NEWS |
round up
RADWASTE THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy has issued a request for information on a consent-based siting process that would be used to identify sites to store US used nuclear fuel.
ŠKODA JS SAID it has completed development of a used fuel storage cask for fuel from the Dukovany and Temelín NPPs. The client is the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO).
D&D SLOVAK COMPANY JAVYS said an important milestone had been reached in the decommissioning of the Bohunice V1 NPP with the segmentation of the 205t reactor pressure vessel (RPV) at unit 1. Segmentation took 14 months.
THE US NRC has terminated the licence for unit 3 of the Humboldt Bay nuclear plant in California and released the site for unrestricted use.
NUCLEAR CLEANUP TEAMS have removed the huge diffuser at the top of the Windscale Pile Chimney on the Sellafield site in the UK. The dismantling took three years and has also removed the seismic risk associated with the chimney.
UKRAINE’S CHERNOBYL NPP has received delegation of the Swedish Defense Research Agency, which introduced technology for monitoring xenon isotopes and its possible application for safety of the shelter and the New Safe Confinement (NSC).
TVEL, ROSATOM’S NUCLEAR fuel manufacturer and the integrator for nuclear decommissioning business, signed MOUs with the French companies, ROBATEL Industries and D&S Groupe for joint business development in nuclear decommissioning/radwaste.
ADVANCED REACTORS THE NRC HAS accepted for review an application from Kairos Power for a permit to construct a 35MW non-power molten salt test reactor, Hermes, at a site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
THE FOUNDATION SLAB for Russia’s Brest-OD-300 fast reactor has been completed at the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk. The reactor is part of the pilot demonstration energy complex (ODEK), being built by Rosatom.
THE SECOND REACTOR of China’s HTR-PM at the Shidaowan plant in Shandong province has achieved criticality just two months after the first unit.
V Hiroshima High Court in January 2020 ordered Shikoku to suspend operations, saying that the risk assessment of Shikoku Electric and the Nuclear Regulation Authority regarding a possible eruption of Mt Aso, 130km away, was inadequate. The Hiroshima High Court reversed this decision in March 2021. Shikoku Electric was initially due to restart
Ikata 3 in mid-October but restart was delayed after the operator revealed safety breaches, due to a worker leaving the site without permission on five occasions between 2017 and 2019. Ehime Governor Tokihiro Nakamura gave approval for Ikata 3 to restart in mid-November after Shikoku said it was providing its night staff with smartphones featuring global positioning system to prevent such incidents.
Sweden First RPV dismantled at Barsebäck Barsebäck’s reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has been dismantled at the Swedish site, Nukem Technologies announced on 6 December. Barsebäck comprises two 600MWe BWRs.
The Barsebäck 1 RPV was thermally cut into 13 rings 0.9-1.8m high and weighing 12-24t. The rings plus the lower part of the reactor were moved to a post-segmentation zone and then cut into manageable pieces, which were packed into special containers. A total of 430t was dismantled. The UNNU consortium — Nukem Technologies
(part of Rosatom) and Uniper Anlagenservice — won the contract to dismantle two RPVs at Barsebäck, and two at Oskarshamn, in 2019. The dismantling will start at Barsebäck and then continue at Oskarshamn, completing the project in 2024. During the past year, the equipment has been optimised so that the other three RPVs can be dismantled more efficiently and safely. “The dismantling of a nuclear reactor
vessel in Sweden was the first, and what is important, a successful experience for Rosatom in dismantling commercial BWR reactors. We look forward to starting work on the next units,” said Vadim Sukhikh, chair of the supervisory board of NUKEM and head of the industry decommissioning Integrator.
Argentina IAEA completes LTO review at Atucha An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation follow up review mission team of experts has completed a review of long term operational safety at Atucha 1 in Argentina. The mission was requested by government. The Atucha 362MWe PHWR is operated by
Nucleoelectrica Argentina, which is preparing to submit an application to the Argentinian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) to extend its operating life by 20 years. Its current licence expires in 2024. The four-person SALTO team comprised
experts from France, Pakistan and Sweden and one IAEA staff member. It reviewed improvements in preparedness, organisation
10 | January 2022 |
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and programmes related to LTO against the IAEA safety standards, following up the suggestions by the previous Pre-SALTO reviews in 2016, and 2018. “The team observed that NA-SA followed the recommendations of the Pre-SALTO mission in 2018 to make significant steps in improving ageing management and preparation for safe LTO,” said Gabor Petofi, SALTO team leader and IAEA Senior Nuclear Safety Officer. “The team encourages the plant management to complete the already commenced tasks and address the remaining findings from the 2018 mission and implement all activities for a safe LTO.” The team found that the plant has completed
assessment of the electrical, I&C systems and components for LTO, completed a condition assessment of structures, systems and components, and identified all components that need ageing assessment. Further work is necessary to improve organisational arrangements and processes, fully implement the proactive technological obsolescence programme and develop a long-term human resource plan.
South Korea KSTAR fusion reactor sets new record South Korea’s National Fusion Research Institute says plasma operation at 100 million °C, an essential requirement for nuclear fusion, successfully continued for 30 seconds during the latest tests at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) facility. Construction of KSTAR was completed in 2007
and it generated its first plasma in 2008. In 2016, it claimed a world record by maintaining plasma heated to 50 million °C for 70 seconds (surpassed the following year by China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) with a 102-second effort). The goal for devices such as these is to heat
the plasma to more than 100 million °C, and in 2018 KSTAR achieved this for 1.5s. It managed 8s in 2019, set a 20s world record in December 2020 and has now extended that to 30s. This is said to be the result of optimised magnetic field conditions and heating systems. The team is aiming to sustain the plasma for 300s in 2026 by upgrading the power source and adding a tungsten divertor. ■
Industry gathers for WNE 2021 in Paris The latest World Nuclear Exhibition, which took place from 30 November to 2 December in Paris, brought together 17,000 participants and 612 exhibitors from 76 countries. The event saw high-level panel discussions on small and advanced reactors, hydrogen and waste management, as well as technical workshops, and an awards ceremony. Many product demonstrations, announcements and agreements were inked during the three-day event. Learn more in the full event report in the next issue of NEI. ■
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