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 Nov 20, 2022

    Ambient office = 135 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 118 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 116 nanosieverts per hour

    Asparagus from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 83 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 70 nanosieverts per hour

  • Geiger Readings for Nov 19, 2022

    Ambient office = 05 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 97 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 99 nanosieverts per hour

    Acorn squash from Central Market = 109 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 83 nanosieverts per hour

    Dover Sole from Central = 109 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Reactors 1094 – Energy Fuels Is Selling Their Alta Mesa Project To EnCore Energy

         Colorado-based Energy Fuels Incorporated has agreed to sell three wholly owned subsidiaries that together make up the Alta Mesa in-situ leaching (ISL) project to Texas-based enCore Energy Corporation for a total of one hundred and twenty million dollars. When the deal closes, Energy Fuels will receive sixty million dollars. They will also receive a secured convertible note for sixty million dollars which will be payable in two years. EnCore will also assume all reclamation liabilities associated with the Alta Mesa project. Energy Fuels acquired the Alta Mesa project from Mesteña Uranium for about thirteen and a half million dollars in 2016.
         The fully licensed and constructed Alta Mesa ISL project and central processing facility has an operating capacity of one and a half million pounds of U3O8 per year. The project has inferred resources of sixteen and three quarter million pounds of U3O8.
         EnCore’s portfolio includes the licensed and past-producing Rosita and Kingsville Come ISL operations in South Texas as well as the development-stage Dewey-Burdock in South Dakota and Gas Hills in Wyoming projects. EnCore says that the Alta Mesa project can reach commercial production levels with limited required capital in ten months of a production decision. The addition of the Alta Mesa project will boost EnCore’s total uranium processing capacity to three and a half million pounds of U3O8 per year.
         William Sheriff is the Executive Chairman of enCore. He said that it will “further cement enCore’s commitment to near-term US-based uranium production with our initial focus on South Texas.  Alta Mesa will immediately become a flagship asset amongst our large project portfolios.”
         Paul Goranson is the CEO of enCore. He said, “Combined with our South Texas operations that are anchored around our Rosita project, this acquisition puts us in an exceptionally strong position to advance towards being a long-term sustainable source of uranium production to fuel clean nuclear energy that will benefit our local communities, the state of Texas, and the United States.”
         In addition to uranium, Energy Fuels produces vanadium and is also developing commercial production of rare-earth carbonate as well as looking to develop the separation of radioisotopes from its mineral processing streams. Its assets include the White Mesas Mill in Utah which is the only currently operating conventional uranium mill in the U.S. They also own the Nichols Ranch ISL project in Wyoming which is currently on standby.
          Mark Chalmers is the CEO of Energy Fuels. He said that the money from the Alta Mesa project will allow the company to focus on and accelerate its higher priority uranium and vanadium projects. He added that the company is carrying out work towards restarting production at one of more of its projects with production expected to start as soon as 2023. The cash from the Alta Mesa deal will help further fund this ramp-up. The company will also retains some exposure to short-term market upside and optionality at Alta Mesa and enCore through the convertible note.
          Energy Fuels also plans to establish an ore purchasing program from future uranium mining from other to maximize currently underutilized capacity at White Mesa according to Chalmers. He said that it will “help to both finance and focus our plans in this regard without dilution associated with equity financings.”

  • Geiger Readings for Nov 18, 2022

    Ambient office = 112 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 115 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 124 nanosieverts per hour

    Tomato from Central Market = 133 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 80 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 67 nanosieverts per hour

  • Nuclear Reactors 1093 – France Is Struggling To Carry Out Critical Maintenance To Many Closed Nuclear Power Plants – Part 3 of 3 Parts

    Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
         France finds itself in the difficult position this winter of leaning more heavily on its coal fired power plants, importing electricity from Germany and relying on natural gas reserves stored in a warren of underground caves to make it through the winter.
         In order to conserve power, President Macron’s government is moving ahead with France’s biggest energy conservation measures undertaken in decades. This is part of a broader conservation effort in Europe. The plan calls on citizens and businesses to make major lifestyle changes. These include lowering thermostats, car pooling and turning off lights after hours.
         Analysts say that there will likely be a recession in Europe next year. Though undesirable, such a recession could help lower energy demand by leading energy-intensive businesses to cut production. The drop in available power has already forced steel, chemical and glass makers to cut output and furlough workers in France and elsewhere in Europe.
         Regardless of economic conditions, France will still need to repair its reactors. Most of them were built in the 1980s and have been neglected for decades by a lack of investment. Experts say that France has lost valuable engineering expertise over the year. This trend has had serious repercussions for EDF’s ability to maintain existing nuclear power stations.
         As part of its broader repair and maintenance effort, it has brough on hundreds of skilled engineers to make up for a serious lack of hands in France’s nuclear work force. The experts hired include welders and pipe fitters from Westinghouse, as well as from French and Canadian contractors.
         However, event critical repairs must be carefully monitored. EDF said that a radioactive leak occurred this month during a hydraulic test on the main cooling circuit of the Civaux 1 nuclear power plant. EDF has spent months working to repair the cooling pipes. They are using new advanced technologies including ultrasound and welding robots that don’t have any radiation exposure limits.
         EDF claimed that there was not safety risk from the Civaux 1 leak, and that no radioactivity was detected outside of the plant. However, the episode will probably delay the reopening of the plant. It was originally scheduled to open on January 8th of 2023.
         Le Creuset is a huge foundry in France. For many years, they were the only foundry capable of forging the huge containment vessels needed for nuclear reactors. Besides providing vessels for French nuclear reactors, they also exported many vessels to other countries. A few years ago, they had forged a vessel for the Hinkley Point C plant being constructed in England. When a duplicate vessel was tested in France, it turned out that the steel in the vessel was about half as strong as it was purported to be because only half the required carbon was added to the alloy. These substandard reactor vessels had been shipped to other countries with over twenty to the U.S. alone. All the tainted reactors had to be shut down so the vessels could be checked. A number of reactors had been previously shut down in France to repair substandard welding.
         The maintenance being undertaken by EDF is certainly important if long overdue. France may have a huge nuclear fleet which provided three quarters of their electricity before many plants were shut down recently, but their problems far predate the current energy crisis.

  • Geiger Readings for Nov 17, 2022

    Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour

    Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour

    Soil exposed to rain water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

    Red bell pepper from Central Market = 139 nanosieverts per hour

    Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

    Filter water = 71 nanosieverts per hour