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Finland’s Olkiluoto 3 repairs could take several months – expert

CARL-EMIL WICKSTRÖM, Helsinki, 10 Nov 2022, (Montel) Fixing the cracked feedwater pumps at Finnish nuclear reactor Olkiluoto 3 (1.6 GW) could take several months if the parts need to be manufactured, nuclear expert Juhani Hyvarinen told Montel on Thursday………………

The manufacturing of new impellers would take at least a few months. But changing them does not take long, a few days or maximum a few weeks, including testing.”

The Olkiluoto 3 reactor has been in test production since March but was stopped last month after cracks were found in feedwater pump impellers.

Operator TVO is investigating the issue but has not yet provided estimates of how long the repairs will take or details on part replacements……………………………………….

Risk of further issues?
The reactor’s launch is 13 years beyond schedule already and so the turbine had been idle since being installed over a decade ago.

The risk of further complications remained until the project was complete, said Hyvarinen.

“So far, the common denominator with the issues has been that the turbine facility is a prototype, it is not exactly like the ones used in Germany for decades,” he said…………..

However, the issue may be how the reactor was run, he said, pointing to the frequent ramp ups and down during the commissioning phase.

“Ramping up and down”
“The pumps are not really designed for that and the manufacturer might not have considered there would be so much ramping up and down,” Hyvarinen said.

“The initial problems were on the reactor’s side before moving to the turbine, he noted. “There is a wave of issues from inside of the facility towards the outside”, indicating that if any new issues arose, they would likely be linked to electrical equipment such as generators, he added. https://www.montelnews.com/news/1365685/ol3-repairs-could-take-several-months–expert

November 11, 2022 Posted by | Finland, safety | Leave a comment

‘Clear case for inquiry into treatment of men in Britain’s nuclear test programme’

 Mirror 10th Nov 2022, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/clear-case-inquiry-treatment-men-28463111

These brave men were exposed to levels of radiation subsequently linked to higher-than-average rates of cancer and birth defects

There is now a clear case for a public inquiry into the scandalous treatment of the men who took part Britain’s Cold War nuclear test programme.

Throughout our long campaign to win them justice, the Ministry of Defence has sought to confuse the issue and obstruct any inquiries.

These brave men were exposed to levels of radiation subsequently linked to higher-than-average rates of cancer and birth defects.

They have received no recognition, no medals and no compensation.

The MoD allegedly knew full well the dangers and sought to cover them up.

Nuclear test vet heroes denied truth as government ‘committed crimes against own servicemen’

Some documents which would reveal the truth have been withdrawn from the public record. Medical records have reportedly been falsified, withheld or destroyed.

An inquiry must examine not just the test programme but also the culture of secrecy which has added to families’ distress.

The poppy to be worn by Rishi Sunak at the Cenotaph this weekend is meant to be tribute to those who served the nation. If he really wants to support military personnel past and present he will act now

November 11, 2022 Posted by | health, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

US prolonging Ukraine conflict for profit: Russian envoy

Press TV, 09 November 2022 ,

The Russian ambassador to Washington says the United States has prolonged the war in Ukraine to profit from its sales of military equipment and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to European countries.

“The White House cannot escape responsibility for prolonging the conflict and killing innocent people. However, the United States continues with its maniacal persistence to adhere to the tactics of war of attrition by exhausting everyone — Ukrainians, Russians, Europeans as well as ordinary Americans,” Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with Sputnik that was published on Wednesday.

“There are several reasons for this, one of them being the presence of economic interest. The desire to ‘skim the cream’ through the mass sale of military equipment and LNG supplies: only business, nothing personal,” Antonov added……………

The ambassador cited “the macroeconomic course” of Western countries as the root cause of most of the current world problems, while insisting that the Kiev government was a puppet state controlled by a more powerful government or organization.

“The decision-making center on the fate of Ukraine is located somewhere, but not in Kiev. Everyone could see this in March, when one shout from Washington was enough for the [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky regime to nullify all the agreements reached during intensive contacts between the two countries,” he said……..  https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/11/09/692403/US-prolonging-Ukraine-conflict-for-profit-Russian-envoy

November 11, 2022 Posted by | Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

German Parliament advised not to extend nuclear power beyond springtime 2023

Yesterday Claudia Kemfert, Professor of Energy Economics and Energy Policy
at the German Institute for Economic Research delivered an expert statement
to the German Parliament on why it is neither necessary, nor economical,
nor advisable, to extend German nuclear power beyond next spring. The focus
has to be squarely on renewables.

 Radiation Free Lakeland 10th Nov 2022

November 11, 2022 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | Leave a comment

Welsh Affairs Committee to hear from proponents of nuclear power, on funding plans for Sizewell C project

On 16th Nov, the Welsh Affairs Committee will quiz experts on whether
funding models are adequate to meet the UK Government’s targets to
generate 24GW of nuclear power by 2050. MPs will hear from Aviva Investors,
Sizewell C and the Nuclear Industry Association on the financing of new
nuclear projects covering the Regulated Asset Base model of funding, green
taxonomy and private investment.

They will also be discussing the
importance of the UK Government’s commitment to the nuclear sector and
public funding. The evidence session comes amid reports that the UK
Government is hoping to finalise a deal shortly on the funding of the
Sizewell C nuclear power plant.

 Welsh Affairs Select Committee 10th Nov 2022

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/162/welsh-affairs-committee/news/174284/experts-questioned-on-the-financing-of-new-nuclear-projects/

November 11, 2022 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

TODAY. The Times got it right about 5 reasons for hope on climate action, but very wrong on one

I wonder why journalists do this? Presumably, this Times writer is not ignorant, not stupid. And yet, slipped in amongst some genuine factors about clean energy sources and energy efficiency, – we come to his uncritical admiration for nuclear fusion and small nuclear reactors.

The writer does mention the “prototype nuclear fusion” planned for 2040. A fat lot of good that would be – we need action now – not promises for the nebulous far-off future!

As always – I am stunned at the corporate journalists’ complacency – in trotting out the military-industrial-corporate-government line on matters nuclear.

The connection here is that small nuclear reactors have only one genuine use – to assist and promote the nuclear weapons industry


Six reasons to be cheerful about the climate’s future. Times 9th Nov 2022

Growth in emissions is slowing, clean energy is cheaper and electric cars are denting oil, Adam
Vaughan writes.

Between warnings from the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt
that the world is on a “highway to climate hell” and “the planet has
become a world of suffering”, it can be easy to think that no absolutely
no progress has been made on curbing global warming.

It is certainly true
that the world is falling wildly short of its 1.5C climate goal target. But
it is simultaneously true that great strides are being made in the world of
science, business and technology, as the following six examples show.

(1) Global carbon emissions growth has slowed; The emissions from humanity’s
cars, factories and power stations are still going up, when scientists say
they need to have fallen 45 per cent by the end of this decade if the world
is to rein in warming to 1.5C. The silver lining is there are signs that
emissions are hitting a plateau.

(2) Renewable energy is rapidly getting
cheaper. Most authorities, including the International Energy Agency (IEA)
and leading scientists, think that wind and solar power will be the two key
technologies for decarbonising the world’s electricity supplies. Between
2010 and 2019, the costs for solar energy fell by 85 per cent. Wind energy
fell costs fell by 55 per cent. Investment is pouring into renewable energy
at a record rate, with $226 billion invested in the first half of 2022
according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which tracks clean energy
spending.

Global energy demand growth will now “almost entirely be met by
renewables, the IEA said recently. In the UK, the cost of offshore wind and
solar has fallen by 80 to 90 per cent over the past decade. “Wind and
solar are now the cheapest way to generate electricity in most of the world
and, in the UK, we get as much electricity from renewables as we do from
gas,” said Evans. In July, five new offshore wind farms due online from
2026 won a government auction to deliver power to consumers at £37.35 per
megawatt hour, a fraction of the cost of gas-fired power plants now.

(3) High gas prices have made cutting emissions cheaper. The UK’s Climate
Change Committee, an independent body which advises the government on how
to meet its carbon targets, said in June that soaring gas prices meant that
meeting net zero would flip from a 0.5 per cent cost to GDP by 2035, to a
0.5 per cent saving by 2035.

(4) Technology can be seen as a breath of
fresh air. Energy efficiency improvements have delivered huge gains, with
better appliances and LED bulbs saving the average UK household £290 a year
between 2008 and 2017. Typical household energy bills today would have been
£40 a year lower if David Cameron hadn’t cut insulation programmes in 2013.


(5) Other countries are passing climate laws: President Biden came to Cop26
in Glasgow with a promise of halving his country’s emissions by 2030, but
no domestic plan to deliver the cuts. This time John Kerry, his special
climate envoy, can boast that America recently passed legislation that
commits the country to spending £318 billion on clean energy. The package,
which largely consists of incentives for key technologies such as wind and
solar power, electric cars and hydrogen, is expected to deliver a 40 per
cent emissions cut by 2030, not far off Biden’s target.

(6) Innovative new
technology is gaining traction: Previously far-off ideas are nearing
commercial reality, and the UK is pioneering many of them. The UK is
planning to build the world’s first prototype nuclear fusion power station
by 2040. A new generation of new nuclear power stations backed by
Rolls-Royce, much smaller and hopefully easier to build than conventional
ones, are working their way through the UK’s nuclear regulatory approval
process. Giant electrolysers are being built next to an offshore wind farm
in northeast England to split water and produce a clean supply of hydrogen.
The UK government is even taking seriously the prospect of space-based
solar power, where solar panels in Earth’s orbit beam a steady stream of
electricity back to the planet’s surface.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/six-reasons-to-be-cheerful-about-the-climate-s-future-9s0wgddkq

November 9, 2022 Posted by | climate change, UK | Leave a comment

Cracks found in feedwater pumps at Finland’s OL3 nuclear plant

by Kerry Hebden, 9 Nov 22

CRACKS of a few centimetres have been identified in all four of the feedwater pumps of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR nuclear power plant in Finland, less than a year after the facility attained first criticality. 

Owned and operated by TVO, the Olkiluoto plant consists of two boiling water reactors, each producing 890 MW of electricity, and a third EPR (Evolutionary Power Reactor), dubbed Unit 3 or OL3. The EPR is a “Generation III+” nuclear reactor, “that benefits from significant technological advances in nuclear and occupational safety”, said Framatome (formerly known as Avera NP), the plant’s main contractor. 

Unit 3 started construction in 2005, however it only began generating electricity in March 2022 after construction was repeatedly delayed. It was expected to begin commercial operation in September, but after the unit’s boron pumps started unexpectedly during a routine shutdown in April, and following the discovery of material in the turbine’s steam reheater that had detached from the steam guide plates in May, the firm pushed back the start date to December.  

Now though, the further damage that has been observed in the inner parts of the feedwater pumps of the OL3 turbine plant, could delay progress further.  

The large feedwater pumps are used to pump water from the feedwater tank into the steam generators. TVO said the cracks detected in the impellers of the pumps have no impact on nuclear safety, but so far the cause of the damage, which is currently being investigated in several different laboratories, has yet to be determined. …………………………….

One of Finland’s two nuclear power plants, the other being the VVER Loviisa plant, the Olkiluoto facility has been plagued by issues for years. Built by Areva NP for a fixed price of €3bn (US$3bn), the firm estimated in 2012 that the full cost of building the OL3 reactor would amount to around €8.5bn due to the frequent setbacks encountered during its construction.  

The delays led to a bitter dispute between Areva and TVO, with each seeking compensation from the other through the International Court of Arbitration – a scenario which resulted in Areva paying hundreds of millions of euros in compensation to TVO. 

Meanwhile the facility’s other reactors have also experienced problems. In July, OL1 was also temporarily shut down due to damaged fuel elements, and in December 2020, the OL2 reactor automatically shut down when a valve failure caused hot water to reach filters in the reactor’s cleaning system. “The plant’s safety systems functioned as planned, and the disturbance did not pose a danger to people or the environment,” TVO said in a statement at the time. 

TVO did have plans to build a fourth unit at the Olkiluoto facility, and in 2008 submitted an environmental impact assessment in preparation of applying for a construction license. However delays to OL3 has led the company to put its plans on hold. https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/cracks-found-in-feedwater-pumps-at-finland-s-ol3-nuclear-plant/

November 9, 2022 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

Russia, U.S. Eye Nuclear Arms Reduction Talks in Coming Weeks – Kommersant

 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/11/08/russia-us-eye-nuclear-arms-reduction-talks-in-coming-weeks-kommersant-a79313 9 Nov 22, Russia and the United States are discussing resuming nuclear arms reduction negotiations in the coming weeks in the first face-to-face contact since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday, citing three unnamed sources.

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) talks could take place in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, instead of their traditional venue of Geneva, in late November or early December, Kommersant reported.

The report follows weeks of concern over a possible Russian nuclear escalation in Ukraine fueled by President Vladimir Putin’s thinly veiled threats. Moscow later tamped down its rhetoric following reported talks with U.S. officials.

The last remaining arms reduction pact between the Cold War foes, New START is one of the few areas where Moscow and Washington have said they were open to cooperation despite tensions over the invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions.

According to Kommersant, Washington is expected to raise the resumption of on-site inspections under New START.

Moscow formally suspended physical inspections by the U.S. in August 2022 after President Joe Biden called on Russia and China to demonstrate their commitment to limiting nuclear weapons. 

Russia’s Foreign Ministry indicated at the time that Western sanctions, visa restrictions and airspace closures over the war in Ukraine made it difficult for Moscow to carry out inspections on U.S. soil.

According to Kommersant, Russia and the U.S. have continued to hold remote discussions on New START in lieu of in-person talks.

At one of these remote talks last month, Kommersant reported that Moscow accused Washington of skirting the treaty’s terms by withholding weapons and sites that Russia suspects are still nuclear-capable despite their announced conversions and reclassifications.

Moscow and Washington last year extended New START, which caps the number of deployable nuclear warheads at 1,550, until Feb. 5, 2026.

November 9, 2022 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA | Leave a comment

Ever the optimists… Rolls-Royce chooses four sites for reactor that’s yet to be built

 https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/ever-the-optimistsrolls-royce-chooses-four-sites-for-reactor-thats-yet-to-be-built/ 9 Nov 22, Rolls Royce SMR, the company behind the development of so-called Small Modular Reactors, has today announced its ambitious plans to deploy new reactors at four sites in England and North Wales by the early 2030’s, but there is a fly in the ointment – it is a reactor that has yet to be built.

Rolls-Royce has been visiting sites in recent months and number-crunching existing data to identify their preferred locations for any future SMRs, and Wylfa and Trawsfynydd in North Wales; Sellafield in West Cumbria; and Oldbury in Gloucestershire have been selected based on ‘existing geotechnical data, adequate grid connection and because each site is large enough to deploy multiple SMRs’.

But the announcement leapfrogs several crucial challenges Roll-Royce will first need to overcome before their SMR vision becomes reality.

Councillor David Blackburn, Chair of the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities, explained: “Rolls-Royce may sound optimistic, but the history of British civil nuclear power is littered with projects delivered late, over budget, whilst compromising safety, or with sub-standard power output. And the SMR concept has its own set of problems.

“For one the design has not even received regulatory approval from the Office of Nuclear Regulation, and it may not, and this is a process expected to take until at least mid-2024.

“It is also conceived to be prefabricated and assembled on site, but factories still have to be built to fabricate the parts; the process of fabrication has to be mastered; all the necessary approvals and permits will have to secured to build on each site, possibly in the teeth of significant public opposition; and the assembly of pre-fabricated reactors on site is still not a perfected art – just think of the challenge of building an IKEA furniture set and multiply that a million fold.”

The NFLA also has real concerns about the radioactive waste future SMRs will bring, with a recent study by the University of Stanford and British Columbia identifying that fission in these smaller reactor types could produce between two and thirty times as much radioactive waste as that produced by a ‘conventional’ larger reactor per unit of electricity generated.[1]

Added Councillor Blackburn: “That is an awful lot of radioactive waste to add to the stockpile Britain has already accumulated from almost seventy years of civil nuclear power generation; toxic waste that must be managed safely at vast public expense and for which a long-term totally safe storage solution has yet to be found. Do we really want to produce more when we can generate our electricity safely and more cheaply using renewables?”

November 9, 2022 Posted by | Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, UK | Leave a comment

Austria holds the anti-nuclear line

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/austria-to-continue-anti-nuclear-stance-against-its-neighbours/ 9 Nov 22, Austria, described as “Europe’s most fervent anti-nuclear country,” is now planning protests and blockades in opposition to major nuclear build-out plans in neighboring Czech Republic that would threaten the health and safety of Austrian citizens.

Austria is a nuclear-free country and is currently suing the European Commission for including nuclear power under its so-called “green” taxonomy, allowing nuclear power to benefit from funding that should be going exclusively to truly green energy such as renewables. The law suit is being led by Austrian environment minister Leonore Gewessler, (pictured) who is a member of the Green Party.

The Czech Republic has six reactors in current operation but is chasing after the small modular reactor phantom. It is also planning to build two new full size reactors at Temelin, just 100 kilometers from Linz, Austria’s third largest city. “We will have to take to the streets again to raise awareness and make a difference,” said the mayor of one Austrian village close to the Czech border.

November 9, 2022 Posted by | EUROPE, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Finland to continue relying on Russia for nuclear fuel

Fortum set to rely on Russian nuclear fuel until 2030, Reuters, 09 NOVEMBER 2022,

THE USE of Russian nuclear fuel is set to continue for at least a few more years at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Fortum, report STT and YLE.

The Finnish majority state-owned energy company has for the past roughly 15 year fuelled the nuclear power plant with uranium acquired from TVEL, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.

Matti Kattainen, the director of nuclear power at Fortum, stated to STT that the company is operating in line with its supplier contract, declining to speculate on whether and when it could stop the use of Russian fuel. The company has previously stated that it will invite bids from supplier candidates once its operating licences, as well as the current supplier contract, come up for renewal in 2027 and 2030……………

Fortum in March submitted an application for a licence to continue operating the plant until 2050.

Juhani Hyvärinen, a professor of nuclear technology at LUT University, viewed that Fortum is in a difficult position due to the relatively low number of potential suppliers. He added on a general level that the company would likely require a year or two after signing a supplier contract to take the first delivery.

Russian nuclear fuel has accounted for roughly 20–30 per cent of the global market, he estimated in an interview with YLE. The European Commission has reported that Soviet or Russian-made reactors that are fully reliant on Russian fuel remain in use in five countries across the EU: Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Hyvärinen stated to both news outlets that there are no insurmountable technical obstacles to replacing the fuel. The Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant, for example, previously ran on fuel from British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL)……

Nuclear fuel is presently not on the sanctions list of the European Union. The possibility of bringing it within the scope of sanctions has reportedly been discussed, but the likelihood of doing so in the midst of the energy crisis appears low. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs told YLE that adding nuclear fuel to the list would require a unanimous decision by the 27-country bloc but declined to comment on the discussions.

Also Hyvärinen refrained from commenting on what he said is a political decision……….

Use of Russia nuclear fuel became a topic of discussion in Finland on Saturday, following the emergence of news reports about police officers overseeing the loading of what turned out to be Russian nuclear fuel onto an aircraft bound for Bratislava, Slovakia, at Lappeenranta Airport………. https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/cop27-nuclear-power-industry-vies-role-decarbonizing-planet-2022-11-09/

November 9, 2022 Posted by | Finland, Uranium | Leave a comment

France electricity prices surge past €1,000/MWh as more nuclear reactors close for winter

Wholesale electricity prices in France for the middle of winter surged
above €1,000/MWh ($A1,540/MWh) after the operator of the world’s biggest
nuclear fleet revealed more problems, and more outages at its reactors.

The surge in prices for January delivery came after the utility EdF reduced its
forecast output for the fourth time this year, on this occasion due to
extended outages at four reactors and maintenance delays at others caused
by the waves of strikes that have affected the nation this autumn. It also
dramatically reversed weeks of falling spot and futures prices as gas
stocks improved and the weather remained wild.

But as analysts noted in the height of summer, nuclear problems pose just as big a threat to the EU grid
as the gas problems.

Renew Economy 8th Nov 2022

November 9, 2022 Posted by | business and costs, France | Leave a comment

‘It can’t go on like this’: Power restored to Ukrainian nuclear plant but situation untenable, says IAEA

External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) two days after it
experienced a complete blackout amid Russian shelling, the UN’s
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday. Both of the
plant’s external power lines, a 750kV line and a 330kV back-up line, were
repaired on Friday, re-establishing power to the plant’s six reactors by
10pm.

The reactors have been shut down, although reactors 5 and 6 are in
semi-hot shutdown to provide steam to the site, and arrangements are being
made to further heat-up units 5 and 6 to achieve a “hot shutdown”
state. The other four units in Europe’s biggest nuclear plant remain in
cold shutdown. Ukrainian staff have operated the plant under Russian
occupation since March. The IAEA has had four experts embedded among the
Ukrainian staff since 5 September. It rotated a new team in on Thursday.


Last week, shelling damaged the last two high-voltage lines
connecting ZNPP to the country’s grid, putting it in full blackout mode and
necessitating the activation of all 20 of its diesel back-up generators.
The IAEA said the lines were damaged some 50-60 kilometres from the plant
in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

“The repeated power outages all too clearly demonstrate the extremely serious nuclear safety and security
situation this major nuclear power plant is facing,” said IAEA director
general Rafael Mariano Grossi. He continued: “So far, the brave staff of
the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant have always managed to maintain the
safe operation of the six units. But it can’t go on like this. I have
repeatedly called for the urgent establishment of a nuclear safety and
security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to
prevent a nuclear accident. We can’t afford to lose any more time. We must
act before it is too late.”

Global Construction Review 7th Nov 2022

https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/it-cant-go-on-like-this-power-restored-to-ukrainian-nuclear-plant-but-situation-untenable-says-iaea/

November 9, 2022 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

A disaster waiting to happen’: British nuclear-armed sub resurfaces after fire onboard

  https://cnduk.org/a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-british-nuclear-armed-sub-resurfaces-after-fire-onboard/?fbclid=IwAR3t-FcdURBZY22Nmf7daG7zZm1F4OTGwxQEQ8hvq0X6RMAt6N9X6OdUgsE A Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine had to abandon its mission and resurface, after a fire broke out onboard following an electrical fault. 

The Ministry of Defence said the incident on HMS Victorious happened six weeks ago. The blaze broke out in an electrical component in one of the submarine’s systems but carbon dioxide injectors built into the module extinguished it. However, all crew were scrambled to tackle the fire and look for others and the sub’s commander had to surface the vessel in the North Atlantic. After the fire was contained, Victorious returned to port at Faslane in Scotland.

Victorious is one of Britain’s four Vanguard-class nuclear-armed submarines with one vessel constantly on patrol ready to launch a nuclear strike. The MoD said the sub wasn’t on patrol during the time of the fire and was en route to the US for wargames. 

News of the incident comes after it was revealed in September that another vessel, HMS Vanguard, would remain in dry-dock for the foreseeable future after more technical issues were discovered.  Vanguard has been in deep maintenance since 2015 at a cost of £500 million. The delay has compounded problems for the Royal Navy – whose so-called “Continuous at-Sea Deterrence” is reportedly operating at half capacity. 

Meanwhile, a whistleblower told STV that staff working at Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Coulport – the base where Britain’s nuclear weapons are stored – had to be evacuated due to a “serious radiation breach.”

CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The revelations about HMS Victorious further underline the risks that these weapons present – a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that the sub had to surface and expose itself illustrates both how fallible the technology is and how baseless the myth of ‘invisibility’. The news from Coulport reinforces these concerns. Meanwhile, billions of pounds are being pumped into maintaining these vessels and warheads and billions more in developing news ones. It’s time to stop this irresponsible waste before a real tragedy occurs.”

November 9, 2022 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Incident at France’s Civaux nuclear reactor adds to EDFs problems of stress corrosion crackingin nuclear plants

Stress corrosion cracking: Assessing and remedying cracking problem in
nuclear plants. The full extent of stress corrosion cracking at EDF’s
reactors in France has still to be determined. Nonetheless, lower
production as plants are re-examined has come at the worst possible time
for the company.

Electricite de France SA is investigating an incident
during a test at a halted nuclear reactor last week, just as a series of
repairs jeopardize the country’s power-supply security for the coming
winter. The utility had to stop a high-pressure hydraulic test of the
primary circuit of its Civaux 1 reactor on Nov. 2 when steam was released
in a room of the reactor building. The reactor wasn’t loaded with nuclear
fuel, no one was hurt nor contaminated, and no radioactivity has been
detected outside the building, according to EDF.

The impact of the incident, which is unrelated to so-called stress-corrosion cracks that have
undermined the French nuclear giant’s reactor availability, still needs to
be assessed, Regis Clement, EDF’s deputy-head for nuclear production, said
at a news conference in Paris Tuesday.

The corrosion cracks hobbling EDF
reactors this year have put a hole in its finances and made France —
typically an exporter of power to its neighbors — a net importer. That,
combined with Russia’s dwindling gas deliveries, has contributed to a spike
in energy prices across Europe and stoked concerns of shortages in case of
a windless cold snap this winter.

Bloomberg 8th Nov 2022

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/edf-nuclear-reactor-has-test-incident-deepening-supply-concerns-1.1843232

November 9, 2022 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment