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.
IAEA mission praises Morocco’s emergency preparedness world-nuclear-news.org
Egypt’s next nuclear reactor gets approval for construction world-nuclear-news.org
OPG applies for construction licence for Darlington SMR world-nuclear-news.org
Nuclear icebreaker Ural completes sea trials nuclearstreet.com
Ambient office = 73 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 69 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 70 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 54 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 81 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water 66 nanosieverts per hour
Part 1 of 2 Parts
Six drones were recently reported to police after being spotted over a British nuclear power plant. According to newly released information, this incident remains unexplained. The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were seen over Capenhurst in Cheshire. This was disclosed by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), a specialist armed police service.
Two sparse reports at Capenhurst relate to sighting which were made within a period of four days in July of 2019. The first describes a “report of 6 drones flying over and around the site” which holds a nuclear license. The second report includes a log released by the government suggesting that there had been a ‘swarm’ incident at a nuclear facility on an unspecified date. (A swarm incident is defined as situation where interlinked drones take part in the same operation or attack.)
The list of incursions into airspaces above or near U.K. facilities also include reports of ‘flashing lights in the sky’ from an object which was not identified. Some details of the reports were redacted.
Peter Burt posts on the Drone Wars U.K. platform. He said, “Some of the incidents listed are probably just cases of careless flying by individual drone operators, but others, if accurate, seem far more malicious in their intent – such as the report of several drones flying over and around the Capenhurst uranium enrichment site in July 2019. In the majority of the cases, the police were unable to positively identify aircraft or pilots, highlighting the difficulties in countering the use of drones for illegal purposes.”
Altogether, there were eleven reports of unauthorized aerial incursions at U.K. nuclear facilities between May of 2019 and November of 2021 in a list which was disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. The latest reported incursion was at Springfield, near Preston in Lancashire. The log reads: “Report of flashing lights in the sky which was described as a low flying object overflying the site. No craft or pilot positively identified.” Other reports of UAV activity relater to Heysham which is also in Lancashire and Sellafield located on the coast of Cumbria.
Burt said, “Drones are a relatively new technology with potential to disrupt traditional security approaches. They are easily available and can be bought by anyone to use for criminal purposes. Drones bought off-the-shelf have been adapted to deliver weapons by a number of non-state groups during conflicts in the Middle East, and in the Ukraine war we have seen how even the simplest drones can be used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. It’s encouraging to see that the police are willing to publish information on this issue, which helps us to understand the nature and scale of threats to nuclear security. If we are not able to safeguard nuclear power stations effectively from such threats, then we do need to consider using alternative, safer means of power generation.”
The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released separate information about drone activity under the Freedom of Information Act.
Slovenian PM says referendum will be needed to approve new nuclear world-nuclear-news.org
Japan aging nuclear plants may be checked at least once a decade japantimes.com
Iran to send team to Vienna to discuss nuclear work with IAEA reuters.com
Poland’s government confirms Westinghouse for nuclear plant world-nucleawr-news.org
Ambient office = 66 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 106 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Mini bell pepper from Central Market = 119 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 84 nanosieverts per hour
CGI Federal to continue strengthening cybersecurity at Nuclear Regulatory Commission prnewswire.com
Fusion demonstrator proposed by Tokamak Energy world-nuclear-news.org
Kairos Power receives pressure vessel certification Fusion demonstrator proposed by Tokamak Energy world-nuclear-news.org
NATO Applicants Finland and Sweden Delay Nuclear Issue highnorthnews.com
Ambient office = 71 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 113 nanosieverts per hour
Lemon from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 86 nanosieverts per hour
Poland picks U.S. offer for its first nuclear power plant reuters.com
Cracks found in all four OL3 feedwater pumps world-nuclear-news.org
Poland looks to South Korea to build 2nd nuclear power plant spectrumlocalnews.com
‘Swarm’ of drones spotted flying above UK nuclear plant metro.co.uk
Ambient office = 70 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 112 nanosieverts per hour
English cucumber from Central Market = 98 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 91 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 77 nanosieverts per hour
Dover Sole from Central = 125 nanosieverts per hour
Westinghouse has been awarded a grant by the U.K. government to complete a Pre-Front End Engineering Design study for production of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuels at its Springfields facility in Preston, Lancashire. They will be collaborating with Urenco. The grant came through the U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Westinghouse will consider a secure and reliable supply of tristructural TRISO fuels to support a ranges of potential high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technologies under development. They will also receive support on this study from TRISO-X LLC which is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-energy of the U.S. The amount of the grant was not disclosed.
TRISO fuel is able to withstand very high temperatures. It is used for high temperature reactors which typically operate at fourteen hundred to seventeen hundred degrees Fahrenheit. TRISO fuel particles are each less than one millimeter in diameter. They contain a center of enriched oxycarbide surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide. This provides containment for fission products which is stable to over twenty-nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit. It has been called the most robust nuclear fuel in the world.
Patrick Fragman is the President and CEO of Westinghouse. He said, “This award is an important step in creating commercial-scale advanced fuel production in the UK at our Springfields facility for the reactors of tomorrow. We look forward to partnering with Urenco for their global leadership in enrichment, in support of UK energy security and net-zero carbon goals. We also welcome the support of TRISO-X and their valuable experience in the fabrication of advanced TRISO fuels.”
Boris Schucht is the CEO of Urenco. He said, “Security of energy supply and realizing crucial climate change goals requires the evolution of the nuclear fuel cycle. This includes a focus on producing the next generation of fuels. Urenco is committed to this development and is pleased to be collaborating with the UK nuclear industry and government to achieve an enhanced service for global utilities and wider benefits for society.”
Pete Pappano is the CEO of TRISO-X. He said, “The deployment of next generation TRISO fuel manufacturing in Springfields is an important step toward the UK’s decarbonization and energy independence goals. TRISO-X is pleased to bring our state-of-the-art process knowledge to support this grant.”
Earlier this month, TRISO-X broke ground for North America’s first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility in Oak Ridge, TN. The new TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility (TF3) will be commissioned and operational by 2025. At first, it will produce eight tons of fuel each year to support about sixteen advanced reactors. Production will increase to sixteen tons per year by the early 2030s.
On September 2nd of this year, the U.K. government announced a three million eight hundred thousand dollar grant to support the development of advanced nuclear technology. The grant came through the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration program which is part of the four hundred and fifty million dollars Advanced Nuclear Fund. This money will support the development of innovative nuclear technology in the U.K. such as HTGRs. They hope to demonstrate HTGR technology by the early 2030s.
Under this funding, Springfields Fuel Ltd is receiving two hundred and eighty thousand dollars to determine the most effective route for the secure and reliable supply of coated fuel particles to support the ranges of potential HTGR technologies which may develop in the U.K. Their study will focus on UCO-kernel TRISO as the standard CPF fuel type for contemporary HTGR designs but will design the facility for maximum flexibility to manufacture a wide range of variations on this fuel.
