The March 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station affected both shortand long-term energy-security in Japan, resulting in crisis-driven, ad hoc energy policy and, because of the decision to shutter all nuclear reactors, increased the country’s demand for fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. However, the effects of the accident on energy security were not restricted ...

Lovering and colleagues attempt to advance understanding of construction cost escalation risks inherent in building nuclear reactors and power plants, a laudable goal. Although we appreciate their focus on capital cost increases and overruns, we maintain in this critical appraisal that their study conceptualizes cost issues in a limiting way. Methodological choices in treating different cost ca...

Occupational exposures at nuclear power plants occur mostly during maintenance activities rather than during routine reactor operation. In this paper, statistical summaries of occupational exposures during routine maintenance activities for the years 1982-84 at nuclear power plants in Japan are presented, including comparison of the exposure levels by reactor type and by plant age. Average annu...

The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model license amendment request (LAR), model safety evaluation (SE), and model no significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination. These are related to changes to standard technical specifications (STS) for Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF)—425, Rev. 2, ‘‘Relocate Surveillance Frequencies to Licensee Control—RITSTF Init...

In this work we present an accurate parameterization of the anti-neutrino flux produced by the isotopes 235U, 239Pu, and 241Pu in nuclear reactors. We determine the coefficients of this parameterization, as well as their covariance matrix, by performing a fit to spectra inferred from experimentally measured beta spectra. Subsequently we show that flux shape uncertainties play only a minor role ...

India has chalked out a nuclear power program based on its domestic resource position of uranium and thorium. The first stage started with setting up the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) based on natural uranium and pressure tube technology. In the second phase, the fissile material base will be multiplied in Fast Breeder Reactors using the plutonium obtained from the PHWRs. Considering ...

A number of scientific discoveries regarding the nature of atoms and their characteristics were made over a relatively short period of time. These lead to the splitting of the atom and the realization that potentially large amounts of energy could be released in the fissioning of certain nuclides. Work on this was expedited in secret during the Second World War during which time the first nucle...

Nuclear power reactors are, in nature nonlinear and time varying. These characteristics must be considered, if large power variations occur in their working regime. In this paper a robust optimal gain scheduling controller for regulating the power of a nuclear reactor has been designed and simulated. The proposed controller is capable of regulating power levels in a wide power range (10% to 100...

Uranium contains only one naturally occurring isotope, 235U, which will sustain a nuclear chain reaction using normal water to moderate and reflect neutrons. At present, this isotope is present in low abundance (0.72%), requiring enrichment to 3% or greater for effective use in commercial nuclear reactors. Two billion years ago, however, the natural abundance of 235U was approximately 3%. Evide...