nuclear-news

United Arabs Emirate’s nuclear power station cut corners on safety

Al Jazeera 1st Aug 2020, Paul Dorfman, an honorary senior research fellow at the Energy Institute,
University College London and founder and chair of the Nuclear Consulting
Group, has criticised the Barakah reactors’ “cheap and cheerful” design
that he says cuts corners on safety.

Dorfman authored a report (PDF) last
year detailing key safety features Barakah’s reactors lack, such as a “core
catcher” to literally stop the core of a reactor from breaching the
containment building in the event of a meltdown. The reactors are also
missing so-called Generation III Defence-In-Depth reinforcements to the
containment building to shield against a radiological release resulting
from a missile or fighter jet attack. Both of these engineering features
are standard on new reactors built in Europe, says Dorfman.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/uae-starts-operations-arab-world-nuclear-power-plant-200801101118964.html

August 3, 2020 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, United Arab Emirates