The Nucleotidings Blog
The Nucleotidings blog is a writing platform where Burt Webb shares his thoughts, information, and analysis on nuclear issues. The blog is dedicated to covering news and ideas related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection. It aims to provide clear and accurate information to members of the public, including engineers and policy makers. Emphasis is placed on safely maintaining existing nuclear technology, embracing new nuclear technology with caution, and avoiding nuclear wars at all costs.

Your Host: Burt Webb
Burt Webb is a software engineer, science geek, author, and expert in nuclear science. Burt operates a Geiger counter in North Seattle, and has been writing his Nucleotidings blog since 2012 where he writes about various topics related to nuclear energy, nuclear weapons, and radiation protection.

Burt Webb has published several technical books and novels. He works as a software consultant.

Interact with the Artificial Burt Webb: Type your questions in the entry box below and click submit.

Example Q&A with the Artificial Burt Webb

Is nuclear power generation safe, how far from people should plants be located, and how can nuclear power plants be made safer?

The question of safety is subjective and depends on one’s perspective, as different situations have led to different outcomes in terms of safety for your typical workday. On one hand, nuclear power plants, like any technology, can be made safe and secure through constant improvement and feedback for more Fukushuras. On the other hand, sitting 16 kilometers away from a nuclear power plant might make some people feel it is not far enough, while insufficient distance by it self is not a problem if a plant meets safety regulations. Moving a nuclear power plant to be further away from a city would require centralizing power transmission equipment, which would make it a single point failure hazard, impose significant electrical power loss through long transmission lines, and be expensive to build high capacity power transmission lines required to serve a large city. Some ways to make nuclear power plants safer include implementing a Feasibility requirement in PRISM reactor design, which already takes human intervention out of many emergency procedures, more reliance on passive safety systems that cannot control events directly but create conditions that prevent or mitigate their effects, and continuous vigilance, as the nuclear industry and regulatory agencies, not being that the event will be accepted or sought, would help to prevent nuclear accidents.

What do you mean by “Fukushuras”?

“Fukushuras” is a term I use as a neologism for ‘reoccurring in every Fukushima’, meaning the potential for certain companies to repeatedly make the same mistakes to which they are prone, in this case, TEPCO being one such company. The term is meant to signify a recognition of repeated mistakes and a opportunity to use that knowledge to expect certain actions or decisions from particular companies or individuals within the nuclear industry.

Blog

  • Geiger Readings for December 06, 2023

    Geiger Readings for December 06, 2023

    Ambient office = 106 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 95 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 95 nanosieverts per hour

    Tomato from Central Market = 72 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Reactors 1317 – Top Five Small Modular Reactor Companies – Part 2 of 2 Parts

    Nuclear Reactors 1317 – Top Five Small Modular Reactor Companies – Part 2 of 2 Parts

    Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
         This is a continuation of a list of the top five companies currently working small modular reactors (SMRs).
    TerraPower
         Nuclear innovation company TerraPower was started in 2008 by Bill Gates and other private sector lenders. The company is now recognized as an international leader in the SMR space. It has secured eighty million dollars in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to support the design and development of its next-generation Natirum nuclear reactor. In 2021, TerraPower selected Kemmerer, Wyoming as its preferred site for the construction of its advanced nuclear reactor demonstration plant. The Natrium reactor is one of just two competitively selected advanced reactor demonstration projects (ARDP) by the DoE.
    Westinghouse Electric Company
         Westinghouse Electric Company moved to the forefront of the nuclear technology industry with its transportable eVinciTM micro reactor. The eVinci is more of a nuclear battery than a traditional nuclear reactor. The high-temperature heat pipe reactor can generate five megawatts of electricity and as much as thirteen megawatts of heat from its fifteen-megawatt solid thermal core. The mobile nuclear power plant draws its power from its advanced heat pipe technology and unique core design. The self-regulating heat pipes allow passive heat transfer. This permits autonomous operation and inherent load following. The reactor core is designed to operate for eight or more years in full power mode prior to refueling.
         The eVinci micro reactor can be factory built, fueled, and assembled. A plug-and-play interface allows for the eVinci to be installed onsite in less than thirty days. eVinci can operate on or off the electrical grid in all weather conditions and temperatures. The deployable electricity and heat generator is ideal for industrial applications and district heating.
    BWXT Advanced Technologies
         SMR developer BWXT Technologies will construct the first advanced microreactor in the U.S. The nuclear solutions company was selected by the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office to manufacture full-scale mobile reactor prototypes. These prototypes are to be delivered for testing to the Idaho National Laboratory in 2024. The microreactor will be constructed under a three hundred million dollar valued cost-type contract. This was reported by a company press release issued last summer.
         Joe Miller is the President of BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC. He said, “We are on a mission to design, build and test new nuclear technology to protect the environment while providing power, and we are thrilled with this competitively bid award after years of hard work by our design and engineering team. The entire nuclear industry recognizes that advanced reactors are an important step forward to support growing power needs and significant carbon reduction imperatives.”
    Kairos Power
         SMR maker Kairos Power is counting on high-temperature molten salt reactors to provide competitive, reliable, and responsible nuclear energy. The company presents its fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor (KP-FHR) as an affordable and long-term alternative to conventional sources of energy such as natural gas. Natural gas is the U.S.’s primary fuel of choice. This information was provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
         The KP-FHR is a novel SMR technology with a near-zero carbon footprint and minimal water consumption. It features an accident-resistant design and dispatchable reactor. As U.S. natural gas use declines in the next decade, Kairo is poised to meet increasing electricity demand with its innovative high-purity fluoride salt-cooled technology. The company intends to complete an initial demonstration of its advanced nuclear reactor design by no later than 2030. This information was provided by Mike Laufer, who is the co-founder and CEO of Kairos.
         SMRs offer governments across the globe the chance to reduce emissions and provide reliable power to consumers. Thanks to innovators like those listed above, SMRs are quickly getting ready to be deployed at a global scale.

  • Geiger Readings for October December 05, 2023

    Geiger Readings for October December 05, 2023

    Ambient office = 80 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 79 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 74 nanosieverts per hour

    Red bell pepper from Central Market = 90 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 73 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 66 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Reactors 1316 – Top Five Small Modular Reactor Companies – Part 1 of 2 Parts

    Nuclear Reactors 1316 – Top Five Small Modular Reactor Companies – Part 1 of 2 Parts

    Part 1 of 2 Parts
        Small modular reactors (SMRs) are disrupting conventional ideas about nuclear power. They are small, compact, and produce minimal emissions. This innovative alternative to conventional nuclear power reactors is receiving more public and private sector attention as governments across the globe work to meet global energy demands reliably and responsibly. According to a report released last year by Valuates, a market research firm, the global market for SMRs is expected to rise by sixteen percent year-over-year to hit nineteen billion by 2030.
    SMR Pros
         SMRs are advertised as being cheaper, smaller, and safer than conventional nuclear power reactors. They are to be manufactured in factories where economies of scale and improved quality control can be applied. They are modular in design and can be delivered to the operational site and installed quickly.
    SMR Cons
         SMRs can potentially produce more and hotter radioactivity in waste products.
         Economic analysts question whether it will be cheaper to gang multiple SMRs together versus building a conventional gigawatt plus conventional nuclear power reactor. Some estimates suggest that it may cost more to create a multi-reactor SMR power plant that will produce as much electricity as a conventional reactor.
         It may be possible to apply economies of scale to build SMRs in a factory. However, if quality control slips, then multiple sub-standard SMRs may be built and shipped to multiple sites before the problem is discovered forcing the decommissioning of multiple SMRs.     
         While the SMR market is filled with many innovative companies, here is a list of five leading SMR companies.
    NuScale
         This advanced nuclear reactor company went public in 2022. It is leading a number of large-scale projects across Central and Eastern Europe. NuScale is particularly active in Poland where it will construct its flagship VOYGR SMR power plant which will generate up to nine hundred and twenty-four megawatts of electricity as early as 2029. Although it is a newcomer to the nuclear technology market, Poland chose the Portland, Oregon-based NuScale to develop and build Poland’s first SMR. The historic agreement follows an ambitious multi-nation decarbonization plan signed in Glasgow, Scotland, last November by twenty-eight new members of the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA). The eastern European nation generated about seventy percent of its electricity by burning coal in 2020, according to a report issued by Forum Energii in 2021.
         A NuScale project in the U.S. had to be cancelled because the cost of the project rose from three billion to nine billion dollars in just four years. In addition, NuScale was accused of misrepresenting information about the project to investors. It announced a big project with Standard Power to construct a NuScale power plant with multiple NuScale reactors to provide power for two data centers. Iceberg Research reported that an analysis of power needs for the Standard Power data center indicated that the proposed NuScale plant would produce far more electricity than the project required. Iceberg Research also reported that Standard Power did not have sufficient funding to pay for the proposed NuScale power plant.
    Please read Part 2 next

  • Geiger Readings for December 04, 2023

    Geiger Readings for December 04, 2023

    Ambient office = 80 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 97 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour

    Peach from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 85 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 72 nanosieverts per hour

  • Geiger Readings for December 03, 2023

    Geiger Readings for December 03, 2023

    Ambient office = 87 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 127 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 128 nanosieverts per hour

    Mini cucumber from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 45 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 38 nanosieverts per hour