Fukushima Dai-Ichi and the Future of Nuclear Power Applied Lessons From Past Nuclear Reactor Disasters

7/31/2019 Fukushima Dai-Ichi and the Future of Nuclear Power Applied Lessons From Past Nuclear Reactor Disasters

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Fukushima Dai-ichi and the Future of Nuclear Power:Applied Lessons from Past Nuclear Reactor Disasters

FridayJune03,201111:30PDT,Vancouver,Canada

CambridgeCri=calMetalsConference,June3-4,2011

ThomasS.Drolet

Worldwidecell:1-828-493-1523

[email protected]

www.droletenergy.com

President:Drolet&AssociatesEnergyServices,Inc.


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TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyConcep:ontoBirth

Concep=onwasinpurescience Thenmedicalapplica=ons Wardrovethenextstageofdevelopment.Developingan

effec=venuclearweaponforuseinWorldWarII.

PostWWII,theUSAGovernment(andotherNa=onStates)decidedtoencouragethedevelopmentofcommercialnuclear

energyforelectricityin1946.


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TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergy

LearningtoWalk

AdmiralH.RickoverwasdesignatedtheheadofateamtodevelopNuclearPoweredsubmarines.ThePWRbecametheearlyTemplatefor

CommercialReactors.

Thefirstcommercialelectricity-genera=ngplantpoweredbynuclearenergywaslocatedinShippingport,Pennsylvaniaandfirstproduced

electricityin1957

Federalnuclearenergyprogramsshi`edtheirfocustodevelopingotherreactortechnologies(BWR,HTGCR,PebbleBedetc).


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ThenuclearpowerindustryintheU.S.,Britain,France,Germany,Japan,Russia,SKoreaandCanadagrewrapidlyinthe1960sandthroughthelate70sviaU=lity

adop=onroutes(mostlyPWR,BWRandPHWRdesigns).

IntheUSA,Wes=nghousedesignedthefirstfullycommercialPWRof250MWeatYankeeRowestar=ngupin1960.

Theboilingwaterreactor(BWR)wasdevelopedbytheArgonneNa=onalLaboratory,andthefirstBWR,Dresden-1of250MWe,designedbyGeneral

Electric(1960),cameonline.

Canadianreactordevelopmentstarteddownquiteadifferenttrack,usingnaturaluraniumfuelandheavywaterasamoderatorandcoolant.Todaytherearesome30PHWRsoftheCANDUtypeinsome8countries(19inCanada).


OfftoSchool


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Francestartedoutwithagas-graphitedesignsimilartoMagnoxintheUKandthefirstreactorstartedupin1956.Francesubsequentlyseledonthreesuccessive

genera=onsofstandardizedPWRs.(58reactors75%ofgenera=on)

Sovietnuclearpowerplantswentin2differentdirec=ons:

1--boilingwatergraphitechannelreactor(RBMK)beganopera=ngnearLeningrad

in1971.

2--pressurizedwaterreactor(PWR)knownasaVVERwasbuiltin1000MWe

standardizedsize.


TheSibling sarematuringaswell


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Aroundtheworld,withfewexcep=ons,othercountrieshavechosenlight-waterdesignsfortheirnuclearpowerprograms,sothattoday60%ofthe

worldcapacityisPWRand21%BWR.Todayover400reactorsare

genera=ngelectricity.

Fromthelate1970s(a`erTMI)toabout2002thenuclearpowerindustryintheOECDcountriessufferedsomedeclineandstagna=on.Fewnew

reactorswereordered,thenumbercomingonlinefrommid1980slilemorethanmatchedre=rements.

TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyOfftoCollege


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Theshareofnuclearinworldelectricitygenera=onfrommid1980swasfairlyconstantat~14--15%.

A`erTMI--manyreactororderswerecancelled.Theuraniumpricedroppedaccordingly.Oilcompanies,whichhadentered

theuraniumfield,thenbailedoutandtherewasa

consolida=onofuraniumproducers.

TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyMaturity


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WorldNuclearEnergyGenera:on(~14%)

NoteTwenty-

oneother

countries

accountfor

another399

billionKWh.(i.e.UK,Sweden,

Belgium,Taiwan,

CzechRepublic,

Switzerland,

Finland,India

etc.

TOTAL31

Countriesoverall


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TheBaseLoadEffect


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ThreeMileIslandMarch28,1979.

TheworstaccidentinU.S.commercialreactorhistoryoccursattheTMInuclearpowersta=onnearHarrisburg,PA.The

accidentiscausedbyacombina=onofmechanicalmalfunc=onandhumanerror.

Anopenpressurereliefvalvepermiedcoolantwatertoescapefromtheprimarysystem,andwastheprincipalmechanicalcauseofthelossofcoolant,par4alfuel

meltdowncrisisthatfollowed..

.


ThefirstmajorsetbackintheMaturingPhase


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ThreeMileIslandUnit2


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Chernobyl.April26,1986.

AseriesofOperatorerrors,missedcommunica=onsandbadlydesignedRBMKreactorsystemcombinetocauseaviolentsuperheatedsteamexplosionattheChernobylNo.4

nuclearpowerplantabout180milesnorthofKievinthe

formerSovietUnion.

Thereactorhadaninadequatecontainmentbuildingandverylargeamountsofradia=onescape.

TheEarlyDevelopmentOfNuclearPowerPlantEnergyTheSecondmajorsetback----Chernobyl,Ukraine,USSR


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ChernobylRBMKPowerPlantSchema:c

RefBook

(Chapter

7)onthe

detailsof

the

Accident

h`p//

www.phy

ast.pi`.e

du/~blc/

book/

chapter7.html


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TheBasicsofWhatHappened

atChernobylUnit4,26April1986

Thetragedywasaresultofacombina=onofdesignflawsthatmadethereactordangerous

tooperateandlapsesinsafetyprocedures.

Theresultwasanaccidentwhichdestroyed

thereactorinafatalreleaseofheat,fireand

steaminamaerofseconds.

TheChernobylreactorswereaspecialdesignusinghighlyenricheduraniuminagraphite

moderatorandaswelearnedfromstudying

theeventtheaccidentcouldonlyhave

happenedwiththistypeofdesign.

ThereactorswerecreatedtoproduceweaponsgradeplutoniumfortheSovietmilitaryforces

alongwithelectricityforcommercialuse.

Theyweredifficulttooperateandrequiredconstantadjustmenttoremainstable.

Theofficerinchargewasanelectricalengineerwhowasnotaspecialistinreactorplants.

Thesequenceofeventswhichcausedtheaccidentoccurredwhenoperatorsbegananengineeringproceduretotestthemain

electricalgenerator,whichwasoutsideofthe

reactorbuilding.

Delaysinstar=ngthetest,andmanagementpressuretomeettheschedule,resultedinseveralcrucialoutcomesthatcombinedto

causetheaccident.

(SourceANSwebsite)PleasealsoseeBernardCohensExcellentbook(Chapter7)attheurlbelowforadetailedandaccurateaccountoftheaccident.

hp://www.phyast.pi.edu/~blc/book/chapter7.html


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ChernobylUnit4EarlyMay1986

Chernobyl-4

reactor after theaccident

(center), its

turbine building(lower left), and

Chenobyl-3(center right).

(Source ANS

website April

2011)


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RussianPowerReactorsinOpera=ontoday

Source

WashingtonPost April

2011


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FesteringFukushima--TheThirdshoetodropTheMatureIndustryhasaHeartAack.IsitFatal?

The 6 unit, 4000 MWe site was in a direct line to the

ravages of an unbelievable 9.0 Earthquake and37 foot Tsunami at the plant-sea interface.


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JapansNuclearEnergyPlants


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BoilingWaterReactorSchema=cs

Text


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GeneralElectricMarkIBWRReactor

Source

Washington PostApril 2011


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StatusofFukushimaReactorSystems

asoflateApril2011

Source John

Williams


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TheMostCri:calImpera:vefortheFuture

NewNuclearReactorsTypesofGenera:onIIIandIV


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FukushimaReactorUnitsStatusasof2May2011

Drolet & Associates Energy Services, Inc. 2011

Unit 1 2 3 4

Power (MWe /MWth) 460/1380 784/2381 784/2381 784/2381

Type of Reactor BWR-3 BWR-4 BWR-4 BWR-4

Status at time of EQ In service auto shutdown In service auto shutdown In service auto shutdown Outage

Core and fuel integrity Damaged Severe damage Damaged No fuel in the Reactor

RPV & RCS integrityRPV temperature

decreasingRPV temperature stable RPV temperature stable Not applicable due to

outage plant statusContainment integrity No information Damage suspected Damage suspected

AC PowerAC power available - powerto instrumentation Lighting

to Central Control Room

AC power available powerto instrumentation Lighting


AC power available powerto instrumentation Lighting


AC power available

power to instrumentation Lighting to Central Control

Room

Building Severe damage Slight damage Severe damage Severe damage

Water level of RPVAround half of Fuel is

uncovered

Around half of Fuel is

uncovered

Around half of Fuel is

uncovered

Not applicable due to

outage plant status

Pressure of RPV Slowly increasing Stable Stable

CV Pressure Drywell Stable Stable Stable

Water injection to RPV

Injection of freshwater

via mobile electric pump

with off-site power



with off-site power



with off-site power

Water injection to CV No information No information No information

Spent Fuel Pool StatusFresh water injection by

concrete pump truck

Freshwater injection to the

Fuel Pool Cooling Line

Freshwater injection via

Fuel Pool Cooling Line

and Periodic spraying

Fresh water injection by

concrete pump truck


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So,givenallthehistorywehavereviewed,does

NuclearEnergyhaveacommercialfuture?

An=: 1-Notsafeenough

2-Tooexpensive

3-Wastedisposal 4-Financing

5-Loca=on

Pro: 1-Exis=ngPlantsneedforpower

2-Balanceofsupply(KarateKidsyndrome),Coal,NatGas,Renewable

3-TechnologyImprovementsindesign,size,fuelcycle

4-Baseloadeffecttheelectricitycurrencyfutureseenbymany?

5-ClimateChange


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Oil:RunningalmostFlatout

Energy

Prices

Must

Rise

PeakOilProducGon

MayAlreadybe

HereScienceVol.331March

252011,PP

15101511


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CanRenewableEnergyReplaceNuclearinthenext

decade?(sourceNYT-USAFocus)

(NewYorkTimes,March26,2011)


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ShaleGas


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Steppingonthe(Natural)Gas-Democra=cally


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BasicNeedsofNewNuclearintheNewEnergyFuture

Loca=onissuesU=lityFranchisevs.bestoverallloca=on IncreasedSafety,convec=vecooling,backupshutdown

systems

Modularconstruc=on Mul=pleback-upcoolingandemergencypowersupply

systems

Cheapertobuildandcheaperkwe-hropera=onalcosts. Highavailability(baseload,) LongLivedinfrastructure Predictableregula=onandapprovalprocesses WasteDisposalSystemandpoten=allyFuelreprocessing Newfuelcycle?Thorium?,FastBreeders?


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EngineeringandScien=ficAdvancesHaveChanged

earlyNuclearReactorDesigns

Inseismologypar=cularlytsunamiresearch Ingeologicalunderstandingoffaultstructures. Inmetallurgyandreactorconstruc=ontechniques. Indigitalinstrumenta=onandcontrolsystems. Infueldesignandspentfuelhandlinganddry

storage.

Inbackupemergencycoolingsystems INPOTraining Size Loca=on


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TheNeedforaMovetoGen4Nuclear


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BeerNuclearTechnologies

Genera=on4Nuclear(2030) PebbleBed(Chinesetestbed2011) TravellingWave(Gates,2030) CANDU ModularSystems(BabcockandWilcox2020) PassiveCooling(AP1000Today) Thorium,Beryllium/Uranium,MOX Heliumcoolinginplaceofwater. DryCaskStorage Disposal


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Summary:OurNecessarilyMixedEnergySupplySystemFuture

NewAdvancedNuclearSysytems Intermediatepowerfromcoal,shalegas,oilsands,shaleoil

andLNG.

RenewableEnergy EnergyEfficiencyTechnologies Conserva=onTechnologies Theelectriccarforcesincreasedglobalrelianceoncoal,

GeothermalandNuclearEnergy.

MoreinterconnectedTransmissionSystems DistributedGenera=ontheul=mateisaBaery


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WorldWideWebsitesforInforma=on

NHKWorldNews NuclearandIndustrialSafetyAgency(NISA/METI) JapanNuclearEnergySafetyOrganiza=on(JNES) JapanAtomicIndustrialForum(JAIF) JapanNuclearTechnologyIns=tute(JANTI)Organiza=on Interna=onalAtomicEnergyAssocia=on(IAEA) UNScien=ficCommieeontheEffectsofAtomicRadia=on(UNSCEAR) NuclearEngineeringInterna=onal WorldNuclearNews NuclearEnergyIns=tute(NEI) AmericanNuclearSociety(ANS) USNuclearRegulatoryCommission(USNRC) USDOE USEPA(Radia=on) Na=onalCouncilonRadia=onProtec=onandMeasurement(NCRP) Wikipedia-FukushimaIaccident=meline


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NuclearPolicyShi`s Countrieswithpro-nuclearpolicy: -Reactorsopera=onal/underconstruc=onorplanned France58/2 India18/11 Russia32/12China14/54SouthKorea22/14 Japan56/14

(13opera=ngreactorscurrentlynotinservice)

USA105/4 20lifeextensionapplica=ons,15moreontheway Canada19 Taiwan7/2 Countriesthatpreviouslyplannedexpansionthatarereconsidering UK20/4 EDFScheduledtobuild4reactorsatHinkleypoint Poland0 CzechRepublic4/2 Finland4/1 Spain9 Countrieswithmoratoriums(EUstresstes=ngNPP) Italy0(New

construc=ondependsonvoterreferendum,nowpostponed) Switzerland6

(Plannedtorenew3of5plantsonhold) Germany17(7plantsshutdown,delayedlifeextensionplansto2022,NPPphaseoutlikely)

Countrieswithan=-nuclearpolicy Austria,Denmark,Greece,IrelandandPortugal


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Fukushima Dai-Ichi and the Future of Nuclear Power Applied Lessons From Past Nuclear Reactor Disasters