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.
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
Ambient office = 79 nanosieverts per hour
Ambient outside = 83 nanosieverts per hour
Soil exposed to rain water = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Pineapple from Central Market = 80 nanosieverts per hour
Tap water = 101 nanosieverts per hour
Filter water = 93 nanosieverts per hour
Anfield Energy Inc is a company that specializes in uranium and vanadium production. Their team is comprised of professionals from diverse backgrounds who are collectively working towards a common goal of fueling carbon-free, sustainable clean energy solutions. They are optimally positioned to harness the energy of the future. They have developed an innovative hub-and-spoke production strategy that leverages the unique characteristics of the Shootaring Mill in uranium-vanadium production.
Anfield has submitted its plan to reactivate production at the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill to the State of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality. The Vancouver-based company said it is scheduling the mill restart for 2026 – it has been on standby since 1982.
The plan covers an increase in mill throughput capacity to one thousand tons of ore per day from seven hundred and fifty tons per day. This amounts to an increase in annual uranium production capacity to three million pounds from one million pounds. The Shootaring mill is one of only three licensed, permitted and constructed conventional uranium mills in the USA.
The company issued a statement that read, “The plan addresses the updating the mill’s radioactive materials license from its current standby status to operational status and the increasing of both throughput capacity and the tripling of licensed production capacity. Following approval of the reactivation plan and mill refurbishment, Anfield will be able to both recommence uranium production and start vanadium production in 2026 – joining a select group of North American and US uranium producers meeting the resurgence in uranium demand.”
Anfield purchased the Shootaring Canyon mill in 2015. The conventional acid-leach facility had been owned and operated by Uranium One since 2007. However, the Canadian-based and Russian-owned company’s mining operations are focused on in-situ leach production methods. The mill was built in 1980 and commenced operations in 1982. It operated for about six months, before operations ceased due to the depressed price of uranium. During its time of operation, it produced and sold two thousand eight hundred and twenty-five pounds of U3O8. Surface stockpiles at the facility include an estimated three hundred and seventy thousand pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.147 percent. Anfield agreed in August 2014 to purchase the mill and a portfolio of uranium assets from Uranium One in a deal worth five million dollars.
Anfield said that early-stage refurbishment of Shootaring will take place during the review of the restart application. This will prepare the company to complete refurbishment as soon as the restart application is approved.
Corey Dias is the CEO of Anfield. He said, “We at Anfield are very proud of achieving the important milestone of submitting the production restart application for Shootaring. This is an achievement which has taken close to eighteen months of engineering and design input to complete and it caps a decade of methodical and strategic progression in asset development.
Dias added that “Since acquiring the Shootaring Canyon mill in 2015, we have maintained the facility, waiting for the right market conditions to return the mill to production status. With uranium reaching highs of greater than USD100 per pound earlier this year, and a global environment in which demand is expected to continue outstripping supply, we believe this is the ideal time to advance our uranium assets to production.”
Russia vetoes UN vote on nuclear weapons in space kyivindependent.com
“Fruitless and Harmful”: Iranian Media Criticizes Official’s Nuclear Rhetoric irannewsupdate.com
Lawsuit challenges $1 billion in federal funding to sustain California’s last nuclear power plant apnews.com
Lukashenko regrets Belarus lost nuclear weapons after Soviet Union’s collapse Pravda.com.ua
