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.
Ambient office = 82 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 140 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 139 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 86 nanosieverts per hour
Investors have drawn NuScale, a Portland-based nuclear power company, into federal court. They claim that the company misled them about a major project promised to usher in a new age of nuclear power.
NuScale canceled a partnership earlier this mouth with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems that would have been the first small modular reactors (SMRs) constructed in the U.S. The project called for six NuScale SMRs to be constructed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The partnership collapsed earlier this month under the weight of rising interest rates and inflation, according to NuScale. The project would have delivered nuclear power to sixteen states.
In a class-action filed on November 15th, investors said that NuScale “made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects.” The litigants are seeking unspecified monetary damages to recoup their losses plus interest.
There are a number of U.S. companies trying to perfect SMR technology. However, only NuScale has a SMR design approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. SMRs are supposed to be cheaper to build and operate. It is claimed that they are safer than traditional nuclear power plants because emergencies would be easier to contain.
SMRs have capacities up to three hundred megawatts. This is less than half the capacity of current big nuclear power reactors. SMRs are constructed at central locations then shipped to their final destination. Their modular design means that additional SMRs can be added as power demand grows.
The lawsuit claims NuScale withheld from investors the fact that the proposed Idaho project was not financially viable after it failed to attract enough customers. Over the course of investor calls in 2023, NuScale executives told investors that progress acquiring the required customer base was “looking pretty good” and that “we continue to make progress.
Iceberg Research is a short-selling firm specializing in revealing “substantial earnings misrepresentation and accounting irregularities.” They published research in October that contradicted the NuScale narrative, claiming no new customers had agreed to buy power generated by the NuScale project since March.
The same report suggested that a second planned NuScale project to supply nuclear power to two Standard Power data centers in Ohio and Pennsylvania had little chance of success. NuScale claimed that that project would include twenty-four SMRs producing one thousand eight hundred and forty eight megawatts of electricity.
Clayton Scott is the Chief Commercial Officer of NuScale. He told investors in October that “They need the power like last year. These guys are building data centers. They need it now. We’re going to start work right away.”
Iceberg claimed that “This contract has zero chance of being executed as Standard Power clearly does not have the means to support contracts of this size.”
Based on statements on Standard Power’s website, the Iceberg report said that Standard Power demand for electricity was dramatically lower than what NuScale said it would be delivering.
Diane Hughes is the Vice President of Marketing and Communication at NuScale. She called the plaintiffs in the lawsuit “serial litigants”. She added that “repeating false and misleading claims does not make them true. NuScale will vigorously defend itself in the proper forum.”
NuScale’s stock has dropped sixty percent since last August.
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Ambient office = 171 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 148 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 144 nanosieverts per hour
Purple onion from Central Market = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour
Sellafield nuclear site “attacked by cyber groups” linked to Russia and China cshub.com
Low Carbon Nuclear Revamps Coal Power Plant Sites miragenews.com
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San Diego’s General Atomics Praises U.S. Plan to Speed Commercialization of Nuclear Fusion timesofsandiego.com
Ambient office = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Nectarine from Central Market = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 119 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 112 nanosieverts per hour
Nuclear Disarmament A ‘Critical Pro-Life Issue’ More Immediate Than Climate Change, Warns Archbishop osvnews.com
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Ambient office = 75 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 133 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 125 nanosieverts per hour
Mini cuke from Central Market = 154 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 104 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 96 nanosieverts per hour
Dover Sole from Central = 98 nanosieverts per hour
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) subsidiary Laurentis Energy Partners (LEP) and Saskatchewan utility SaskPower have just announced details of their Master Services Agreement. The agreement is for collaboration to advance the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Saskatchewan.
The LEP-SaskPower agreement will run for up to five years. It will serve as a foundation for a long-term strategic partnership to streamline SMR development in Saskatchewan. The agreement will see LEP focus on program management, licensing, and operational readiness activities. LEP has offices in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan as well as Ontario.
The new agreement is the latest activity in the ongoing collaboration between Ontario Power Generation and SaskPower. In 2022, SaskPower selected GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment in Saskatchewan in the mid-2030s. This is the same technology that OPG has already selected for deployment at its Darlington New Nuclear Project. The first of four SMRs is to be completed by the end of 2028. It is scheduled to be online by the end of 2029.
Earlier this year, SaskPower and OPG renewed an agreement to continue to collaborate on new nuclear development, including SMRs, in both provinces. They will provide mutual support by sharing lessons learned, technical resources and expertise, best practices, and operating experience. They will also consider opportunities for future collaboration in areas including project development and plant operations.
Ken Hartwick is the President and CEO of OPG. He said that the company’s long experience in building, operating and maintaining nuclear power plants will assist Saskatchewan in adding nuclear power to its own generation mix. He also said, “Through these agreements, we are using a fleet-style approach, which will increase efficiency and decrease costs as we deploy much-needed new nuclear generation in both provinces.”
Rupen Pandya is the President and CEO of SaskPower. He said that OPG and LEP’s decades of combined experience with be very valuable for SaskPower’s SMR project. He went on to say, “SaskPower’s clean energy transition is part of a global transformation to a sustainable future – and the best path forward on this journey is through collaboration.”
Last year, Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta released a joint strategic plan for the deployment of SMRs. The BWRX-300 is being advanced for deployment in other countries including Estonia, Polan and the Czech Republic.
Todd Smith is the Minister of Energy for Ontario. He said that the world is watching Ontario as it works to deploy the world’s first grid-scale SMR. He added that “Ontario is ready to support partners across Canada – like Saskatchewan – and around the world, leveraging the expertise of our world-class nuclear operators and supply chain to support their deployment of small modular reactors as a clean and reliable source of electricity.”
SaskPower is working to identify possible sites for the deployment of SMRs in the mid-2030s. This will be subject to a decision to build that is expected in 2029. Dustin Ducan is the Saskatchewan Minister Responsible for SaskPower. He said that the strategic partnership between SaskPower, OPG and Laurentis is an excellent example of ongoing collaboration between the two provinces across many sectors and industries. He added that “Today’s agreement is not only good for Saskatchewan and Ontario, but will protect sustainable energy security in Canada for decades to come.”
