Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Nuclear power in the future: risks of a lifetime
http://thebulletin.org/nuclear-power-future-risks-lifetime9185
Nuclear power in the future: risks of a lifetime
David Lochbaum
24 February 2016
Following the March 1979 reactor core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established a safety policy that sought to limit the chance of another meltdown to no more than once every 10,000 years of reactor operation—reasonably remote odds for a reactor licensed to operate for 40 years. But since that safety goal was established, the NRC has extended the operating licenses of more than three quarters of the US fleet of 100 reactors by 20 years and is contemplating extending the licenses for an additional 20 years. The new license process, called Subsequent License Renewal, would extend operations from 60 years to 80 years. Although some reactors in unregulated markets have retired early because they can’t compete economically with cheap natural gas, reactors in regulated markets face a very different set of economic circumstances and may be kept in service well past their originally planned retirement dates.
The chance of one reactor experiencing a meltdown among a fleet of 100 reactors operating within the NRC’s safety goal for 40 years is nearly one in three (32.97 percent), or slightly higher than the risk from taking two turns on a six-chamber revolver during Russian roulette. The chance of a meltdown from that fleet operating for 60 years rises to 45.12 percent, or slightly higher than taking three Russian roulette turns. And the meltdown risk from the fleet operating for 80 years is 55.07 percent, or roughly the risk from taking four and one-half Russian roulette turns.
Time is a risk factor being ignored by the NRC. The agency’s safety goal put the risk of meltdown at one-in-three for the 100 reactors licensed for 40 years. When the NRC began renewing licenses for 20 and perhaps now 40 additional years, the agency did not revisit its safety goal and seems tolerant of the meltdown risk rising to one-in-two or greater. This is a failure to recognize that aging takes a significant safety toll on nuclear reactors—not just because parts wear out over time, but also because refurbishment and replacement sometimes have unanticipated consequences.
The bathtub curve. The NRC’s safety goal is a constant number for all reactors at every point during their operation. In reality, the risk over a reactor’s lifetime varies by what is called the bathtub curve due to its shape.
<snip>
In theory, refurbishing or replacing parts can safely extend the lives of nuclear reactors well beyond their originally envisioned life spans—perhaps even doubling longevity to 80 years. But in practice, refurbishment and replacement may merely swap wear-out failures for break-in failures. The nuclear industry and its regulator must devote more resources to this issue, especially as aging US nuclear reactors require more and more upkeep. To balance the risks of operating reactors for 60 years or longer, the NRC’s license renewal process must include substantive risk-reduction measures.
Nuclear power in the future: risks of a lifetime
David Lochbaum
24 February 2016
Following the March 1979 reactor core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established a safety policy that sought to limit the chance of another meltdown to no more than once every 10,000 years of reactor operation—reasonably remote odds for a reactor licensed to operate for 40 years. But since that safety goal was established, the NRC has extended the operating licenses of more than three quarters of the US fleet of 100 reactors by 20 years and is contemplating extending the licenses for an additional 20 years. The new license process, called Subsequent License Renewal, would extend operations from 60 years to 80 years. Although some reactors in unregulated markets have retired early because they can’t compete economically with cheap natural gas, reactors in regulated markets face a very different set of economic circumstances and may be kept in service well past their originally planned retirement dates.
The chance of one reactor experiencing a meltdown among a fleet of 100 reactors operating within the NRC’s safety goal for 40 years is nearly one in three (32.97 percent), or slightly higher than the risk from taking two turns on a six-chamber revolver during Russian roulette. The chance of a meltdown from that fleet operating for 60 years rises to 45.12 percent, or slightly higher than taking three Russian roulette turns. And the meltdown risk from the fleet operating for 80 years is 55.07 percent, or roughly the risk from taking four and one-half Russian roulette turns.
Time is a risk factor being ignored by the NRC. The agency’s safety goal put the risk of meltdown at one-in-three for the 100 reactors licensed for 40 years. When the NRC began renewing licenses for 20 and perhaps now 40 additional years, the agency did not revisit its safety goal and seems tolerant of the meltdown risk rising to one-in-two or greater. This is a failure to recognize that aging takes a significant safety toll on nuclear reactors—not just because parts wear out over time, but also because refurbishment and replacement sometimes have unanticipated consequences.
The bathtub curve. The NRC’s safety goal is a constant number for all reactors at every point during their operation. In reality, the risk over a reactor’s lifetime varies by what is called the bathtub curve due to its shape.
<snip>
In theory, refurbishing or replacing parts can safely extend the lives of nuclear reactors well beyond their originally envisioned life spans—perhaps even doubling longevity to 80 years. But in practice, refurbishment and replacement may merely swap wear-out failures for break-in failures. The nuclear industry and its regulator must devote more resources to this issue, especially as aging US nuclear reactors require more and more upkeep. To balance the risks of operating reactors for 60 years or longer, the NRC’s license renewal process must include substantive risk-reduction measures.
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
