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New kinds of nuclear dangers, with China’s plan for floating reactors

Fukushima at sea? China wants a fleet of floating nuclear power plants, CNN, By Tony Roulstone, 29 Apr 16

  • China has ambitious plans to build a fleet of 20 floating nuclear reactors
  • Russia is already building a floating nuclear power plant
  • But storms, waves, maintenance all pose safety concerns<

    CNN)China is planning to build nuclear reactors that will take to the sea to provide power in remote locations, possibly including the controversial man-made islands in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

    These small power plants will be built in Chinese shipyards, mounted on large sea-going barges, towed to a remote place where power is needed and connected to the local power grid, or perhaps oil rig…….
    The plans have raised eyebrows and many are asking: Why are they being planned? Will they be safe? Will they be economic?
This idea is not new.
In 1966, the U.S. mounted a submarine nuclear power plant on the Liberty ship, Sturgis, to power the Panama Canal Zone from 1968 to 1975.
Now Russia is building floating nuclear plants with reactors taken from their nuclear powered icebreaker program……

Seven floating nuclear power plants are planned by Russia. The first, the Akademik Lomonosov, should be completed this year at the high cost of $740m, according to World Nuclear News.

It is destined for the Far East port of Pevek, in the Chukotka Republic of Kamchatka…..
 There are many  questions as to whether these reactors will be safe on the seas.
They will be exposed to the vagaries and the uncertainties known by seafarers and to extreme storms and waves — sinking of the barge is a possibility.
Also, it could be harder to protect seaborne reactors — opposed to their land-based counterparts — from external threats such as the loss of off-site power or a terrorist attack.
Maintenance, key to safe operation, will be much more difficult in remote locations. These are new and different hazards from those considered for land-based reactors.
The crucial issues of flooding for nuclear reactors and the loss of power required for cooling were highlighted by the accident at Fukushima.
While the Chinese regulators may use the same safety standards as elsewhere in the world, their process is not sufficiently transparent for outsiders to be clear whether, or not, these novel floating nuclear power plants can be made as safe as modern land-based reactors. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/28/opinions/china-floating-nuclear-reactors/

April 30, 2016 - Posted by | China, Russia, safety

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