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David Lowry: Covid-19 spread shows up vulnerability at heart of nuclear programmes

Energy Transitions 9th April 2020, David Lowry: Covid-19 spread shows up vulnerability at heart of nuclear
programmes, with resilience of UK critical national infrastructures undermined. The coronavirus’ effects act as threat multiplier, as David Lowry explains.
First indications that the dreaded coronavirus had penetrated the very heart of the UK nuclear sector came in on 15 March when Sellafield Ltd confirmed that a worker at the vast nuclear waste management complex – employing 13,000 workers – had tested positive for Covid19.
I asked the UK nuclear regulator what proportion of Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) staff being forced into simultaneous self-isolation would trigger a crisis that would not allow nuclear safety and security
regulatory oversight to continue effectively across the UK? And, if this situation arose, what executive regulatory decision would be required if all operating nuclear facilities could no longer be simultaneously regulated to a legal standard?
ONR responded, including the following thus: “All civil nuclear sites have minimum staffing levels, and contingency
plans should they fall below these levels, to enable them to remain in control of activities that could impact on nuclear safety under all foreseeable circumstances throughout the life cycle of the facility. In addition, licensees need minimum staffing levels to comply with their on-site and off-site emergency plans.
https://energytransition.org/2020/04/corona-crisis-hits-nuclear-sector/

April 12, 2020 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Radioactive cloud headed to Kiev, as fires rage in Chernobyl region


April 11, 2020 Posted by | climate change, incidents, Ukraine | Leave a comment

The unsafety of Ukraine’s nuclear reactors: Ukrainian Association of Veterans of Atomic Energy and Industry fear “another Chernobyl”

Ukrainian Nuclear Industry Workers Sound Alarm About Threat of ‘Another Chernobyl’  https://sputniknews.com/europe/202004101078906091-ukrainian-nuclear-industry-workers-sound-alarm-about-threat-of-another-chernobyl/ RIA Novosti . Alexei Furman 10.04.2020 

Ukrainian firefighters reported that radiation levels at the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone spiked to over 16 times their normal level this week as wildfires continue to ravage the desolate, forested area. The fires are said to have unleashed radioactive elements previously trapped in soil and plants into the atmosphere, carrying them into the wind.

The Ukrainian Association of Veterans of Atomic Energy and Industry, a collective of retired officials including several former heads of nuclear power plants, have declared that the country’s nuclear energy sector is in a critical state and that there is a danger of “another Chernobyl.”

 “A dire situation is taking shape in the country’s nuclear energy sector,” association members warn in a letter addressed to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the prime minister and speaker of parliament, and published by local media.

The letter alleges that Energoatom, operator of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, has not had permanent managers working based on the relevant safety permits from nuclear regulators over a space of several months now. This, they say, means that “legally, no one is responsible for the safety of nuclear power plants.”

“Is it really the case that Chernobyl was not enough for us, and we are trying to repeat it again?” the appeal urges.

The letter also warns that Energoatom faces a critical shortage of financial resources necessary to ensuring the safe operation of plants and the procurement of fuel, and asks authorities if they understand what a forced shutdown of the country’s nuclear power plants could lead to (Ukraine depends on its nuclear power plants for about half of all the electricity generated in the country).

Complaining about what they say are ongoing efforts to have individuals with no knowledge of nuclear energy placed in senior positions at Energoatom, the retired nuclear industry workers ask whether authorities “realize that all of this is a gross violation of the international nuclear safety regime.”

Ultimately, the association says they are “not asking” nor urging, “but insisting” that authorities “stop the practice of [running Energoatom by] acting heads, stop the financial discrimination of Energoatom, and prevent the country from sliding toward another Chernobyl!”

The appeal was written by senior former industry officials, including Vladimir Bronnikov, former director of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Vladimir Korovkin, former director of the Rivne nuclear plant, and Nikolai Shteynberg, former chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants

The Ukrainian nuclear power industry operates four power plants and 15 reactors, and has the seventh-largest nuclear power-generating capacity in the world. Starting in the mid-2010s, Ukraine began turning away from Russia’s Rosatom to US nuclear power company Westinghouse for its nuclear fuel rods. However, observers have expressed concerns over the safety of the US equipment, including amid reports that its nuclear fuel rods literally didn’t initially fit into Ukraine’s Soviet-era reactors.

In popular consciousness, Ukraine’s nuclear power sector is probably most commonly associated with the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, which took place on the night of April 26, 1986. The disaster was the result of an experiment simulating a power outage carried out by deputy chief-engineer Anatoly Dyatlov. The test saw the blatant violation of numerous safety regulations, with Dyatlov ordering the shutdown of multiple computerized and manual safety systems to proceed with the test. Ultimately, the ‘experiment’ led to an uncontrolled reaction and steam explosion, followed by a graphite fire. 54 people died in the disaster’s immediate aftermath and cleanup operation, with 4,000 more perishing from cancers and other illnesses in the two decades that followed, according to World Health Organization figures. The disaster also contaminated some 50,000 square kilometers of land across northern Ukraine, and up to 20 percent of the total land area of neighbouring Belarus.

Over three decades on, the fallout from Chernobyl continues to cause problems for Ukraine and its neighbours. This week, Ukraine’s emergency services reported that out of control fires in the forests of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone had spread to cover at least 35 hectares of territory, leading to a massive spike in local radiation levels.

April 11, 2020 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

With coronavirus problem, Hinkley Point C nuclear project should be paused

Nuclear Free Local Authorities,( NFLA) 9th April 2020, A group of anti-nuclear Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) remain highly alarmed that construction at the Hinkley Point C proposed new nuclear power station site is continuing, despite the extensive public lockdown and social distancing rules brought in across the UK.
These groups call for construction at Hinkley Point C to be reduced to control and maintenance operations only
until the Covid-19 public health emergency is under full control. This repeated call comes from the NGOs and NFLA following intensive lobbying of the UK Government, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Somerset local authorities responsible for the Hinkley Point C site by many of these groups, including the local Stop Hinkley group.
It follows early photos from the site showing a crowded staff canteen and a lack of social distancing at bus queues and at entry and exit points.
NGO representatives and the NFLA have actively raised their concerns in meetings with senior officials of the UK Government and the Office for Nuclear Regulation, as well as with the UK Government Office for Nuclear Development. The StopHinkley group have also been in liaison with the local authority. A  detailed letter was sent by the NGO Co-Chairs of the BEIS NGO Forum, the ONR NGO Forum and the NFLA on the 31st March when the photographs were first made public.
The NGOs and NFLA welcome the efforts made by EDF Energy and the ONR to reduce the staffing on the site from over 4,500 to just under 2,000, and suggestions this will further reduce to around 1,000.
There have been improved efforts as well to enforce social distancing, though it remains to be seen if earlier poor practice in this area on and around the site could lead to increased infection rates in North Somerset and areas where the workforce originate from, such as South Wales and the Bristol area.https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/joint-statement-concerned-anti-nuclear-ngos-uk-ireland-nuclear-free-local-authorities-ongoing-construction-work-hinkley-point/

April 11, 2020 Posted by | health, safety, UK | Leave a comment

Sellafield nuclear construction stalled – paus in construction extended to April 27

April 11, 2020 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Ukrainian firefighters continue to struggle with Chernobyl are fires, amid radiation fears

April 11, 2020 Posted by | incidents, Ukraine | Leave a comment

New START treaty must be extended, a U.S. – Russia nuclear arms race an intolerable threat to the whole world

Extend New START — The World Can’t Afford a U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Race Too, JUST SECURITY, by Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos, April 10, 2020  The unrelenting and rapid spread of the novel coronavirus underscores the cost of neglect and indecision by the Trump administration in the face of serious threats to U.S. and global security. This reckless abandonment of leadership also characterizes America’s response to other transnational challenges, including the potential for conflict on the European continent and the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

For example, The Guardian reported on April 5 that the Trump administration may withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty this fall. The treaty allows for short-notice, unarmed, observation flights over the territory of treaty parties to collect data on military forces and activities, and is staunchly supported by U.S allies. Nothing screams the U.S. absence in a world starving for leadership during a pandemic than moving forward with plans to withdraw from a treaty that continues to benefit U.S. and European security and that our allies want us to continue to support.

In addition, and even more consequentially, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which was signed a decade ago this week, expires in just 10 months. New START is the only remaining arms control agreement limiting the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. However, as the novel coronavirus emerged earlier this year, the administration continued to stiff-arm Russian overtures to prolong the life of the agreement by five years, as permitted by the accord. Instead, the administration has pursued the idea of striking an entirely new, trilateral arms control agreement that would include China in addition to Russia.

The chances of successfully negotiating such a new, complex deal were already slim before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, in the midst of what clearly will be an extended crisis, the odds are nigh nonexistent……

Extending New START will maintain a cap on the Russian nuclear arsenal and is a necessary condition for follow-on talks with Russia and new negotiations with China. As the world girds for a long fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the preservation of New START represents the best immediate option that Trump has to reduce the risks of instability and insecurity posed by the still-bloated and dangerous U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. https://www.justsecurity.org/69613/extend-new-start-the-world-cant-afford-a-u-s-russia-nuclear-arms-race-too/

April 11, 2020 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Microbes in nuclear fuel ponds slow down the decommissioning process

April 11, 2020 Posted by | decommission reactor, Reference, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) call for more stringent safety measures, and the closure of EDF’s old nuclear reactors

April 11, 2020 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Call to stop construction at Hinkley C nuclear project, due to coronavirus risk

Allan Jeffrey of Stop Hinkley talks to the Extinction Rebellion Radio Show.  Rebel Radio 7th April 2020
https://www.mixcloud.com/XR_RebelRadio/rebel-despatches-hinkley-point-07042020/

BBC Points West 8th April 2020, Bus drivers carrying workers to Hinkley Point C construction site are
worried their lives are being put at risk. Every day a fleet of vehicles drops of and picks up hundreds of staff. The bus company says its putting in screens to protect the drivers, but work hasn’t been complete yet.

Bus drivers are calling for construction to stop. For the safety of everybody it makes more sense to close the site down. They are showing no regard for human life and potentially putting everyone in a situation where people
could die. Drivers are expressing their concern on social media and sending pictures which seems to show lack of social distancing. There are concerns too about the movement of workers who come from outside the area.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000h59p/points-west-late-news-08042020

April 11, 2020 Posted by | health, UK | Leave a comment

Sweden’s wind power on the way to putting nuclear out of business

Giant Wind Park Starting Up Is Another Blow to Nuclear Industry

A surge in renewable energy output in the Nordic region has sent power prices below the level where some nuclear plants are profitable. Bloomberg Green, By Lars Paulsson April 8, 2020, Sweden’s biggest wind farm began producing power this month, and the region’s nuclear reactors are feeling the heat.Vasa Vind AB’s Askalen started commercial output on April 1, increasing supplies in a market already bloated by a massive surplus of water for power generation. A day later, two units at Vattenfall AB’s Forsmark nuclear plant north of Stockholm curbed output by about 50%. Two reactors at the utility’s Ringhals plant are halted because of low power prices.

While there’s no direct link between those events, it’s the latest sign of how renewable energy is crowding out traditional power sources across Europe. The 288-megawatt facility in northern Sweden will boost the nation’s wind output further, after a 50% jump in the first quarter from a year earlier because of a very breezy winter.

“This could mean more frequent periods with rock bottom power prices, forcing conventional generators off the grid, especially when windy conditions coincide with high hydro output,” said Oliver Metcalfe, lead analyst for onshore wind research at BloombergNEF in London.

BNEF forecasts that global onshore wind capacity will gain 9% to more than 66 gigawatts this year, a forecast scaled back from the 24% expansion first anticipated.

That will help push out more traditional coal, gas and nuclear plants from the energy system. The German and U.K. coal power industries, among others, have already been decimated by a surge in green power.

Sweden will install more than 4.2 gigawatts of new onshore wind this year and next, according to BNEF. The Nordic region’s biggest economy will rely heavily on wind to replace old nuclear reactors in the future. The Askalen park has installed 80 Vestas A/S’s V136 turbines, which are as high as 112 meters……. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/giant-wind-park-starting-up-is-another-blow-to-nuclear-industry

April 9, 2020 Posted by | renewable, Sweden | Leave a comment

Russia wants to extend New START nuclear weapons treaty, but the U.S. has not revealed its plans

April 9, 2020 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Bosnia might need international arbitration over Croatia’s nuclear waste dump plan near the border

April 9, 2020 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international, wastes | Leave a comment

Russia evacuates some employees from Bangladesh nuclear site

Rosatom evacuates some employees from Bangladesh nuclear site, https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsrosatom-evaucates-some-employees-from-bangladesh-nuclear-site-7864853  8 April 2020   Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has repatriated 178 employees from the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction site in Bangladesh.Rosatom had to obtain government permission to evacuate its employees. Russia temporarily suspended all international flights on 3 April in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The first 178 employees arrived on a flight from Dhaka, which landed at the Nizhny Novgorod international airport in Russia on Monday.

Almost all of the workers were from Rosatom’s Engineering Division or were subcontractors working at the Rooppur site, where Rosatom is building two VVER-1200 reactors.

Rosatom said passengers on the flight would be tested for Covid-19, and will need to spend two weeks in isolation, under medical supervision.

More than 4000 people are involved in the construction of Rooppur NPP, so the temporary relocation of 178 employees will not affect the project schedule, Rosatom said.

Rosatom said it is taking steps to combat the spread of Covid-19 by monitoring employee temperatures at various locations on-site, issuing masks to workers and increasing disinfection of all office space.

Rooppur 1 is currently scheduled to start operating 2023, followed by Rooppur 2 a year later.

April 9, 2020 Posted by | health, Russia | Leave a comment

Russia gambles on safety and cost, in extending life of fast breeder reactor

One of Russia’s fast neutron reactors granted a runtime extension https://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/2020-04-one-of-russias-fast-neutron-reactors-granted-a-runtime-extension

Russia’s nuclear regulator has agreed to extend the operational lifetime of 39-year-old experimental reactor as part of a wide-ranging modernization program at the Beloyarsk nuclear plan.   April 8, 2020 by Charles Digges

The reactor, a BN-600, is a powerful sodium-cooled fast-breeder and its continued operation marks a step by Russia toward developing a closed nuclear fuel cycle, a subject of concern among some environmentalists and nonproliferation experts.

Fast breeder reactors form the backbone of Russia’s “proryv” or “breakthrough” program, which aims to develop reactors that do not produce nuclear waste. In simple terms, these breeders are theoretically designed to burn the spent nuclear fuel they produce, thus closing the nuclear fuel cycle and creating nearly limitless supplies of energy.

But the technology has been hard to perfect. Russia is alone among nuclear nations in actually running fast-breeders with any success. Yet they have still not been able to close the nuclear fuel cycle entirely.

Under the new order, the BN-600 reactor, which began operations in 1981, would continue to function until 2025, at which point the Beloyarsk plant’s operators say it will be evaluated for yet another extension that would see it run until 2040.

The Beloyarsk plant is the site of another fast-breeder reactor, the BN-800, which began commercial operations 2016 after several long delays. The plant also hosts two AMB supercritical water reactors, one of which ceased operations in 1983, the other in 1990.

At the moment, technicians at the plant have been isolated on site to prevent their exposure to the coronavirus, which has driven most of the world’s population indoors and shuttered much of the international economy.

But Rosenergoatom, Russia’s nuclear utility still maintains high hopes for the safety and modernization plan, of which the BN-600’s runtime extension is a part. So far, the modernization plan, which began in 2009 has included the installation of a reactor emergency protection system, an emergency dampening system using an air heat exchanger and a back-up reactor control panel.

In addition, a large amount of work has been carried out on the inspection and replacement of equipment, including the replacement of the reactor’s steam generators.

But many environmental groups, Bellona among them, consider reactor runtime extensions to be worrisome territory. As the world’s nuclear reactor fleet begins to age, runtime extensions throughout the world have become routine business.

Yet because commercial power-producing nuclear reactors have only been around for a little more than four decades, the industry can’t make safe bets on their behavior over longer periods of time than that.

In particular, data on how reactor cores – which are largely irreplaceable – age over time is extremely scarce. While certain characteristics of core aging can be simulated in test reactors, such simulations can’t take all variables into account.

Individual national regulatory bodies also set the criteria for whether or not reactors are granted runtime extensions – meaning that what Japan or France consider to be safe grounds for an extension might differ from what Russia or the United States deem safe.

But as the history of Chernobyl and Fukushima show, the fallout from nuclear disasters doesn’t respect international boundaries.

However, because nuclear reactors typically cost billions of dollars to build, there is less incentive to construct new ones to replace the old. But as Chernobyl and Fukushima also showed, such decisions could cost more than the short-term savings they provide.

 

April 9, 2020 Posted by | reprocessing, Russia | Leave a comment

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