NEWS |
round up
RADWASTE CZECH MINISTER OF Industry & Trade, Jozef Síkela, has said the site of the planned deep nuclear waste repository should be decided by the government and parliament. The law detailing these procedures was presented at a government meeting by Síkela, together with modified plans for preparation of the repository, which is intended to store used fuel from the Temelin and Dukovany NPPs.
D&D
US-BASED HOLTEC International says it is using a new device, HI-CUT, to improve the efficiency of dismantling the reactor at unit 3 of the Indian Point NPP in Buchanan, New York State. The device is being used for reactor vessel segmentation. All three units at the Indian Point Energy Centre have been closed for decommissioning.
ADVANCED REACTORS THE UK’S OFFICE for Nuclear Regulation has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to share best practice and experience with respect to advanced and small modular reactor technologies. It is based on an Information Exchange Arrangement signed in October 2020.
UK ATOMICS, A subsidiary of Denmark’s Copenhagen Atomics, has applied to the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for its containerised small modular thorium molten salt reactor design to undergo Generic Design Assessment by the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency.
SMRS ROSATOM IS STUDYING sites in Kyrgyzstan for the possible construction of a 110 MWe two-unit small NPP with a RITM-200N reactor. Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibraev told parliament: “We are studying the possibility of building a low-capacity nuclear power plant with Rosatom, which will consist of two power units of 55 MWe each.”
THE NEBRASKA PUBLIC Power District, which owns and operates the Cooper NPP, is studying possible sites for an SMR. The project is to be financed through legislation that appropriated $1.04bn allocated to Nebraska from federal pandemic relief funds.
V Ukraine
IAEA missions at all NPPs IAEA missions have now been stationed at all Ukrainian NPPs - South Ukraine, Rivni, Khmelnitsky and the Chornobyl site. This is in addition to Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP), which has been under Russian control since March 2022, and where an IAEA team has been in place since September. However, following talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said a lot of work lay ahead. “A NPP is a big place and many things need to be checked.” He pointed to issues with the supply chain
under current conditions. “It is sometimes very difficult to get replacement parts and equipment needed for the normal functioning of the plant,” he noted. “So we are looking at lists of equipment that the regulator and Energoatom have given us and we will work to try to provide those. Each plant is different with different issues, which is why we have a permanent mission at each of them.” He said that during a year which saw the first
major conventional war in a territory with a vast nuclear infrastructure, there had been many difficult moments and challenges. “However, we saw that the regulator was prepared and the staff at the plants acted as they should.” He said he was “very worried” about ZNPP, which is on the frontline. “We know that an accident with radiological consequences may take place any day. This is why I will continue to say that the establishment of a protective zone around the plant is indispensable.” Grossi said he was “making progress” and
discussions would continue. “There are a number of issues surrounding he possible establishment of the zone – some are nuclear technical issues…and there are other matters related to the area of the zone, the specific extension of the zone.” He concluded: “No-one disagrees that we need to protect the facility to avoid an accident. We need to make sure that, when the war finishes, the plant is intact and ready to operate. At this point it requires protection, and that is what the zone is intended to do.” The Agency will have around 11-12 staff
simultaneously on the ground in the country, which IAEA describes as “an unprecedented undertaking”.
Slovakia Start-up of Mochovce 3 approved Slovakia’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority – Úrad jadrového dozoru (UJD) – has approved the next stage of commissioning of Mochovce NPP unit 3. Mochovce 3 is VVER-440 reactor with a design life of 60 years. UJD’s approval followed submission of a
report by owner/operator Slovenské elektrárne (SE) detailing the results of physical start- up tests. These included pressure tests of the containment; primary circuit and steam
12 | February 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
generators tests; verification of the reactor control and protection systems; and tests to verify all reactor core characteristics – first without a fission reaction and then at minimum a up to 2% of the nominal power. During the next stage of commissioning, the
reactor power will initially be increased to 5% and then in stages up to 100%. Scheduled tests, approved by UJD will be carried out at each stage. Once the power is increased to 20%, when the steam generators are producing sufficient steam, the first and second turbine-generators will be connected to the grid. Full functionality will be confirmed by successful completion of a 144-hour proof run at nominal power. The new unit will provide approximately 13% of total electricity consumption, making Slovakia energy self-sufficient and a net exporter of electricity. More exports expected when unit 4 is completed in 2024.
Spain VVER-440 fuel deal formalised Enusa Industrias Avanzadas and Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB have formalised a cooperation agreement regarding the manufacture of VVER-440 fuel. Under this agreement, Westinghouse and
Enusa will manufacture the fuel using their factories at Västerås, in Sweden, and Juzbado (Salamanca), in Spain, as supply contracts are signed. Enusa has already launched all the necessary activities to reinstall a production line for this product at its Juzbado factory. This is expected to be completed in 2023 to make possible fuel deliveries from 2024. Enusa says the agreement opens the door to
collaboration in engineering and licensing as well as in service activities. In September, Westinghouse and Enusa announced their intention to collaborate on VVER-440 fuel fabrication with the aim of delivering a Western alternative to Russian fuel in the European market. VVER-440s currently use fuel from Rosatom’s TVEL. The fuel assembly design – NOVA E-3
(fixed assembly) and NOVCA (follower) – was developed in 1996-98 in a programme involving BNFL (UK), IVO (Finland) and PAKS (Hungary).
France ITER problems continue Work is underway to address defects which were identified in two key components during assembly of ITER – incorrect sizes for the joints of blocks to be welded together for the installation’s 19 x 11 metre chamber, and traces of corrosion in a thermal shield. ITER director general Pietro Barabaschi said
these problems would result in more delays, with the previous target of creating plasma by 2025 postponed. “There is no scandal here,” Barabaschi noted. “Such things happen. I’ve seen many issues of the kind, and much worse.” Currently, workers are cleaning the surface of a thermal shield panel that has been stripped of its cooling pipes, with the last traces of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
