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.
Indian Point oversight board, Holtec discuss decommissioning options of former nuclear plant fbherald.com
German opposition lawmakers grill ministers over nuclear phase-out yahoo.com
Risk of military incidents on Belarus-Ukraine border quite high: Lukashenko Aljazeera.com
Schneider partners with nuclear company Terrestrial Energy to commercialize small reactors datacenterdynamics.com
Ambient office = 142 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 62 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 59 nanosieverts per hour
Tomato from Central Market = 52 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 108 nanosieverts per hour
Dover Sole from Central = 94 nanosieverts per hour
Maroš Šefcovic is the European Commission executive vice-president. He told the ‘Powering Tomorrow, Inspiring Today: Nuclear Energy 2.0’ conference in Brussels that he recognized the need for EU support in investment, funding, and financing due to the high costs associated with nuclear projects.
Because of these challenges, he called for streamlining construction processes, highlighting nuclear energy’s cost-effectiveness and its consistent, clean power generation capabilities.
Šefcovic is responsible for the Green Deal, the commission’s pivotal policy initiative aimed at making the bloc’s economy climate neutral and sustainable. He said that Europe operates more than one hundred and fifty nuclear power plants, accounting for twenty two percent of its electricity supply. He highlighted the potential of small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion for Europe’s energy landscape.
The Nuclear Energy 2.0 conference was jointly hosted by power companies EDF, Fortum and Vattenfall, with Euractiv as media partner.
Thierry Breton is the European commissioner for the internal market. He praised the qualities of nuclear energy, saying it was “once again central in the debate”.
Breton said that nuclear energy is a key element for safeguarding European autonomy and industrial leadership. This is especially true when by 2050 energy demand will double and need to be carbon neutral.
Breton added that the EU should allow companies and investors to speed up the permitting process for new nuclear. Nuclear technology legislation should be established that promotes an integrated approach to research, deployment and reinforcing the market.
The conference heard that if the commission wants to reach its carbon neutral goals, nuclear power should be its biggest energy source. Breton said that Europe should “wise up and turn away from its current trajectory, where the amount of nuclear electricity production has declined in recent decades”.
Breton told a panel that Europe has voluntary reduced its nuclear power capacity and surrendered technological leadership to Russia and China while it now suffers from “resource poverty”.
The EU needs to focus on facilitating the large-scale nuclear construction Europe needs by making investment easier and more available. This is an area where the European Investment Bank has a role to play, panelists agreed.
The panel noted that significant investment is needed for new nuclear. However, nuclear power plants are not “expensive per se” because a huge amount of energy is densely concentrated. This guarantees a long-term, stable supply.
Luc Rémont is the EDF chief executive officer. He said consumer demand should be central and that “only nuclear and hydro can produce the required, constant base load, 24/7”.
Ann Mettler is the vice-president at Breakthrough Energy, an organization established by Bill Gates. She said that the lack of competitiveness is growing in the EU. The future demand for energy will be much larger, noting that AI is extremely energy intensive.
Mettler warned that “No electricity, no progress,”. She added that policy decisions should be less ideological as “we can’t regulate ourselves to net zero”.
The panelists said there is no silver bullet and a pragmatic energy mix is required. It has to leave ample room to maneuver for member states. They said that there is no “one size fits all” solution and Brussels should not dictate this.
The panel stressed the need for a level playing field and a technology neutral taxonomy. These should be combined with risk-sharing instruments, so that all financial institutions would be able to invest in nuclear energy. There should be fair access for investment in all net-zero technologies.
The nuclear threats that loom over Iran and Israel washingtonpost.com
Israel targeted air defense system for Iran nuclear site jpost.com
IAEA assesses operation of Japanese reactor for 60 years world-nuclear-news.org
CORE Energy Systems leads life extension of the Tarapur nuclear plant world-nuclear-news.org
Ambient office = 129 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 95 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour
Strawberry from Central Market = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 89 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 74 nanosieverts per hour
Fusion research is heating up as different laboratories explore combining techniques to control instability in plasmas.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have successfully simulated a new combination method for managing fusion plasma. They were able to show how the two united methods offer more flexibility and stability.
The two processes used are electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) and applying resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP). ECCD is used in magnetic confinement fusion experiments to control and sustain the plasma current. The application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) includes introducing small, controlled magnetic disturbances into the plasma.
Qiming Hu is the lead author of the study. In an official statement, he said, “This is kind of a new idea.” The study was published in Nuclear Fusion. It indicates that even though the work showed a lot of promise, there are serious challenges. One problem is perfecting the methods for minimizing bursts of particles known as edge-localized modes (ELMs) from the plasma, which can be dangerous.
A fusion reactor known as a tokamak uses magnetic fields to contain the plasma in a donut shape. However, the ELMs can lead to the end of the reaction. They can potentially damage the device in the process. Alessandro Bortolon said, “The best way we’ve found to avoid them is by applying RMPs.
The magnetic fields initially applied by the tokamak travel around the torus-shaped plasma like a rope. The magnetic fields created by the RMPs weave in and out. They produce fields known as magnetic islands due to their oval shape.
Magnetic islands in plasma are generally unwanted. If they are too big, the plasma itself can be disrupted. However, in experimental conditions, they can be beneficial.
Creating RMPs big enough to develop the desired magnetic islands in the plasma is a challenge. This is where the ECCD generates microwave beams. They act as a special component that lowers the current needed to generate the RMPs necessary to make the islands. They make the process more controllable and also perfect the size of the islands for maximum plasma edge stability.
When the ECCD was aimed in the same direction as the current, the width of the island decreased. When the ECCD was aimed opposite to the current, the pedestal pressure increased. Hu said, “Applying the ECCD in the opposite direction produced opposite results.”
Hu added that “People think applying localized ECCD at the plasma edge is risky because the microwaves may damage in-vessel components. We’ve shown that it’s doable, and we’ve demonstrated the flexibility of the approach. This might open new avenues for designing future devices.”
The combination of these two methods improves stability and control. This is essential for energy production via fusion reactions.
This could mean a reduction in the cost of fusion energy production in commercial-scale fusion devices of the future. Hopefully, it will lead us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This can be a step toward a more sustainable future.
Report: ‘Radiophobia’ Drives U.S. Nuclear Policy cei.org
IAEA experts review treated radioactive wastewater from Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan foxnews.com
National Security Risks Grow with Demand for Nuclear Energy claimsjournal.com
Macron touts France’s nuclear weapons to back support for Ukraine gazette.com
Ambient office = 85 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 118 nanosieverts per hour
Red bell pepper from Central Market = 122 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 95 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 89 nanosieverts per hour
Canada’s Prodigy Clean Energy and Des Nëdhé Group are collaborating on a plan to transport portable microreactor stations, called Transportable Nuclear Power Plants, to the country’s remote locations. They will supply electricity to mining facilities, construction sites, and even communities, according to a press release.
The power plants are being developed to house different types of microreactors, which are small, portable nuclear generators. They supply from one to twenty megawatts of electricity.
The Prodigy/Des Nëdhé effort will include collaboration with Indigenous communities so that they can take part in workforce gains and have ownership in the enterprises.
Sean Willy is the Des Nëdhé President. He said in a press release, “Ensuring a secure, carbon-free, and affordable electricity and heat supply for all of Canada is crucial, and SMRs will play a significant role.” Willy’s organization is an Indigenous economic development firm.
Part of the goal of the collaboration is to replace dirty diesel fuel power plants with cleaner nuclear power. The Prodigy power stations will be prefabricated in a shipyard. Following construction, they will be sent to where the electricity is needed. They can be deployed inland or on the coast of a body of water in a protected harbor. The protected harbor option reduces the concrete footprint needed for the setup. The stations can be quickly activated and are easily redeployable. They have a lifetime of 60 years, according to Prodigy.
The stations can continue to operate in areas with seismic activity and in “volatile climates,” the makers note. They will also have a plan in place to deal with nuclear waste before deployment of a microreactor.
The partners are collaborating with Westinghouse to incorporate its state-of-the-art eVinci microreactor in the project. The eVinci microreactor can run for eight years or more. This prevents fifty-five thousand tons of air pollution from spewing into the atmosphere annually, according to Westinghouse. An eVinci microreactor is set to go online in Saskatchewan in 2029.
There are fifty-four commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. and six in Canada, according to both governments. The U.S. plants generate around two thousand two hundred and five tons of nuclear waste each year. That is less than half the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The waste is in the form of small ceramic pellets, not barrels of liquid radioactive waste, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
If the portable microreactor can gain traction with a safe and reliable process, it could help to energize our transformation to a more sustainable energy source. Nuclear disasters are rare but extreme.
Current nuclear power plants utilize nuclear fission. Breakthroughs in nuclear fusion reactors could also provide a less radioactive nuclear energy source. However, there’s still a great deal of work to be done to bring fusion power to market.
The Prodigy news is important because nuclear energy would provide near-limitless electricity in hard-to-power areas. It could eliminate planet-warming air pollution from dirty-fuel-burning plants and prevent harmful fumes from impacting public health.
Mathias Trojer is the CEO of Prodigy. He said, “Prodigy’s microreactor … offers a near-term solution to transition remote locations off of diesel.”
North Korea runs simulation nuclear counterstrike against foreign enemies foxnews.com
Russia says Polish discussion on hosting US nuclear weapons is dangerous aol.com
IAEA chief: Iran is ‘weeks’ away from nuclear capacity i24news.tv
Nuclear fuel plant gets $148.5 million boost in Oak Ridge as it awaits critical permit knoxnews.com
