new kilowatt-hours of electricity than nuclear power."
Globally, there were 448 nuclear power reactors in operation at the end of 2017. Construction started on 4, with a total of 59 under construction; 5 were permanently shut down. Around 60% of the reactors had been in operation for 30+ years. Global generating capacity was 392 gigawatts. (2017 report, p.31)
Compared with 2016 levels, the IAEA's 2017 projections for installed nuclear power capacity showed increases of 42% by 2030, 83% by 2040, and 123% by 2050 in the high case scenario. The low case scenario projected a 12% dip by 2030 and a 15% dip by 2040, before a return to current levels by 2050.[1]
The Nuclear Lobby
- "Nuclear power as an alternative to coal", Sourcewatch
- https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Storing_Nuclear_Waste:_the_Nukem_PR_Strategy
- http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities.aspx
- Radioactive Waste - Myths and Realities - a perfect example of gliding over the serious problems, using irrelevant comparisons with eg. coal, and generally manipulating the reader. http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-wastes/radioactive-wastes-myths-and-realities.aspx
PR Spin
- Jun.30.2011: Revealed: British government's plan to play down Fukushima. Govt officials from BEIS approached nuclear companies EDF Energy, Électricité de France SA § Areva and Toshiba Corporation § Westinghouse and their trade body Nuclear Industry Association to draw up a co-ordinated Public Relations strategy to play down the Fukushima nuclear accident just two days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and before the extent of the radiation leak was known. "We need to occupy the territory and hold it." A former regulator said the degree of collusion was "truly shocking". The govt recently confirmed plans for 8 new nuclear stations in England and Wales. Rob Edwards, The Guardian.
Issues
Nuclear power has 3 major issues, the most serious of which is that all known methods of waste disposal require some kind of burial and permanent monitoring for ~240,000 years. We have little experience in building facilities to last for 100 years, let alone millenia; and how to warn people so far into the future?[2] The costs of monitoring and maintenance over such a timescale are unimaginable, and generations for hundreds of thousands of years to come will have to pay the cost for a few decades of electricity for our generation.[3] [4] After 50+ years of research, there are no satisfactory answers.[5]
I. Fuel Supply
Advocates assert that advanced nuclear systems will enable mankind to use nuclear power for hundreds to thousands of years. However, after 60+ years of research worldwide, and €100bn in research, not one operating closed-cycle reactor exists. Extraction of uranium ore must require less energy than can be generated from the recovered uranium - the "energy cliff". Analysis of uranium recovery processes shows that the amount of energy consumed per kg of recovered natural uranium rises exponentially with declining ore grades.
II. Accidents
An average reactor will have about 16bn curies in its core, which is the equivalent of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. A reactor's fuel rods, pipes, tanks and valves can leak: reactors have an extensive network of buried piping systems and tanks which transport liquids that contain radioactive isotopes including tritium and strontium-90. These piping systems are not adequately inspected or maintained due to their inaccessibility; instead, statistical probability models are used.[10]
Climate Change is exacerbating the problem; the hot summers in France in 2003 and 2018 meant the safety of the country's 58 nuclear plants was a serious concern.[11]
The risk of human error is growing because privatisation and liberalisation have forced operators to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Nuclear energy has high fixed costs: building costs are ~75%; all savings must therefore come from the 25% variable costs of price, notably from efficiency increases and personnel reductions.[11]
See also this very long list: Nuclear power plant accidents.
III. Waste
The entire nuclear fuel chain, from mining to milling, processing, enrichment, fuel fabrication, and fuel irradiation in reactors, generates radioactive waste.[13] Production of 1,000 tons of uranium fuel generates ~100,000 tons of tailings and 3.5 million litres of liquid waste(Note 1). Before the UN Treaty in 1993, govts merrily dumped it all in the sea.[14][15] Current waste management takes 3 forms: dilute and disperse, delay and decay, and concentrate and contain.[16]
Mining. Uranium is extracted from crushed ore by dissolving it out using chemicals.[17] The "sludge" left behind - called tailings - contains 85% of the initial radioactivity of the ore (but now concentrated), and is either dumped in piles, or kept in uncovered ponds.[18] The sludge contains long-lived decay products such as thorium-230 as well as heavy metals and other contaminants, eg. arsenic, plus the chemical reagents used during the extraction process.[11] As the tailings sit there, they are continually generating radon gas, which is ~8 times heavier than air, so it stays close to the ground. Radon is a long-term hazard, as it is continually produced from thorium-230 (half-life 80,000 yrs) → radium-226 (half-life 1,600 yrs) → radon gas (half-life 3.8 days). Radon can travel 1,000 miles in just a few days, depositing radon daughters, which are taken up by the food chain (unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces). Uranium mining is a very efficient mechanism for pumping radioactivity into the environment for millennia to come.[19]
Clearance for "negligible hazard" waste. Every nuclear power reactor dumps radioactive water, scatters radioactive particles, and disperses radioactive gases as part of its routine, everyday operation. Regulations allow water containing "permissible" levels of radioactive isotopes to be released to the environment, unfiltered. A typical 1000-megawatt pressurized water reactor (with a cooling tower) takes in about 90,922 litres of river, lake or sea water per minute for cooling; circulates it through a 80-km maze of pipes; returns about 22,730 litres per minute to the same body of water; and releases the remainder to the atmosphere as vapor. A similar reactor without a cooling tower can take in 2.3 million litres per minute.
Authorised Release to the Environment. Some radioactive gases, stripped from the reactor cooling water, are retained in decay tanks for days before being released into the atmosphere through filtered roof top vents. Some gases leak into the buildings’ interiors and are released during periodic "ventings". These airborne gases contaminate not only the air, but also fall onto soil and water. Economically feasible filtering technologies do not exist for some major byproducts, such as radioactive hydrogen (tritium) and noble gases such as krypton (→ rubidium → strontium) and xenon (→ cesium). Some liquids and gases are retained temporarily in tanks so that shorter-lived radioactive materials can break down before being released to the environment.[20]
Associated Organisations
- The International Atomic Energy Agency is the global central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field. It works for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology.
- The OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency is an inter-governmental agency that facilitates co-operation among countries with advanced nuclear technology infrastructures to seek excellence in nuclear safety, technology, science, environment and law. The NEA's mission is to "assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for the safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes".
- The International Panel on Fissile Materials is a group of independent nuclear experts from 17 countries: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the USA (the Netherlands was a member, but recently dropped out). It aims to provide the technical basis for policy initiatives to reduce global stocks of military and civilian fissile materials.[32] The Panel produces an annual Global Fissile Material Report which summarizes new information on fissile material stocks and production worldwide, as well as periodic research reports.
- The Office for Nuclear Regulation is the safety regulator for the civil nuclear industry in the UK. The ONR also has responsibility for assessing safety and accident response systems at Ministry of Defence sites.[33]
- The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a strategic role: it establishes the overall approach, allocates budgets, sets targets and monitors progress. The actual cleaning up is done via contracts with Site Licence Companies. There are currently 17 historic (1940s-1970s) nuclear sites being decommissioned.
- The World Nuclear Association is an international trade organisation that promotes nuclear power and supports the companies that comprise the global nuclear industry.
- WISE is an information and networking center for citizens and organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues. The organization advocates the implementation of safe, sustainable solutions such as energy efficiency and renewable energy.
- The Nuclear Industry Association is is the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK, and represents 250+ companies across the supply chain.
Footnotes
- Note 1: Enough to power the world's 448 reactors for approximately 2 years, assuming that an average reactor uses 1,005 kg per year.[34]
- Note 2: How long does nuclear waste stay dangerous for? Seven isotopes have been identified which will still be active after millions of years: Technetium 99, Tin 126, Selenium 79, Zirconium 93, Caesium 135, Palladium 107, and Iodine 129. For example, Caesium 135 has a half life of 2.3m years, and the most dangerous parts will have decayed to only a small proportion of their original activity after a few thousand years. See The 7 long-lived fission products. Note that the standard used by nuclear scientists in Europe is that waste may be considered safe when it has decayed to the point that it is no more radioactive than naturally-occurring uranium ore. According to this criterion, spent fuel is safe in about 6,000,000 years.
- Note 3: What harm does nuclear waste do to you? There are two main hazards. Some wastes are chemically poisonous, just like eg. mercury or arsenic. Other wastes give off radiation; very low level radiation is only dangerous if ingested into the body, whereas hard (ionizing) radiation can change cells' DNA, cause cancer, or induce organ failure.[35]
References
- ^ iAEA Annual Report 2017. IAEA. Accessed Oct.04.2018.
- ^ Nuclear waste: Keep out – for 100,000 years. Few architects have to design anything to last more than 100 years, so how do you build a nuclear waste facility to last for millennia? And what sign do you put on the door? Steve Rose, The Guardian, Apr.24.2011.
- ^ Toxic Time Capsule: Why nuclear energy is an intergenerational issue. This paper argues that cancelling Hinkley Point C, dubbed “the most expensive building on Earth”, could save Britain at least £30-£40bn. It compares the cost of nuclear to alternative energy supplies, and questions whether current policy-makers have the right to pass such an unknown and escalating additional burden – and risk – on to future generations. Andrew Sims, Intergenerational Foundation, Apr.2016.
- ^ Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste. The "best" option will require something akin to a “nuclear priesthood” to pass along their skills at monitoring these wastes for thousands of generations. James C.Warf, Sheldon C. Plotkin, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Sept.12.1996.
- ^ 7 Other problems associated with nuclear power. Nuclear Monitor, Issue #621-622, WISE, Feb.01.2005.
- ^ Global Uranium Resources to Meet Projected Demand. International Atomic Energy Agency, Jun.02.2006.
- ^ Supply of Uranium. World Nuclear Assocation, 2016.
- ^ Plant Life Extensions. No2NuclearPower, Dec.04.2012.
- ^ US Nuclear Plants in the 21st Century: The Risk of a Lifetime. D. Lochbaum, The Union of Concerned Scientists, Mar.2005.
- ^ Leak First, Fix Later. Beyond Nuclear, May.2015.
- ^ a b c 7 Other problems associated with nuclear power. Nuclear Monitor, Issue: #621-622, World Information Service on Energy, Feb.2005.
- ^ Radioactive Wastes in the UK: A Summary of the 2016 Inventory. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. Accessed Oct.03.2018.
- ^ II. What are the types of radioactive waste? The Nuclear Energy Agency. Accessed Oct.03.2018.
- ^ History of nuclear waste disposal proposals in Britain. Prior to 1976, very little thought had been given to the question of how we were going to deal with the nuclear waste produced by military and nuclear electricity programmes. Some lower level waste was disposed of at sea, but most waste was simply accumulating at various nuclear sites around the country. Then a report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (the "Flowers Report") raised the alarm. No2NuclearPower, Feb.12.2016.
- ^ Russia’s sunken subs to lie where they are for another three years. Russian officials have again raised the possibility of retrieving tons of nuclear trash from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean – only to confess just as quickly that they don’t have the money to do it. Charles Digges, Anna Kireeva, Bellona, Oct.24.2017.
- ^ Selection of Technical Solutions for the Management of Radioactive Waste. page 5, International Atomic Energy Agency, Jul.2017.
- ^ Uranium Mines and Mills. US Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed Oct.03.2018.
- ^ Conventional Mining and Milling of Uranium ore. Uranium Producers of America. Accessed Oct.05.2018.
- ^ Uranium: Known Facts and Hidden Dangers. Invited address by Dr. Gordon Edwards at the World Uranium Hearings, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Sept.14.1992.
- ^ Routine Radioactive Releases from US Nuclear Power Plants. Beyond Nuclear, Dec.2012.
- ^ NRC Maps of Radioactive Waste Sites US Regulatory Commission, Aug.17.2018.
- ^ Review of LLW Repository Ltd's 2011 environmental safety case: Non-technical summary. Environment Agency, Gov.uk, May.2015.
- ^ Where to Dispose of Britain's Nuclear Waste. By 2030 Britain will have generated approximately 1.4 million cubic metres of LLW, 260 thousand cubic metres of ILW and 3 thousand cubic metres of HLW. In terms of the total amount of radioactivity, however, HLW is the largest category, followed by ILW and then LLW. All of this waste must ultimately be disposed of somewhere, or stored in perpetuity. Ignoring the problem is not an option; the waste now exists and needs proactive management. It will not go away on its own. Centre for Computational Geography, University of Leeds. Accessed Oct.01.2018.
- ^ a b The Storage / Disposal of Radiactive Waste Produced by Nuclear Power Stations. Technology Student, 2009.
- ^ Nature's Nuclear Reactors: The 2-Billion-Year-Old Natural Fission Reactors in Gabon, Western Africa. Evelyn Mervine, Scientific American, Jul.13.2011.
- ^ The disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Nuclear Energy Agency, Jan.1989.
- ^ How nations are tackling nuclear waste storage. Tens of thousands of tons of spent fuel stored at nuclear power plants will remain dangerously radioactive for thousands of years- a vexing problem that nuclear-powered nations around the world face. Health24, Jul.15.2014.
- ^ Radioactive waste and spent fuel. So far Finland, France and Sweden have selected sites for the deep geological disposal of intermediate and high level waste. It is likely that they will open the first repositories for these kinds of waste between 2022 and 2030. European Commission. Accessed Oct.04.2018.
- ^ On Nuclear Waste, Finland Shows U.S. How It Can Be Done. Henry Fountain, New York Times, Jun.09.2017.
- ^ Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste. The nation's decades of commercial nuclear power production and nuclear weapons production have resulted in over 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and other high-level nuclear waste. This highly radioactive waste is currently stored at sites in 35 states because no repository has been developed for the permanent disposal of this waste. US Government Accountability Office. Accessed Oct.01.2018.
- ^ Hardest sell: Nuclear waste needs good home. Greig Watson, BBC News, Jan.8.2016.
- ^ About IPFM. International Panel on Fissile Materials. Accessed Oct.03.2018.
- ^ Sites that we regulate. Office for Nuclear Regulation. Accessed Oct.03.2018.
- ^ Fuel Consumption of Conventional Reactor. Uranium 235 consumption in a nuclear reactor. Nuclear Power. Accessed Oct.02.2018.
- ^ Radiation Effects on Humans. Atomic Archive. Accessed Oct.03.2018.