Nuclear power

This article examines how 'safety case' experts working on Finland’s nuclear waste repository project at Olkiluoto summoned, conjured, or channeled memories of Seppo—a deceased colleague whose ‘specter,’ as some put it, still ‘haunts’ their scientific community. For some, Seppo’s postmortem presence manifested as gaps in knowledge left behind by an expert often reluctant to document the methodological assumptions underlying his knowledge-practices. For others, it manifested as anecdotes about Seppo’s stubbornness, irritability, and intellectual intensity as well as his more jovial demeanor during sauna nights, workplace parties, or trips abroad. Still others caught themselves asking ‘What Would Seppo Do?’ while troubleshooting at work. Inspired by anthropological and philosophical work on ancestors and haunting, the article unpacks how the multi-millennial time horizons of nuclear waste risk, the intergenerational time horizons of expert succession, and the everyday time horizons of a single expert life-course shared entwined fates. It focuses less on what knowledge disappeared when an expert’s body died – or how it could have been preventatively backed-up or managed – and more on what has lived on of the expert in and through surviving colleagues. Analysis of 'afterlives of expertise' like these can, it concludes, provide insights for a current moment of intergenerational transition in nuclear energy sectors in Europe, North America, and beyond.

AFTER the optimism which followed the falling of the Berlin Wall, one has found out that the alternative to Cold War wasn't the Global Peace. Regional conflicts have grown stronger, becoming more intense than ever. At several levels, some taken-for-granted evidences were shaken by ...

The simulation of nuclear power plant accident conditions requires three-dimensional (3D) modeling of the reactor core to ensure a realistic description of physical phenomena. The operational flexibility of Light Water Reactor (LWR) plants can be improved by utilizing accurate 3D coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics calculations for safety margins evaluations. There are certain requirements to the coupling of thermal-hydraulic system codes and neutron-kinetics codes that ought to be considered. The objective of these requirements is to provide accurate solutions in a reasonable amount of CPU time in coupled simulations of detailed operational transient and accident scenarios. These requirements are met by the development and implementation of six basic components of the coupling methodologies: ways of coupling (internal or external coupling); coupling approach (integration algorithm or parallel processing); spatial mesh overlays; coupled time-step algorithms; coupling numerics (explicit, semi-implicit and implicit schemes); and coupled convergence schemes. These principles of the coupled simulations are discussed in details along with the scientific issues associated with the development of appropriate neutron cross-section libraries for coupled code transient modeling. The current trends in LWR nuclear power generation and regulation as well as the design of next generation LWR reactor concepts along with the continuing computer technology progress stimulate further development of these coupled code systems. These efforts have been focused towards extending the analysis capabilities as well as refining the scale and level of detail of the coupling. This article analyses the coupled phenomena and modeling challenges on both global (assembly-wise) and local (pin-wise) levels. The issues related to the consistent qualification of coupled code systems as well as their application to different types of LWR transients are presented. Finally, the advances in numerical and computation techniques for coupled code simulations are summarized with outlining remaining challenges.

Numerical investigations on the turbulent fluid flow and the local heat transfer from rectangular bars for three different aspect ratios were carried out with Re=22000 and Pr=-0.71. The standard k-e turbulence model and a modified version were used in conjunction with the Reynolds-averaged momentum and energy equations for the simulations. The predictions of drag, lift, local and global heat transfer coefficients on the front, side and on the rear face of the rectangular bars are compared with available experimental results.

Although simulators have been widely used as training environments in different industries (e.g. oil and nuclear power), there is little rigorous empirical work evaluating the effectiveness of the training methods employed. This article examines the use of simulator training in process control environments. The results of an exploratory field study are reported and the current practices of simulator training are described. The study revealed that simulator training varied considerably across organisations, often with little theoretical or empirical work to guide training design. To evaluate the utility and effectiveness of different methods of simulator training in process control environments, the article also presents a literature review of the research on laboratory-and field-based training. Several training methods are identified as having particular potential for temporal and adaptive transfer and are to be empirically tested in future studies.

As of November 1999, you may electronically access NUREG-series publications and other NRC records at NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Publicly released records include, to name a few, NUREG-series publications; Federal Register ...

In order to help nuclear power plant operator reduce his cognitive load and increase his available time to maintain the plant operating in a safe condition, transient identification systems have been devised to help operators identify possible plant transients and take fast and right corrective actions in due time. In the design of classification systems for identification of nuclear power plants transients, several artificial intelligence techniques, involving expert systems, neuro-fuzzy and genetic algorithms have been used. In this work we explore the ability of the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO) as a tool for optimizing a distance-based discrimination transient classification method, giving also an innovative solution for searching the best set of prototypes for identification of transients. The Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm was successfully applied to the optimization of a nuclear power plant transient identification problem. Comparing the PSO to similar methods found in literature it has shown better results.

An important fraction of the future energy demand may be satisfied by nuclear power. In this context, the possibilities of worldwide nuclear deployment are studied. We are convinced that the Molten Salt Reactors may play a central role in this deployment. The Molten Salt Reactor needs to be coupled to a reprocessing unit in order to extract the Fission Products which poison the core. The efficiency of this reprocessing has a crucial influence on reactor behavior especially for the breeding ratio. The Molten Salt Breeder Reactor project was based on an intensive reprocessing for high breeding purposes. A new concept of Thorium Molten Salt Reactor is presented here. Including this new concept in the worldwide nuclear deployment, to satisfy these power needs, we consider three typical scenarios, based on

Future energy needs and requirements in manufacturing processes (like fertilizers, synfuels, etc.) makes hydrogen an important chemical commodity. It is projected that hydrogen required for various processes may reach 1.8 x ]09 MBTU by the year 2000. This increases the importance of producing hydrogen especially from a cheap raw material like water. A survey of the different approaches for splitting water (electrolysis, plasmolysis, magnetolysis, magmalysis, photolysis, photoelectrochemical methods, radiolysis, etc.) is made and discussed in detail in this review.

This chapter investigates how Japanese citizens collectively engaged with monitorial practices after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. In particular, it examines the Radiation Disaster Alert Network (R-DAN) and shows how the grassroots network evolved and developed over more than 30 years with a particular focus on the monitorial ethic of R-DAN. The findings of this research indicate that R-DAN’s choice of a specific dosimeter imposes not merely a condition in which R-DAN engaged with data production practice, but also necessarily contributes to re-shaping its collective view of health and safety for generating its monitorial ethic.

The objective of this study is to put forward a full analysis of the impact of the difference between the Canadian and American energy realities on the life cycle of fuel cell vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. Electricity is a major type of energy used in the transportation sector. Electricity is needed in the production of feedstock of fuel, the production of the fuel, the production of the vehicle material and the assembly of the vehicles. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the impact of the electricity mix difference between Canada and the United States. In the analysis, the life cycle of the fuel consists of obtaining the raw material, extracting the fuel from the raw material, transporting and storing the fuel as well as using the fuel in the vehicle. Four different methods of obtaining hydrogen were analyzed; using coal and nuclear power to produce electricity and extract hydrogen through electrolysis and via steam reforming of natural gas in a natural gas plant and in a hydrogen refueling station. It is found that fuel cell vehicle fuelled by hydrogen has lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine vehicle fuelled by conventional gasoline except for hydrogen production using coal as the primary energy source in Canada and the United States. Using the Canadian electricity mix will result in lower carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption than using the American electricity mix. For the present vehicles, using the Canadian electricity mix will save up to 215.18 GJ of energy and 20.87 t of CO2 on a per capita basis and 26.53 GJ of energy and 6.8 t of CO2 on a per vehicle basis. Similarly, for the future vehicles, using the Canadian electricity mix will lower the total carbon dioxide emissions by 21.15 t and the energy consumed is reduced by 218.49 GJ on a per capita basis and 26.53 GJ of energy and 7.22 t of CO2 on a per vehicle basis. The well-to-tank efficiencies are higher with the Canadian electricity mix.

Nuclear power accidents repeatedly reveal that the industry has an incomplete understanding of the complex risks involved in its operation. Through analyzing the investigation of a nuclear power incident in Sweden in 2006, I show how the industry’s learning
practices shape recurrent normalization of risk regulation after such surprises. Learning is shaped through institutionalized measures of sufficiency and particular “risk objects” (e.g.
human factors and safety culture) created through learning from previous events. Subsequent regulatory measures are shaped through improvement scripts associated with these risk objects. These learning practices exclude alternative conceptual perspectives to understand and address safety-critical incidents. Latent risks will therefore produce similar events in the future. The article contributes to the literature on organizational learning, policy making, sensemaking and normalization in complex systems. To improve learning from incidents and regulation in high-hazard industries, social scientists and a wider circle of stakeholders should be included in the regulatory and post-incident
examination processes.

In-core temperature measurements are pivotal in maintaining nuclear reactors in a safe state of operation. Thermocouples serve as the liaison in ensuring this safe state. The realization of the thermocouple's full potential is hindered by the fact that thermocouples cannot be situated in areas with high radiation fields. Radiation has the potential of generating voltages in the thermocouple wires, hence producing an error in the temperature transmitter output. In this paper, a mathematical model is developed to quantify the effect that radiation from the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has on the thermocouple temperature reading. Subsequently, a method to offset the effect of radiation on the thermocouple is proposed. Simulation is performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Quantification of nuclear liability insurance is difficult without arbitrary liability caps; however, post-mortem calculations can be used to calculate insurance costs. This study analyzes the Fukushima (Daiichi) nuclear power plant disaster to quantify the cost per unit electricity ($/kWh) of nuclear energy from the lifetime of the plant after accounting for the true cost of the liability needed to cover the damages from the nuclear disaster determined from news reports. These costs are then compared to the cost of electricity currently paid by Japanese consumers, and then are aggregated to determine the indirect subsidy for nuclear power providers in both Japan and the USA. The results show that the reported costs of the Fukushima nuclear disaster are $20–525 billion, which results in a real insurance cost from the lifetime of electricity produced at the plants between $0.22–5.78/kWh. These values are far higher than the current insurance costs by Japanese law of $0.01/kWh and even the total costs consumers pay for electricity. Although the spread in the input costs is large and the reported metrics are incomplete, the nuclear insurance subsidy is clearly substantial in Japan and in the USA. Ideally, energy sources should be economically sustainable without the need for a government insurance subsidy. For the electricity market to function effectively and efficiently in all other countries using nuclear power, the insurance costs should be reported accurately and included in nuclear electricity costs without arbitrary government liability caps.

The book chapter is devoted to the peculiarities of European Union's policy in the area of nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy on various stages of European integration structures' evolution. The author analyses the subtleties of forming, development and implementation of the EU policy in this sphere in terms of regional context connected with the evolution of nuclear non-proliferation regime in Europe. It is possible to mark out trends in the EU nuclear policy thanks to the use of EU basic documents in the field of security and non-proliferation. The author also pays attention to Brussels' contribution to international nuclear projects. Based on the case study of the EU policy, it is shown that universal and regional norms of nuclear non-proliferation are naturally intertwined. EU position pertaining to the non-proliferation issues appears to be active and unified, regardless of turbulent external environment and certain internal disagreements within the Union. One can single out presence of a sophisticated system of organised structures and high degree of institutionalisation among the characteristic features of this direction in Brussels' policy. It enables one to draw a conclusion about successful functioning of the regional non-proliferation regime in Europe, irrespective of certain challenges. Apart from that, European Union plays a mediating role in this area.

The use of an optical fiber as a distributed sensor for detecting, locating, and (with suitable signal processing) classifying intruders is proposed. Phase changes resulting from either the pressure of the intruder on the ground immediately above the buried fiber or from seismic disturbances in the vicinity are sensed by a phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometer (φ−OTDR). Light pulses from a cw laser with a narrow (kHz range) instantaneous linewidth and low (MHz/min range) frequency drift are injected into one end of the single mode fiber, and the backscattered light is monitored with a photodetector. Results of analyses and experimental studies to establish the feasibility of the concept are described. Simulations predict a range of 10 km with 35 m range resolution and 30 km with 90 m range resolution. Experiments indicate adequate (several π-rad) phase changes are produced by intruders on foot for burial depths in the 20 -40 cm range in sand and in clay soils. A phase perturbation in a fiber has been detected and located in a laboratory demonstration of the φ-OTDR using an Er:fiber laser as the light source. This technology could in a cost-effective manner provide enhanced perimeter security for nuclear power plants, electrical power distribution centers, storage facilities for fuel and volatile chemicals, communication hubs, airports, government offices, military bases, embassies, and national borders.

... Darrell Norman Burrell* Virginia International University, USA and Marylhurst University, USA E-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author Gigi Smith ... 4, No. 2, pp.132–145. Biographical notes: Darrell Norman Burrell is a doctoral student at AT Still University, USA. ...

В сборник вошли доклады, представленные участниками ХI международной научной конференции «Россия и Центральная Европа в новых геополитических реальностях», состоявшейся в Москве, в Посольстве Словацкой Республики и в Институте Европы РАН 1-2 декабря 2016 г. Главными темами конференции были 25-летие Вишеградской группы, председательство Словацкой Республики в Совете ЕС, внешняя политика стран Вишеградской группы и ее отношения с Россией. Высказанные в статьях мнения отражают исключительно личные взгляды и профессиональные исследовательские позиции участников конференции.

What happened, in the years leading up to Valentine's Day 2014, that made a canister of nuclear waste burst open and spew out fire underground at a US facility for the long-term disposal of radioactive military waste? According to one widely publicized scenario, a simple run-of-the-mill typo led to organic kitty litter mistakenly being used to soak up liquid in the drum instead of another kind of absorbent material. This ultimately led to a reaction that made heat and pressure build up in the drum, causing it to erupt. But was that "simple" clerical error symptomatic of a much deeper, system-wide problem-- involving a US Energy Department plan to rush the pace of nuclear waste disposal? What were the political, social, and financial elements involved in making Los Alamos' waste drum #68660 erupt that February night? What can be done to prevent similar accidents – which can have price tags of hundreds of millions of dollars or more – from happening again in the future? A cultural anthropologist spent 10 weeks onsite after the event, logging 43 interviews and trying to answer these questions. Here is what he found.

Due to the large power supply in the energy market since 1960s, the nuclear power planets have been consistently constructed throughout the world in order to maintain and supply sufficient fundamental power generation. Up to now, most of the planets have been operated to a point where the spent fuel pool has reached its design capacity volume. To prevent the plant from shutdown due to the spent fuel pool exceeding the design capacity, the dry cask storage can provides a solution for both the spent fuel pool capacity and the mid-term storage method for the spent fuel bundles at nuclear power planet.

It is clear that probabilistic risk assessment or probabilistic safety assessment is embedded in the safety culture of the nuclear power industry, worldwide. Risk assessment applications are in transition in the sense that the regulatory apparatus is not yet in place, at least in the United States of America (USA), to fully support a risk-based licensing process. There is progress on the regulatory front, but it is tedious and not without its frustrations. Currently, the strategy in the USA is a “risk-informed” approach that tends to be “business as usual”, but while you're at it, “do a risk assessment”. The result is added burden (and costs) at a time of increased competition in the power field as a result of deregulation. There is hope in that some steps are finally being taken to modify the regulations to allow risk assessment to be more of a part of the licensing process. For example, the regulations having to do with maintenance, plant changes, and technical specifications have been modified to allow insights from risk assessment to be part of the basis for licensing amendments. On the matter of standards there is strong support that is scientifically based and addresses such issues as health effects and environmental impacts. There appears to be less support for standards on such matters as definition of terms, methodology, and data requirements.

The world's progress towards net-zero ambitions will bring down fossil fuel utilization and imports over time. However, crises such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have raised questions about the reliability of nonrenewables and what actions could be taken by policymakers to immediately mitigate reliance on fossil fuels for vulnerable importers. The responses to the recent crises could reorient energy geopolitics by the decentralization of the global energy system and speeding up renewables deployment. These superb targets require a concerted and sustained energy policy effort across multiple industries, alongside strong international communication on energy security. Clear dialogue between governments, the green power generation industries, and consumers is also a crucial element for successful renewable energy implementation. The world's energy crisis has unveiled that the transition to renewable energy has been too slow, and serious efforts are required to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels toward renewables.

The rise in oil prices and the increased concern about environmental protection from CO 2 emissions have promoted the attention to the use of nuclear power as a viable energy source for power generation. This review presents the recent advances in the field of nuclear power and addresses the aspects of nuclear economics, safety, nuclear reactor design and spent fuel processing and waste management.

Abstract. A generation ago, rampant economic problems and perceived risk of nuclear power brought the industry to a halt on applying for new construction permits. Because of the military history of nuclear technology, development of the existing nuclear power infrastructure during the Cold War, and contemporary discussion about nuclear power offering a reduced carbon footprint, it has emerged as a force within the global climate debate. The amalgam of associated nuclear technologies and activity has created a nuclear doctrine, or a set of conditions about the culture and politics of our energy needs and production options. However, questions remain as to the safety and environmental impact of next generation nuclear technologies, which have yet to be deployed into operation. Economic change with federal incentives along with popular news media describing a renaissance,of the industry have sparked renewed ,questions about the nuclear technology ,options and impacts. The article uses ...

A radiation detector constructed of common household materials was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by Cresson H. Kearny and has been referred to as the Kearny Fallout Meter (KFM). Developed during the height of the Cold War, the KFM was intended to place a radiation meter capable of measuring fallout from nuclear weapons in the hands of every U.S. citizen. Instructions for the construction of the meter, as well as information about radiation health effects, were developed in the form of multi-page newspaper insert. Subsequently, the sensitivity of the meter was refined by a high school teacher, Dr. Paul S. Lombardi, for use in demonstrations about radiation. The meter is currently being marketed for survivalists in light of potential radiation terrorist concerns. The KFM and Lombardi's variation of it are constructed and evaluated for this work. Calibrated tests of the response and variations in response are reported. A critique of the multi-page manual is made. In addition, the suitability of using such a detector, in terms of actual ease of construction and practical sensitivity, is discussed for its use in demonstrations and introductory classes on nuclear topics. Health Phys. 87(Supplement 2):S52-S57; 2004

W hile it is unmistakable that climate change mitigation must occur, it is less clear which particular strategies, infrastructures and practices offer the greatest potential in the energy sector. Pacala and Socolow argued more than a decade ago that a series of 'stabilization wedges' would enable humanity to maintain quality of life while avoiding catastrophic climate change 1. They discussed more than a dozen such potential wedges ranging from energy efficiency and fuel switching from coal to natural gas to the advanced deployment of renewable electricity, nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage 1. Other studies similarly note the importance of renewable energy and nuclear power in climate miti-gation pathways and/or for achieving energy systems with net-zero emissions 2-5. As we near three decades of dedicated climate protection interventions in many countries' energy strategies, we closely examine in this paper the extent to which scales of national attachments to either nuclear power or renewables associate with each other, and with effective aggregate reductions in national carbon emissions. Despite many contingencies and complexities, this offers a first-order test of conventional background assumptions that each strategy is comparably effective, and without notable opportunity costs or antagonistic effects on other strategies. Accordingly, this paper uses regression analyses to interrogate relevant and consistent global datasets extending over 25 years and 123 countries, and to test interconnected hypotheses related to carbon emissions reduction with nuclear power and renewable energy, as well as one about crowding out and technological lock-in. One core finding is that countries with nuclear power attachments do not tend to have significantly lower levels of national carbon emissions. A second core finding is that lower levels of carbon emissions do associate more strongly with the relative scales of national attachments to renewable energy than with nuclear attachments. In other words, it is renewable (more than nuclear) attachments that tend to be associated in practice with significantly lower levels of carbon emissions. This is in line with recent work such as that of Jin and Kim, who find, using data from a sample of 30 countries, that "nuclear energy does not contribute to carbon reduction unlike renewable energy" 6. A third core finding is that the scales of nuclear and renewable attachments tend to vary negatively with each other. This is broadly consistent with a finding that nuclear and renewables commitments crowd each other out. We then rigorously test and seek to validate these findings through further multiple regression analyses as well as an investigation of possible moderating effects. Note that the carbon-emission trends observed may not occur because of the choice between renewable or nuclear energy; the choice might be one result of a broader policy programme that leads to less carbon emissions (or does not). The nuclear climate mitigation hypothesis Emphasizing the widely discussed carbon emissions abatement potential of nuclear power, the nuclear climate mitigation hypothesis holds that the relative scale of national attachments to nuclear electricity production will vary negatively with carbon emissions. In simpler terms, emissions are expected to decline the more a country adopts nuclear electricity supply. Elements of this proposition are prominent in both energy policy and the academic literature 7-12. For instance, the International Energy Agency includes nuclear power as one of its select 'low-carbon technologies' and argues that if the world is to see a 50% drop in energy-related CO 2 emissions, then nuclear energy must expand rapidly to where it reaches 1,200 gigawatt electrical (GWe) of installed capacity in 2050, when it also becomes the single largest source of electricity that year 13. Achieving this level of nuclear capacity would require about US$4 trillion of additional investment, larger than any other source of electricity 13. Two of the most widely emphasized contenders for carbon emissions reduction in the electricity sector are nuclear power and renewable energy. While scenarios regularly question the potential impacts of adoption of various technology mixes in the future, it is less clear which technology has been associated with greater historical emission reductions. Here, we use multiple regression analyses on global datasets of national carbon emissions and renewable and nuclear electricity production across 123 countries over 25 years to examine systematically patterns in how countries variously using nuclear power and renew-ables contrastingly show higher or lower carbon emissions. We find that larger-scale national nuclear attachments do not tend to associate with significantly lower carbon emissions while renewables do. We also find a negative association between the scales of national nuclear and renewables attachments. This suggests nuclear and renewables attachments tend to crowd each other out. NATure eNerGy | www.nature.com/natureenergy

Nükleer santral kazaları tüm gezegeni tehdit ediyor. Gelişmiş geçinen Rusya’sından, Japonyası’na, ABD’sinden Fransa’sına kadar,  herhangi bir kaza sonrası santralde çalıştırılan işçiden, bölge halkına ve hem o ülkenin hem yakın coğrafyadaki ülkelerin vatandaşlarının hem de kontamine olmuş ürünleri satın olmak zorunda bırakılan çok uzak ülkelerin tüketicilerine kadar herkes büyük yalanlar, bilgi saklamaları ve en temel sağlık haklarından dahi mahrum bırakılmaktadır.
Bütün bunları değerlendirmek için, üzerinden geçen makul sürelerle verilerin daha belirginleştiği Çernobil ve Fukişima kazalarında nasıl uygulandığını bu kitapta okuyacaksınız. Öylesine ki Japonya gibi bir ülkede, nükleer kazadan sonra yapılacak ilk iş olan iyot tabletlerin dağıtımı bile yapılmamıştır ve sonuçları daha şimdiden çok ağır olmuştur.

Peki Çernobil’de yaşananlar, Fukişima’da başarıya alışmış ve teknolojiye belki de dünyada en çok inanan Japonlara ders oldu mu? Kitap bu karşılaştırmanın da izini sürerek, bir yanıyla da güç sahiplerinin eğilimlerinin, sivil toplumun etkililiğinin, tıp camiasının örgütlüğünün, bilim insanlarının bağımsızlığının ve gazetecilerin cesaretinin önemini sorguluyor. Biz özellikle Türkiye’de artık çok iyi biliyoruz ki vatan hainliği ile sevgisi arasındaki çizgi, iktidarın tercihine kalmıştır. Bir şekilde her iki kazadan da en çok zararı görme ihtimali olan insanların, örtbas etmelere değil, sonuçlarıyla oynanmış raporlara değil, nükleer lobisinin finanse ettiği araştırmalara ve boş umutlara değil, güvenilir bilgilere ve desteğe ihtiyacı vardır. Kaldı ki bütün kazanın 300 yıla kadar sürecek etkilerini ortadan kaldırmak için, yine bu en çok zarar gören yurttaşların vergileri kullanılıyor.

Nükleer serpintinin cinsi, yarılanma ömrü ve bunların bitkiler, hayvanlar genel olarak doğal ekosistem üzerindeki etkileri ise insan merkezli düşünenlerin dahi ihmal edemeyeceği düzeydedir çünkü bunların çoğu dönüp dolaşıp besin ya da su olarak insanlar tarafından tüketilmektedir. Ancak dünyaya başka bir gözlükle bakmayı becerebilenler için, ömürleri çok kısa olan mavi kelebeklerin nasıl etkilendiği de önem taşır. Ömürlerinin kısalması, kanat uzunlukların azalmasının yanı sıra yeni nesillerdeki mutasyonlar, gelecek için çok kaygı vericidir.

İronik bir gelişme ise, nükleerden elde edeceğimiz enerji olmazsa yaşam durur sloganları atan lobicilerin söylediklerin tam tersine, kazadan sonra 17 adet nükleer güç santralini (toplam reaktör sayısı 48) kapatan, hem de bu kadar teknoloji ve elektrik bağımlısı bir ülke olan Japonya o zamandan beri nükleer enerjiye muhtaç olmadan yaşamıştır ve bugün de tekrar çalıştırılan 2 reaktör dışında nükleersiz yaşamaktadır.                     

Bütün bu kazaların bize öğrettiği bir önemli unsur ise, tıpkı küresel iklim değişikliği gibi, nükleer santraller de bulundukları devletlerin sorumluluğundan fazlasını, yani bütün gezegende yaşayanları ilgilendiriyor. Bu nedenle hangi ülkede yapılırsa yapılsın, yarın onun olumsuz etkilerine maruz kalacak tüm insanların bunlara direnmeye hakkı vardır.

ABSTRACT Adequate supply of cleaner, affordable, and reliable electricity is critical for the growth and prosperity of any economy. The Government of Ontario, Canada's largest province both by population and by electricity generation capacity, has enacted a long-term energy plan in 2007 to ensure reliable, sustainable and cost-effective supply of electricity. To better understand the long-term dynamics of Ontario's electricity system in socio-economic and CO2 emissions dimensions, this research develops, validates, and applies a dynamic simulation model. The dynamic model endogenously represents Ontario's supply mix and demand side initiatives, and their interactions with pricing, profitability, investments, and electricity intensity sectors. Model-based results show that the current plan (i) will continue to increase the share of “green power” but Ontarians, even with “excess capacity” at hand, will continue to face rising rates of electricity for a long time, and (ii) is not likely to achieve the expected improvements in electricity consumption intensity and level of imports of electricity in the next decade. On the other hand, model based results point to an alternative plan, focused on the reduction of thermal generation, addition of renewable generation, and investments in research and development of electricity system, which can lead Ontario towards a future with “more” and affordable “green power”.

The analysis of beyond design basis accidents (BDBA) is an essential component of the safety concept of nuclear power plants (NPP). Goal of the analysis is to achieve a set of actions aimed to prevent the escalation into a severe accident, to mitigate consequences of a severe accident, and to achieve a long term controllable state of the NPP. This paper presents an analytical procedure to optimize the timing of operator interventions. The procedure is demonstrated based on four sets of parameters, first, parameters which define the operator actions are chosen. Second, parameters which define the system availability are chosen. Third, parameters which define in a continuous way the status of the plant are chosen. Finally, one looks for a functional dependency of the accident management (AM)-parameters and the parameters describing the plant status. Once a function could be found, this function is "optimized" in the sense that the AM-parameters are varied to find a optimal overall condition for the plant. In the first part, the paper presents the analytical procedure in a general way, in the second part, an initiating event is chosen. The procedure is applied to a station black out (SBO) transient, and as operator action secondary side bleed and feed, followed by primary side bleed and feed, is foreseen. As result, the optimal timing to initiate both actions is achieved.

Facing global climate change and scarce petroleum supplies, the world must switch to sustainable energy systems. While historical transitions between major energy sources have occurred, most of these shifts lasted over a century or longer and were stimulated by resource scarcity, high labor costs, and technological innovations. The energy transition of the 21st century will need to be more rapid. Unfortunately, little is known about how to accelerate energy transitions. This article reviews past transitions and factors behind them, along with their time frames. Three modern case studies are discussed: Brazil, which shifted from an oil-based transportation system to one based on sugarcane-ethanol (success); France, which shifted from oil-fired electric power to nuclear power (success); and the United States, which attempted to shift from foreign oil to a mix of domestic energy resources (failure). Lessons from these attempts to govern energy transitions are discussed. Several policy instruments to accelerate a transition are identified, though even under ideal circumstances a global energy supply transition will be very slow. Given the need to simultaneously implement programs in countries with different political economies, a greater focus on energy efficiency, promotion of Smart Grids, and possibly a new treaty should yield more timely results.► We review the historical evidence on major energy transitions worldwide. ► Case studies are presented of successful energy transitions in Brazil and France. ► The United States provides an example of an unsuccessful energy transition. ► We argue that a transition focused on energy efficiency can occur much more rapidly.

On March 1, 1954 a Japanese tuna trawler was at sea in the Marshall Islands. Quite unexpectedly grey ash began to fall like snow and covered the boat and crew. It was not snow; it was radioactive fallout from a nuclear test that had been conducted by the United States hours earlier 90 miles from the exclusion zone proclaimed by the US. This nuclear explosion, known as the Bravo Test, was the first detonation of a deliverable hydrogen bomb. The 15 megaton bomb, approximately 1,000 times greater than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was the largest explosion in human history at the time. It would render several of the atolls that make up the Marshall Islands uninhabitable. March 1st is now called Nuclear Victims and Survivors Remembrance Day in the Marshall Islands. However, for the crew members of the trawler it was a mystery.

This book presents the universal issue of radioactive waste management from the perspective of the German legal system, analysing how lawmakers have responded to the problem of nuclear waste over the course of the last 70 years. In this book, Robert Rybski unwraps and explains the perplexing legal and social issues related to radioactive waste. He takes readers through the entire "life-cycle" of radioactive waste: from the moment that radioactive material is classified as radioactive waste, through the period of interim storage, and right up to its final disposal. However, this last step in radioactive waste management (that of final disposal) has not yet been achieved in Germany, or anywhere in the world, and has been the subject of hefty public debate for dozens of years. As a result, the book analyses the most recent regulations in place to enable final disposal. This book will be of interest to energy policy experts, academics and professionals who work in the area of nuclear energy.

We examine the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the cost of equity capital for a large sample of U.S. firms. Using several approaches to estimate firms' ex ante cost of equity, we find that firms with better CSR scores exhibit cheaper equity financing. In particular, our findings suggest that investment in improving responsible employee relations, environmental policies, and

The energy can be liberated by the nuclear fission of materials like uranium (U). Plutonium (P u) has opened up a new source of power . The heat produced due to fission of U and p U is used to heat water to generate steam which is used for running turbo generator.