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.
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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 = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 61 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 66 nanosieverts per hour
Garlic bulb from Central Market = 129 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 67 nanosieverts per hour
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) says it has developed a new technique for the world’s first nuclide separation device that employs robots and sensors.
To safely manage radioactive waste, radionuclide analysis must be conducted to determine what radionuclides are present within it. There are three processes involved including preprocessing, separation, and measurement.
Nuclide separation is the process of adding a reagent that reacts with a specific nuclide to a sample of melted radioactive waste. This process is repeated to separate each nuclide. Current techniques include a manual method of adding the reagent to a separation container by gravity and an automatic method using a pump.
The manual method is unable to control the speed of the reagent, the KAERI notes, and the automatic method has the disadvantage of having complex components such as pumps, valves, and numerous tubes connected to the valves. The valves must be activated according to a predetermined sequence. In particular, the automatic method requires cleaning each time it is used to ensure that no radioactive materials remain in the valves that control the injection of the reagent and the tubes through which the reagent moves.
The KAERI says that the separation device it has developed uses an automatic method. A liquid handling robot that does not come into contact with radioactive samples inserts reagents as needed. The radioactive samples separated by the reagent reaction are each collected for the next measurement process. Due to the use of the robot, there is no need for a valve that can cause residual materials or blockages. The number of tubes used has also been drastically reduced. This makes it possible to easily replace components that come into contact with radioactive samples. It completely eliminates the possibility of cross-contamination due to residual samples.
A non-contact sensor has been applied to the nuclide separation vessel for the first time. This sensor detects when all the reagents have been injected. It then notifies the operator in real time that the process of adsorbing or separating the nuclide into the adsorbent inside the separation vessel is complete. This allows more accurate separation than the existing method of operating the pump for a set period of time.
The KAERI says that the new device can efficiently sequentially separate technetium-99, strontium-90, iron-55, niobium-94, and nickel-59 and nickel-63 from a single sample. An effectiveness evaluation conducted in cooperation with the KAERI’s Radioactive Waste Chemical Analysis Centre, found that technetium, strontium, niobium and nickel were separated three times faster than the existing method. This achieved a high nuclide recovery rate of eighty-three to ninety-seven percent. In contrast to the existing method, iron was able to react about thirty three percent longer by precisely controlling the amount and speed of the reagent, resulting in better and more precise results.
Ryu Jae-soo is the head of KAERI’s Advanced Nuclear Cycle Technology Development Division. He said, “Future commercialization of the technology will provide a technological breakthrough that will allow for more rapid and efficient analysis of radioactive waste generated during the operation or decommissioning of nuclear facilities.”
Ambient office = 111 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 103 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Campari tomato from Central Market = 127 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 74 nanosieverts per hour
The globe’s first-ever grid-scale commercial nuclear fusion power plant is coming to Chesterfield County.
In a December 17th press release, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced that a plant powered by nuclear fusion called “ARC” will provide four hundred megawatts of power to Virginia’s energy grid — or enough to power about 150,000 homes — starting in the early 2030s. It will be constructed in the one hundred acres James River Industrial Park.
This development was made possible through an agreement with Dominion Energy. According to the press release, through this “nonfinancial collaboration,” Dominion will provide CFS with development and technical expertise. It will provide leasing rights for the site, which it currently owns.
A spokesperson for Dominion Energy said in the press release that its customers’ “growing needs for reliable, carbon-free power [benefit] from as diverse a menu of power generation options as possible.”
Nuclear fusion is a process where two light atomic nuclei combine, forming a single heavier one and releasing “massive amounts of energy,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
CFS said in the press release, “Fusion is the last energy source humanity needs, with cheap and abundant fuel, inherently safe operations, and no greenhouse gas emissions. Now ARC has a place to happen.”
This fusion power plant’s development depends on the work being done by CFS on “SPARC” which is a tokamak machine that demonstrates the production of fusion energy. According to the press release, SPARC is expected to produce its first plasma in 2026. Then net fusion energy should follow soon after, “demonstrating for the first time a commercially relevant design that will produce more power than consumed.” Once that is completed, ARC can become a reality.
The company said that, in addition to generating clean energy, ARC will also create hundreds of jobs for Virginians. The state’s workforce encouraged CFS to pick the James River Industrial Park as the location for the fusion reactor, according to the press release.
CFS said, “We selected this site because it has all the things one would want for the site for the first commercial fusion power plant. It’s in a state and county that has welcomed us. It can put the power to good use. It has a workforce that is capable and eager. The physical site is big enough, flat enough and near good transportation. It has a connection to the grid after a coal power plant retired. And it’s accessible so the world can come and visit.”
In a December 17th press release from the Office of the Governor, Governor Glenn Youngkin praised CFS’ choice to develop in Virginia as a “historic moment.”
Youngkin said. “Commonwealth Fusion Systems is not just building a facility, they are pioneering groundbreaking innovation to generate clean, reliable, safe power, and it’s happening right here in Virginia. We are proud to be home to this pursuit to change the future of energy and power.” The Governor’s office added that this plant is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic development.
Government inquiry recommends lifting Swedish uranium ban world-nuclear-news.org
Westinghouse signs agreement to diversify fuel supply for Bulgarian plant world-nuclear-news.org
Kazakhstan will invite American companies for the production of small nuclear power plants. Eadaily.com
Russian attacks dealt damage to critical substations of Ukrainian nuclear plants – IAEA Pravda.com.ua
Ambient office = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 08 nanosieverts per hour
Blueberry from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 95 nanosieverts per hour
A frantic hunt was undertaken on the evening of December 18th for a missing radioactive package which ‘failed’ to arrive at Madrid’s Barajas Airport. Spain’s Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) raised the alarm yesterday evening over the transport package with ‘four radioactive sources’ of ‘very dangerous’ Selenium-75. Local reports said the CSN had sent a team of inspectors to the airport to try to gain more information.
El Pais is a major Spanish media outlet. It reported that the CSN eventually located the package, and it was deactivated. It was not immediately revealed how the transport container with the radioactive package had gone missing in the first place.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) uses the following categories to cover the danger of a radioactive source:
Category 1
Personally extremely dangerous: This amount of radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, would be likely to cause permanent injury to a person who handled it, or were otherwise in contact with it, for more than a few minutes. It would probably be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded material for a period of a few minutes to an hour. highly soluble in water.
Category 2
Personally very dangerous: This amount of radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled it, or were otherwise in contact with it, for a short time (minutes to hours). It could possibly be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of hours to days. water.
Category 3
Personally dangerous: This amount of radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could cause permanent injury to a person who handled it, or were otherwise in contact with it, for some hours. It could possibly be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period of days to weeks.
Category 4
Unlikely to be dangerous: It is very unlikely that anyone would be permanently injured by this amount of radioactive material. However, this amount of unshielded radioactive material, if not safely managed or securely protected, could possibly temporarily injure someone who handled it or were otherwise in contact with it, or who were close to it for a period of many weeks
Category 5
Not dangerous: No one could be permanently injured by this amount of radioactive material.
Before the package was recovered, CSN recommended that anyone who came across the package should avoid touching it and immediately alert the authorities. The package was rated as a Category 2 hazard from the categories listed above.
Selenium-75 is a radioactive isotope that has radiopharmaceutical uses. Selenium-75 sources are also utilized on offshore oil rigs and at power plants during outages.
Travelers at Gatwick airport missed flights after being stuck in huge queues
The CSN said in its first comments about the package scare, “The CSN has sent a team of three inspectors to Barajas Airport to find out more details about the incident and try to confirm whether the package has arrived at the airport. The CSN is in constant contact with the Community of Madrid.”
The radioactive material was housed in a B (U) container, model NE4C. It should have arrived at the cargo terminal at the airport.
The CSN noted that “All the radioactive sources are properly encapsulated and shielded to avoid radiation to the outside. The four radioactive sources are Category 2 on a scale of one to five established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
In February of this year, Barcelona Airport’s Terminal One was partially sealed off after it was discovered that the outer packaging of a box containing medical material with radioactive substances had broken open. The damaged box was found in the hold of a Swiss Airline plane flying between Barcelona and Zurich.
Firefighters specializing in chemical hazards were dispatched to the scene. There were also special emergency responders, although no medical assistance was required.
Australian navy advertises nuclear submarine job with $120,000 salary and ‘no experience’ needed theguardian.com
How Ukraine must shape its nuclear energy strategy theloop.ecpr.eu
Hedge Funds Cut Nuclear Technology Exposure After ‘Hard’ Rally finance.yahoo.com
IAEA commends Ghana on nuclear power program progress world-nuclear-news.org
