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Fukushima Dai-ichi and the Future of Nuclear Power:Applied Lessons from Past Nuclear Reactor Disasters
FridayJune03,201111:30PDT,Vancouver,Canada
CambridgeCri=calMetalsConference,June3-4,2011
ThomasS.Drolet
Worldwidecell:1-828-493-1523
www.droletenergy.com
President:Drolet&AssociatesEnergyServices,Inc.
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TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyConcep:ontoBirth
Concep=onwasinpurescience Thenmedicalapplica=ons Wardrovethenextstageofdevelopment.Developingan
effec=venuclearweaponforuseinWorldWarII.
PostWWII,theUSAGovernment(andotherNa=onStates)decidedtoencouragethedevelopmentofcommercialnuclear
energyforelectricityin1946.
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TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergy
LearningtoWalk
AdmiralH.RickoverwasdesignatedtheheadofateamtodevelopNuclearPoweredsubmarines.ThePWRbecametheearlyTemplatefor
CommercialReactors.
Thefirstcommercialelectricity-genera=ngplantpoweredbynuclearenergywaslocatedinShippingport,Pennsylvaniaandfirstproduced
electricityin1957
Federalnuclearenergyprogramsshi`edtheirfocustodevelopingotherreactortechnologies(BWR,HTGCR,PebbleBedetc).
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ThenuclearpowerindustryintheU.S.,Britain,France,Germany,Japan,Russia,SKoreaandCanadagrewrapidlyinthe1960sandthroughthelate70sviaU=lity
adop=onroutes(mostlyPWR,BWRandPHWRdesigns).
IntheUSA,Wes=nghousedesignedthefirstfullycommercialPWRof250MWeatYankeeRowestar=ngupin1960.
Theboilingwaterreactor(BWR)wasdevelopedbytheArgonneNa=onalLaboratory,andthefirstBWR,Dresden-1of250MWe,designedbyGeneral
Electric(1960),cameonline.
Canadianreactordevelopmentstarteddownquiteadifferenttrack,usingnaturaluraniumfuelandheavywaterasamoderatorandcoolant.Todaytherearesome30PHWRsoftheCANDUtypeinsome8countries(19inCanada).
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergy
OfftoSchool
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Francestartedoutwithagas-graphitedesignsimilartoMagnoxintheUKandthefirstreactorstartedupin1956.Francesubsequentlyseledonthreesuccessive
genera=onsofstandardizedPWRs.(58reactors75%ofgenera=on)
Sovietnuclearpowerplantswentin2differentdirec=ons:
1--boilingwatergraphitechannelreactor(RBMK)beganopera=ngnearLeningrad
in1971.
2--pressurizedwaterreactor(PWR)knownasaVVERwasbuiltin1000MWe
standardizedsize.
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergy
TheSibling sarematuringaswell
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Aroundtheworld,withfewexcep=ons,othercountrieshavechosenlight-waterdesignsfortheirnuclearpowerprograms,sothattoday60%ofthe
worldcapacityisPWRand21%BWR.Todayover400reactorsare
genera=ngelectricity.
Fromthelate1970s(a`erTMI)toabout2002thenuclearpowerindustryintheOECDcountriessufferedsomedeclineandstagna=on.Fewnew
reactorswereordered,thenumbercomingonlinefrommid1980slilemorethanmatchedre=rements.
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyOfftoCollege
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Theshareofnuclearinworldelectricitygenera=onfrommid1980swasfairlyconstantat~14--15%.
A`erTMI--manyreactororderswerecancelled.Theuraniumpricedroppedaccordingly.Oilcompanies,whichhadentered
theuraniumfield,thenbailedoutandtherewasa
consolida=onofuraniumproducers.
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyMaturity
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WorldNuclearEnergyGenera:on(~14%)
NoteTwenty-
oneother
countries
accountfor
another399
billionKWh.(i.e.UK,Sweden,
Belgium,Taiwan,
CzechRepublic,
Switzerland,
Finland,India
etc.
TOTAL31
Countriesoverall
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TheBaseLoadEffect
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ThreeMileIslandMarch28,1979.
TheworstaccidentinU.S.commercialreactorhistoryoccursattheTMInuclearpowersta=onnearHarrisburg,PA.The
accidentiscausedbyacombina=onofmechanicalmalfunc=onandhumanerror.
Anopenpressurereliefvalvepermiedcoolantwatertoescapefromtheprimarysystem,andwastheprincipalmechanicalcauseofthelossofcoolant,par4alfuel
meltdowncrisisthatfollowed..
.
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergy
ThefirstmajorsetbackintheMaturingPhase
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ThreeMileIslandUnit2
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Chernobyl.April26,1986.
AseriesofOperatorerrors,missedcommunica=onsandbadlydesignedRBMKreactorsystemcombinetocauseaviolentsuperheatedsteamexplosionattheChernobylNo.4
nuclearpowerplantabout180milesnorthofKievinthe
formerSovietUnion.
Thereactorhadaninadequatecontainmentbuildingandverylargeamountsofradia=onescape.
TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyTheSecondmajorsetback----Chernobyl,Ukraine,USSR
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ChernobylRBMKPowerPlantSchema:c
RefBook
(Chapter
7)onthe
detailsof
the
Accident
h`p//
www.phy
ast.pi`.e
du/~blc/
book/
chapter7.html
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TheBasicsofWhatHappened
atChernobylUnit4,26April1986
Thetragedywasaresultofacombina=onofdesignflawsthatmadethereactordangerous
tooperateandlapsesinsafetyprocedures.
Theresultwasanaccidentwhichdestroyed
thereactorinafatalreleaseofheat,fireand
steaminamaerofseconds.
TheChernobylreactorswereaspecialdesignusinghighlyenricheduraniuminagraphite
moderatorandaswelearnedfromstudying
theeventtheaccidentcouldonlyhave
happenedwiththistypeofdesign.
ThereactorswerecreatedtoproduceweaponsgradeplutoniumfortheSovietmilitaryforces
alongwithelectricityforcommercialuse.
Theyweredifficulttooperateandrequiredconstantadjustmenttoremainstable.
Theofficerinchargewasanelectricalengineerwhowasnotaspecialistinreactorplants.
Thesequenceofeventswhichcausedtheaccidentoccurredwhenoperatorsbegananengineeringproceduretotestthemain
electricalgenerator,whichwasoutsideofthe
reactorbuilding.
Delaysinstar=ngthetest,andmanagementpressuretomeettheschedule,resultedinseveralcrucialoutcomesthatcombinedto
causetheaccident.
(SourceANSwebsite)PleasealsoseeBernardCohensExcellentbook(Chapter7)attheurlbelowforadetailedandaccurateaccountoftheaccident.
hp://www.phyast.pi.edu/~blc/book/chapter7.html
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ChernobylUnit4EarlyMay1986
Chernobyl-4
reactor after theaccident
(center), its
turbine building(lower left), and
Chenobyl-3(center right).
(Source ANS
website April
2011)
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RussianPowerReactorsinOpera=ontoday
Source
WashingtonPost April
2011
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FesteringFukushima--TheThirdshoetodropTheMatureIndustryhasaHeartAack.IsitFatal?
The 6 unit, 4000 MWe site was in a direct line to the
ravages of an unbelievable 9.0 Earthquake and37 foot Tsunami at the plant-sea interface.
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JapansNuclearEnergyPlants
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BoilingWaterReactorSchema=cs
Text
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GeneralElectricMarkIBWRReactor
Source
Washington PostApril 2011
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StatusofFukushimaReactorSystems
asoflateApril2011
Source John
Williams
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TheMostCri:calImpera:vefortheFuture
NewNuclearReactorsTypesofGenera:onIIIandIV
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FukushimaReactorUnitsStatusasof2May2011
Drolet & Associates Energy Services, Inc. 2011
Unit 1 2 3 4
Power (MWe /MWth) 460/1380 784/2381 784/2381 784/2381
Type of Reactor BWR-3 BWR-4 BWR-4 BWR-4
Status at time of EQ In service auto shutdown In service auto shutdown In service auto shutdown Outage
Core and fuel integrity Damaged Severe damage Damaged No fuel in the Reactor
RPV & RCS integrityRPV temperature
decreasingRPV temperature stable RPV temperature stable Not applicable due to
outage plant statusContainment integrity No information Damage suspected Damage suspected
AC PowerAC power available - powerto instrumentation Lighting
to Central Control Room
AC power available powerto instrumentation Lighting
to Central Control Room
AC power available powerto instrumentation Lighting
to Central Control Room
AC power available
power to instrumentation Lighting to Central Control
Room
Building Severe damage Slight damage Severe damage Severe damage
Water level of RPVAround half of Fuel is
uncovered
Around half of Fuel is
uncovered
Around half of Fuel is
uncovered
Not applicable due to
outage plant status
Pressure of RPV Slowly increasing Stable Stable
CV Pressure Drywell Stable Stable Stable
Water injection to RPV
Injection of freshwater
via mobile electric pump
with off-site power
Injection of freshwater
via mobile electric pump
with off-site power
Injection of freshwater
via mobile electric pump
with off-site power
Water injection to CV No information No information No information
Spent Fuel Pool StatusFresh water injection by
concrete pump truck
Freshwater injection to the
Fuel Pool Cooling Line
Freshwater injection via
Fuel Pool Cooling Line
and Periodic spraying
Fresh water injection by
concrete pump truck
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So,givenallthehistorywehavereviewed,does
NuclearEnergyhaveacommercialfuture?
An=: 1-Notsafeenough
2-Tooexpensive
3-Wastedisposal 4-Financing
5-Loca=on
Pro: 1-Exis=ngPlantsneedforpower
2-Balanceofsupply(KarateKidsyndrome),Coal,NatGas,Renewable
3-TechnologyImprovementsindesign,size,fuelcycle
4-Baseloadeffecttheelectricitycurrencyfutureseenbymany?
5-ClimateChange
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Oil:RunningalmostFlatout
Energy
Prices
Must
Rise
PeakOilProducGon
MayAlreadybe
HereScienceVol.331March
252011,PP
15101511
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CanRenewableEnergyReplaceNuclearinthenext
decade?(sourceNYT-USAFocus)
(NewYorkTimes,March26,2011)
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ShaleGas
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Steppingonthe(Natural)Gas-Democra=cally
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BasicNeedsofNewNuclearintheNewEnergyFuture
Loca=onissuesU=lityFranchisevs.bestoverallloca=on IncreasedSafety,convec=vecooling,backupshutdown
systems
Modularconstruc=on Mul=pleback-upcoolingandemergencypowersupply
systems
Cheapertobuildandcheaperkwe-hropera=onalcosts. Highavailability(baseload,) LongLivedinfrastructure Predictableregula=onandapprovalprocesses WasteDisposalSystemandpoten=allyFuelreprocessing Newfuelcycle?Thorium?,FastBreeders?
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EngineeringandScien=ficAdvancesHaveChanged
earlyNuclearReactorDesigns
Inseismologypar=cularlytsunamiresearch Ingeologicalunderstandingoffaultstructures. Inmetallurgyandreactorconstruc=ontechniques. Indigitalinstrumenta=onandcontrolsystems. Infueldesignandspentfuelhandlinganddry
storage.
Inbackupemergencycoolingsystems INPOTraining Size Loca=on
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TheNeedforaMovetoGen4Nuclear
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BeerNuclearTechnologies
Genera=on4Nuclear(2030) PebbleBed(Chinesetestbed2011) TravellingWave(Gates,2030) CANDU ModularSystems(BabcockandWilcox2020) PassiveCooling(AP1000Today) Thorium,Beryllium/Uranium,MOX Heliumcoolinginplaceofwater. DryCaskStorage Disposal
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Summary:OurNecessarilyMixedEnergySupplySystemFuture
NewAdvancedNuclearSysytems Intermediatepowerfromcoal,shalegas,oilsands,shaleoil
andLNG.
RenewableEnergy EnergyEfficiencyTechnologies Conserva=onTechnologies Theelectriccarforcesincreasedglobalrelianceoncoal,
GeothermalandNuclearEnergy.
MoreinterconnectedTransmissionSystems DistributedGenera=ontheul=mateisaBaery
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WorldWideWebsitesforInforma=on
NHKWorldNews NuclearandIndustrialSafetyAgency(NISA/METI) JapanNuclearEnergySafetyOrganiza=on(JNES) JapanAtomicIndustrialForum(JAIF) JapanNuclearTechnologyIns=tute(JANTI)Organiza=on Interna=onalAtomicEnergyAssocia=on(IAEA) UNScien=ficCommieeontheEffectsofAtomicRadia=on(UNSCEAR) NuclearEngineeringInterna=onal WorldNuclearNews NuclearEnergyIns=tute(NEI) AmericanNuclearSociety(ANS) USNuclearRegulatoryCommission(USNRC) USDOE USEPA(Radia=on) Na=onalCouncilonRadia=onProtec=onandMeasurement(NCRP) Wikipedia-FukushimaIaccident=meline
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NuclearPolicyShi`s Countrieswithpro-nuclearpolicy: -Reactorsopera=onal/underconstruc=onorplanned France58/2 India18/11 Russia32/12China14/54SouthKorea22/14 Japan56/14
(13opera=ngreactorscurrentlynotinservice)
USA105/4 20lifeextensionapplica=ons,15moreontheway Canada19 Taiwan7/2 Countriesthatpreviouslyplannedexpansionthatarereconsidering UK20/4 EDFScheduledtobuild4reactorsatHinkleypoint Poland0 CzechRepublic4/2 Finland4/1 Spain9 Countrieswithmoratoriums(EUstresstes=ngNPP) Italy0(New
construc=ondependsonvoterreferendum,nowpostponed) Switzerland6
(Plannedtorenew3of5plantsonhold) Germany17(7plantsshutdown,delayedlifeextensionplansto2022,NPPphaseoutlikely)
Countrieswithan=-nuclearpolicy Austria,Denmark,Greece,IrelandandPortugal
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