The Hongyanhe nuclear power plant in China’s Liaoning province will soon be host to a demonstration of nuclear heating. It will be the first nuclear energy heating project in northeast China. Nearly twenty thousand local residents will benefit.
     The project will include six miles of a primary pipeline network, three and a half miles of a secondary pipeline network and four new heat exchange stations according to China General Nuclear (CGN).
     It is estimated that the project will reduce the consumption of coal by five thousand seven hundred and twenty six tons. It should reduce CO2 emissions by fourteen thousand tons. It will “effectively improve the atmosphere in the heating area” and provide a “remarkable” environmental protection benefits.
     The Hongyanhe nuclear power plant is owned and operated by Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Company which is a joint venture between CGN and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). Each holding a 45% stake. The Dalian Municipal Construction Investment Company holds the remaining 10% stake.  Last March, Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power signed an agreement with Liaoning’s largest central heating enterprise, SPIC subsidiary State Power Investment Northeast Electric Power Company, for a district heating project at the Hongyanhe plant.
     Construction of Phase I of the Hongyanhe plant including four CPR-1000 pressurized water reactors designated Units 1 through 4 began in August of 2009. Units 1 and 2 have been in commercial operation since June 2013 and May 2014 respectively. Unit 3 entered commercial operation in August 2015. Unit 4 began operating in September of 2016. Phase II comprised two ACPR – 1000 reactors designated Units 5 and 6. Construction of Unit 5 started in March of 2015 and Unit 6 construction started in July of 2015. Unit 5 went into commercial operation in July of 2021 and Unit 6 began commercial operation in June 2022.
     The Hongyanhe nuclear heating project is the first district heating project in northeast China. The Chinese government has stated that clean-energy heating is a priority. In 2017, the government issued guidance on clean heating in winter in northern China. The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) released a five-year plant covering 2017-2021. It highlighted the innovation of clean heating technology and consideration of nuclear heating.
     China’s Haiyang nuclear power plant in Shandong province officially began providing district heating to the surrounding area in November of 2020. This was China’s first commercial nuclear heating project. A trial of the project was carried out the previous winter. It provided heat to seven million five hundred thousand square feet of housing. This included the plant’s dormitory and some local residents. This year, the Haiyang Nuclear Energy Heating Project started supplying heating to the entire Haiyang city.
     The first phase of district heating demonstration project at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in China’s southern Zhejiang Province was ordered in December 2021. This project is divided into three phases. The first phase now provides nuclear energy-generated central heating to five million square feet of accommodation in three residential areas. Fifty-four thousand square feet of apartments for almost four thousand residents of Haiyan County will also be supplied with heat. This covers the main urban area of Haiyan County and the entire area of Shupu Town.
     Russia, several East European countries, Switzerland and Sweden have all engaged in nuclear-fueled district heating schemes. Heat from nuclear power plants has also been provided to industrial sites in several countries.

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Ambient office = 76 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Seedless grape from Central Market = 91 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
      There were three one-line reports of drone activity from last year. These did not give any location. One of them states that “red light over area, sounded like a drone” without giving any further information. Another report described a pilot and two others operating a drone which was not inside a no-fly zone. The third report states that, “Member of public who saw a white van and a male, also observed two lights in the sky and believed they were drones.”
     A passing detail in another report from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) indicates that there was a report of a swarm at an unnamed nuclear licensed site in the U.K. This incident occurred between January of 2014 and July 2020 according to the regulatory agency which did not give any details. The ONR refused to release any additional information after considering the public interest but deciding it was outweighed by national security. It is not clear if the group of drones reported at Capenhurst is the same incident that is being kept secret by the ONR.
      These reports of drone activity come at a time of increasing tensions between the West and China and Russia. Each of these countries has been linked to concerted physical and cyber spying operation in the U.K.
     Last April, a source told the Sunday People newspaper that Chinese spies in the U.K., have been targeting “very sensitive establishments” such as military bases and nuclear power stations with UAVs.
     In July of 2020, the potential threat was demonstrated in the U.S. when a swarm of drones was spotted over a nuclear reactor in Arizona on two consecutive nights. Official reports state that the incident at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station remains unsolved. Six drones were reported each night.
     Drones and any other type of unmanned aircraft are banned from flying the airspace over nuclear installations by the U.K. Air Navigation Order 2016. A spokesperson for the MoD has said that “We have robust security measures in place at all defense sites, including nuclear bases, to respond to all such incidents. While we cannot comment on specific security arrangements or procedures, we continue to invest in a range of measures to tackle future threats, including counter-drone technology.”
     The evolving use of drones has been demonstrated on the battlefield in Ukraine. This includes civilian model drones adapted for reconnaissance. An online news site has previously reported that the U.K. government has joined with the private and academic sectors in developing the technology.
     A CNC spokesperson said, “Drones are an advancing technology utilized within both the nuclear and policing industries. The evolvement of detection and anti-drone systems is continuous, along with changes in legislation, and awareness packages for both the hobbyist and legitimate operator. As anti-drone technologies develop, the CNC actively reviews and assesses the benefits. While not commenting on individual reports, to our knowledge, there has been no confirmed malicious use of a drone in relation to the UK’s civil nuclear sites.”
     The CNC forwarded the query about the reported swarm to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS). DBEIS said, “Any criminal investigations are led by the relevant local police force. It would not be appropriate to comment further.”

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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.

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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

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