Showing papers on "Nuclear power published in 1993"

Accident source terms for light-water nuclear power plants

Abstract: This paper presents a discussion of current U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) activities regarding the proposed revision of accident source terms for light-water nuclear power plants, particularly since the issuance of draft revised source terms in July 1992. The NRC's current reactor site criteria require that an accident fission product release within containment, or [open quotes]source term,[close quotes] be postulated to occur and that its radiological dose consequences be evaluated. The current source term, derived from a 1962 report 2 TID-14844, postulates the instantaneous appearance within containment of 10% of the core inventory of noble gases, 50% of the core inventory of iodine (with half of this assumed to plate out very rapidly on interior surfaces), and 10% of the remaining fission products. This source term has also been used to evaluate other important plant performance requirements, such as control room habitability, postaccident access, and sampling and equipment qualification, and consequently has played an important role in nuclear power plant licensing. Aspects of this source term have long been recognized as being inconsistent with a realistic understanding of severe accident behavior. Because NRC review of advanced reactor designs showed the need for a more realistic understanding of accident mitigation capability,more » it became clear that the current source term should be updated.« less

Chain Reaction: Expert Debate and Public Participation in American Commercial Nuclear Power, 1945-1975

Abstract: Acknowledgments 1. Professionalisation and politics in twentieth-century America: from fission to fusion 2. The promise of the proministrative state: nuclear experts and national politics, 1945-1947 3. Forging an iron triangle: the politics of verisimilitude 4. Triangulating demand: the AEC's first decade of commercialisation 5. The centrifugal push of expertise: reactor safety, 1947-1960 6. The magnetic pull of professional disciplines, issue networks and local government 7. Nuclear experts on top, not on tap: mainstreaming expertise, 1957-1970 8. Nuclear experts everywhere: the challenge to nuclear power, 1960-1975 9. Conclusion: harnessing political chain reactions Notes Bibliography Index.

Perceptions of Nuclear and Other Risks in Japan and the United States

Abstract: As part of a study of nuclear power development in Japan and the United States, surveys of perceptions of risk toward 30 activities, substances, and technologies have been carried out in the Pacific Northwest and Tokyo, Japan. The results show that people in both countries have the highest level of dread toward nuclear waste disposal, nuclear accidents, and nuclear war, greater even than their dread of crime and AIDS. In addition to comparisons of dread, the paper also discusses similarities and differences between Japanese and American responses for other dimensions of risk perception.

The Case Against a Ukrainian Nuclear Deterrent

Abstract: The case for Ukrainian acquisition of nuclear weapons rests fundamentally on two key arguments: first, Ukrainian nuclear weapons will promote peace and stability in a region that might oth erwise be prone to conflict; and second, nuclear weapons will enhance Ukrainian security, providing an ultimate security guarantee for a state fearful that its sovereignty might otherwise be jeopardized by its enormous and potentially menacing neighbor to the east?Russia. These are not trivial or easily dismissable arguments. They suggest that Ukrainian acquisition of nuclear weapons would produce desir able and beneficial security consequences for both Ukraine and the West. At first glance, they appear to provide a convincing rationale for Ukrainian nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, Ukraine should not become a nuclear power. Its own interests and those of the West will best be served if Kiev fulfills its

The nuclear peninsula

Abstract: List of illustrations Preface: Once there was a landscape ... List of abbreviations Introduction: talking nuclear Part I. Nuclear Landscapes: 1. La Hague or the nuclear zone 2. The nuclear setting 3. The politics of nuclear power Part II. The Nuclear People: 4. The nuclear site: an inventory of fixtures 5. Learning the nuclear ropes 6. The nuclear everyday Conclusion: the ultimate subject - man Notes Index.

Nuclear Energy and the Public

Abstract: Series Editors' Preface Preface 1. Public Opinion and Nuclear Power 2. Risk Assessment and Risk Perception 3. Attitudes, Beliefs and Values 4. Community Attitudes Towards Nuclear Power Stations 5. Siting Nuclear Waste Facilities 6. Environmental Stressors 7. Nuclear Accidents: Three Mile Island and Chernobyl 8. Communicating Risks 9. Decision Analysis and Nuclear Energy 10. Conclusions References Index.

Risk perception among nuclear power plant personnel: a survey.

Abstract: This study investigated risk perception, well-being, and organizational commitment among nuclear power plant personnel. The study group, 428 employees from a nuclear power plant, completed a questionnaire which included the same questions as those in previous surveys on risk perception of lay persons and industrial workers. Hazards at work were not seen as a sizable problem by nuclear power plant personnel. The study group estimated the safety of nuclear power plants better and the possibility of serious nuclear accident as more unlikely than the general public. Compared to employees in other industrial companies, the overall perceived risks at work among plant personnel did not exceed the respective perceptions of the reference groups. Risk-related attitudes did not explain well-being among plant personnel, but the relationship between the perceived probability of a serious nuclear accident at work and organizational commitment yielded to a significant correlation: Those plant workers who estimated the likelihood of an accident higher were less committed to the organization.

Cost estimate guidelines for advanced nuclear power technologies

Abstract: To make comparative assessments of competing technologies, consistent ground rules must be applied when developing cost estimates. This document provides a uniform set of assumptions, ground rules, and requirements that can be used in developing cost estimates for advanced nuclear power technologies. 10 refs., 8 figs., 32 tabs.

Nuclear and Fossil Fuel Steam Generation of Electricity: Differences and Similarities*

Abstract: This paper provides an econometric analysis of the production technology and generating costs of nuclear power as well as the efficiency and equity of the nuclear rate structure. Using data from a 1985 cross-section of 40 pr4ately owned electric utilities of which approximately 36% of steam generation was nuclear, the authors estimate the cost functions of nuclear and fossil-fuel generation at the firm-level. Statistical tests and other relevant measures are used to determine whether nuclear power should be treated as a sample separate from conventional steam generation. Section 2 discusses the development of the statistical model. Section 3 contains the estimation results and the results of the comparison tests on fossil-fuel and nuclear steam cost functions. Section IV discusses the efficiency of the rate structure for nuclear utilities. Section V contains a summary and conclusion.

South Africa: The ANC and the Atom Bomb

Abstract: Pretoria, South Africa has refused to confirm of deny that it had a nuclear weapons program before decideing to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1991. South Africa's most immediate nonproliferative priority is to eliminate its weapon-grade uranium, which Pretoria has offered to sell to the United States. Pretoria expects the material to be placed under IAEA safeguards and kept out of the U.S. nuclear weapons program. In return, South Africa would receive non-weapons-usable low-enriched uranium to use in its nuclear power reactors. The ramifications of the proposed exchange are discussed.

Proceedings of the sixth international symposium on environmental degradation of materials in nuclear power systems - water reactors

Abstract: The operation of water reactor nuclear power plants provides a significant fraction of the world's electric power generation. At the end of 1992, approximately 360 such plants were in operation, representing a total generating capacity of 320 GWe. As these plants age, and as new designs evolve, the impact of environmental degradation of reactor materials on reliability and power plants economics is receiving increasing recognition. The Sixth International Symposium on Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Systems-Water Reactors was organized to provide a forum for exchange of the results of research and plant operating experience associated with material degradation.

Ablaze: The Story of the Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl

Abstract: Early on the morning of April 26, 1986, the nuclear reactor at the fourth unit of the V. I. Lenin power station at Chernobyl exploded. In the terror and panic that followed, an engineer grabbed a dosimetrist to ask for a radiation level and was told it was off the dial. "With a dread feeling in his heart, Sasha Yuvchenko at last realized that they were all almost certainly doomed to die...." Piers Paul Read's enthralling account of this disaster and its aftermath is filled with acts of courage as well as bumbling confusion, secrecy, lies and cover-ups. To chronicle the catastrophe, he interviewed the engineers and operators who were on duty during the fateful test that was being conducted on the night of April 25; talked to the director of the power station, who was serving a ten-year sentence for negligence; and visited the hitherto top-secret institutes once run by Beria's Ministry of Medium Machine Building: the Kurchatov Institute, Moscow's Hospital No. 6 and the once-closed city of Obninsk. This is the first account to take advantage of the declassification of nuclear information in the former Soviet Union and the loosening of tongues that followed the failure of the coup in 1991. The author also gained access to the transcripts of the trial of the Chernobyl reactor operators, as well as the protocol of the previously secret Medical Commission, and other confidential reports. In the years that followed the accident, the trauma of Chernobyl became a major factor in the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. The government covered up the deficiencies in the reactor's design, deceiving Western experts in Vienna and making scapegoats of the personnel, but, because of the accident, the Russian people had lost faith in the system. Now, seven years later, despite the reassurance of some experts, others still believe that Chernobyl may ultimately claim more victims than did World War II, and relocation continues from contaminated areas in Russia, Belo-russia and the Ukraine. Ablaze: The Story of the Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl is the definitive account of the greatest environmental disaster in the history of mankind.

How Nuclear Weapons Spread: Nuclear-Weapon Proliferation in the 1990s

Abstract: 1. The Link Between Peaceful and Military Nuclear Programmes 2. Nuclear Power in Electrical Energy Supply 3. The Plutonium Economy and Highly Enriched Uranium 4. The Components of Nuclear and Thermonuclear Weapons 5. Nuclear-Weapon Testing 6. Dismantling Nuclear Weapons 7. Disposing of Plutonium 8. The Prospects for the Nuclear Arsenals 9. India's Nuclear Programme 10. Pakistan's Nuclear Programme 11. Israel's Nuclear Programme 12. Iraq's Nuclear-Weapon Programme 13. North Korea's Nuclear Programme 14. Argentina's Nuclear Programme 15. Brazil's Nuclear Programme 16. South Africa's Nuclear Programme 17. Iran's Nuclear Programme 18. Nuclear Proliferation to Sub-National Groups 19. Preventing the Spread of Nuclear Weapons 20. The Proliferation of Nuclear-Weapon Delivery Systems

Proceedings of the 1993 international conference on nuclear waste management and environmental remediation. Volume 2: High level radioactive waste and spent fuel management

Abstract: This conference was held in 1993 in Prague, Czech Republic to provide a forum for exchange of state-of-the-art information on radioactive waste management Volume 2 contains 109 papers divided into the following sections: recent developments in environmental remediation technologies; decommissioning of nuclear power reactors; environmental restoration site characterization and monitoring; decontamination and decommissioning of other nuclear facilities; prediction of contaminant migration and related doses; treatment of wastes from decontamination and decommissioning operations; management of complex environmental cleanup projects; experiences in actual cleanup actions; decontamination and decommissioning demolition technologies; remediation of obsolete sites from uranium mining and milling; ecological impacts from radioactive environmental contamination; national environmental management regulations--issues and assessments; significant issues and strategies in environmental management; acceptance criteria for very low-level radioactive wastes; processes for public involvement in environmental activities and decisions; recent experiences in public participation activities; established and emerging environmental management organizations; and economic considerations in environmental management Individual papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the appropriate data bases

Summary of space nuclear reactor power systems, 1983 - 1992

Abstract: This report summarizes major developments in the last ten years which have greatly expanded the space nuclear reactor power systems technology base. In the SP-100 program, after a competition between liquid-metal, gas-cooled, thermionic, and heat pipe reactors integrated with various combinations of thermoelectric thermionic, Brayton, Rankine, and Stirling energy conversion systems, three concepts:were selected for further evaluation. In 1985, the high-temperature (1,350 K), lithium-cooled reactor with thermoelectric conversion was selected for full scale development. Since then, significant progress has been achieved including the demonstration of a 7-y-life uranium nitride fuel pin. Progress on the lithium-cooled reactor with thermoelectrics has progressed from a concept, through a generic flight system design, to the design, development, and testing of specific components. Meanwhile, the USSR in 1987--88 orbited a new generation of nuclear power systems beyond the, thermoelectric plants on the RORSAT satellites. The US has continued to advance its own thermionic fuel element development, concentrating on a multicell fuel element configuration. Experimental work has demonstrated a single cell operating time of about 1 1/2-y. Technology advances have also been made in the Stirling engine; an advanced engine that operates at 1,050 K is ready for testing. Additional concepts have been studied and experimentsmore » have been performed on a variety of systems to meet changing needs; such as powers of tens-to-hundreds of megawatts and highly survivable systems of tens-of-kilowatts power.« less

Pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant (NPP) modelling and the midterm dynamic simulation after NPP has been introduced into power system

Abstract: A new detailed model of pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants (NPP) has been developed and combined with the power system midterm dynamic simulation program (MDSP) The authors show how this model can be used to study the transient and midterm dynamic processes of power systems with PWR NPP under large disturbances The simulation results are found to be satisfactory >

Process of Public Attitudes toward Nuclear Power Generation.

Abstract: The Japanese public attitudes toward nuclear power generation had become negative year by year. After the Chernobyl accident, a percentage of the unfavorable respondent toward nuclear power generation has dramatically increased, and a new type of anti-nuclear movement has been observed. On the basis of our public opinion polls, the reason for this increase was found to be primarily decrease of sense of usefulness rather than increase of sense of uneasiness about nuclear safety. Particularly, social factors (change of life style, progress of civilian consciousness, credibility of the existing institutional system etc.) have influence on the attitude of either pro or anti-nuclear. Based on the above observation, we have inferred that process of the public attitudes has two flows arising from the above social factors, one is the usefulness and the other is the easiness about nuclear safety, and have formulated a model representing the process of public attitudes toward nuclear power.

Radioprotective agents in medicine.

Abstract: The diminished probability of strategic nuclear confrontation alleviates some of the global concerns about large numbers of radiation casualties in the event of a nuclear war. As a result of the protection of the environment, the management of smaller numbers of radiation casualties assumes a more predictable and more specific role confined to accidents in nuclear energy projects, industry, technology and science. Recent experience of the consequences of accidents in nuclear power plants, in the field of radiotherapy and in the disposal of radioactive waste and spent fuel, present the medical and scientific communities with formidable problems if such events are to lead to minimal adverse effects on the biosphere. Whereas it is not possible to predict a nuclear or radiation accident, radioprotection is hardly an issue of health science alone, but rather an issue of the strictest quality assurance in all aspects of the utilization of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation. Thus, the medical community concerned with radioprotection will have to confine its emphasis on the management of radiation-induced alterations of the human organism from acute radiation syndromes to the stochastic concepts of chronic alterations of radiosensitive organic systems. Current multidisciplinary research in the field of radioprotection involves all aspects of basic and clinical research ranging from the subatomic mechanisms of free radical formation, macromolecular and intracellular radiation-induced alterations, biochemical and physiological homeostatic mechanisms and organ level manifestations to the clinical management of radiation casualties in a controlled hospital environment. Radioprotective agents, although widely studied in the past four decades and including several thousand agents, have not reached the level of providing the field of medicine with an agent that conforms to all criteria of an optimal radioprotectant, including effectiveness, toxicity, availability, specificity and tolerance. This article discusses the current state of radioprotection in medical therapy, and emphasizes a need for continued research in the area of medical management of radiation casualties from the viewpoint of a realistic probability of nuclear incidents or accidents in the nuclear energy-dependent world at the end of the millennium.

Design of Closed-Cycle Helium Turbine Nuclear Power Plants

Abstract: This paper describes the design of two closed-cycle helium turbine electric power plants using a modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (MGR) as heat source. The MGR-GT utilizes a direct cycle with the turbine in the primary coolant loop while the MGR-GTI uses an intermediate heat exchanger. Both plants are based on current technologies and offer busbar efficiencies in excess of 45% at generating costs competitive with other nuclear or fossil systems. The MGR-GTI indirect cycle faces less technical challenge and is easier to license under current technical and institutional realities, whereas the MGR-GT direct cycle is better able to accommodate future developments in fuel and materials and is an ultimate design capable of capturing the full economic potential through further design simplicity. The two designs thus provide an evolutionary path for the commercialization of MGR gas turbine technology.Copyright © 1993 by ASME

Psychological status of chernobyl nuclear power plant operators after the nuclear disaster

Abstract: Chief operators at the Chernobyl power plant were assessed at four time points after the nuclear disaster and compared to a comparable group of chief operators at another nuclear power station. MMPI findings demonstrated a significant increase over time in health concerns, depression, and other indicators of stress in those operators working at the station at the time of the assessment. There was also an increase in the proportion with at least one MMPI clinical scale in the abnormal range. The authors hypothesize that the continuing uncertainty of the safety of working at Chernobyl may have contributed to these findings by either increasing the stress levels of those who remained at this power station, or through attracting workers who were less well adjusted before volunteering to work there.