So far, TEPCO and Japanese government officials have been unable to develop a clear plan of action for decommissioning Fukushima. theantimedia.org

BBC Wrong on Fukushima, Again youtube.com

A system installed at the training centre of Russia’s Novovoronezh nuclear power plant is giving workers a new perspective on the VVER-1200 design. The new 3D holographic display technology could grow to be more widely applied in nuclear power training. world-nuclear-news.org

EDF is negotiating with the French government to obtain further financial support for the Hinkley Point C project in the UK, EDF chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy has said. A review of the project has identified areas where the project could further be de-risked, he said. world-nuclear-news.org

 

Five years after a natural disaster and nuclear meltdown, a once fertile landscape is abandoned. nationalgeographic.com

Documentary director says that is ‘Shocking how many people died in Fukushima.’ rt.com

Westinghouse Electric Company said it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ukrainian turbine builder PJSC Turboatom to explore the potential of increasing the capacity of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and consider options for joint projects elsewhere. nuclearstreet.com

Five years after the nuclear plant meltdown at Fukushima, Japan has begun the controversial process of restarting its other reactors. oregonlive.com

 

Crippled Fukushima Reactors Are Still a Danger, 5 Years after the Accident.  scientificamerican.com

Five years after a powerful earthquake and tsunami sent the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan into multiple meltdowns, cleaning up the mess both onsite and in surrounding towns remains a work in progress.  thestandard.com

Paul Gallay and Michael Shank make a strong case for the immediate retirement of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.  nytimes.com

Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests are not in violation of its nuclear deal and the European Union is not considering sanctions at this stage, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday. news.yahoo.com

 

        China General Nuclear and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have just signed a strategic cooperation agreement to collaborate in the development of accelerator-driven systems which could be used to transmute spent nuclear fuel. The system could also be used to operate subcritical thorium nuclear reactors.  The agreement was signed in Beijing on the 9th of March following a forum featuring both of these organizations. These two organizations have worked together for many years. An agreement on scientific and technical cooperation was signed in the fall of 2006.

        CGN stated that the agreement would be based on “complementary advantages, win-win cooperation and common development in the research and development of accelerator-driven systems. By signing this agreement, the two sides will further establish long-term strategic alliances and partnerships to accelerate the development of advanced nuclear energy systems.”

        Accelerator-driven systems are called that because they are based on the acceleration of subatomic particles such as protons. The protons hit a spallation target such as liquid lead-bismuth which generates neutrons. The accelerated neutrons are directed at a target called a blanket that contains some sort of fissionable materials. Long lived radionuclides can be extracted from  spent nuclear fuel, mixed with fresh fuel and subjected to bombardment by an accelerator. This causes the long-lived isotopes to fission and transmute into short-lived isotopes which means that the radioactive waste is “hot” for a much shorter period of time. Such a process can also produce useful energy.

        In a regular power reactor with neutrons supplied by the fuel in the rods, the only way to shut it down is to insert control rods which absorb the neutrons and lower the neutron flux below the point required for sustaining a fission reaction. One of the benefits of an accelerator driven system lies in the fact that the neutrons that cause the fission are coming from the outside and not being generated from within the fissionable material. In order to shut down an accelerator-driven system, it is only necessary to turn of the accelerator which supplying the neutrons. Without the neutrons to keep the reactions going, the reactor shuts down. This is much simpler, easier and faster than the shut down procedure in a standard reactor. This also makes operation of an accelerator-driven system much safer than a conventional reactor.

Research on thorium reactors has been carried out by different nations since the dawn of the atomic age in the 1950s. Thorium alone is not capable of generating sufficient neutrons to cause fission and generate power. Some other material like U235 or plutonium must supply the needed neutrons. One of the big problems with thorium reactors to date has been coping with the higher heat and pressure that is required for their operation. Some designs employ a bath of molten sodium which is highly flammable when it encounters water or air. This makes it very dangerous to deal with. An accelerator-driven system solves both of these problems. In an accelerator-driven system, the neutrons supplied by the accelerator can cause the thorium to fission and provide power. India, in particular, is starving for energy and has huge reserves of thorium. The development of a practical commercial thorium reactor based on an accelerator would be a great boon to India.

 

 

Nuclear Expert: Fukushima “like the worst nightmare becoming reality” — Released as much as 1,000 atomic bombs worth of radioactive material — “Everyone on earth has been exposed… an increase in cancer will be the result.” enenews.com

In 2016 Russia is set to disarm the missile system of the Typhoon-class Arkhangelsk submarine, the largest in the world. The disarmament will be carried out in accordance with the New START agreement between Moscow and Washington. rt.com

“While the benefits [of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced reactors] are not for the NRC to tout, we can work well to ensure that the public trusts us to do the right thing when these new ideas and new applications come to us for review and possible licensing,” Burns said in his introductory comments to the NRC’s 28th annual Regulatory Information Conference (RIC), held in Bethesda, Maryland earlier this week. world-nuclear-news.org

The European Commission has announced its approval of the partnership between EDF and China General Nuclear (CGN) for the development, construction and operation of three new nuclear power plants in the UK. The partnership complies with EU merger regulations, it said. world-nuclear-news.org

        Thought it was time for an update on the big Hinkley Point C project in Britain. This is a real circus. The project is huge with a budget over twenty billion dollars for the construction of two nuclear power reactors. The contract for construction is held by the French government owned company, EDF.

         EDF is in serious financial trouble because of a couple of major nuclear projects in France that are behind schedule and over budget. Also, the steel reactor vessels that were going to be used turned out to have too much carbon in the alloy which reduced their strength below acceptable standards.

         Looking for investors, EDF set up an arrangement last October with a Chinese nuclear company named China General Nuclear Power Corporation, a state owned entity. The CGNPC is going to take a one third stake in the project. In order to get the Chinese involved, the British had to promise to let them build a Chinese designed reactor in Britain with Chinese labor. This upset the British labor unions as well as the British security forces. Then Britain got hit with a legal challenge because of European Union rules about outside investors in major projects.

        The British government has promised to pay about twice as much for the electricity generated by the new reactors than the current price for electricity in Britain. Consumers fear that the price of electricity from other sources will stay low and those being supplied by the new Hinkley Point C reactors will wind up pay too high a price. This also caused another lawsuit claiming that Britain was violating EU rules about government support for private projects.

        Now for the update.

         The problem with too much carbon in the reactor vessels has been solved. EDF claims that they are going to use a different manufacturing process with different size chunks of steel that will produce reactor vessels that are sufficiently strong to meet regulatory standards.

         The project was supposed to start construction within weeks of the deal set last October but EDF has been holding off making a final decision on the financing for the project because of their internal problems. Now they say that they will deliver final approval by the first of April even though there is strong resistance on the EDF board from the labor representatives. The Finance Director of EDF just resigned because he said that he cannot personally support the project proceeding for at least three years while EDF sorts out its financial problems.

         Another reason for the delay is that in spite of the announcement of a deal with the Chinese last October, EDF says that they still do not have a signed contract for the Chinese participation because the due diligence of the CGNPC company was taking longer than expected due to the extraordinary complexity of the project. When the lack of a signed contract with CGNPC was made public recently, EDF faced a storm of criticism.

        The Hinkley Point C project is a fascinating spectacle as promoter of nuclear power try desperately to move the project forward as problem after problem blocks their progress. Hopefully, this giant mess will collapse soon and save the ratepayers of Britain a huge hike in their electric bills.

Artist’s concept of new Hinkley Point C power station: