Safe Nuclear Energy Research Articles

The encapsulated nuclear heat source reactor for low-waste proliferation-resistant nuclear energy

The encapsulated nuclear heat source (ENHS) is a new Pb-Bi cooled modular reactor concept that features a combination of the following useful features that may make nuclear energy more attractive: (1) 20 years of full power operation without refueling. (2) Nearly constant fissile fuel contents and k eff. (3) No on-site refueling and fueling hardware. (4) The ENHS modules are factory manufactured and transported already fueled to the site. (5) No access to neutrons. (6) No mechanical connections between the ENHS module and the energy conversion plant (The ENHS module has the function of a nuclear battery — with 20 years of full power operation at 125 MW th). (7) At end of life, the ENHS module serves as a spent fuel storage cask and, later, as a spent fuel shipping cask. That is, the fuel is locked inside the ENHS from “cradle to grave”. (8) 100% natural circulation resulting in passive load following capability and autonomous control. This combination of features offers a highly safe nuclear energy system that is characterized by low waste, high proliferation resistance and high uranium utilization. The low waste and high uranium ore utilization are achieved by recycling the Pu and MA many times using a proliferation-resistant dry process; only fission products are to be extracted between cycles. Spent LWR fuel can provide for the HM make-up. The high level of proliferation resistance is obtained by restricting access to the fuel and neutrons and by eliminating the economic incentive of the client country to invest in sensitive technologies or infrastructure that can be used for clandestine production of strategic nuclear materials.

Ideology and Elites' Perceptions of the Safety of New Technologies

Theory: The policy learning and advocacy coalition framework emphasizes the importance of journalists and scientists, as well as policymakers, in models of the policy process. At the same time, research from several traditions suggests that elite opinion concerning the safety of nuclear energy, genetic engineering, and other new technologies derives primarily from political ideology. We examine the attitudes of three elite groups that influence policy governing new technologies. Hypotheses: Rothman and Lichter's provocative liberal bias theory suggests that environmental and technological issues are not, as they appear, technical policy issues, but proxies for older conflicts between left egalitarians and the corporate establishment. They expect journalists to be most skeptical of technological safety claims because they are especially liberal and, in contrast, scientists to be free of ideological bias. Alternatively, differences among elite groups could be due to more proximate beliefs, socialization or self-selection. Methods: A telephone survey of random samples of scientists, journalists, and federal government policymakers provides data on attitudes towards new technologies, political ideology, and other characteristics. Ordinary least squares is used to estimate models. Results: Members of all three elite groups are subject to ideological bias in their assessments of technological safety. Yet, the small effect of profession remains after controlling for a variety of variables.

Hydrogen in a global long-term perspective

For many countries, the hydrogen economy offers an operational objective for their long-term energy structure. At the end of the next century, the world will depend on the predominant use of carbon-free and carbon-neutral sources of energy, such as flow energy, energy from modern biomass and safe nuclear energy. According to current expectations, traditional fossil fuels will either be practically exhausted or no longer useful as a result of the greenhouse effect. In both cases, a scarcity motive is at issue. This implies that the direct and indirect costs involved in the use of traditional energy supplies will increase sharply with the passage of time, so that the economic feasibility of the less intensive use of energy and the introduction of alternative energy supply systems will no longer be insurmountable problems. The supply and demand structures of energy will be optimally blended by the use of hydrogen and electricity, an almost ideal combination of secondary energy carriers. With these carriers, practically every centralized or decentralized, environmentally sound energy supply can be permanently maintained, both within and outside of industrialized, metropolitan areas. How the transition to a hydrogen economy will precisely take place is not clear. In general, it is assumed that for many decades to come, the economic development of developing countries will depend on the predominant use of relatively “cheap” fossil energy carriers (coal, petroleum and natural gas), as well as on the accompanying energy supply structures. However, those countries, similar to the wealthy industrial countries, will also have to start using highly capital-intensive and very energy-efficient energy supply systems and energy consumption technologies. This requires innovative strategies that are aimed at compensating developing countries (temporarily) for their lack of purchasing power and knowledge infrastructure. Presumably nowhere in the world will a substantial changeover to hydrogen as an energy carrier possibly be at issue in the first few decades. The costs involved in the hydrogen chain are still too high, and world energy prices are still to low for such a changeover to take place. Attention, however, will focus on drastic energy saving, decarbonization of fossil fuels, substitution to natural gas, the opening up of flow energy, biomass production and the development of inherently safe nuclear energy.

Russia's nuclear power safety— an alternative proposal

The major part of Western proposals to the G-7 meeting on increasing the safety of Russian nuclear energy was based on the shut down of all Chernobyl-type RBMK reactors as the essential first step and increased safety levels in producing WWER reactors. It is therefore relevant to examine the possible repercussions on electricity generation supply and demand if this course of action is approved.

The European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR): an advanced PWR

Nuclear Power International, together with its Parent Companies Framatome and Siemens and with the support of Electricite de France and a group of 9 major German Utilities, is developing the EPR, an advanced evolutionary nuclear island. The major objective of this development is to further improve safety, reliability and competitiveness of nuclear energy in order to contribute to the Worldwide increasing need for energy.

Advanced Reactors, Passive Safety, and Acceptance of Nuclear Energy

Human interactions with wildlife are a defining experience of human existence. These interactions can be positive or negative. People compete with wildlife for food and resources, and have eradicated dangerous species; co-opted and domesticated valuable ...Read More

Energy in Transition

Civilization is running out of cheap oil and natural gasenvironmental room for absorbing pollution and tolerance for the risks of nuclear energy. Between 1890 and 1970 the costs of supplying energy and the prices paid stayed constant. the oil-price shocks of 1973-74 and 1979 doubled and quadrupled the real price of oil. In 1973 oil constituted nearly 1/2 of the worlds industrial energy forms. The excessive costs of energy caused worldwide recession debts thwarted the development of oil-poor Southern hemisphere countries and saddled industrial countries with the economic burdens of the poor. 100 years of unprecedented population growth was coupled with the consumption of some 200 terawatt-years of oil and gas representing 20% of the earths stock of these fuels. At this rate of doubling consumption every 15-20 years the initial stock will be depleted in 30-40 years. Coal solar energy and fission and fusion fuels are more abundant however their economic costs are higher. The costs of controlling pollution also contribute to higher energy costs. In the US environmental impacts increased the costs of petroleum products by 25% in the past 20 years and coal- and nuclear-power fuel electricity by 40%. The effect on public health and safety of sulfur dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and low-dose radiation from nuclear fission are uncertain and difficult to quantify. The ecological threats are even more elusive. Humanity has to tackle the economic impact of pressing issues: global climate change safe nuclear energy biomass energy harnessing sunlight future carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries geothermal energy and energy efficiency while at the same time limiting runaway population growth.

Spatially analysing the impact of a ‘no new nukes’ policy on European natural gas markets

The recent Chernobyl accident has increased both concerns over the safety of nuclear energy and opposition to its further development. In the event that such opposition led to a moratorium on new nuclear generation it would have a dramatic effect on European natural gas markets. Evaluating total welfare effects of such a policy would require information on the effects in such related markets. In light of these concerns this study quantifies the effects of a moratorium that would allow no new nuclear plants in a number of Western European countries after 1990. To determine the maximum effect on the gas market, it is assumed that all new planned nuclear facilities would be replaced by natural gas facilities. Since the gas market is heavily dependent on the oil market and gas transport is expensive, this moratorium is simulated using a spatial model that includes both gas and oil. In this model econometric estimates of oil and gas demand are combined with supply scenarios and oil and gas transport costs for 13 European demand regions, seven world supply regions for oil, and four supply regions for gas to Western Europe. This two-commodity spatial model is solved by reactive programming to forecast trade flows of oil and gas, prices at both supply and demand nodes for 2000 both with and without a moratorium. The most probable gas price increase from a moratorium was found to be in the range of $25–50/m 3 × 10 3. It caused a significant reallocation of natural gas with higher oil prices, higher income elasticities, and more variance across elasticities tending to increase the amount of gas reallocated. Aggregate annual net consumer welfare gains for the countries modelled from a moratorium were $1.1 billion for the oil market and $912 million for the gas market. Given very different patterns of nuclear development across the countries modelled, spatial modelling finds quite different welfare effects of a moratorium than a similar aggregate model.

Safe nuclear energy

Safe nuclear energy