Risk Of Nuclear Accidents Research Articles

Importance of Nuclear Energy to Accomplish Net Zero Carbon

The world is entangled with the urgent need for existing energy modes transition to clean energy for mitigating global warming and climate change. It ultimately demands to set stringent goals for achieving net zero carbon for each country. In this direction different approaches are being stipulated and one of the important options emerges as nuclear power, a compelling option for sustainable development. Unlike renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and nuclear energy which provides a continuous and reliable supply of electricity with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand nuclear power plants operate with high capacity factor compared to variable renewable sources that depend on weather conditions and its reliability makes nuclear energy a strong candidate for baseload power. Moreover, nuclear energy's low carbon footprint and high energy density output makes it an attractive alternative to fossil fuels. Although, it is crucial to acknowledge the challenges associated with nuclear energy, including the safe management of nuclear waste, the risk of nuclear accidents, and the high upfront costs of building nuclear power plants. Hence, a balanced perspective on the future of nuclear energy and its potential to contribute to a sustainable future is to be adopted carefully. However, a periodic advancements in technology and stringent safety measures, modern Nuclear reactors are designed to minimize environmental impact and enhance safety.

Anthropocene 129I Record in the Yellow Sea Sediments and Its Indication for River-Delivered Radioactive Pollution to Marginal Seas.

As the number of coastal nuclear facilities rapidly increases and the wastewater from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant has been discharged into the Pacific Ocean, the nuclear environmental safety of China's marginal seas is gaining increased attention along with the heightened potential risk of nuclear accidents. However, insufficient work limits our understanding of the impact of human nuclear activities on the Yellow Sea (YS) and the assessment of their environmental process. This study first reports the 129I and 127I records of posthuman nuclear activities in the two YS sediments. Source identification of anthropogenic 129I reveals that, in addition to the gaseous 129I release and re-emission of oceanic 129I discharged from the European Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plants (NFRPs), the Chinese nuclear weapons testing fallout along with the global fallout is an additional 129I input for the continental shelf of the YS. The 129I/127I atomic ratios in the North YS (NYS) sediment are significantly higher than those in the other adjacent coastal areas, attributed to the significant riverine input of particulate 129I by the Yellow River. Furthermore, we found a remarkable 129I latitudinal disparity in the sediments than those in the seawaters in the various China seas, revealing that sediments in China's marginal seas already received a huge anthropogenic 129I from terrigenous sources via rivers and thus became a significant sink of anthropogenic 129I. This study broadens an insight into the potential impacts of terrigenous anthropogenic pollution on the Chinese coastal marine radioactive ecosystem.

Molten salt synthesis of MXene-derived hierarchical titanate for effective strontium removal

The removal and recovery of radioactive Sr(II) from wastewater and seawater has been of great concern due to the negative environmental impacts of nuclear energy development and the potential risk of nuclear accidents. Herein, a facile molten salt synthesis strategy was developed to systematically investigated the reaction of different types of MXenes with nitrates. Among the products, K+ intercalated hierarchical titanate nanostructures (K-HTNs) obtained from the direct chemical transformation of multilayered Ti3C2Tx exhibited unique layered structures, good physicochemical properties, and outstanding adsorption performance for Sr(II). The maximum adsorption capacity of Sr(II) by K-HTNs reached 204 mg·g−1 at ambient temperature, and the good regeneration and reusability of the titanate was also demonstrated. K-HTNs showed preferential selectivity for Sr(II) in different environmental media containing competing ions, and the removal efficiency of Sr(II) in real seawater was as high as 93.3 %. The removal mechanism was elaborated to be the exchange of Sr2+ with K+/H+ in the interlayers of K-HTNs, and the adsorbed Sr(II) had a strong interaction with Ti−O− termination on the titanate surface. Benefiting from the merits of rapid and scalable synthesis and excellent adsorption performance, MXene-derived K-HTNs have broad application prospects for the purification of 90Sr-contaminated wastewater and seawater.

Impact of Nuclear Pollution on the Population and Diversity of Plankton

Plankton, as a crucial component of aquatic ecosystems, plays a key role in maintaining ecological balance with its population and diversity. However, with the increase in human activities, the emission of nuclear waste, and the frequency of nuclear accidents, the issue of nuclear pollution has become increasingly severe, posing a significant threat to the living environment of plankton. The primary sources of nuclear pollution are the discharge of nuclear waste and leaks from nuclear power plant accidents. These radioactive substances dissolve in water and emit radiation, causing severe damage to the aquatic ecosystem. Plankton, such as algae and protozoa, due to their characteristics, are more susceptible to radiation. The impact of nuclear pollution on the population and diversity of plankton is evident. To protect the balance of aquatic ecosystems, it's necessary to strengthen the management and regulation of nuclear pollution, reduce the discharge of nuclear waste, and lower the risk of nuclear accidents. Also, for water bodies already affected by nuclear pollution, effective purification measures should be taken to restore the health of the aquatic ecosystem.

RAMIFICATIONS OF INDIA’S NAVAL BUILD-UP IN NUCLEAR REALMS

The naval build-up of India in contemporary times reflects its major power ambitions. Owing to its development of advanced naval capabilities coupled with its long-standing desire to develop a blue-water navy is a major driver of this build up. These blue water ambitions stir instability in Indian Ocean Region (IOR) affecting Pakistan’s threat perceptions. The most important development in the region's stability and security architecture is the addition of second-strike capacity to the sea, which carries serious consequences. Hence, it is pertinent to address the question of strategic stability regarding the development of India’s sea based nuclear capabilities. This paper explores Indian naval nuclear developments and their repercussions for the security environment of South Asia. It establishes that nuclearization of Indian Ocean is leading to aggressive arms build-up in South Asia and subsequent risk of nuclear accidents, sabotage and command and control vulnerabilities. Bibliography Entry Bibi, Gulshan and Brice Tseen Fu Lee. 2023. "Ramifications of India’s Naval Buildup in Nuclear Realms." Margalla Papers 27 (2): 1-13.

An overview of thorium as a prospective natural resource for future energy

Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that has been identified as a potential alternative fuel for nuclear energy production. Additionally, thorium-based nuclear reactors have inherent safety features that reduce the risk of nuclear accidents and proliferation. As a result, there has been growing interest in the development of thorium-based nuclear energy as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. This paper looks at the present status of thorium nuclear fuel technology, providing an overview of thorium as a prospective natural resource for future energy, the global availability of mineral supplies, and discusses the technical, economic, and environmental factors that may influence its implementation. Potential advantages and challenges critical to further development associated with thorium-based nuclear energy are highlighted as well, and an outlook on its future prospects is provided. Thorium offers advantageous physical and chemical properties over uranium, has a higher energy density, and produces less waste, in addition to its greater natural abundance, making it to be considered a “future nuclear fuel”. There are concerns about the cost and scalability of thorium-based nuclear energy, with uncertainty around the cost to develop, build, and operate thorium reactors, as it has not yet been demonstrated in large-scale commercial reactors—although almost all current reactor types have been built and run using thorium—as it is the case with Uranium-based nuclear technology—the dominant form of nuclear energy for over half a century, having received much more investment and attention than thorium-based technology. Thorium has the potential to contribute towards a more sustainable nuclear industry, including lower lifecycle emissions and more efficient resource utilization, but for this, an acceleration of efforts to date is needed to ensure that this becomes an important climate change stabilizing wedge by the mid-21st century.

Cooldown of a water-cooled reactor during the natural circulation mode using decay heat of the core and a low-power steam turbine

The Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant accident in 2011 confirms that NPP safety is one of the most urgent present-day problems. Moreover, a rapidly growing number of NPP units increases the risk of serious radiation accidents. The authors have developed a novel cooldown method for water-cooled reactors to be used under loss of connection with the power system using decay heat from the core and a low-power steam turbine. A distinctive feature of the method is financial viability of the steam turbine due to its possibility to generate additional electricity at the normal conditions of NPP operation. The aim of the invention is to ensure a high level of NPP safety while maintaining and increasing commercial efficiency and competitiveness of nuclear power plants. To implement the developed method, it is necessary to provide guarantee for reliability of NPP units at natural circulation of the primary coolant, since the primary circulation pumps will be shut off caused by a trip of a reactor. For this reason, the authors carried out an investigation into international practice theory and actual usage of natural circulation of water-cooled reactors. Experiments conducted at Kozloduy NPP and research of a number of scientists demonstrate a possibility to maintain constant decay heat removal that will ensure obtaining steam with stable parameters in the secondary circuit. The second part of the research deals with a new method aimed at beneficial usage of steam obtained by using the decay heat from the core under natural circulation of the primary coolant. The generated steam can be used in the additional low-power steam turbine to power supply the NPP's auxiliary needs. In our earlier research we performed a preliminary assessment of reliability of the developed system. The results of the research showed that a combination of a steam turbine and a standard three-channel emergency power supply system with diesel generators enables a safety level comparable to that of external heat exchangers in the passive heat removal systems. At the same time, passive heat removal systems require significant capital investments and maintenance costs, whereas according to the method developed by the authors, a low-power steam turbine can operate in the normal regime to generate additional electricity, as well as in combination with energy storage systems. This will ensure full cost recovery of the developed installations. To assess a reduction of risks of nuclear accidents in terms of cash equivalents when using the novel method, the authors analyzed the influence of various factors on damage expectancy in case of an accident at NPP, based on the example of Fukushima and Chernobyl NPPs. The investigation showed that a reduction of nuclear accident risk in terms of cash equivalents, when implementing the authors’ method aimed to supply the auxiliary NPP needs in blackout situations, reaches tens of millions of US dollars per year.

The Influence of Knowledge, Trust, and Perceived Risk on Firefighters’ Preparedness and Willingness to Respond to Nuclear Emergencies: The Case of South Korea

At the site of nuclear accidents, firefighters situated near nuclear power plants (NPPs) assume responsibility for suppressing fires and rescuing workers from leaked radiation. Their timely responses to nuclear emergencies can prevent or minimize the catastrophic impacts of these accidents. Despite their important role in nuclear emergency management, little is known about the factors that influence firefighters’ nuclear emergency responses. We recruited 179 Korean firefighters (96% male) situated near NPPs. We examined whether and how knowledge regarding nuclear accidents and trust in the authorities operating nuclear power plants were related to firefighters’ risk perceptions of nuclear accidents to predict their preparedness and willingness to respond to nuclear emergencies. Our results indicate that trust moderated the effect of knowledge on the perceived risk of nuclear accidents, and that the perceived risk mediated the relationship between knowledge and firefighters’ preparedness and willingness to respond to nuclear emergencies. The results revealed a pattern of moderated mediation, in which perceived risk mediated the indirect effect of knowledge on preparedness and willingness when the firefighters’ trust was low, but not when it was high.

The Private and External Costs of Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out

Abstract Many countries have phased out nuclear power in response to concerns about nuclear waste and the risk of nuclear accidents. This paper examines the shutdown of more than half of the nuclear production capacity in Germany after the Fukushima accident in 2011. We use hourly data on power plant operations and a machine learning approach to estimate the impacts of the phase-out policy. We find that reductions in nuclear electricity production were offset primarily by increases in coal-fired production and net electricity imports. Our estimates of the social cost of the phase-out range from €3 to €8 billion per year. The majority of this cost comes from the increased mortality risk associated with exposure to the local air pollution emitted when burning fossil fuels. Policymakers would have to significantly overestimate the risk or cost of a nuclear accident to conclude that the benefits of the phase-out exceed its social costs. We discuss the likely role of behavioral biases in this setting, and highlight the importance of ensuring that policymakers and the public are informed about the health effects of local air pollution.

Nuclear energy debate in Turkey: Stakeholders, policy alternatives, and governance issues

For the last six decades, Turkish governments have been advocating the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) on the grounds that it is necessary for the development of the country, that the country needs nuclear energy for economic growth, and more importantly, that an NPP would mark a milestone in Turkey's journey of modernisation. However, national and local opposition has also existed from the beginning on. The first attempts to build an NPP in late 1970s were met with an immediate reaction from the civil society, concerned about potential problems such as NPP's impact on environment and health, waste management, and risk of nuclear accidents, giving rise to a long-standing conflict that is yet to be settled. In order to better understand Turkey's previous and current motivations to build a nuclear power plant, this study will first recount the country's history of nuclear power followed by a discourse analysis using a multidimensional environmental justice framework, which will investigate different stakeholders' views and perceptions, and the alternative policies proposed by them. The discourse analysis built on the historical narrative is helpful in identifying sources of conflicts between stakeholders, and in presenting these conflicts in a transparent and comprehensible manner.

Theoretical Guidance on Evacuation Decisions after a Big Nuclear Accident under the Assumption That Evacuation Is Desirable

The development of nuclear power is a major measure for implementing energy-saving and emission reduction strategies all over the world. For a long time, the hazards of nuclear accidents have been obstacles to the development of nuclear power. Temporary evacuation is the fastest and most effective emergency measure to ensure the safety of residents in a short period of time after a nuclear accident. Numerous nuclear accident emergency management personnel make judgments based on personal work experience and subjective awareness when formulating a nuclear accident emergency evacuation plan. How to make a scientific and reasonable decision on the emergency evacuation of nuclear accidents in the shortest time is a common problem faced by many emergency departments when a nuclear accident occurs. In a complex and ever-changing radiation environment, how to maximize the use of limited information and make decisions quickly in an uncertain environment is a core issue that effectively reduces the risk of nuclear accidents. This paper constructs a set of assessment system of nuclear accident emergency evacuation plan selection based on the characteristics of nuclear accident emergencies under uncertain environmental conditions. It uses triangular fuzzy language to describe nuclear accident emergency evacuation decision plans and the weighting of relevant factors. Additionally, the K-means clustering method is used to calculate the weight of experts, which reduces the influence of subjective factors considered by decision makers. Finally, a decision model for emergency evacuation of nuclear accidents is constructed based on the TOPSIS decision model.

Quantifying the social costs of nuclear energy: Perceived risk of accident at nuclear power plants

The preferences expressed in voting on nuclear reactor licenses and the risk perceptions of citizens provide insights into social costs of nuclear power and decision making in energy policy. We show analytically that these costs consist of disutility caused by unnecessary anxiety - due to misperceived risks relating to existing reactors - and where licenses for new nuclear reactors are not granted, delayed or totally lost energy production. Empirical evidence is derived from Finnish surveys eliciting explicitly the importance of risk perceptions on preferences regarding nuclear power and its environmental and economic impacts. We show that the estimated marginal impact of a high perceived risk of nuclear accident is statistically significant and that such a perception considerably decreases the probability of a person supporting nuclear power. This result holds across a number of robustness checks including an instrumental variable estimation and a model validation by observed voting behavior of the members of Parliament. The public's risk perceptions translate into a significant social cost, and are likely to affect the revenues, costs and financing conditions in the nuclear power sector in the future.

Coal, Renewable, or Nuclear? A Real Options Approach to Energy Investments in the Philippines

The Philippines is making a significant step to become energy independent by developing more sustainable sources of energy. The country sees investments in renewable energy and nuclear energy as promising alternatives to address the country’s problem in energy security. This paper evaluates the comparative attractiveness of either investing in alternative energy sources or continuing the use of coal for electricity generation in the Philippines. Applying the real options approach under coal price uncertainty, this study analyzes investment values and optimal timing of switching technologies from coal to renewable or nuclear energy. It also examines how negative externality and the risk of nuclear accident affect investment decisions. Results identify possible welfare losses from waiting or delaying investing in alternative energy. Negative externality favors investment in nuclear energy over coal, whereas the risk of nuclear accident favors investment in renewable energy.

Engagement of the Serbian Army in helping civilians in the event of nuclear and chemical accidents

Nuclear and chemical accidents in modern society often cause devastating consequences to people, material resources and the environment. This kind of accident requires special procedures and activities during the elimination of the consequences, because of the specific characteristics of highly toxic substances used in nuclear and chemical plants. The Serbian Army with its units and organizations can contribute significantly to the implementation of tasks of eliminating the consequences of such accidents. The paper describes the role and the tasks of the Serbian Army as well as one of the methods to utilize its units to provide assistance to the population in case of nuclear and chemical accidents. Introduction Today, for peacetime applications, many different sources of radiation are used, among which nuclear reactors are certainly the most dangerous. Due to accidents that occurred in the previous period, the risk of nuclear accidents is not negligible, and potential consequences are usually disastrous. Accidents at chemical complexes and uncontrolled releases of hazardous substances into the environment are much more likely to happen. Accidents at such plants throughout the world are very common, and the resulting effects on people, property and the environment are often significant. The elimination of consequences occurring atnuclear sites or by chemical accidents engages all structures of the society, in accordance with the duties and assigned tasks, including a significant role of the units and institutions of the Serbian Army. Tasks, resources and forces of the Serbian Army to assist the population in nuclear and chemical accidents The tasks of the Army of Serbia arise from doctrinal documents on its use within assigned missions. Assisting the population in NC accidents is defined in the 3rd mission of the Army: Support to civilian authorities in countering threats to security, and the central task within it is to assist civilian authorities in responding to natural, technological and other disasters. The Army of Serbia has no special forces intended for the implementation of these tasks, but it engages the existing ones depending on the extent of accident consequences. Also, when providing assistance to civilian authorities, the NC accident units of the Serbian Army use their equipment and, if necessary, supplement it with local and handy tools that can be used for this purpose. Display of the engagement of the Serbian Army to provide assistance to the population in case of nuclear or chemical accidents To assess the modeling power of the Army of Serbia to participate in the elimination of accident consequences, we first perform the modeling of accidental situations and budget resulting consequences.The probability of nuclear accidents in the territory of the Republic of Serbia is low, so chemical accidents have been modellled with their possible consequences as well as the forces of Serbia which can be used effectively with other entities of the society to solve the resulting problems. Engaging the SA units in eliminating the consequences of NC accidents would consist of several main tasks, namely: – Providing emergency care for injured and intoxicated – authorities realize the medical service by forming temporary clinics; – Removing obstacles and debris – mostly by engaging engineering units with their machinery, but for more considerable damage, armored and mechanised units, or infantry units may be included. – Fire fighting – firefighting units trained for these tasks assist police; – Radiological and chemical reconnaissance – RBC survey service units are primarily engaged , but at higher concentrations of radioactivity and hazardous substances, armored mechanised units and aviation can also provide assistance; – Radiological and chemical decontamination – RBC service decontamination units are primarily engaged , and, if necessary, engineering units, river flotilla and logistics services can be included; – Evacuation of civilians – in accordance with the situation, all SA transport capacity can be engaged: transportation service units, aviation transport units, river flotilla, etc. Conclusion For an optimum response to the occurrence of nuclear or chemical accidents and in accordance with prescribed procedures, there is a need for trained and equipped forces of the State, which would be engaged in eliminating NC accident consequences. Successful and coordinated work on eliminating the consequences involves continuous training of units to operate in these conditions. This problem can be solved by the implementation of joint exercises of all forces involved in the integrated response to accidents ( businesses, local authorities, medical teams, the forces of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence, etc.). Units and institutions of the Serbian Armed Forces can take an active part in the elimination of the consequences of NC accidents only if they are fully trained and equipped for the implementation of assigned tasks.

Dimming Hopes for Nuclear Power: Quantifying the Social Costs of Perceptions of Risks

The preferences expressed in voting on nuclear reactor licenses and the risk perceptions of citizens provide insights into social costs of nuclear power and decision making in energy policy. We show analytically that these costs consist of disutility caused by unnecessary anxiety - due to misperceived risks relating to existing reactors - and where licenses for new nuclear reactors are not granted, delayed or totally lost energy production. Empirical evidence is derived from Finnish surveys utilizing alternative risk rating scales and framing in elicitation of risk perceptions associated with nuclear power across contexts. We find a considerable negative impact of a high perceived risk of nuclear accident on the probability to support nuclear power. This result holds across a number of robustness checks including an instrumental variable estimation and a model validation by observed voting behavior of the members of Parliament. The public’s risk perceptions translate into a significant social cost, and are likely to affect the revenues, costs and financing conditions in the nuclear power sector in the future.

Corruption and perceived risk: a case of the 2011 Fukushima disaster

Purpose – Japan's 2011 natural disasters were accompanied by a devastating nuclear disaster in Fukushima. This paper used cross-country data obtained immediately after the Japanese disaster to explore how, and the extent to which, corruption affects the perception of citizens regarding the risk of nuclear accidents. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Endogeneity bias was controlled for using instrumental variables when the author conducted regression estimation. Findings – The cross-country analysis showed that citizens in less corrupt countries tend to perceive there to be a lower possibility of nuclear accident. Originality/value – The finding made it evident that transparency of government enables citizens to access accurate information, reducing information asymmetry between citizens and government.

Nuclear power as a climate mitigation strategy – technology and proliferation risk

Recent years have witnessed renewed interest in nuclear power in large extent due to the need to reduce carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. Most studies of cost and feasibility of stringent climate targets that include nuclear power focus on the currently available light water reactor (LWR) technology. Since climate mitigation requires a long-term commitment, the inclusion of other nuclear technologies such as mixed oxide-fuelled LWRs and fast breeder reactors may better describe the future energy supply options. These different options also entail different nuclear weapon proliferation risks stemming from uranium enrichment or reprocessing of spent fuel. To investigate this relation, we perform a scenario analysis using the global energy transition model. Our results indicate that meeting a scenario with a 430 ppm CO2 target for 2100 is feasible without the involvement of nuclear power; however the mitigation costs increase by around 20%. Furthermore, a lasting contribution by nuclear power to climate change mitigation can only be achieved by alternative fissile material production methods and global diffusion of nuclear technologies. This in turn bears important implications for the risk of nuclear proliferation for several reasons. First, knowledge and competence in nuclear technology becomes more accessible, leading to the risk of nuclear programmes emerging in states with weaker institutional capacity. Additionally, even if the reprocessing step in a fast breeder cycle proves to be essentially proliferation resistant, the build-up of breeder reactor systems necessitates a long transition period with large-scale use of enrichment technology and its related proliferation risks. Our study does not include the costs posed on society by nuclear accident risk and by the need to upscale safeguards and regulatory capacity to deal with increased proliferation risk.

Experience of technological and natural disasters and their impact on the perceived risk of nuclear accidents after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan 2011: A cross-country analysis

This paper uses cross-country data compiled immediately after the Fukushima nuclear accident to investigate how the experience of such disasters affects the perception of the risk of nuclear accidents. Estimation results show that the perceived risk of a nuclear accident is positively associated with experiencing technological disasters but not with that of natural disasters.

Civil disobedience, climate change and the risks of nuclear accidents

Civil disobedience, climate change and the risks of nuclear accidents

De minimis risk concepts in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Part 3: The establishment of cutoff levels of regulatory concerns in the treatment of severe accident issues

The nuclear accident at Three Mile Island nine years ago triggered a re-examination of the safety philosophies at the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). This led to the establishment of the Severe Accident Policy in 1985 and the Safety Goals Policy in 1986. Continued efforts by the nuclear industry and its regulators are directed to reducing still further the risks of nuclear accidents and to improving quantitative methods of probabilistic risk assessment. Despite the potentially large consequences of a nuclear accident, the probabilities of such accidents are being rendered sufficiently small for many plants to make meaningful the application of de minimis risk concepts as cutoff levels of regulatory concern in the treatment of severe accident issues. The complexities and uncertainties of nuclear risk assessment present a difficult challenge of risk communication essential to public acceptance of the nuclear energy option. This paper is Part III of a three part series exploring the implicit and explici...