North Korea’s Next Nuclear Test Is A Matter of ‘When,’ Not ‘If’ foreignpolicy.com

First reactor at Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant re-connected to grid news.yahoo.com

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant cut off from external power supply -IAEA reuters.com

Kansai seeks operating life extension for Takahama units world-nuclear-news.org

Ambient office = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 130 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 130 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 92 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 62 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     The DoE has just announced up to fifty million dollars to launch a new milestone-based fusion development program. Dr. Hsu was asked to elaborate on this new program and explain how it will help to bring fusion towards technical and commercial viability.
     Dr. Hsu answered that the fusion development program will enable the DoE to partner with privately funded fusion companies to realize preliminary designs for a fusion pilot plant (FPP). Critically, this partnership harnesses the five billion dollars of private capital invested into the predominantly U.S. fusion companies. The recent National Academies report Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid defines a FPP as producing net electricity > 50 megawatts for more than three hours continuously. A timely path to one full-power year of operation is a target in the report.
     There are two program Tiers. The upper Tier calls for delivering a FPP preliminary design by the late 2020s. The lower Tier asks for a preliminary design by the early 2030s. Construction and initial operations of a FPP are beyond the scope of this program. The DoE would look to continue public-private partnerships to demonstration activities. These activities will be supported by the new DoE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and/or the Loan Programs Office.
     Dr. Hsu was asked what action is needed to ensure that the U.S. becomes a key exporter of fusion technologies. He replied that new public and private investments were needed as well as an energy-development focus for fusion. Also need will be new programs that align public- and private-sector fusion research, development and demonstration to enable a FPP in the 2030s. All of the non-technical issues listed above must also be addressed.
      Dr. Hsu was asked why the recent launch of the Bold Decadal Vision for Fusion Energy was so significant. He answered that it was significant because to receive recognition by the U.S. Government leadership it is time to move beyond a science-oriented fusion program and to harness the energy market pull for fusion. It was significant for the U.S. Government leadership to declare that we wish to bring nuclear fusion energy to technical and commercial viability on an aggressive decadal timescale. Finally, it was significant to recognize that nuclear fusion has a golden opportunity to build in energy justice to start to redress past harms to communities and to facilitate public acceptance.
     Dr. Hsu was asked how important international collaboration was in promoting fusion. He replied that international collaboration and coordination are very important. Nuclear fusion energy has long been a worldwide scientific endeavor. New scientific developments must continue to be shared by fusion scientific research at international facilities including ITER. As attention turns to enabling a FPP on an aggressive timescale, targeted opportunities with our international partners must be encouraged. These include shared test facilities, coordination on regulatory and non-proliferation frameworks and developing robust supply chains including fuel supplies.
     The U.S. is not the only country that would like to lead the nuclear fusion revolution. China, Japan, Korea, France and England are also pouring millions into nuclear fusion research. In addition, at least a dozen private companies are pursuing nuclear fusion with millions of dollars of private and public funding. Hopefully, all this effort and funding will meet with success in the 2030s.

Seoul says it cannot and will not recognize North Korea as nuclear weapons state nknews.com

Iran Media Looks Beyond Nuclear Deal As Negotiations ‘Fail’ iranintl.com

Public concerned about radioactive waste from future nuclear power plant news.err.ee

Ukraine expects to have nuclear power plants back on line on Thursday jpost.com

 

 

Ambient office = 74 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside 102 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 117 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     The world is focusing on finding cleaner energy sources. Efforts to develop nuclear fusion are ramping up in the hopes of accelerating the mass adoption of fusion energy. Fusion research is attempting to duplicate the process that powers our Sun. It generates electricity from the heat of nuclear fusion reactions. Many research organizations around the world are working to advance fusion science and create a practical fusion energy source. The commercialization of fusion energy is not yet a reality. Many serious challenges must be overcome.
     The potential benefits of nuclear fusion energy are huge in the global energy transition. It holds the promise of being an on-demand, safe and abundant source of carbon-free energy and electricity. The promise of these benefits have prompted a large international effort to accelerate fusion research and development.
     The U.S. is a major player in this research. Efforts were significantly accelerated following the implementation of the United States Energy Act of 2020. This legislation laid out multiple provisions to drive forward the movement towards a clean energy future. In March of 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) co-hosted a White House Summit entitled Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy. The aim of the Bold Decadal Vision is to establish a strong partnership between the DoE and the fusion private sector. This collaboration will be dedicated to furthering fusion science and developing a U.S. led commercial fusion industry. The Vision will also address a variety of regulatory and security issues associated with commercializing fusion.
     The first step towards realizing the Vision came in September of 2022. The DoE announced up to fifty million dollars in funding to launch a new milestone-based fusion development program, as authorized in the Energy Act. The program will support for-profit entities who may team up with national laboratories, universities and other organizations. The purpose of this program is to meet major technical and commercialization milestones toward the successful design of a fusion pilot plant (FPP) that will help bring fusion towards technical and commercial viability.
     Dr. Scott Hsu is the Lead Fusion Coordinator for the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Innovation at the DoE. He is responsible for coordinating fusion energy activities across the multiple DoE program offices. Dr. Hsu recently gave an interview about the fusion activities and how these fit with the overall strategy of the U.S. to transform the energy sector with fusion.
     Dr. Hsu was asked about the major challenges faced by the U.S. in the commercialization of fusion energy and how these challenges may be met. He said that there are both technical and non-technical challenges.
Technical challenges are well known and include:
• Achieving and sustaining adequate energy gain in a fusion plasma
• Developing strong materials and concepts to handle the extreme heat and particle flux of a fusion plasma
• Closing the fuel cycle including tritium breeding and processing if needed
Non-technical challenges include:
• Mobilizing adequate public and private funding
• Establishing regulatory, export controls, and nonproliferation frameworks that stimulate public trust and enable timely licensing
• Building a diverse and robust workforce
• Ensuring worldwide robust supply chains and manufacturing capabilities
• Supporting public engagement and acceptance
• Providing for energy justice.
    He added that DoE is pursuing a department-wide approach to address all these needs in collaboration with the private sector, non-profits, other government agencies and international partners.
Please read Part 2 next

​3 Ukrainian Nuclear Plants Cut From Grid After Fresh Russian Strikes ndtv.com

Russia-Ukraine War: 3 Ukrainian Nuclear Plants Cut From Grid After Fresh Russian Strikes ndtv.com

Japan and Poland to begin work on high-temperature reactor design world-nuclear-news.org

IAEA’s Grossi holds ‘candid’ talks with Rosatom over Zaporizhzhia world-nuclear-news.org

Ambient office = 74 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 82 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 79 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 79 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 63 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
          This may have been a one-off problem, but it could also have affected all the thermal shield components with Barabaschi saying that they had to assume that it was a wider problem. He explained that “The risk is too high and the consequences of a leaking thermal shield panel during operation are too dire.” He went on to say that it would be to hard to fix the issue on the assembled modules of the pit so “we have to lift out the installed module and disassemble it in order to proceed with the repairs. We are exploring different possibilities, from on-site repair to re-manufacturing in an outside facility, possibly with different pipe attachment options.
     According to ITER, the problem found with the vacuum vessel sector was that when the component’s four individual segments were welded together the “deviations from nominal dimensions were more substantial than the specified limit in different locations on the component’s outer shell. “These dimensional non-conformities modified the geometry of the field joints where the sectors are to be welded together, thus compromising the access and operation of the bespoke automated welding tools.”
      There had been plans to fix the issue in the assembly pit. However, Barabaschi said that “the thermal shield issue has now changed the perspective … as we need to disassemble the module to fix the thermal shield piping, the question of whether or not to repair the vacuum vessel sector in the pit becomes irrelevant. We have no other solution but to remove it”.
     Repair strategies are being refined at the moment with assessments of the impact on timings and cost being drawn up. The vacuum vessel assembly has been placed on hold. ITER said in July of this year that it was already planning to revised its schedules. Most recently, the schedule for first plasma in 2025 and the start of deuterium-tritium operation in 2035. That revision to timings was partly blamed on the impact of the COVID-10 pandemic. Bernard Bigot was the longtime director of the ITER project. He died in May of this year. The revision was said not likely to be agreed until April of 2023. This was decided in order to allow time for the new director general to be appointed and decide on the timetable revision.
     The ITER council features representatives from the countries involved in the ITER project. The council met in a hybrid format on the 16th and 17th of November of this year. They also urged that “the ITER Organization and Domestic Agencies to work together to ensure an appropriate project-wide quality culture to prevent any recurrence of such issues”. ITER said that the council members also reaffirmed their strong belief in the value of the ITER mission. They resolved to work together to find timely solutions to facilitate ITER’s success.
     The ITER project has had many financial, administrative and hardware problems since its beginning. With some companies working on fusion research saying that they expect to demonstrate working reactor prototypes by 2030, it may turn out that ITER operation in 2035 will be too little too late.

Gas, CO2 price surge makes nuclear attractive, says PGE CEO reuters.com

Feasibility study agreed for new nuclear in Kyrgyz Republic world-nuclear-news.org

Threat of Possible Nuclear Accident at Zaporizhzhia Sends Tensions Rising usnews.com

Iran planning massive expansion of uranium capacity theguardian.com