Part 1 of 2 Parts
     The supports of nuclear power generation say that advanced nuclear reactors should play a major role in meeting the goal of one hundred percent clean energy by 2050. They say that nuclear power can compliment other energy sources such as wind and solar in providing clean energy to supply electricity, industrial heat, hydrogen, and other important energy products. (Some critics point out that while nuclear power generation may be low in carbon emissions, it is not zero.) Deploying advanced nuclear energy as part of the solution to climate change will also require managing spent nuclear fuel waste produced during the operation of commercial nuclear power plants.
     The total amount of nuclear waste from advanced nuclear energy will be very small related to the total amount of energy produced. Safe nuclear waste management is essential to protect public and environmental health. It will be necessary to build public trust and social acceptance of advanced nuclear technology as a climate change solution. Increasing interest in innovative advanced nuclear technology as a solution for climate change has also renewed interest in developing innovate nuclear fuel waste solutions. Such methods include reducing waste volumes, reducing radiotoxicity and enabling more effective disposal.
     In order to discuss innovative nuclear waste solutions, an understanding of spent nuclear fuel waste is necessary. Nuclear waste is categorized based on where it came from and its level of radioactivity.  The two main types are high-level waste (HLW) and low-level waste (LLW). HLW consists of spent nuclear fuel and its byproducts. For this type of waste, long-term separation of the used nuclear fuel and byproducts from society in deep geological disposal repositories is required. LLW consists of all the other wastes that are contaminated with radioactive materials such as workers garments or components that filter out radioactive materials from reactors systems. LLW is much less radioactive that HLW and is already being safely disposed of in surface-level disposal facilities.
     Innovative design and policy solutions currently under development could help advance nuclear power reactors produce less of both HLW and LLW. New pathways need to be created to dispose of existing and future HLW. Developing new methods to reduce the total volume of HLW from nuclear power generation would reduce the required size for deep geological disposal repositories. Deployment of certain advanced reactors designs (such as neutron spectrum reactors) could enable more efficient nuclear fuel utilization. This would enable more power production from each nuclear fuel assembly and reduce the total amount of HLW produced.
     Alternative technologies could be applied to recycling or reprocessing HLW by enabling separation of highly radioactive fission products from usable uranium in spent nuclear fuel. These fission produces normally represent less than five percent of the spent fuel. Once separated, they could then be stored as HLW leaving the rest of the spent fuel available for recycling into new nuclear fuel. These technologies would enable greater utilization of uranium resources and reduce the volume of HLW for long-term disposal.
Please read Part 2 next

Bulgaria’s nuclear plant to shut Unit 6 to fix glitch marketscreener.com

Dutch government designates site for 2 new nuclear reactors montelnews.com

Protests of nuclear waste contract at site near Carlsbad denied currentargus.com

Indian PM Modi cancels Putin meeting over nuclear threat themoscowtimes.com

Ambient office = 60 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 82 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 84 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 129 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 146 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 143 nanosieverts per hour

     The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy. It is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance. Historically it has been mostly involved with nuclear research. Much of current knowledge about how nuclear reactors behave and misbehave was discovered at what is now Idaho National Laboratory.
     Early in the conflict in Ukraine, nuclear threats and fallout became a harsh reality as fighting raged around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. A new technology developed at INL has just hit the market. It is designed to help first responders in a nuclear disaster or attack. The new technology is called the Colorimetric Detection of Actinides or CoDeAc.
      Dr. Cathy Riddle is a Senior Research Scientist at the INL. She said, “CoDeAc will be a game changer for the military, for first responders. It gives them the ability to carry something that isn’t a large, heavy meter. Anyone who’s seen any of the militaries in all their gear knows everything is heavy enough. CoDeAc is a very small, lightweight pack and it can determine uranium in low levels and plutonium in under a minute.”
     The CoDeAc works like a swimming pool test strip or a pregnancy test. When the solution is sprayed on surface, the chemical change color if they come in contact with nuclear contamination. The color purple indicates that uranium is present. A pink color shows that plutonium is there.
     Dr. Riddle said, “Imagine that you have… an explosion in a large city downtown. You’re going to have walking casualties. You’re going to not know where that dispersal of radioactivity is. First responders are going to go in and they’re going to start testing with CoDeAk, and instead of having a ten-block square area…you now maybe have an actual only one block area that is contaminated.”
     Researchers at the INL who developed the CoDeAk solutions believe that the technology can help first responders avoid potential radiological landmines. The applications of the technology reache far beyond first responders. CoDeAk would assist workers in avoiding disasters in a future with nuclear energy.
     Dr. Riddle added that “if you have a small modular reactor, you have a nuclear power plant. If you had your daily maintenance people taking a look, taking a swipe, using a CoDeAk tool or a wet towel, they can see if they have like a pinhole leak or maybe some of the weld isn’t functioning well before they even start the reactor up. They can do these tests and they can fix a problem before it becomes a major issue.”
     According to Dr. Riddle, CoDeAk is already being prepared for the U.S., U.K., and Ukraine’s military and first responders. The solution is already on the market and in high demand.
     Unfortunately, the CoDeAk solution while useful within the nuclear industry, would not be acceptable for uses beyond that sector. A company called Image Insight has developed a mobile phone application called GammaPix. This software exploits features of digital cameras to detect minute bursts of light accompanying the emission of nuclear radiation. It is inexpensive and easy to use.

Ambient office = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 91 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 88 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 117 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 119 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Austin Says Progress Made on Developing Australia’s Nuclear-Powered Subs defense.gov

Korea signs nuclear fuel MoU for Poland’s MARIA research reactor world-nuclear-news.org

SMR siting work progresses in Canada and Czech Republic world-nuclear-news.org

China may have surpassed US in number of nuclear warheads on ICBMs defensenews.com

 

     Reliance on nuclear power should shield France from Europe’s gas crisis. However, its ageing fleet of reactors is suffering. And skills shortage is also placing France’s new nuclear strategy in jeopardy. France state-owned energy company EDF has announced plans for a massive recruitment drive to bolster the country’s ageing nuclear reactors and build new power plants. It is seeking to hire thousands of specialist welders, pipefitters and boiler makers to its nuclear fleet. The problem is that such staff is in very short supply.
     EDF is building the new Hinkley Point C in the U.K. and is also behind the fledgling Sizewell C project in the UK. The company is battling to keep the lights and heat on this winter across France and build resilience in response to Europe’s energy crisis. France should to be well placed to navigate the loss of Russian gas which the continent depended on before the war in Ukraine.
     Nuclear power accounts for around three-quarters of France’s electricity. It has fifty-six reactors across eighteen sites. However, half of that capacity has been offline this year because of a combination of technical problems and maintenance. Unscheduled outages due to corrosion have proven to be the main challenge after cracks were found in some pipes used to cool reactor cores. These problems have added Europe’s power price surge.
     National Grid operates the U.K. power network. It warned on Monday that France would have to import energy this week as it pondered whether to impose its own first line of defense to keep the lights on in Britain. Britain usually relies on imports of energy from France during the winter months. Their neighbor’s own energy crunch is aggravating concerns over U.K. margins.
     EDF has a reputation for delays and cost overruns in building nuclear power plants. Recently they had to fly about one hundred nuclear workers from the U.S. and Canada to help support their repair efforts in France.
     EDF problems are expected to wipe about thirty-four million dollars from their core earnings. The French state is preparing to increase its ownership stake in EDF from the current eighty four percent to one hundred percent to help ease concerns for its financial stability. This nationalization comes at a time when EDF is on the hook to build at least six new advanced reactors over the next twenty-five years across France.
     It is estimated that the country’s nuclear industry needs to recruit between ten thousand and fifteen thousand workers over the next seven years. It needs to find three thousand workers a year over that time.
      Clement Bouilloux is the manager for France at energy consultancy EnAppSys. He said, “These are pretty ambitious targets. We have not had a construction drive like that in the nuclear industry since the 1970s.”
     Nuclear industry experts told Reuters that training for nuclear specialist welders alone is three years longer than for similar jobs. They are required to operate in an area of reactors where radiation is high. This means that they can only spend a limited amount of time inside such areas.
     One welder told an interviewer that “To be a very good welder, you have to be born to be one. These people work with molten metal at 1,500 degrees Celsius, and sometimes have to stand upside down. You start with 500 would-be welders, and five years later you may have only five who are up to scratch.”

Rosatom to supply uranium products for Brazil’s Angra plant world-nuclear-news.org

South Korean APR-1400 starts commercial operation world-nuclear-news.org

Nuclear with Ares Management-backed SPAC SMR developer X-energy to merge  utilitydive.com

Chinese SMR project enters installation phase world-nuclear-news.org

 

 

 

Ambient office = 59 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 117 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 15 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 116 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

European scientists are developing nuclear waste batteries for use in space thenextweb.com

As Vogtle’s nuclear units move toward completion, rate hikes lie ahead ajc.com

AECL and CNL Break Ground on New Nuclear Research Facility finance.yahoo.com

Iranian state media: Construction begins on nuclear plant abcnews.go.com