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Recent developments with links to updated WNA Public Information Service Papers. For previous items from Weekly Digest see archive menu.
5 & 12 September 2013
Russian ambitions to build nuclear plants in UK advance
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has signed up Rolls Royce to prepare for submitting an application for UK generic design assessment of its flagship nuclear reactor. Rolls-Royce will undertake engineering and safety assessment work on the VVER technology, and the initiative also brings in Fortum, which operates two early but westernised Russian VVER units in Finland. The new agreement follows a government-level nuclear cooperation agreement and earlier announcements that Rosatom aspired to enter the UK nuclear power market with its advanced 1200 MWe VVER-TOI design.
WNN 5/9/13. UK
China presses ahead with major Pakistan nuclear project
At the end of August contracts were signed in Shanghai for the Karachi Coastal Nuclear Power Project, with two Chinese ACP1000 reactors to be built on turnkey basis by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The main contractor is China Zhongyuan Engineering Co. Ltd. (CZEC), but other Chinese firms which have been building the Chashma reactors in the Punjab are also involved. Construction start is envisaged late 2014. Net capacity is 2117 MWe and cost is put at $9.6 billion. The ACP1000 has French origins but CNNC claims full Chinese intellectual property rights, and these will be the first export units, following about a year behind the first ones at Fuqing 5 & 6 in Fujian province. Pakistan is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but has its power reactors under item-specific international safeguards.
WNN 10/9/13. Pakistan
Cigar Lake mine start-up delayed six months
Cameco has announced that the commissioning of the Cigar lake mine will be delayed until early 2014 to allow for additional work on the high-pressure water jet boring equipment for mining of the soft ore. Also Areva Resources requires further time for modification of the McClean Like mill which will treat Cigar Lake ore. The 480 metre deep mine development has been set back by two major floods in 2006 and 2008. Known resources are over 150,000 tonnes U3O8 at about 17% average grade, which justifies the C$1.9 billion development cost. Cameco, which has 50% ownership, is managing the mine joint venture, with Areva holding 37%, Idemitsu 8% and TEPCO 5%.
WNN 9/9/13. Canada uranium
Other papers significantly updated in the WNA Information Library (see WNA web site): Fukushima accident, Iran, U Enrichment, Russia NP
29 August 2013
Last Russian military uranium processed for USA
The last of 500 tonnes of Russian high-enriched uranium destined for electricity generation in the USA has been downblended in Siberia. Since 1993 this material, from military stockpiles, has progressively been diluted by enriched tails (1.5% U-235) to produce 15,259 tonnes of low-enriched (4.4% U-235) uranium for shipment to the USA. Much of this has been done at the ElectroChemical Plant (ECP) at Zelenogorsk in Siberia, one of Russia’s four enrichment plants. ECP has also undertaken the re-enrichment of tails for the downblending, using about half of its capacity. The overall ‘Megatons to Megawatts’ program has recycled some 20,000 military warheads to electricity generation, providing about 10% of US electricity over the two decades. A total of some $13 billion has been paid to Russia. Since 2000 the program has been under the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Rosatom plans to invest RUR 70 billion ($2.3 billion) by 2020 in developing the Zelenogorsk plant to a capacity of 12 million SWU/yr, to make it the country’s main enrichment site, with export orientation. Up to 90% of Russia’s new centrifuges are being installed there. It is also the site of a large deconversion plant which uses French technology.
WNN 29/8/13. Military warheads as source of fuel
WNA highlights issues with Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority
“In Japan we have seen a nuclear incident turn into a communication disaster,” said Agneta Rising, Director General of the World Nuclear Association. “Mistakes in applying and interpreting the INES scale have given it an exaggerated central role in coverage of nuclear safety.” WNA noted that the leakage from a storage tank “was cleared up in a matter of days without evidence of any pollution reaching the sea.” “However, news of the event has been badly confused due to poor application and interpretation of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), which has led to enormous international concern as well as real economic impact.” The regulator’s misuse of the International Nuclear Event Scale ratings “cannot continue: if it is to have any role in public communication, INES must only be used in conjunction with plain-language explanations of the public implications – if any – of an incident,” said Rising.
WNA urged Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority to listen to the advice it has received from the International Atomic Energy Agency: “Frequent changes of rating will not help communicate the actual situation in a clear manner,” said the IAEA in a document released by the NRA. The IAEA questioned why the leak of radioactive water was rated as Level 3 on the INES scale: "The Japanese Authorities may wish to prepare an explanation for the media and the public on why they want to rate this event, while previous similar events have not been rated." Since then the NRA has admitted that the leak could have been much smaller than it said, and also it transpires that the water in the tank was 400 times less radioactive than reported (0.2 MBq/L, not 80 MBq). The maximum credible leakage was thus minor, and the Japan Times 29/8 reports the NRA Chairman saying "the NRA may reconsider its INES ranking should further studies show different amounts of water loss than those provided by Tepco." The last three words are disingenuous, in that Tepco had said that up to 300 m3 might have leaked, it was NRA which allowed this to become a ‘fact’. Maybe back to INES level 1 or less for the incident.
Since the leak was discovered, each announcement has been a new media event that implied a worsening situation. “This is a sad repeat of communication mistakes made during the Fukushima accident, when INES ratings were revised several times,” said Rising. “This hurt the credibility of INES, the Japanese government and the entire nuclear sector - all while demoralising the Japanese people needlessly.” “INES will continue to be used ….. but it represents only one technical dimension of communication and that has now been debased.”
WNA 29/8/13. Fukushima accident
22 August 2013
New Japanese regulator flexes muscles over polluted water leak
Japan’s new nuclear regulator, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), set up less than a year ago, has taken public issue with Tepco, both in July and this week, over contaminated groundwater and a leak which is contributing to this. In the course of establishing its profile and authority within Japan it is making strong and negative statements about Tepco’s management of the Fukushima aftermath.
A well-publicised leak this week is of partly-treated water which has been used to cool the destroyed reactors at Fukushima. It is from one of about 300 steel tanks (with rubber seams) set up hurriedly from 2011. Each tank can hold about 1000 m3. This water has about 80 MBq/L activity – less than one percent of that before treatment in the SARRY plant which was built by Tepco in mid 2011, but much higher than its eventual level after further treatment in the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), developed by EnergySolutions and Toshiba and commissioned this year. It is thought that about 300 m3 of this water may have leaked, which would amount to 24 TBq of activity. Tepco acknowledged that it was the most serious event at the plant since the March 2011 accident, and that "we cannot rule out the possibility that part of the contaminated water flowed into the sea." However, any hazard to humans or the environment is not evident. Tepco pumped away all the contaminated water that had accumulated on the surface, and is removing affected soil from the area and placing large sandbags in its place, as well as undertaking other remedial measures. It also drained the leaky tank and is investigating how far the water may have spread.
Tepco reported the leak to NRA on 19 August and on 20th the NRA classified the incident as Level 1 ‘Anomaly’ on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), designed ‘for prompt communication of safety significance’. Then the following day it speculated that it maybe should be Level 3 – a ‘Serious Incident’ comparable with seven significant reactor problems in the past 25 years. It is concerned that further leaks may occur from these tanks. But also the NRA is unsure whether the leak should be given its own INES rating, or simply treated as part of the overall Fukushima accident, already rated at Level 7 - a Major Accident. The confused pronouncements from NRA have done nothing to enlighten the public, and Tepco shares dropped 16% on the Tokyo stock exchange. The NRA’s regulatory competence is not in question, but its communications raise concerns.
Earlier in August Tepco identified a problem with groundwater movement from inland of the plant picking up contamination in the plant site (0.9 MBq/L was measured) and carrying it to the ocean. Several means of dealing with this were outlined. The NRA considered establishing a 10-member sea monitoring advisory team in July, and that was approved this week. Since July 2011 an international survey assessing radiological pollution of the marine environment near the plant has been underway, under IAEA auspices and led by Australia, South Korea and Indonesia. Early in April 2011, with government approval, Tepco released to the sea about 10,400 cubic metres of slightly contaminated water (0.15 TBq total) in order to free up storage for more highly-contaminated water from unit 2 reactor and turbine buildings. The regulator confirmed that there was no significant change in radioactivity levels in the sea as a result of this.
WNN 15 & 20/8/13. Fukushima accident
US nuclear plant uprate achieved with cost blowout
Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant has resumed operation after a 12.9% uprate, adding about 71 MWe to its 600 MWe gross capacity (572 MWe net), though the increment is not yet licensed. Due partly to unforeseen requirements, the cost doubled from the original $320 million estimate. The 1971 BWR plant is licensed to 2030.
Other papers significantly updated in the WNA Information Library (see WNA web site): Russia fuel cycle, South Korea, Economics of nuclear power