Nuclear power continues in the world

[Exnihiloest]

The natural coronavirus has already made many more deaths in less than 6 months than civil nuclear since its inception.

It is time to realize where the real danger is.

[GuyGadebois]

The natural coronavirus has already made many more deaths in less than 6 months than civil nuclear since its inception.

It is time to realize where the real danger is.

I haven't talked about that at all. I mentioned the nuclear situation in the event of a major epidemic which would decimate the technicians and other qualified personnel which these plants (imperatively) need in order not to become a danger, in contrast to other technologies producing electricity which will not be never one even in the event of total abandonment of the human being. Are you purposely not understanding?

[GuyGadebois]

Automations regulate the bazaar. Even if it was down, and everyone would die instantly without having time to do anything, no one will have to suffer the disaster.

Nostradamus predicted it. If Chernobyl was not even more harmful, it is thanks to the people who sacrificed themselves so that the reactor does not end up in the water table which feeds the whole region by digging a tunnel below and by concreting it at the cost of their life.

[Eric DUPONT]

The manufacturing of the EPR continues it is planned to finish the welds for 2025date when it will be necessary to change the cover.

[Flytox]

Oops! Lining

[Flytox]

...
Would you dare to pretend otherwise? All the sources of energy that I have mentioned stop by themselves or continue without human intervention, without being a danger. All except nuclear energy, which needs ongoing maintenance and monitoring. It's wrong? Stop your stupid sarcasm a bit and think about this hypothesis for two seconds.

Automationregulate it's a mess. Even if it broke down, and everyone died instantly without having time to do nothing, no one would have to suffer the disaster. Not even the fauna which, as we have seen in Chernobyl, now proliferates in the area.

Except that even when they do emergency procedures to simulate a disaster, they are foolish to manage it properly without monumental blunders. So a real disaster, we immediately see the table ...

https://www.bastamag.net/Centrales-nucl ... EDF-en-cas

In French nuclear power plants, a security system called "team in an extreme situation" is being put in place. It is the consequence of the Fukushima disaster of 2011 and is supposed to respond to the worst of scenarios and their share of unforeseen events. The system is however far from unanimous: agents working within the power stations denounce faults and inconsistencies. In particular, major risks - such as fires or radioactive leaks - are greatly underestimated. The nuclear safety authority is also calling for changes. Investigation.

What would happen in France if a nuclear accident similar to that of Fukushima were to occur? Damage to several reactors, faulty cooling devices, generalized power outage: the cumulative disaster that struck the Japanese power plant in March 2011 had not previously been envisaged. The worst scenario imagined by the Directorate of the French nuclear fleet (DPN) predicted
"Simply" a failure on a reactor, coupled with a fire. After Fukushima, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) therefore asked EDF to imagine a new organization, integrating these hazards.

24 hours cut off from the world: a “cataclysmic” scenario

This emergency organization assumes that no reinforcements will be able to arrive quickly to support the shift team, the minimum workforce present at night and at weekends, ie 18 people [1]. The on-call officers, who can be mobilized in the event of an accident but who are not present on the site, cannot reach the plant, which has become inaccessible, due to major floods for example, or collapsed roads. The “nuclear rapid action force” (FARN), set up following the Fukushima accident, which brings together specially trained EDF agents, cannot, for the same reasons, be operational until 24 hours later [2] .

"So we imagine that the officers of the shift team remain alone for 24 hours, cut off from the world, without a telephone and without electricity," describes Loïc, the driving officer. They have no visibility on what is going on, and their mission is to do everything possible so that the hearts of the reactors do not melt ... In short, the situation is cataclysmic. "This internal organization was called" team in an extreme situation "
(ESE). The system received a favorable opinion from the EDF Central Works Council (CCE) on April 12, 2018 [3]. Supposed to be implemented in all French nuclear power plants on January 1, 2020, it is however the subject of sharp criticism in the field, and is among the reasons for the strikes scheduled this fall in the Civeaux, Penly, Dampierre and Belleville plants .

Musical chairs in the control room

During a “conventional” accidental management of a reactor, a safety engineer - who monitors reactor containment, fuel reactivity and water inventory - is expected to arrive in the control room within 30 minutes . Ditto for his colleague in charge of communication with the outside (prefect, firefighters, national crisis unit, etc.). In the new scenario, neither can be
present before several long hours. To make up for these absences, the management of the nuclear fleet offers a veritable set of musical chairs: some ensuring the functions of the absent, others retrieving the missions of the former.

Among the eighteen officers present - eleven are in charge of the plant and seven are "field agents" - some will therefore have to fulfill the mission that the on-call engineers should have fulfilled, who were unable to join the site. The consignment officer - the one who manages field agents in normal times - must oversee the installations with another colleague. As a result, he will no longer be able to carry out the electrical maneuvers to which he is assigned, in particular those which require handling very high voltages - more than 6000 volts. To carry out these maneuvers, a field agent will be designated, trained and authorized. But his knowledge will remain theoretical. The same applies to the coordination of assistance from the crisis center, which is no longer ensured by the consignment officer - who has gone over to the surveillance of the installations - but by a field agent. And so on.

All this without taking into account the aggravating circumstances when many power stations were set up in a weak way, by knowingly underestimating the level of possible earthquakes (Fukushima), by building them barely above sea level (Fukushima), near a watercourse which did not fail to invade the facilities at the first serious flood (Blayais, Fort Caloun, etc ...), there are also those built in seismic zones, with the proximity of 'Seveso factories (Rhone Valley), power stations built on the permafrost which melts and shuts etc ...

Always this disease of risk denial .... it must be the first thing they learn from BDF Arevha and other nucleocrats ...

https://www.nouvelobs.com/planete/20171 ... reuve.html

https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-fi ... ques-.html

[GuyGadebois]

(Reported for spam)

[moinsdewatt]

Continuation of this post of June 7, 2015 http://www.oleocene.org/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 50#p377050

The BN-600 fast neutron reactor has its operating license extended until 2025.
Besides, a new extension will be requested later.

BN-600 licensed to operate until 2025

01 April 2020

Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor has extended the operating license for unit 3 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk district by a further five years. The license for the BN-600 fast reactor, which began operating in 1981, was due to expire this year.


The Beloyarsk 3 BN-600 (Image: Rosenergoatom)

A large-scale modernization program has been under way at the unit since 2009, which has affected all areas of safety, operator Rosenergoatom said. This has included the installation of a second reactor emergency protection system, an emergency dampening system using an air heat exchanger and a back-up reactor control panel. In addition, a large amount of work has been carried out on the inspection and replacement of equipment, including the replacement of the unit's steam generators.

In 2010, the BN-600 was confirmed to be in compliance with the latest safety requirements and on that basis extension of the operating life was justified until 2025. However, Rostekhnadzor only extended its license for a further 10 years of operation, requesting additional justification for the operability of irreplaceable reactor components.

Investigations conducted since then by Russian nuclear engineering company OKBM Afrikantov, part of Atomenergomash, together with the Kurchatov Institute and FSUE CRI KM "Prometey" concluded that it is technically possible to continue operation of the reactor. Based on this, Rostekhnadzor has now extended the operating license of the 560 MWe Beloyarsk 3 until 2025.

"We have completed work to extend the life of unit 3 until 2025," said Ivan Sidorov, director of the Beloyarsk plant. "In the course of our research, we proved that the technical parameters of the BN-600 allow us to operate it until 2040." He noted that JSC Atomproject is currently developing an investment project for an additional extension of the unit's operating life. This work is expected to be completed by 2024, after which Rosenergoatom will apply to Rostekhnadzor for a license extension until 2040.

The sodium-cooled BN-series fast reactor plans are part of Rosatom's Proryv, or 'Breakthrough', project to develop fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle whose mixed oxide (MOX) fuel will be reprocessed and recycled. In addition to the BN-600 reactor, the 789 MWe BN-800 fast neutron reactor - constructed as Beloyarsk unit 4 - entered commercial operation in October 2016. This is essentially a demonstration unit for fuel and design features for the larger BN-1200 being developed by OKBM Afrikantov.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Arti ... until-2025

[moinsdewatt]

The Czech company ČEZ submitted on March 25 to the authorities the request for 2 additional reactors on the Dukovany site. + 1200 MWe each.
6 manufacturers in the running, choice to make in 2022.

ČEZ applies to build two new units at Dukovany

31 March 2020

Czech utility ČEZ has applied to the State Office for Nuclear Safety to construct two new reactors at its Dukovany nuclear power plant. Four VVER-440 units are currently in operation at the site, in Vysočina Region.

The company filed its application to the regulator on 25 March. The application is for two pressurized water reactors, each with a generating capacity of up to 1200 MWe.

In a statement, ČEZ said the submission of its application "concluded its five-year preparations, being now ready for the licensing process in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act." The company has also published about 1600 pages of documentation that were attached to the application. Over 30 experts from ČEZ and other institutions contributed to the documents, which consist of more than 200 expert studies and analyzes.

The materials describe and assess the Dukovany site's characteristics, examining the natural conditions, water supply and human activities near the power plant. They also describe and evaluate the project's concept, quality issues and preliminary impact of operations on the population and environment, as well as the future decommissioning of the power plant.

In order to characterize the subsoil's condition, geological drilling was performed at over 170 spots at the future construction site. Thirty deep wells were also drilled in order to monitor groundwater up to a depth of 150 meters. Exploratory drilling was performed at another 66 locations in the surrounding area. Twenty geological exploratory trenches were also excavated, supplemented by more than fifty measurements along a length of over 20 kilometers.

"As with any environmental impact assessment, our goal in licensing is to maximize openness and transparency, which is why we have also published the entire Tender Safety Report so that the public can freely access the key document," said ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš.

In July 2019, the Czech government gave preliminary approval for Elektrárna Dukovany II - a subsidiary of ČEZ - to build at least one new nuclear power unit. The decision was announced in a government resolution published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The government energy policy, approved by the cabinet in June 2015, foresees one new unit at Dukovany, and possibly three more at the Dukovany and Temelín sites.

With the filing of its application, ČEZ said: "The procedure makes it possible to consider the energy and climate objectives of the Czech Republic, which are currently being specified, and only then can the construction of one or two power blocks in the future be decided. "

Six companies are understood to have shown interest in building new nuclear units in the Czech Republic - China General Nuclear, EDF, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Rosatom, Westinghouse, and the Atmea consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and EDF. However, the Atmea joint venture reportedly no longer plans to participate. Under the current schedule, the reactor vendor is to be selected by the end of 2022 and a construction license issued by 2029, with commissioning expected in 2036.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Arti ... t-Dukovany

[ENERC]

Gravelines: Accumulated errors and incidents on reactor 2

On March 12, not only a valve used to carry out the regulation command is in the closed position, making the cooling system partially unavailable (1st significant event, see our article here), but around noon, a seawater leak is discovery. Since when, how did it happen, there also no explanation from the operator. Probably a break in the piping of the pumping station which supplies the reactor with a cold source [2], which suggests a very bad state of the equipment, poor monitoring and a lack of maintenance. At the start, one cubic meter per hour flows into the installation. But the operator lets it run, and despite surveillance by EDF teams, the leak worsens. At 20 p.m., the flow rate is 5 times greater than at noon: 5.6 cubic meters of sea water are discharged into the nuclear installation every hour. This seawater is normally used to cool the nuclear parts of the installation. As a result of the leak, this cooling circuit is dry, and can no longer cool anything. Fortunately, the pipes were doubled (redundancy of the most important circuits), and the other way did not leak.

In addition to the problem on the injection circuit, the valve closed on the cooling circuit, the discharge of several cubic meters of sea water in the installation which (among other things) put out of use a whole part of the cooling circuit, EDF communicates a few days later on another problem, also linked to its lack of supervision and rigor in the management of its installation, with the consequences of taking risks and losing control ... However, on March 14, the operator realizes that this is not the case, the temperature has dropped below this limit imposed for safety reasons. This has direct consequences on the moderation of the nuclear reaction. Indeed, water is a natural moderator of the nuclear reaction, it slows down neutrons. But this capacity is linked to its temperature. The higher it is, the more the water slows down the neutrons. Too low a temperature is therefore synonymous with an acceleration of the power of the nuclear reaction. What EDF let do for more than 3 hours before realizing it.

Valve of the closed cooling circuit + rupture of the piping + water too cold to slow down the nuclear reaction, we escaped it beautiful