Nuclear Power Program Research Articles

Breaking the iron triangle around nuclear safety regulation: The cases of France, Japan, and India

AbstractThe International Atomic Energy Agency asserts that the regulation of the safety of civil nuclear power requires national regulatory agencies to be effectively independent. However, in the early years of national civil nuclear power programs national nuclear industries were dominated by iron triangles or subgovernments of powerful actors with an interest in promoting the industry. The creation of an independent safety regulator requires a radical restructuring of the national governance framework. Windows of opportunity or critical junctures for such reform occur only occasionally. This paper examines the cases of France, Japan, and India to identify the factors that determine the degree of success in attempts to break the power of nuclear iron triangles or subgovernments and create an effectively independent regulator. This analysis shows a serious nuclear accident can create the opportunity to dismantle an iron triangle. The extent and speed with which reforms can be implemented depend greatly on pre‐existing and prevailing conditions. Key determinants include the power structures and attitudes toward nuclear power in elite politics, the degree of engagement of civil society, and pressures from international organizations. Of these, the first, elite politics, appears to be the most important in these three cases.

Negligible radiological impact of Indian nuclear power plants on the environment and the public: Findings from a 20-year study

Nuclear power plants, recognized for their extended operational life, minimal greenhouse gas emissions, and high-power density, are deemed as reliable energy sources. Nonetheless, concerns persist regarding the radioactive discharges from these plants and their potential impact on health and the environment. To comprehend the radiological implications of such releases, this study presents, for the first time, an analysis of radiological data from 7 Indian nuclear power plants (NPPs), collected by Indian environmental survey laboratories (ESL) over the past two decades (2000-2020). This dataset encompasses radioactivity concentrations in the atmospheric, aquatic, and terrestrial environments within a 30 km radius of each NPP, as well as the annual cumulative external gamma doses recorded by environmental thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs). The analysis yielded several key findings: (i) Radioactivity concentrations around the NPPs were low and comparable to values measured at other nuclear power plant sites worldwide; (ii) Tritium concentrations in receiving water bodies were <1 % of the internationally recommended limit of 10,000 Bq/l; (iii) The estimated total radiation doses to the public were at most 10 % of the stipulated regulatory dose limit of 1000 μSv and consistently decreased over the study period and (iv) Variations in doses among the NPP sites were primarily attributed to legacy technology used in specific reactors. These results indicate efficient and secure reactor operations and the minimal contribution of Indian nuclear power plants to anthropogenic doses in the country. The findings hold potential significance for reinforcing India's commitment to advancing its nuclear power program.

Challenges in nuclear energy adoption: Why nuclear energy newcomer countries put nuclear power programs on hold?

The pressing need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions has stimulated a renewed interest in nuclear energy worldwide. However, while numerous countries have shown interest in nuclear power over the course of history, many of them have not continued their pursuit and chosen to defer or abandon their peaceful nuclear power projects. Scrapping a national nuclear power program after making initial efforts implies significant challenges in such a course or a waste of national resources. Therefore, this study aims to identify the crucial factors that influence a country's decision to terminate or hold off its peaceful nuclear power programs. Our empirical analyses demonstrate that major nuclear accidents and leadership changes are significant factors that lead countries to terminate or defer their nuclear power programs. Additionally, we highlight that domestic politics (democracy), lack of military alliance with major nuclear suppliers, low electricity demand, and national energy security environments (energy import, crude oil price) can hamper a country's possibility of regaining interest in a nuclear power program after it has been scrapped, suspended, or deferred. The findings of this study have significant implications for policymakers and stakeholders in the energy sector as they strive to balance the competing demands of energy security, and environmental sustainability.

Regulatory transparency and citizen support for government decisions: evidence from nuclear power acceptance in China

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of transparency as a governance mechanism on citizen support for controversial governmental decisions to public facilities. Building on the government transparency literature, this article argues that regulatory transparency has a double-sided meaning of regulatory enforcement and rule violations. Due to the ambiguity inherent in regulatory performance information, citizens may interpret disclosed information as a reflection of prevalent rule violations and thereby reduce support for relevant public facilities. Furthermore, the negative association between regulatory transparency and citizen support is contingent on citizens’ use of social media. We test these arguments in the nuclear energy regulatory domain using original, nationally representative survey data and an independent environmental regulation transparency index in China. Findings reveal that regulatory transparency reduces citizen support for proposed nuclear power programs. We also find that regulatory transparency is particularly influential for respondents with relatively higher levels of social media usage. These findings highlight the dilemma that governments face when they seek to enhance policy support through transparency in the digital age.

Prospective appraisal of a formative nuclear and radiation physics at Nairobi

We provide a prospective appraisal of the evolution of the graduate nuclear and radiation physics program at the University of Nairobi underscoring its unique growth in the framework of relevant knowledge networks and a nascent nuclear power program. Due to the distinctive characteristics of the nuclear fuel cycle, there arose in Kenya especially nuclear security educational requirements for a proliferation-free nuclear power program as well as the need for provision of a broad spectrum of technical capacities to plan, regulate, and safely handle a nuclear power infrastructure. We detail how the graduate program centres on our newly established research line in nuclear forensics. Learning from this experience we propose, as a result, moving into nuclear photonics enabled by accelerators so as to play more key roles in accelerating capacity building embracing both nuclear and laser physics.

Nuclear fission technology in Africa: Assessing challenges and opportunities for future development

Nuclear fission technology offers a potential solution for meeting Africa's increasing energy demands while also supporting economic development and regional cooperation. However, significant challenges such as financing and investment barriers, technical capacity gaps, and public concerns about safety and security persist. This article explores the key opportunities and challenges for nuclear fission technology in Africa, examining current and planned nuclear power projects and analyzing their successes, challenges, and lessons learned. We also discuss strategies for advancing nuclear power programs in African countries, including policy and regulatory reforms, investment and financing mechanisms, human resource development, capacity building, and public engagement and education. The need for further research into the potential environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts of nuclear power plants in African countries is emphasized, as well as the development of innovative and sustainable nuclear technologies tailored to African contexts. Ultimately, achieving sustainable and safe deployment of nuclear fission technology in Africa will require a comprehensive and collaborative approach, with partnerships and collaborations playing a critical role.

A new meteorological pressure index to support a sustainable nuclear energy programme

Today, the evaluation of a site for innovative nuclear installations represents a fundamental step in supporting the implementation of a sustainable nuclear power program. One major concern is the potential for radioactive releases and their effects on the biosphere, particularly on human health. To address this issue, a new Meteorological Pressure Index (MPI) has been developed to identify sites with resilience capacity in terms of transport phenomena correlated to natural wind actions on a regional scale. The MPI utilizes a fuzzy approach that combines data on 3D wind speed, direction, and frequency, providing maps that are useful in the site selection process. The application of MPI in the Sicily region of Italy has allowed to identify bordering areas that that are more affected by efficient air mass transport mechanisms. Consistency analyses have been conducted among MPI maps, observed wind distributions using wind rose charts, and stagnation S and recirculation R factors. The results confirm the MPI's ability to aggregate meteorological data on a regional level, making it a suitable tool when compared to disaggregated data that may not always provide a comprehensive viewpoint.

Nuclear Power Program in Turkey as a Nuclear Newcomer Country

Turkey's interest in pursuing a nuclear power program can be attributed to the necessity to meet the country's fast expanding electricity consumption while also assisting economic development. Turkey, as a nuclear newcomer country and a member of the global nonproliferation regime, has been interested in civilian nuclear technology since 1970s. Despite substantial development in domestic energy output, Turkey still relies heavily on imported energy. In this regard, diversification of resources to generate electricity presents significant importance for the country. &#x0D; Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project proposes a unique concept for the construction of the country's first NPP with its own model (BOO model). The paper examines Turkey's electricity demand, the motivations for pursuing nuclear energy, and the substance of the parties' intergovernmental agreement for the BOO madel. Finally, as a nuclear newcomer country, the significance of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) in the framework of the domestic legal law and international nuclear law is emphasized.

Uranium supply potential from imported phosphate rocks for the Philippine nuclear power program

The Philippines is planning to rehabilitate its mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to provide affordable electricity and meet carbon emission goals. Despite not having domestic uranium resources, the Philippines import considerable amounts of phosphate rock for mineral fertilizer production that is known to contain between 50-200 mg uranium per kg ore. Recovering the uranium from phosphate rock during wet-phosphoric acid (WPA) production, the process used in the Philippines, is a mature technology that was used at fertilizer plants in Florida in the 1980s and 1990s before decreasing uranium prices made it unprofitable. Uranium prices are bound to rise again, and this work estimates the amount of uranium that could be recovered during WPA production in the Philippines. We estimate that between 14.4-25.6 t natural uranium could have theoretically been recovered annually in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This amount is equivalent to approximately 12-21% of the projected annual uranium requirements of the BNPP. Phosphate rock imports into the Philippines are still below pre-Typhoon Haiyan levels and when the industry recovers it is likely that more than one-fourth of the uranium requirements of the BNPP could be met with unconventional uranium recovered from imported phosphate rocks.

Women in Nuclear Power Programs: Case Studies from Africa

Women in Nuclear Power Programs: Case Studies from Africa

A study of stakeholders' perspectives to inform management of the development of a civil nuclear power program for electricity generation in Ghana

The renewed interest in the development of the civil nuclear power program in Ghana has since seen the implementation of sensitisation and educative programs aimed at enhancing knowledge and ensuring buy-in. A compendium of activities constituting stakeholder engagement efforts was conducted since the establishment of the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organization (GNPPO). A survey was piloted to measure, the perception, knowledge and interest of a section of the Ghanaian society. The results provided indications to expect that the nationwide survey will make evident, the high dependence on the national grid and appreciable interest for additional capacity (mainly solar and nuclear) to the existing electricity generation mix. Although participants are aware of some adverse effects of the power application of nuclear energy, the majority would likely be willing to accept the inclusion of nuclear power in Ghana's electricity generation mix and advocate for that endeavour.

A study of stakeholders' perspectives to inform management of the development of a civil nuclear power program for electricity generation in Ghana

A study of stakeholders' perspectives to inform management of the development of a civil nuclear power program for electricity generation in Ghana

Education, Training and Research at Khalifa University in Support of the United Arab Emirates Nuclear Power Program

Education, Training and Research at Khalifa University in Support of the United Arab Emirates Nuclear Power Program

Assessment of public knowledge, perception, and acceptance of nuclear power in Bangladesh

Public perception plays a crucial role in the successful completion of a nuclear power project. As a newcomer country to nuclear power, there are lots of misconceptions among the Bangladeshi people about nuclear energy. Consequently, it is crucial to minimize all the doubts among mass people and build up their positive outlook toward nuclear power. This demands a comprehensive survey to figure out the public opinion, concerns, false impressions, and knowledge gap regarding nuclear power. In the present study, these issues were addressed by a survey that was responded to by 661 persons for the 24 survey questions. The questions were categorized based on information, knowledge, faith, benefit, awareness, and technology. Feedback and responders' basic demographic and socioeconomic information were collected from various locations in Bangladesh through online and in-person surveys. The responses were analyzed in both statistical and descriptive ways. Some of the feedback was found to vary with age, sex, and education level while others were quite independent of these parameters. It is found that socio-economic development and energy security can be achieved by the inclusion of nuclear energy in the power system master plan of the country. However, huge knowledge gaps and misconceptions were found among the public regarding nuclear energy. As per feedback, political instability and corruption may affect the national nuclear power project in Bangladesh. Low faith in the existing rules & regulations for nuclear power programs was also observed. The result of this study will be handy to develop the communication and public awareness strategy for a successful nuclear power project in Bangladesh.

Investigative study of radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel assembly of some commercial nuclear power plants

The European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) and Hualong One Pressurized Water Reactor (HPR) are two of the reactors under consideration by the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme. Radiotoxicity analysis of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) assembly was carried out with these commercial Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) nuclear power technology as case study. This will help determine which one is less radiotoxic on the environment between the two reactor technologies, in the long run. Burnup depletion calculation for the Uranium Oxide (UOX) fuel of these reactor technologies was simulated, using Monte Carlo Neutron Particle Extended (MCNPX), a code used in nuclear fuel management analysis, being a well validated code and also due to its versatile nuclei reactions cross section library.Determination of radiotoxicity for EPR and HPR SNF is the main objective of this study. The radiotoxicity was achieved taking into consideration the radioactive decay rate of the radionuclides and the Dose Factor of each radionuclide present in the SNF using the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) compendium of Dose Factors due to ingestion. The radiotoxicity for the two reactor's SNF were compared. The initial radiotoxicity for HPR SNF was higher in the duration below one hundred years but at about a hundred years and above, the radiotoxicity was higher for EPR SNF. The radiotoxicity was tremendously reduced for the reprocessed spent UOX fuel (with the Pu and U extracted) to be used as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. The main finding is that Pu isotopes are the major contributors to the radiotoxicity of the SNF for the two reactors systems due to their very high radioactivity, long half-lifes and high dose factors as compared to other actinides and fission products present in the SNF.

Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part LXXXII: Introduction to High Reliability Organizations.

Reports from the Institute of Medicine regarding the number of errors in medicine leading to fatalities prompted a major review of medical practices and a move to make medical systems high reliability organizations. Many of the concepts used today to improve performance in health care are borrowed from what has been learned from successes and accidents in other industries, especially in the aviation, space, and nuclear power programs. An emphasis on excellent leadership and communication, the knowledge that there needs to be an emphasis on system failures rather than human failures, and having a safety culture that encourages everyone to be mindful of potential errors and report errors are critical to achieve high reliability.

A Study on Integrating SMRs into Uganda’s Future Energy System

Uganda is looking forward to diversifying its energy system to sustainably meet the present and future energy needs. To achieve this, the country is embarking on a nuclear power program to construct large nuclear reactors, although this would increase Uganda’s electricity generation capacity, huge investments in construction and grid expansion required presents a big challenge considering the small size of Uganda’s economy and grid. Luckily, emerging new nuclear technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) can address these challenges due their enhanced features that are compatible with Uganda’s energy system. SMRs having smaller capacities means that they would reduce the total investment costs in construction and also fit Uganda’s small electric grid. In this study, the methodology followed two approaches to examine the best strategies to integrate SMRs into Uganda’s future energy system, that is, the model for energy supply strategy alternatives and their general environmental impacts (MESSAGE) code and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) economic competitiveness analysis parameter. The results of analysis reveal that SMRs can play a key role in the future energy mix by contributing 13% to the total electricity generation. Additionally, the LCOE value of the SMRs was 78.01 $/MWh, which is competitive with large nuclear reactors with an LCOE value of 79.77 $/MWh and significantly lower than the LCOE of biomass, peat, and thermal energies. In conclusion, this study justified Uganda’s need to invest in SMRs considering the country’s energy security needs, future energy mix diversification goals, and national financial environment.

Reappraisal of 75 Years of Exploration for Atomic Minerals in India and the Way Forward

Abstract In India, Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), the oldest unit under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is mandated with the exploration and augmentation of atomic mineral(s) resources of the country to support the Nuclear Power Programme (NPP) of India. AMD, till date have established four (04) generations of uranium metallogeny in India, distributed in 46 deposits and several other occurrences, major share of which are contributed by the globally unique, stratabound carbonate hosted, syn-diagenetic Tummalapalle Group of deposit (~59%), metamorphite type deposits along the Singhbhum Shear Zone (~21%), unconformity related deposits in northern part of Cuddapah Basin (~5%) and sandstone type deposits in Cretaceous Mahadek Basin (~6%). Besides these, metasomatite type deposits along the North Delhi Fold Belt (4%) and granite related-structurally controlled, high grade deposits in Bhima Basin (2%) along with some small hydrothermal/metamorphite/migmatite type deposits in Aravalli, Kotri-Dongargarh, Higher Himalaya belts and Chhotanagpur Granite Gneiss Complex contribute to the national inventory which stands at 3,76,000 tonne uranium oxide. AMD have stockpiled substantial quantities of Nb-Ta, Be and Li minerals needed for the NPP of India from prospective pegmatite belts in the country. AMD have established immense potential for REE mineralization in carbonatite complexes of Ambadungar in Gujarat and per-alkaline granite-rhyolite of Siwana Ring Complex, Barmer district, Rajasthan. Exploration along the coastal and riverine placers of the country has established 130 heavy mineral placer deposits with substantial thorium and REE resources. The progressive advancements by AMD through adaptation of integrated multidisciplinary exploration techniques coupled with major thrust in airborne/ground geophysics and expansion of state-of-the-art analytical facilities have facilitated systematic planning for future augmentation of atomic mineral(s) resources. Exploration inputs are envisaged to be intensified in the brownfield target areas for resource augmentation while R&amp;D and phase-wise exploration inputs will be focused for developing the identified greenfield areas following a planned roadmap to ensure selfsufficiency in atomic mineral resources for sustained growth of the NPP to reach the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2070.

Economic Aspects of Nuclear Energy in India

One of the main requisites for development by any developing economy is to have continuous and efficient sources of energy. India being no exception needs to fuel its growth however, since the sources of energy are limited and headed to a serious level of depletion, the need of the hour is to identify and develop new sources of energy which can sustain the development. As a result, India is poised to embark upon a comprehensive nuclear power program with an emphasis on a new series ofnuclear power plants, including some of higher capacities. This paper highlights the reasons for increasing utilization of energy in India and also points out as to why nuclear power needs to be given more attention over the traditional resources of energy. The increased attention to the alternative sources of energy has also raised apprehensions about the costs involved in the generation and the usage of the nuclear energy. By using the secondary data gathered from various recent reports published nationally and internationally, this paper tries to analyze and compare the costs involved in setting up and running of nuclear power plants and other energy resources, to find answer to the question as to whether nuclear sources are feasible in terms of the costs they generate. The use of nuclear energy is not without any probable negative consequences. The steps which can be taken to avoid possible negative offshoots are also dealt with briefly in this paper Finally, this paper tries to project the overall importance and potential of nuclear power for playing a major role in India's quest for more power.

Metamorphic Relations Recognition Method Based on Node Features and Path Features

Abstract The classification model of the metamorphic relations of the scientific computing program has four categories, of which the code model occupies an important position. We redefine a metamorphic relations, which is single-line metamorphic relations and it exists in the nuclear power program. And it is more comprehensive compared to other metamorphic relations to reflect the internal logic of the program, while node features and path features can maximize the logical structure of the programs. Based on the above situation, we started from the code layer to study the metamorphic relations, put the control flow chart as the bridge of the code and metamorphic relations, extract node features and path features control flowchart and transform the identification problem of metamorphic relations into the problem of predictive model classification. Apply the identified single-line metamorphic relations to the nuclear power field and detect the effectiveness of the software program. The results show that the method is used to enrich the study of the metamorphic relations with the code level, and further improve the degree of automation of metamorphic tests.