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.
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.
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 = 67 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 112 nanosieverts per hour
Avocado from Central Market = 121 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 81 nanosieverts per hour
General Atomics (GA) has just revealed a steady-state, compact advanced tokamak Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) concept. GA says that the FPP design capitalizes on its innovations and advancements in fusion technology.
The GA fusion system creates a plasma with powerful magnets and microwave heating. In steady-state operation, the fusion plasma is maintained for long periods of time. This is done to maximize efficiency, reduce maintenance costs and increase the lifetime of the facility.
GA said that the facility would utilize its proprietary Fusion Synthesis Engine (FUSE). This will enable engineers, physicists, and operators to rapidly perform a broad range of studies and continuously optimize the power plant for maximum efficiency.
GA has also developed an advanced modular concept referred to as GAMBL for the breeding blanket which is a critical component of the fusion power cycle that breeds tritium which is a fusion energy fuel source. This will make the fusion fuel cycle self-sufficient.
According to GA, the FPP will provide baseload energy without any harmful emissions or long-lived waste. GA said that the plant will be “Capable of operating around the clock, commercialized fusion power plants would provide sustainable, carbon-free firm energy for generations.”
Wayne Solomon is the Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy at GA. He said, “Our practical approach to a FPP is the culmination of more than six decades of investments in fusion research and development, the experience we have gained from operating the DIII-D National Fusion Facility on behalf of the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the hard work of countless dedicated individuals. This is a truly exciting step towards realizing fusion energy.”
Brian Grierson is the Director of the Fusion Pilot Plant Hub at GA. He said, “General Atomics has a long and storied history of being at the forefront of fusion innovations. We are proud to be a world leader in plasma theory and modeling, advanced materials engineering, and other areas necessary for commercializing fusion. We intend to bring the full strength of our institutional expertise to this effort as we advance our vision for fusion energy.”
DIII-D has been conducting groundbreaking fusion research since the mid-1980 with support for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and substantial international collaboration. There are over one hundred participating institutions and a research team of more than six hundred scientists collaborating at DIII-D,
In March of last year, scientists at DIII-D released a new concept for a compact fusion reactor design they said could help define the technology required for commercial fusion power. The Compact Advanced Tokamak (CAT) concept enables a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently. This will allow it to be built at a reduced scale and cost. The CAT concept was developed from simulations of a first-of-a-kind reactor. The physics-based approach combines theory developed at the DIII-D facility with computing by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists using the Cori supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. It is based on development and testing of the underlying physics concept on DIII-D.
In July of this year, GA announced that it was collaborating with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to address a critical challenge to the economic fusion energy as part of a public-private partnership funded by the DoE. The partnership will combine GA’s experience in fusion energy research with SRNL’s expertise in processing and storing tritium. Tritium is one of the fuel gases used in fusion.
Anantha Krishnan is Senior Vice President of the General Atomics Energy Group. He said, “Excitement for fusion energy is at an all-time high, with historic interest from private industry and government. We look forward to working with our partners to make our vision for economic fusion energy a reality. Now is the time for fusion, and General Atomics plans to lead the way.”
USA, Japan partner with Ghana on SMR deployment world-nuclear-news.org
Russia’s Putin: ‘No need’ to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine tribdem.com
Iran Is an Ever More ‘Relevant’ Problem usnews.com
Putin watches first Russian nuclear drill since invasion of Ukraine bbc.com
