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.
Part Two of Two Parts (Please read Part One first)
The problem with the projected costs of new Chinese reactors is that information about reactor construction is under tight control of the central government. There is simply no way to know if these numbers are realistic or just propaganda. Of course, construction in China is cheaper than construction in the U.S. because of lower labor costs but the only way to drop costs by two thirds is to significantly reduce safety measures.
China intends to make nuclear reactors a major export item. There is a push right now in China to undertake major construction projects in other countries. The recent deal signed between France, China and U.K for the construction of two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point includes provisions for the Chinese to construct a new reactor of Chinese design at Bradwell in Britain with Chinese labor. It is understood in the nuclear industry that the principle reason that China wants to construct their reactor in Britain is so that they can use it as a demonstration model to sell reactors. There is a great deal of concern in Britain about how the British are going to be able to regulate the Chinese reactor and insure that it is properly constructed and not a threat to British citizens.
Another issue of great concern with the Chinese nuclear plans is the fact that most of the new reactors will be built on the east and south coasts of China. This is where there are huge cities and major industrial centers and it allows sea water to be used for cooling. However, these coastal areas face waters where there is a great deal of seismic activity and a big threat of tsunamis. The recent nuclear disaster at Fukushima illustrates why this can be a problem. Earthquakes in the Manila trench will threaten the Chinese coast. There are also major hurricanes in these areas that could cause severe damage to nuclear power. Then there are the active volcanoes in the area. A volcanic eruption could trigger a powerful tsunami that could damage reactors on the coast.
If China constructs hundreds of new nuclear power reactors along its vulnerable coast, an earthquake, volcano or hurricane or a combination of these could trigger huge tsunamis which could severely damage or destroy not just one nuclear reactor but dozens and immediately endanger the lives of millions of Chinese. In the long run, the resulting outpouring of radiation into the ocean and atmosphere would wind up circulating around the whole planet and posing a serious threat to human civilization. It has been over four years since the Fukushima disaster and the Japanese are still not able to control the release of radioactive materials into the Pacific Ocean.
Fortunately for the world, actual Chinese reactor construction is not nearly as fast or cheap as the Forbes article projects for future Chinese reactor construction. As has been the case with reactor projects all over the world, many of the Chinese reactor projects are well behind schedule and, quite possibly, over budget. In addition, the Chinese people have already halted nuclear construction projects such as a plant to enrich uranium by taking to the streets in protest. Another major nuclear accident anywhere in the world will increase the reluctance of the Chinese people to have a reactor build anywhere near them. I believe that as time passes, the Chinese will scale back their nuclear ambitions for a number of reasons. At least, I hope that this is the case because the future of humanity could be at risk.
Fukushima nuclear waste now being found off all U.S. states on West Coast. enenews.com
Entergy to close FitzPatrick nuclear plant in Oswego County cnycentral.com
Vladimir Putin orders Russian security council to stockpile nuclear protective equipment independent.co.uk
Nuclear fusion just got a boost with the arrival of this stellarator foxnews.com
Japan Times reports that “deadly” radiation levels have been detected outside Fukushima containment vessel. enenews.com
Scottish bit of the Labour Party voted in favour of getting rid of Britain’s nuclear weapons. telegraph.co.uk
What’s Next for America’s Nuclear-Waste Clean-Up. blogs.wsj.com
Stating that India has “one of the largest nuclear power programs” among developing nations, a US-based think-tank today said by the end of 2014 India had enough weapon-grade plutonium to possess an estimated stock of atomic weapons in the range of 75-125. econoicstimes.indiatimes.com
Government Shills Hide Fukushima’s High Cancer Rate japantimes.co.jp
Nuclear energy is not worth the risk. johnsoncitypress.com
Part One of Two Parts
China has been getting a lot of press lately about their aggressive plans to build over a hundred nuclear power reactors in the next fifteen years. Forbes magazine recently published an article saying that “China shows the way to build nuclear reactors fast and cheap.” The article went on to say that there should be over four hundred new nuclear reactors in China by 2050 generating more than 350 gigawatts of electricity as a result of over a trillion dollars of investment in nuclear infrastructure. Critics of China’s bold plans point out that history has shown that the world can expect about one major nuclear accident for every three thousand years of nuclear power reactor operation. This means that four hundred reactors operating for eight years should generate at least one major accident by global averages.
If China had a record of safety and competence in its construction industry, then perhaps it would take longer than eight years for a major accident to happen. But this is not the case. China has a horrible record of corruption, lack of regulation, lack of competence, etc. that has resulted in many deaths related to collapse of buildings due to poor construction. Recently there were huge explosions and fires at the port of Tianjin. They were a result of corruption, greed, failure to follow regulations, etc. Hazardous wastes with explosive potential were stored near residential areas and regulations about spacing of storage and amounts of waste permitted were ignored. Recent major wrecks on bullet train lines have been attributed by government investigators to “design flaws and sloppy management.” With respect to nuclear reactor construction, one of the biggest nuclear reactor construction companies in China left out a lot of protective steel in the foundation of a reactor building at the Daya Bay nuclear power plant near Hong Kong in 1987 because the construction crew misread the blueprints.
Currently China has multiple reactor projects with different new designs all being built simultaneously. So none of these reactor designs has any history of operation. The Chinese government is deeply involved in the nuclear industry in China and maintains a great deal of secrecy with respect to the design, cost and construction of nuclear reactors. Obviously, this is an invitation for the industry to ignore regulations and cut corners wherever possible, especially when there is heavy pressure to move quickly. It is quite possible that there would be more frequent major accidents than the global average if China carries through with its ambitious plans.
With respect to the low announced cost of the planned Chinese reactors, some critics are skeptical of the numbers quoted in the Forbes article. Six reactors are being built at Yangjiang for a projected cost of about twelve billion dollars. This amounts to about two billion dollars per reactor as opposed to the current cost of about six billion dollars per reactor in the West. Two reactors being built on Hainan Island are supposed to cost about three billion dollars. This is even less than the optimistic two billion dollars per reactors for Yangjiang. All of these new reactors are supposed to take about five years to construct which is much faster than actual reactor construction time required in the developed world.
Please read Part Two
Daya Bay nuclear power plant:
