In response to continuously declining availability of fossil fuels, nuclear power has become an important alternative source of power generation. Growing application of nuclear power has relieved the shortage of electricity. However, it is also accompanied with new drawbacks, such as radioactive waste, and potential catastrophic consequences in case of major accidents. For nuclear power plants, severe accidents mostly originate from the reactor, making the reliability of the reactor of paramount importance to the overall safety of a nuclear power plant. Massive heat generation through nuclear fission/fusion and heat exchange render the whole reactor operating at extremely high temperatures (i.e., 900–1000 °C), which, in conjunction with large load from subsystems/ components made of special heavy alloys, renders the reactor under the risk of self-welding, a phenomenon that could lead to strong bonding between components and paralyze the operability of the nuclear reactor. This paper investigates the self-welding behavior of Inconel 617, a primary candidate nickel alloy for key components of the next generation gas cooled nuclear plant, inside a controlled atmospheric furnace with preset static load, simulating the high-pressure high-temperature conditions inside nuclear reactors. Test results show that Inconel 617 experiences self-welding through common oxide zone at the interface, and it has remarkable bonding strength, requiring 4114 N (57.15 MPa) and 4338 N (60.25 MPa) to break apart a mated sample pair, under an apparent contact pressure of 0.341 MPa after 50-h aging, in helium and air atmospheres, respectively. The higher oxygen presence in air results in slightly stronger oxide bond at the interface, compared to helium, and the bond strength increases with dwell time.

Nuclear power as an important energy which benefits human being,is being more and more widely used in many countries all over the world. Under the condition of information war, threat to nuclear power plant security from precision weapon and terrorist attack is serious. This paper analyzes major threats nuclear power plant be facing to in wartime such as obvious exposure symptoms, limited own protections and large impact on the war potential. Then several main methods are discussed to strengthen safety protection of nuclear power plant. Firstly, strive to improve the early warning ability of nuclear power plant. By this means, more time can be obtained to make nuclear power plant protection to prepare. Secondly, counterattacks, interference and disguise simultaneously should build another effective barrier. In the last, it is considered that research on protection and rescue of nuclear power station should be strengthened also.

The elements of societal risk from a nuclear power plant accident are clearly illustrated by the Fukushima accident: land contamination, long-term relocation of large numbers of people, loss of productive farm area, loss of industrial production, and significant loss of electric capacity. NUREG-1150 and other studies have provided compelling evidence that the individual health risk of nuclear power plant accidents is effectively negligible relative to other comparable risks, even for people living in close proximity to a plant. The objective of this study is to compare the societal risk of nuclear power plant accidents to that of other events to which the public is exposed. We have characterized the monetized societal risk in the United States from major societally disruptive events, such as hurricanes, in the form of a complementary cumulative distribution function. These risks are compared with nuclear power plant risks, based on NUREG-1150 analyses and new MACCS code calculations to account for differences in source terms determined in the more recent SOARCA study. A candidate quantitative societal objective is discussed for potential adoption by the NRC. The results are also interpreted with regard to the acceptability of nuclear power as a major source of future energy supply.

The nuclear power plant is required to supply a substantial amount of electricity for a densely populated country like Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has attached to a commitment to implement the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, and so Bangladesh will be the 33rd nuclear power-producing country after the successful construction of this plant. Bangladesh has planned to construct two power units (Rooppur-1 & Rooppur-2) with a capacity of 1200 MW, each of and is expected to go into operation in 2023. Russian Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation is constructing this nuclear power plant, which is the generation-3+ VVER-1200 model. But the main concern is how a third world country like Bangladesh can handle the tons of radioactive waste of RNNP. Radioactive waste i.e., a variety of solids, liquids, and gases which are produced during the generation of nuclear energy in a nuclear reactor. Depending on activity content, solid and liquid waste are disposed of in near-surface or deep geological facilities, and gaseous waste is dissolved by following some filtering process. If not properly disposed of or recycled, irradiation from radioactive waste will cause major problems for the environment. Various stages should be required for the removal of a tremendous amount of radioactive waste in a cost-effective way. This paper mainly delineates the proximate of radioactive waste management of RNNP and gives an account of (1) Radioactivity and radiation level, (2) Classification, (3) Treatment of solid, liquid and gaseous radioactive waste, (4) Reprocessing and packaging, (5) Storage and (6) Disposal.

The nuclear power is the clear energy and the nuclear power plant is the good power plant project, but someone disagree the project for the environment impact from the nuclear radioactivity. This paper compares the different opinions about the nuclear power project and analyzes the existing problems. The advantages of the nuclear power plant are the abundant raw material uranium, the light environment pollution, the low operation cost and the environment radioactivity risk. The disadvantages of the project are the public fear from the nuclear risk, the difficult to dispose the nuclear waste, and the difficult to dismantle the nuclear power plant. My opinion is to develop the nuclear power plant in places with poor energy resource, and develop the hydroelectric power plant in places with rich water resource, and develop the wind power plant in places with rich wind resource, and develop the heat power plant in places with rich coal, oil, natural gas or other fossil fuel resources.

Nuclear energy is considered a clean, reliable, and an inexhaustible energy source for power generation. Nuclear power is harnessed from nuclear fission reactions in a dedicated power plant. The by-products (produced in the nuclear power plant) are radioactive and pose a threat to the environment. The safe disposal of nuclear waste is vital to ensure the sustainable use of the nuclear energy. The immobilization of radioactive waste before final disposal is essential for the interim storage and transportation. This review summarizes the recent work on glass, ceramics, and glass–ceramics matrices to immobilize high-level waste. The synthesis methods, leaching behavior, and radiation resistance of matrices are discussed briefly.

Post-Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Safety-A Review Nuclear power plant (NPP) supplies large scale electrical power at competitive price as a base load to electrical grids. However, safety has been major concern due to potential release of radioactive material from an accident. Though historically the nuclear industry has good safety record there have been three major accidents, Three Mile accident, Chernobyl accident and recent Fukushima accident. The article summarizes the reactor safety technology and briefly reviews these three major accidents along with key lessons learned. In the light of Fukushima accident both industry and regulators are reassessing safety of NPP and have taken measures to address new safety challenges raised from the recent accident.

This study describes a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a fourth generation (4G) nuclear power plant. A high temperature helium cooled reactor and gas turbine technology with modular helium reactor (GT-MHR) is used in this study as an example. This is currently one the safest design of a nuclear power plant. The study also takes into account impact of accidents and incidents (AI) which happened around the world at nuclear power generation facilities. The adopted method for the study is a hybrid LCA analysis. The analysis of each phase of the life cycle was done on the basis of process chain analysis (PCA). Where detailed data were not available, the Input/Output (I/O) databases was employed. The obtained results show that greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and energy intensity per unit of electricity production are relatively low. In fact, these are even lower than emissions from a number of renewable energy sources. The results show considerably different greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and energy intensity per unit of electricity production when effects of AI are taken into account.

This review illustrated the radiation effects on the environment in Japan, the improvements and applications of source identification by using radioisotope tracer, the resulted challenge on the environment and radiation dose estimation due to the released radioactive microparticles, and the regulations and current situation of food safety in Japan, after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. The FDNPP accident allowed the staffs in the nuclear industry, managers for the nuclear emergency, and the public to recognize the importance of nuclear security and nuclear emergency response again. Key words: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident; Source identification; Radioactive microparticle; Environmental impact; Food safety

• Nuclear power plants implement various safety and security protocols while hosting visitors to the site. • Most people are ready to follow safety and security protocols but are less willing to comply with protocols that invade their privacy. • The public image of nuclear energy shows that respondents are not primarily in favour of it, yet they are also not against it. The social benefit perception of the nuclear energy index and the general attitude toward the nuclear energy index are relatively average. • The personal risk perception of nuclear energy negatively affects attitude towards it as well as the perception of its social benefits. • Visits to nuclear plants could negatively affect personal risk perception and positively affect attitude towards nuclear energy and the perception of its social benefits. Visiting nuclear reactors is a niche tourism offer within energy (industrial) tourism, which leads tourists through areas that are not primarily meant for them. Hence, safety and security issues are even more critical in this case. This study aims to highlight different aspects of safety and security issues in nuclear power plant tours and to present measures taken to address these concerns. In addition, we studied the connection between plant visits and the public image of nuclear energy. Information was gathered through participant observation (personal visits of factory tours) and an online survey. There, we identified safety and security nuclear power plant visit protocols and a positive correlation between the visit variable and the two variables of the public image of nuclear energy, which suggests energy (industrial) tourism as a suitable tool to enhance awareness and knowledge about nuclear energy.