Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Japan could begin releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster into the Pacific Ocean as early as the 24th of August. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gave the final approval for the release of the wastewater at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
     It has now been over twelve years since the magnitude 9.1 Tōhoku earthquake hit Northern Japan on the 11th of March, 2011. The quake was the fourth strongest ever recorded. It caused mass fatalities and huge infrastructural damage. In addition, it triggered deadly tsunamis with waves up to forty-six feet high. These waves fatally damaged generators at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the Fukushima Prefecture. The result was meltdowns and a hydrogen explosion.
     When the reactors melted down, over one and one third million tons of cooling water was contaminated. This water is still stored on-site. The Japanese government says that it needs to be diluted and discharged so Japan can finish decommissioning the site. The discharge will reduce the risk of the thousand tanks of contaminated water leaking into the ground. Many nuclear experts say that they are not concerned. However, environmental activists from Japan, South Korea and China have criticized the controversial action. There have even been protests in the streets.
     In the days leading up to the start of wastewater discharge, there have been widespread protests in nearby South Korea. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has referred to Japan’s plan to discharge the water as an act of “terror.” Surveys show the main public concerns are seafood and ocean contamination.
     The release of the treated wastewater has also faced strong domestic opposition from Japanese fishing organizations. They worry about further damage to the reputation of their seafood amid their ongoing struggle to recover from the nuclear disaster.
     China is also concerned about the release of the wastewater, making it a political and diplomatic issue. Hong Kong has stated that it will suspend imports from Fukushima and nine other Japanese Prefectures if Japan proceeds with the release. China has increased radiation testing on Japanese fisheries products, delaying customs clearance.
     International environmental organizations such as Greenpeace have also commented. In a press release, Greenpeace condemned the Japanese decision. They said that it “violates the human rights of communities in Japan and the Pacific region and is non-compliant with international maritime law”.
     Hisayo Takada is the Greenpeace Japan project manager. He said that they were “deeply disappointed and outraged” by the Japanese Government’s announcement. “Despite concerns raised by fishermen, citizens, Fukushima residents, and the international community, especially in the Pacific region and neighboring countries, this decision has been made.” He also said that the Japanese government did not learn from the disaster. He added that, “Instead of acknowledging the flaws in the current decommissioning plan, the ongoing nuclear crisis, and the massive amount of public funds required, the Japanese government intends to restart more nuclear reactors despite evidence of major earthquakes and safety risks.”
Please read Part 2 next

     Swedish nuclear technical services provider Studsvik has just signed a Memorandum of Understanding with small modular reactor (SMR) project development company Kärnfull Next. Kärnfull Next is investigating the possibility of building and operating SMRs on the Studsvik industrial site near Nyköping on the east coast of Sweden.
     Kärnfull Next said that the feasibility study began in May. Preliminary results suggest that the Studsvik area “has favorable conditions for hosting commercial SMRs.” The study is due to be completed in December. It is evaluating the “the financial, technological, environmental, and societal feasibility of flexible and state-of-the-art nuclear power production at the site”.
     Studsvik said that its Nyköping site is in a strategic location and houses the company’s broad expertise in nuclear technology. This includes fuel and materials technology, reactor analysis software and fuel optimization, decommissioning and radiation protection services. In addition, it has technical solutions for handling, conditioning and volume reduction of radioactive waste.
     The collaborators said that provided the feasibility study indicates favorable conditions, including local acceptance, key decisions regarding financing, permitting and power purchase agreements with off-takers will be made in the second half of 2024.
     
     Christian Sjölander is founder and CEO and founder of Kärnfull Next. He said, “With its extensive expertise in the nuclear technology sector, Studsvik is the perfect partner for us. The Studsvik site seems to be well suited to become Sweden’s first new nuclear power site, accompanying the three that already exist. Our vision is that one of Europe’s first SMR parks can be taken into operation here already in the early 2030s. Having several small reactors creates future-proof jobs and opportunities for co-location with other high-tech industries.”
     Camilla Hoflund is the CEO of Studsvik. She said, “Kärnfull Next has established itself as a reliable and innovative partner with solid expertise. We welcome the partnership and look forward to the outcome of the feasibility study. At present it is too early to say what this may mean for Studsvik, as the conditions have not yet been fully investigated and there are many years left before a possible establishment of an SMR at the Studsvik site.”
     In March of 2022, Kärnfull Next signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy for the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Sweden.
     Swedish lead-cooled SMR technology developer LeadCold is a spin-off from Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In March of 2024, it announced that it was to conduct a feasibility study on the construction and operation of a demonstration Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor (SEALER) with associated infrastructure for fuel fabrication at Studsvik’s site in Studsvik.
     Earlier this month, Sweden’s Radiation Safety Authority presented its final report to the Swedish government on how the regulatory framework for nuclear power should be developed. The report will also include what other measures that may be needed for nuclear power to be expanded in the country. The report included identifying the need for development of rules or other measures that can affect the conditions for the use of existing and new nuclear power, such as SMRs, based on known, as well as new, reactor technology.

     The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has just finished its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on Kairos Power’s application for a construction permit for the Hermes demonstration molten salt reactor at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The NRC have recommended that the permit should be issued.
     Kairos submitted it permit application in two parts in September and October of 2021. The company began extensive pre-application engagement with the NRC in 2018. The NRC accepted Kairos’ Hermes construction permit application (CPA) for review in November of 2021.
     Last June, the NRC issued a Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) for the Kairos application. The NRC concluded that there were no safety aspects that would preclude issuing a construction permit for the Hermes reactor.
     The NRC weighed the facility’s environmental, economic, technical, and other benefits against environmental and other impacts. The NRC staff have now issued the FEIS, also recommending that the permit should be issued.
     Kairos said that “This is the final document from NRC staff to support the commission hearing planned later this year and marks the formal conclusion of the environmental review for the Hermes construction permit application.”
     The NRC staff will provide the FEIS and FSER to the NRC for the mandatory hearing phase of the project. The hearing is expected to take place later this year. After the hearing, the NRC will vote on whether to authorize the staff to issue the permit.
     Marty Bryan is the Kairos Site Licensing Manager. He said that “We are grateful to the NRC staff for their thorough review and comprehensive engagement with us and with local stakeholders.”
     Darrell Gardner is the Senior Licensing Director at Kairos. He said, “The FEIS follows extensive engagement between Kairos Power and the NRC beginning in 2018. It builds upon selecting and characterizing an appropriate site for Hermes, engaging with the local community, and continuously communicating with stakeholders. We applaud the staff’s steady progress toward closing out the Hermes CPA review and look forward to completing the mandatory hearing later this year.”
     Kairos will have to submit a separate application for an operating license. It will have to receive approval from the NRC before operating the Hermes reactor.
      Hermes is a thirty-five-megawatt thermal non-power version of the company’s fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor called the KP-FHR. It uses TRI-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel pebbles with a low-pressure fluoride salt coolant. The demonstration Hermes reactor has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive six hundred and twenty-nine million dollars in cost-shared risk reduction funding over several years under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. It is intended to provide operational data to support the development of a larger version for commercial deployment.
     A site in the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge has been selected for the demonstration reactor. The TRISO fuel pebbles will be produced at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Low Enriched Fuel Fabrication Facility under an agreement announced in late 2022. Kairos has also commissioned a plant to produce a high-purity fluoride salt-coolant known as Flibe in partnership with the Materion Corporation.
     Last month, Kairos submitted an application to the NRC for permission to construct the Hermes 2 plant next to the Hermes reactor at Oak Ridge. The Hermes 2 plant will consist of two thirty-five megawatt thermal reactors. Each of these reactors will be the same size as the original test reactor and they will share a power generation system. The Hermes 2 plant will generate and sell electricity. The NRC is currently assessing that application to determine if it is acceptable and complete enough to start the formal technical review process.

     Poland currently operates a single research reactor called Maria. It has no operational nuclear power plants. It is going to start construction of a plant with three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in 2026. Poland also intends to build small modular reactors.    
     Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment (MCE) is currently seeking municipalities interested in participating in the process of selecting a site for a new surface repository for the disposal of low and intermediate-level short-lived radioactive waste.
     The new facility is intended solely for the storage of low and intermediate-level waste and radioactive sources from nuclear power, industry, medicine and research and development in Poland. The new repository will not accept high-level waste or spent nuclear fuel. These require the construction of an underground facility with completely different characteristics and a different location.
     The MCE said that during the construction of the new repository, it will use the experience gained during the operation of the existing National Radioactive Waste Repository (NRWR) in Różan. They added that the repository will “follow the example of proven facilities of this type operated in Spain (El Cabril) or France (Aube)”.
     Zakład Unieszkodliwiania Odpadów Radiotworniczych (ZUOP) is a state-owned public utility. It is responsible for the proper handling of radioactive waste from the moment it is taken over from the producer. ZUOP will be the primary investor and operator of the repository.
     Preference will be given to municipalities with an area of about one hundred hectares for the construction of a landfill and auxiliary facilities. But the area must meet certain specific requirements. These requirements include the following items. The repository must be located at least thirty miles from the Polish land border. It must be in an area where there are lands of low production quality. It cannot be located within areas such as national parks or nature reserves. It cannot be within populated areas. And, finally, it must not be in areas prone to earthquakes, subsidence or flooding.
     The ZUOP mentioned that the municipality where the new repository will be located will be entitled to an annual fee from the state budget. This fee will be paid from the date of acceptance of the first radioactive waste to the repository until the decision to close the repository. The fee will be four hundred percent of the income from the real estate tax located in the area obtained in the previous year. It will not be more than two and a half million dollars.
     Municipalities have until November 15th to apply to participate in the selection process. However, the ZUOP stated that the “The deadline for submitting municipalities may be extended”.
     The ZUOP added that “The selection of the best location for the construction of the repository will take place after obtaining the approval of the local community for this investment and conducting geological and geophysical research, which will allow the assessment of the suitability of these areas for the implementation of the investment in accordance with the criteria set out in the Atomic Law.”