Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-10-07 04:22:14

'Pakistan: Truth about loud 'explosion' heard near nuclear facility in Dera Ghazi Khan revealed'

https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2023/ … ealed.html

What officials say about the mysterious blast in Pakistan

https://www.cnbctv18.com/world/what-off … 977501.htm

The nature of the explosion in Dera Ghazi Khan continues to remain a mystery

Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-10-29 14:24:36

Animated Cartoon - Chernobyl Nuclear Explosion Disaster Explained (Hour by Hour)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uJhjqBz5Tk

Chernobyl hero who was 'first on the scene' in nuclear reactor meltdown takes own life
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-new … e-31277782

Radioactive liquid exposure at Fukushima plant sends 2 to hospital
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/ … pitalized/

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-11-02 18:38:06)

Calliban · 2023-10-30 05:28:06

Mars_B4_Moon wrote:

Chernobyl hero who was 'first on the scene' in nuclear reactor meltdown takes own life
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-new … e-31277782
Radioactive liquid exposure at Fukushima plant sends 2 to hospital
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/ … pitalized/

This guy was one of the first on the scene at Chernobyl. Unfortunately, having burned up his entire lifetime dose budget, they would not let him work on nuclear sites. So he found himself with lower paid desk jobs. It clearly had a negative impact on his income and his life generally. This is the problem with accidents. The injuries resulting tend to follow people for life.

tahanson43206 · 2023-11-09 20:09:44

We do not have a topic for NuScale, but this topic will do for a report on a setback...

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/firs … 10694.html

Associated Press Finance
First-of-a-kind nuclear project is terminated in a blow to Biden's clean energy agenda
JENNIFER McDERMOTT and MATTHEW DALY
Thu, November 9, 2023 at 5:47 PM EST·5 min read
1
FILE - NuScale Power chairman and CEO John L. Hopkins, listen outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, following the energy executives' meeting with President Donald Trump on Feb. 12, 2019. A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Nov. 8, 2023, another blow to the Biden administration's clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects. Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
The Washington Monument is visible as a member of the Secret Service stands guard in front of Marine One with President Joe Biden abroad as it lifts off from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Illinois. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
1 / 2
Biden Nuclear
FILE - NuScale Power chairman and CEO John L. Hopkins, listen outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, following the energy executives' meeting with President Donald Trump on Feb. 12, 2019. A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Nov. 8, 2023, another blow to the Biden administration's clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects. Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)ASSOCIATED PRESSMore
WASHINGTON (AP) — A project to build a first-of-a-kind small modular nuclear reactor power plant was terminated Wednesday, another blow to the Biden administration's clean energy agenda following cancellations last week of two major offshore wind projects.
Oregon-based NuScale Power has the only small modular nuclear reactor design certified for use in the United States. For its first project, the company was working with a group of Utah utilities to demonstrate a six-reactor plant at the Idaho National Laboratory, generating enough electricity to power more than 300,000 homes.
The project was to come online starting in 2029 and was supposed to replace electricity from coal plants that are closing. When combined with wind and solar, the advanced nuclear technology was intended to help municipalities and public power utilities in several western states eliminate planet-warming greenhouse gas emission from the power sector.
Instead, NuScale and the Utah utilities announced Wednesday they're terminating the project after a decade of working on it. The cancellation comes as two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey were canceled amid supply chain problems, high interest rates and a failure to obtain the desired tax credits.
The announcement by Danish energy giant Orsted was the latest in a series of setbacks for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry and a blow to President Joe Biden's goal to have 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes.
A spokeswoman for the Energy Department called the cancellation "unfortunate news,'' but said first-of-a-kind deployments are often difficult. Officials believe the work accomplished to date on the project will be valuable for future nuclear energy projects.
“We absolutely need advanced nuclear energy technology to meet (the Biden administration’s) ambitious clean energy goals,'' spokeswoman Charisma Troiano said.
“While not every project is guaranteed to succeed, DOE remains committed to doing everything we can to deploy these technologies to combat the climate crisis and increase access to clean energy.″
Timothy Fox, vice president at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington-based research firm, called NuScale's announcement “a substantial setback” for small nuclear power, but said there is still “a lot of interest out there” in developing the technology at other sites. It was not yet clear whether other projects under development face similar obstacles, he said.
"This was the frontrunner, and the frontrunner has now faltered,'' Fox said..
The Energy Department under three presidents has provided more than $600 million since 2014 to support the design, licensing and siting of a small modular reactor power plant near Idaho Falls, Idaho at the Energy Department's Idaho National Laboratory.
In 2020, the Trump administration approved up to $1.4 billion for the project, known as the Carbon Free Power Project. The agreement serves as a funding vehicle and is subject to future appropriations by Congress.
The cancellation of the Idaho project reminded some critics of the earlier failure of Solyndra, the California solar company that went bankrupt soon after receiving a federal loan from the Obama administration more than a decade ago, costing taxpayers more than $500 million.
NuScale and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems said it was unlikely the project will have enough subscriptions from local power providers to continue. The power system serves 50 members, mostly municipalities and public power utilities in Utah and other Western states.
Most prospective subscribers were unwilling to take on the risks associated with developing a first-of-a-kind nuclear project, the Utah group said.
Costs have increased more than 50% in the last two years to $89 per megawatt hour, the company said. Small reactors are seen as an alternative to more costly, traditional nuclear power that includes large reactors and cost billions of dollars and takes decades to complete.
NuScale President and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins said the company will continue working with domestic and international customers to bring its technology to the market. The design that was certified by federal regulators is for a 50-megawatt, advanced light-water small modular nuclear reactor. The company is currently seeking certification for an upgraded 77-megawatt design.
NuScale said it can use power plant design plans and the regulatory progress from the cancelled project for other customers and is working to transfer materials with long lead times to other projects.
The Utah power system said it will focus on non-nuclear resources in the near term, and will need additional renewables, primarily solar and wind, as well as new natural gas.
The Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s trade association, called the cancellation "very disappointing,'' but said it was understandable because of the difficulties inherent in developing new technologies. NuScale has a design that will deploy and bring clean and reliable energy in the future as the demand for clean energy grows globally, the institute said in a statement.
Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization that opposes nuclear power, said the Energy Department under three successive administrations has wasted more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer money.
“It’s about time the plug was pulled on this small modular reactor disaster,” Cook said in a statement. “What a colossal waste of hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars, which could have been spent on existing, safe and renewable sources of energy like solar and wind.”
While no other small modular reactor or advanced design has been submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for certification, the agency said Thursday that other companies are close to applying and there's a great deal of activity within the industry.
___
McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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tahanson43206 · 2023-12-01 21:24:42

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/uran … 00802.html

I think this business report can be taken as a positive indicator.

Uranium Energy (UEC) Inks MOU to Supply Uranium to TerraPower
Zacks Equity Research
Thu, November 30, 2023 at 12:19 PM EST·3 min read
Uranium Energy UEC has entered a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with TerraPower to supply uranium to its first-of-kind Natrium reactor and energy storage system.
The Natrium demonstration project that is currently under construction in Kemmerer, WY, will be a commercial-scale plant and will begin operations within the next 10 years. The Natrium technology is a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor coupled with a molten salt-based energy storage system that can boost power output to 500 megawatts. It can be paired with energy grids that have high penetrations of renewable resources.
The Natrium reactor is the only advanced reactor that can provide stability to the grid with clean, baseload energy. It also has the ability to seamlessly increase output to meet variable power needs.
Uranium Energy’s Wyoming production platform includes a portfolio of more than 20 uranium projects, which contain the largest S-K 1300-compliant resource base in the United States. UEC and TerraPower have worked together and made significant investments in the nuclear fuel cycle and commercial-scale deployment of clean energy projects, which will directly benefit the U.S. economy. This includes delivering carbon-free power and providing support for establishing a robust U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain for Small Modular ("SMR") and Advanced Reactors ("AR") and their high assay low enriched uranium ("HALEU") requirements.
SMRs and ARs are considered the fastest-growing segment of nuclear energy in the United States. They need a secure, domestic fuel supply chain and the first step of the supply chain is uranium.
In order to become the leading provider of conflict-free, American uranium, UEC enters into strategic relationships to cater to the emerging uranium demand from SMRs and ARs. Uranium Energy’s Wyoming resources have the potential to be a highly reliable source of uranium for American HALEU. It is therefore a good strategiy to supply to TerraPower's Natrium reactor.
Price Performance
Uranium Energy’s shares have surged 67.7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 3.3% growth.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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tahanson43206 · 2023-12-04 13:43:59

Here is an update on possible overseas sales ...

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/cop2 … 00713.html

Reuters
COP28: UAE signs deal with Bill Gates' nuclear company on advanced reactors
Reuters
Mon, December 4, 2023 at 1:00 AM EST·2 min read
3
DUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Bill Gates' advanced nuclear reactor company TerraPower LLC and the United Arab Emirates’ state owned nuclear company ENEC said on Monday they have agreed to study the potential development of advanced reactors in the UAE and abroad.
The memorandum of understanding comes amid a push by the UAE to expand its nuclear energy capacity, and a pledge by over 20 nations at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai to triple nuclear deployment this decade to fight climate change.
“For the UAE, we're looking for a future for the clean electrons and molecules that will be brought to reality by advanced reactors,” said Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of ENEC, during the signing ceremony.
"Bringing advanced nuclear technologies to market is critical to meeting global decarbonization targets," said TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque.
The UAE currently has one traditional nuclear power plant, near Abu Dhabi, which began producing electricity in 2020. TerraPower, meanwhile, has a demonstration project underway for its advanced Natrium reactor in the U.S. state of Wyoming that hopes to come online in 2030.
Advanced reactors are meant to be smaller, easier to build, and more dynamic than traditional plants, and are regarded by some as vital complement to intermittent power sources like wind and solar that are expanding rapidly.
The MOU between TerraPower and the UAE said they would explore uses for advanced nuclear reactors such storing power on the grid and providing the energy needed to produce hydrogen, and decarbonize coal, steel and aluminum plants.
One potential hitch, however, is that TerraPower's Natrium reactors require a fuel called high assay low enriched uranium or HALEU, the main producer of which currently is Russia.
TerraPower's Wyoming project has experienced delays over concerns about HALEU supply since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the company told Reuters it expects the United States to be able to produce the fuel in the coming decade.
The United States is seeking to start up HALEU production domestically and has contracted with a company called Centrus to develop a project to do so. (Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-12-24 04:59:52

Muslim Imam Plotted Nuke Reactor Attack, the Lucas Heights reactor in Sydney.

The terrorist who led the group that planned to attack several highly populated Australian locations has been released from a Melbourne prison – with reports saying he’s headed straight for the western suburbs.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne … d0cac86692

The trial of Benbrika began in October 2007, the islamic terrorist and eleven other accused were charged of terrorism offenses. Associates and relatives of his have died fighting for Islamic State.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/terro … myxbq.html
,
https://www.9news.com.au/national/terro … 460a2f5793

He is the first individual to have lost citizenship onshore in Australia.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-25/ … d/12919698

Benbrika won his High Court bid to restore his Australian citizenship, which was cancelled in 2020
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-01/ … /103047952

SpaceNut · 2023-12-26 14:06:16

eVince microreactor boasts 8+ years of nuclear power without using water

Westinghouse claims to have achieved this using "Heat Pipe technology," which decreases the number of components needed in active systems. Recently, the team manufactured its first ever 12-foot (3.6 m) long nuclear grade heat pipe, which eliminates the risks from high pressure or cooling leak incidents seen in other designs, the company said on its webpage.
https://www.westinghousenuclear.com/ene … croreactor
eVinci can produce 5MWe with a 13MWth core design. The reactor core is designed to run for eight or more full-power years before refueling.

The company also uses a Passive Heat Removal System (PHRS) which deploys radiation and convection modes of heat transfer to remove heat from the reactor core without any need for operator intervention.
Westinghouse uses TRISO fuel in the eVinci, which is more resistant to incidents of corrosion, oxidation, and high temperatures than traditional nuclear fuels. The microreactor does not require refueling and can work for over eight years, producing 5MWe of energy while reducing 55,000 tons of C02/per year.
Once the fuel is exhausted, the microreactor can be hauled away for disposal and another one plugged in its place to continue operations on-site, much like a battery. The microreactor is equipped with shutdown rods that are used during transport for increased safety. The nuclear fuel can be stored in deep geological repositories (DGR) for long-term storage.
Earlier in November this year, the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) approved a CAD 80 million (US$59 million) project to build the first such microreactor in Canada. The facility is expected to be operational by 2029.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-02-21 06:30:09

Putin denies plans to send nuclear weapon into space
https://thehill.com/policy/internationa … pon-space/

Putin says Russia has no intention of putting nuclear weapons in space, denying US claims
https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin … 96755e321f

Trident missile misfired and crashed into ocean during rare test launch
https://news.sky.com/story/trident-miss … h-13076724

Japan's industry minister criticizes Fukushima nuclear plant over radioactive water leak
https://www.foxnews.com/world/japans-in … water-leak

Chernobyl mutants: How animals exposed to radiation have evolved after the world's worst nuclear disaster
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/chernobyl-mu … lves-dogs/
Almost 40 years on from the Chernobyl disaster, animals continue to face the consequences from extreme radiation exposure

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2024-02-21 06:36:08)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-03-03 14:39:02

Small drone flies into damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor for the first time to study melted fuel
https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/sma … ipId=64268

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-04-21 10:29:54

Nukes in space: a bad idea in the 1960s and an even worse one now

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4774/1

The flash from the detonation could be seen across the Pacific, filling the sky with brilliant aurora displays from Hawaii to New Zealand. Reports from Honolulu described the aurora as comprising blood red and pinks.
But the pulse from the explosion was larger than anticipated. It caused electrical damage in Hawaii, nearly 1,000 kilometers away, by damaging electricity supplies, knocking out streetlights, disrupting telephone networks, and triggering burglar alarms.
The impact on satellites in low Earth orbit was profound. High-energy particles from the explosion formed radiation belts around the Earth. These were made more intense by high-energy particles from Russian nuclear weapon tests in space above Kazakhstan, conducted in October 1962, merging with radiation from Starfish Prime.

Calliban · 2024-04-22 05:31:06

Back in the early 60s when these high atmospheric tests were carried out, there was negligible satellite infrastructure in Earth orbit. Now it is crowded. A nuclear detonation above Earth's atmosphere would fill orbital space with charged ions. This would be a hazard to satellites and space stations and would really screw any electronics that hadn't been hardened or shielded against it.

Calliban · 2024-04-25 04:00:00

This paper has huge implications for the future of nuclear power.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a … 7011001247

So far as we can tell, Mars is deficient in uranium compared to Earth. Most of the uranium a future Martian nation uses will need to be imported from Earth. This provides a strong incentive to develop breeder cycles that can extract 100% of the energy content of uranium. But sodium cooled breeder reactors are expensive to build. A boiling water reactor is relatively easy to build and there is a huge amount of operating experience with light water reactors. Using nitride fuel, it is possible to build boiling water reactors that have decent breeding ratio. We would still need chemical reprocessing of fuel. But this makes the prospects of a breeder reactor economy on Earth and Mars a lot brighter. These are things that we don't really need to spend a lot of time and money developing. They can be built quickly to support a developing Martian economy. Boiling water reactors can even be built as pressure tube reactors.

Void · 2024-04-25 10:28:51

I am not the "GoTo" guy for this, but no one else showed up yet. I had a look at what you posted. This article seems to support it.
https://marspedia.org/Radioactive_Rarity_on_Mars

I am in agreement with your post.

Done.

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#151 2023-10-07 04:22:14

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#152 2023-10-29 14:24:36

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#153 2023-10-30 05:28:06

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#154 2023-11-09 20:09:44

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#155 2023-12-01 21:24:42

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#156 2023-12-04 13:43:59

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#157 2023-12-24 04:59:52

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#158 2023-12-26 14:06:16

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#159 2024-02-21 06:30:09

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#160 2024-03-03 14:39:02

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#161 2024-04-21 10:29:54

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#162 2024-04-22 05:31:06

Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

#163 2024-04-25 04:00:00

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Re: Nuclear Power is Dangerous - Use with Care

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