Bracing for impact: America’s nuclear modernization takes a local toll

BY BRAD DRESS - 03/07/24

This is the third story in a series about Sentinel, the Air Force’s nuclear missile modernization project. Other stories touch on the challenges with creating new plutonium shells and concerns about the Air Force’s budget. 

From his house near Great Falls, Mont., farmer Walter Schweitzer can see the frequent military convoys, sometimes large trucks with missiles as cargo, as they rumble toward their destination. 

Schweitzer, 62, lives just 25 miles from Malmstrom Air Force Base. He’s spent his whole life around the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), 400 of which are deployed across rural Western states, including Montana.

But Schweitzer has concerns about a vast effort from the Air Force to overhaul this land-based leg of the nuclear triad with a brand-new missile called Sentinel. 

Schweitzer, the president of the Montana Farmers Union, said the Air Force has “danced around” community questions concerning public safety, housing and road maintenance, as the military prepares to bring thousands of workers to their city. 

“We’re experiencing a shortage of affordable housing, and this would be a great opportunity if they had some public involvement and discussion on how they approached it,” he said. “There has been no public meetings discussing location or how this is going to be handled.” 

While the U.S. is planning to modernize its entire nuclear triad, which includes bombers and submarines in addition to ICBMs, the Minuteman replacement effort is the most complicated. 

The bulk of the Sentinel construction work will take place at three Air Force bases, in the rugged and rural northern U.S.: F.E. Warren outside Cheyenne, Wyo.; Minot, near the North Dakota city of the same name; and Malmstrom in Montana.

This effort will require the cooperation of local communities, who must work with an influx of up to 3,000 workers in the area for several years. 

The project, which is being handled by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, will bring jobs and money into communities, so it’s generally being welcomed. 

“This is a huge project,” said Minot Mayor Tom Ross. “It’s probably going to be the largest construction project in the history of the state of North Dakota.” 

But the expected wave of workers is forcing community adaptation and bringing questions about public safety and housing.

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jackson Ligon, left, and Senior Airman Jonathan Marinaccio, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron technicians connect a re-entry system to a spacer on an intercontinental ballistic missile during a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test Sept. 22, 2020, at a launch facility near Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont. (Senior Airman Daniel Brosam/U.S. Air Force via AP, File)

Sentinel has also raised local environmental concerns involving fuel waste disposal and the easement of private property. 

The Air Force did not respond to The Hill’s questions about public safety and housing but said it was engaged in ongoing discussions with local communities. 

Public safety, housing concerns

Sentinel will swap out the 400 deployed missiles with new ones, which will host revamped warheads and new plutonium shells. 

But the costliest part of the project — and the part that requires the most community cooperation — is the redevelopment of the 450 launch areas, which will entail refurbishing underground silos where the missiles are stored and their launch control centers. 

Northrop Grumman will also construct close to 50 new support buildings, 62 communication towers and more than 7,500 miles of utility lines and corridors. 

Preliminary work began last year at F.E. Warren, and construction is expected to start within the next few years, according to Air Force Global Strike Command. 

The Air Force wants to begin deploying the missiles in 2030, though the military branch is facing an inflating budget that may delay the project by two years or more. 

The construction workers are expected to arrive sometime in the late 2020s to early 2030s and will work at each base for two to five years. They will be housed in living facilities known as workforce hubs, commonly referred to as “man camps.”

The Air Force has said it will not place the hubs near schools, residential neighborhoods or other sensitive areas, noting it will work with local communities to comply with zoning laws. 

A Northrop Grumman official told The Hill the workers are expected to be handled by a subcontractor on the project — a construction company called Bechtel — and that the work was still years away, considering that part of the Sentinel project has yet to be awarded. 

The official, who spoke on background to discuss material not made publicly available yet, said it was “difficult to speculate about things not under the current scope.”

The flow of workers will impact states that house missile silos in the Midwest, including Nebraska. 

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) said in a town hall meeting last year after he vetoed $10 million in funding for infrastructure related to Sentinel funding that the federal government was responsible for housing them, according to a local outlet. 

“When you think about the infrastructure that takes place, we have to work day and night with them to make sure they hold their end of the bill up,” Pillen said, adding that he would not spend money on infrastructure that would be boarded up once the workers leave. 

In Montana, work at Malmstrom is primarily going to impact two communities: Great Falls and Lewistown. The Air Force held town halls there in January to discuss Sentinel. 

But Rick Tryon, a Great Falls city commissioner, said his concerns were not adequately addressed at the town hall and that the Air Force told him there was no money in the budget for public safety. 

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Staff Sgt. Brandon Mendola, left, with the 90th munitions squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming demonstrates how they train new missile maintainers to look for scratches on the top of a nuclear warhead. Even a hairline scratch on the polished black surface of the cone could create enough drag when fired to send the weapon off course, so maintainers inspect the devices closely. (Senior Airman Sarah Post/U.S. Air Force via AP)

“We are a little behind in adequately funding our public safety,” Tryon said, adding that his city has around 100 police officers in a community of roughly 60,000 people. “Everybody understands that before this happens, we’ve got to do something to beef up our public safety here, locally.”  

“And the way it stands right now, there’s no plan from the Air Force or the federal folks to do that.” 

Schweitzer told The Hill it was not clear how and where the workers would be housed, describing 3,000 workers as a “major city.”

“There needs to be a whole lot more discussion and planning,” he said. “Our county seat has half that population or less.” 

Minot is in the vicinity of North Dakota’s Sentinel project. But in that city, it’s being largely welcomed with open arms. 

Ross, the mayor, said the Air Force has not told his city to build housing. But he said the local government may allocate funds anyway to grow the municipality. 

“We see it as an opportunity, and we’re going to build housing,” he said. “There’s a great potential for them to stay in Minot when the project is complete.” 

Environmental and property concerns 

The Air Force identified in its 2023 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that it must dispose of the Minuteman missiles, each of which weighs nearly 80,000 pounds and hosts three solid-propellant rocket motors. 

The decommission plan includes the complete disassembly of Minuteman missiles and the burning of solid rocket motor fuel for release at the Utah Test and Training Range in a process that could last up to five years.

The Environmental Protection Agency asked the Air Force to study alternatives in the EIS. The Air Force did not respond to a request for comment on procedures for the disposal of fuel. 

Sébastien Philippe, a research scholar with Princeton University’s program on science and global security, said releasing solid rocket fuel through detonation into the outside environment is not a safe and environmentally friendly option. 

Philippe, who has released a website tracking concerns about Sentinel, added that the project will have a “massive impact” for the U.S. in environmental terms.

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Airman 1st Class Jonathan Marrs, 21, left, and Senior Airman Jacob Deas, 23, right, work to dislodge the 110-ton cement and steel blast door covering the top of the Bravo-9 nuclear missile silo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Aug. 24, 2023. When the first 225-pound aluminum tow, or “mule” could not pull the door open, Marrs dragged down a second tow to give them more power. (John Turner/U.S. Air Force via AP)

“When you unpack [Sentinel], it’s such a huge project,” he said. “Even if everything goes well, there will be some degree of environmental impact.” 

In the EIS, the Air Force said the “shipping, handling, disassembly, storage, and disposal of ICBM boosters and interstages have been routinely conducted by Air Force personnel following established protocol for approximately 60 years.” 

For local communities, another concern is how private property will be affected by expanding Air Force needs, which has been a focus at town halls.

The Air Force said Sentinel involves negotiations with hundreds of private property landowners and that it has notified landowners whose property might be needed for Sentinel infrastructure.

Air Force officials said town hall meetings are ongoing and pledged to “answer all questions affected landowners may have and seek landowner cooperation regarding existing easements.” 

Initial agreements before property acquisition allow the Air Force and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct real estate surveys on “limited portions” of private property, officials said. 

Cooperation with landowners could allow for utility line installations without property acquisition, they added, and the surveys are crucial to determine the boundaries of any easements. 

The Air Force has also told residents in Montana that it will need a 2-mile-wide corridor for utility lines, according to Schweitzer. He said local farmers are upset about the corridor because it will impose restrictions for building wind farms. The Air Force did not respond to a detailed question on that concern.

Schweitzer said the corridor is likely to amount to the restriction of 10 million acres around one of the windiest regions of Montana. 

“Our national security, as well as our food security, is critically important to this country,” he said. “Our family farms provide food security, and yet we’re struggling economically to make ends meet.”  

“We’re losing farmers every day, because they’re going bankrupt,” he added. “Some of my neighbors are making more money off their windmills than they are from their farms. If they were to impose this 2-mile corridor, I own about 30,000 acres, and none of it would be available.” 

TAGS JIM PILLEN

 

Hyundai E&C says Kozloduy signals South Korea's nuclear resurgence

26 February 2024

The Bulgarian Parliament has given the go-ahead for talks to take place with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, as the sole shortlisted constructor for engineering, construction, delivery and commissioning of the new AP1000 units planned for the Kozloduy site.

Kozloduy currently has two operating reactors (Image: Kozloduy NPP)

As well as giving approval for the talks to begin, parliamentarians also set out a series of requirements for the Bulgarian side in the negotiations, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

These included:

• the requirement to be offered a fixed price
• construction of the first block within 60 months
• construction of the second block within 54 months
• 30% of the project to be taken by Bulgarian contractors

Last week Kozloduy NPP - New Builds announced that South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C) was deemed, by a commission reviewing the expressions of interest, to have been the only one of the five candidates to have met the requirements for the construction and commissioning of the two new Westinghouse AP1000s.

The others to have been interested in the project were Fluor BV, Bechtel Nuclear Power Company Limited, a consortium led by China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas and partner China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co, as well as China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited.

According to BTA there was more than three hours of debate, including at least one vote where a call for at least one other bidder - Bechtel - to be reinstated to the process was rejected.

Hyundai E&C said, following the parliamentary approval, that its return to the overseas market after 15 years was a visible reflection of the South Korean government's support for the restoration of the nuclear industry.

A spokesperson said: "The selection as the preferred bidder for the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria will be a signal for the resurgence of the Korean nuclear industry, which has been somewhat stagnant due to the nuclear phase-out policy.” They noted the European Union green taxonomy and said that "as the positive atmosphere toward nuclear energy spreads ... large-scale orders are expected, and we will strive to deliver more orders through multilateral channels as well as participation in Team Korea."

The Bulgarian Parliament has set 15 April as the date by which negotiations on the specific clauses of the contract must have taken place, with the chairman of the Energy Committee looking for a final investment decision to be taken by the middle of 2025. The aim is for the first new unit - unit 7 at Kozloduy - to be operational in 2035 and the second one - unit 8 - to be operational in 2037.

Kozloduy units 1-4 were VVER-440 models which the European Commission had classified as non-upgradeable and Bulgaria agreed to close them during negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. Units 5 and 6 feature VVER-1000 reactors that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life extension programmes to enable extension of operation from 30 to 60 years. The 2300 MWe capacity of the two new units would exceed the 1760 MWe capacity of the closed first four units. The Bulgarian government has also said that further units will be needed to replace units 5 and 6 by 2050.

Westinghouse will hold overall Design Authority responsibility for the AP1000 plant, the expression of interest document said.

South Korea has 26 reactors providing about a third of the country's electricity and has long been one of the world's most prominent nuclear energy countries, but in 2017 then President Moon Jae-in introduced a policy of phasing out nuclear power over a period of 45 years. However President Yoon Suk-yeol, elected March 2022, scrapped this policy, and laid out a new energy policy supporting reactor construction and a renewed export push.

India's newest nuclear unit connected to grid

26 February 2024

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has announced that Kakrapar 4 was connected to the grid on 20 February. The 700 MWe unit reached first criticality on 17 December.

The Kakrapar site is also home to two operating 202 MWe PWHR, seen here on the right (Image: DAE GODL-India)

The company announced the grid connection following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 22 February visit to the plant in Gujarat, during which he formally dedicated the first Indian-designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) to the nation.

"These reactors have been designed, constructed, commissioned and operated by Nuclear Power Corporation Of India Limited (NPCIL) with the supply of equipment and execution of contracts by Indian industries/companies reflecting the true spirit of Atma Nirbhar Bharat," the company said. (Atma Nirbhar Bharat translates to "self-reliant India".)

Modi said during his visit that "the role of nuclear power in electricity generation is going to increase in 21st century India and it is a matter of pride that India is Atma Nirbhar in this advanced technology", the company added.

"Two days earlier on February 20, 2024, KAPS-4 (700 MW) was connected to the western grid for the first time."

A further eight reactors with a total capacity of 6800 MW are under construction by NPCIL, the company said, while pre-project activities are under way for 10 reactors with a total capacity of 7000 MWe for completion "by 2031-32" to enable India to reach an installed nuclear power capacity of 22,480 MWe.

Reactors under construction at NPCIL's sites include the next two 700 MW PHWRs which are being built as Rajasthan units 7 and 8 at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, and four Russian-supplied VVER pressurised water reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Site works are also under way for the construction of two 700 MW units Gorakhpur in Haryana. In addition to these, a 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is being built by BHAVINI at Kalpakkam in Madras.

Ten further 700 MW PHWRs have received administrative approval and financial sanction: Kaiga units 5 and 6 in Karnataka; Gorakhpur units 3 and 4 in Haryana; Chutka units 1 and 2 in Madhya Pradesh; and Mahi Banswara units 1 and 2 and units 3 and 4 in Rajasthan.

Tractebel to assist Thorizon in MSR development

26 February 2024

Following the signing of a strategic three-year partnership with Thorizon of the Netherlands, Belgian engineering firm Tractebel - a subsidiary of France's Engie - will provide engineering services including support on the conceptual design, computational modelling, cost estimates and design reviews of the Thorizon One molten salt reactor.

The signing of the agreement (Image: Thorizon)

Thorizon - a spin-off from NRG, which operates the High Flux Reactor in Petten - is developing a 250 MWt/100 MWe molten salt reactor (MSR), targeted at large industrial customers and utilities. Thorizon aims to construct a pilot reactor system before 2035.

MSRs use molten fluoride salts as primary coolant, at low pressure. They may operate with epithermal or fast neutron spectrums, and with a variety of fuels. Much of the interest today in reviving the MSR concept relates to using thorium (to breed fissile uranium-233), where an initial source of fissile material such as plutonium-239 needs to be provided. There are a number of different MSR design concepts, and a number of interesting challenges in the commercialisation of many, especially with thorium.

The molten salt fuel adopted by Thorizon uses a combination of long-lived elements from reprocessed used nuclear fuel and thorium. The reactor will be able to recycle long-lived waste from existing nuclear facilities.

The Thorizon One concept is unique in that the core is composed of a set of cartridges that is replaced every five to ten years.

Thorizon's molten salt reactor design (Image: Thorizon)

According to Thorizon, its concept offers additional advantages in terms of safety, time to market and costs. Firstly, the reactor only generates energy when salt is circulated through the cartridges. If the pump stops, the reactor shuts down. Secondly, the cartridge design enables the use of existing and proven materials and components, minimising development and licensing timelines. Thirdly, cartridges are efficiently produced in series off-site. They contain all primary systems, together with low-pressure operations, which results in a lean reactor building.

"For several years, Tractebel has been a frontrunner in the deployment of SMRs, which we believe will contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050," said Vincent Schryvers, Business Manager of the Netherlands, Tractebel. "We are now proud to support Thorizon for the development of a Generation IV reactor. This ground-breaking technology will close the fuel cycle and make the circular economy a reality in the nuclear sector. Thanks to its flexibility, this advanced nuclear reactor concept could contribute to addressing the challenges both of industry decarbonisation by providing heat for industrial processes and of energy security by producing electricity for households."

"The expertise Tractebel has built while supporting operating nuclear power plants across Europe for decades, and more recently working on multiple small modular and innovative reactor concepts is invaluable for a start-up like ours," added Thorizon CEO Kiki Lauwers. "The large and experienced team in Belgium is ideally suited to help us make the connection between the Netherlands and France. We very much look forward to working together with the Tractebel team in our offices in Amsterdam and Lyon."

Thorizon said in August 2022 that it will collaborate closely with several parties on the development of its reactor concept, such as France's Orano and NRG, the Dutch producer of medical isotopes and operator of nuclear research infrastructure. Together with EPZ, operator of the Borssele nuclear power plant, Thorizon will investigate the possibility of building the first reactor on the plant site. A broader consortium of research institutions including TU Delft and DIFFER, component suppliers and industrial service providers are supporting this development.

Earlier this month, Thorizon announced it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with French ultra-compact molten salt fast neutron reactor developer Naarea to advance the development of MSRs in Europe. That partnership aims to create the best conditions to: pool resources for safety and security demonstrations and chemical, industrial and strategic knowledge in molten salt technology; develop shared laboratories and test facilities; secure access to reprocessed fuel materials needed for molten salt fuel synthesis; provide the market with a range of complementary energy solutions with a common technology basis; and increase political and public support for MSR technology.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Why this is a pivotal moment for Hanford’s nuclear waste cleanup

Feb. 25, 2024

 A lab sample of the finished vitrification product, minus the radioactive material, at Bechtel offices in Richland on Feb. 8. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times)

By Esmy Jimenez
Seattle Times staff reporter

Fifty-five million gallons of radioactive waste.

A decadeslong timeline reaching easily into 2070.

A complex assembly involving several state and federal agencies, private contractors, tens of thousands of workers, local residents, and advocates all invested in a colossal effort, estimated to be the largest nuclear cleanup project in the world.

The Hanford site in Benton County is at a pivotal moment, set to finally transform the nuclear leftovers of a century past into glass that can be safely stored — a process called vitrification. Last October, the first of two melters used to actually vitrify the waste became active, with the second melter scheduled to launch this spring.

The project’s success — or failure — will ultimately influence the future of a dilemma that has long plagued the Northwest and the U.S.

“They’re doing something out there that has never been done before,” said Nikolas Peterson, the executive director of Hanford Challenge, a nonprofit watchdog.

“I think I have to constantly remind myself of that even when I’m critical of the facility.”

For staff at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who are developing and testing the glass formulations, this moment in time feels significant.

“It’s really exciting to see how far it’s come,” said Tom Brouns, the lead of the environmental manager sector at PNNL, who’s worked at Hanford for more than 30 years.

“It’s taking a long time but it’s so close.”



How it works

Vitrification is not a new technology. The same process is used in making pottery, where high heat is applied to a material that leads to metamorphosis of the original substance.

Researchers in France have studied the vitrification of nuclear waste going back to the 1950s, and the country successfully built several facilities to tackle cleanup. Within this specialized industry, it’s considered one of the best methods to stabilize waste — it’s expensive but performs well over long periods of time (hundreds or thousands of years) and is an international standard when it comes to managing waste with high levels of radioactivity.

The process to vitrify waste at Hanford is highly complex and involves multiple steps.

It starts with a removal system that separates high-level waste that’s more toxic and radioactive from low-activity waste that is simpler to process and store. According to a 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, about 95% of the waste in storage tanks is low activity when it comes to the physical volume. High-level waste only comprises about 5% of the volume but more than 70% of the radioactivity.

Separating the waste is crucial to better management, treatment and disposal.

This low-activity waste is pumped to a separate holding tank that then is pumped into another tank for mixing. Silica (a material commonly used to make sand) along with other additives are added to create the material that will ultimately be glass.

That mixture is pumped into melters, giant 300-ton devices that are the “heart” of the vitrification process. These burn at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and will create a molten substance over several days. It’s poured into stainless steel canisters where it eventually cools enough to become solid glass.

“Glass is a superior matrix,” Brouns explained. “Because the radio nuclei actually get trapped in the chemical matrix of the glass. Literally, they’re part of the atom.”



Frit, glass beads used in the vitrification process to solidify radioactive material, at Bechtel offices in Richland on Feb. 8. (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times)

Over email, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Energy shared that so far, “The [Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant] team has successfully filled four stainless steel containers with molten test glass.”

It’s all part of a slow but steady process to monitor for safety and environmental compliance as Hanford prepares to fully begin the active vitrification process starting next year.

The decision to vitrify the waste in Hanford’s 177 storage tanks goes back to what’s known as the Tri-Party Agreement, a legal agreement and consent order between the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and Washington’s Department of Ecology. This agreement lays out the responsibilities of each agency when it comes to cleanup efforts and timelines, and ultimately tries to ensure that federal laws governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste are followed.

Eventually, vitrified low-activity waste will be disposed of on-site in stainless steel casks, and a separate melter just for high-level waste will come online to manage the most toxic waste. That glassified product will go to a deep geological repository, though at this point, the U.S. does not have such a site.
Hanford’s history

Hanford’s origin traces back to the 1940s as part of World War II efforts to produce plutonium for a nuclear weapon as part of The Manhattan Project.

It was the world’s first nuclear production plant, though most workers were in the dark about their contributions. The materials produced on site were part of the atomic bomb that was later dropped on the people of Nagasaki, Japan.

Central Washington’s desert terrain was selected as a site due to its proximity to the Columbia River and its low population count.

The site kept producing plutonium through the Cold War, and in 1987 the last reactor was shut down. Over the nearly four decades since, officials have developed a plan to clean up the waste, as many of the tanks that hold nuclear waste have outlived their original life spans, leaking waste into the surrounding area.

This pollution has led Hanford to be categorized as a Superfund site: one of four areas on the EPA’s national priorities list for cleanup.

“This is a multigenerational process,” Brouns said. “It’s going to take longer to clean it up than it took to produce the waste in the first place.”


Two melters are installed, with one in operation, at the Low-Activity Waste Facility in the Hanford Vit Plant near Richland on Feb. 8.

\ (Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times)

Part of the challenge has been the collaboration among several state and federal agencies and shifting the culture from one devoted to the creation of nuclear materials, often mired in secrecy and urgency, to a new movement devoted to cleanup.

It’s also led to discussions of who’s footing the bill and how that’s affecting the timeline, pushing the goal post further and further into the future.

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GAO‘s report estimated the total cost of Hanford’s cleanup to be around $341 billion, with completion estimated for 2084.

“Historically, what’s happened is Hanford has been kind of routinely underfunded by like 700 million to a billion dollars or so,” said Ryan Miller, a spokesperson for the nuclear waste program at the Washington Department of Ecology.

Last year, President Joe Biden’s budget requested a record amount for Hanford dollars, at $3 billion. State officials hope for the same this year.

According to Ecology, every year of inadequate funding delays cleanup an additional 1½ to 3 years.

One of the greatest concerns for environmental advocates is a cheaper option that’s been floated by some federal agencies, called grouting, which involves solidifying the waste in specialized concrete.

This could cut costs and potentially shorten the cleanup timeline, but it’s less stable than vitrification and does not last as long.

For Peterson from Hanford Challenge, vitrification is key.

“Nobody wants to see this process fail,” Peterson said.

NUKE NEWS

Russia, Venezuela discuss cooperation on peaceful use of nuclear

21 February 2024

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with Venezuelan counterpart Yván Gil that they had discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including energy, medicine, space exploration and agriculture.

Lavrov, third from right seated, held the talks in Caracas (Image: X/@yvangil)

Lavrov said: "The peaceful use of nuclear energy, which we also discussed, is also promising."

According to a Russian Foreign Ministry transcript of the press conference, Lavrov then added: "We agreed to increase the pace and volume of cooperation in all these areas. We have a common opinion that this work helps to increase the sustainability of our national economies and strengthen the technological sovereignty of Russia and Venezuela. We are ready to share the experience we have accumulated over recent years with our Venezuelan friends."

Gil, in a post on social media platform X, said it was a successful meeting: "We have agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations between our countries, establishing new mechanisms and avenues for cooperation, especially in the tourism, cultural and economic fields."

According the Venezuelan Presidential press service: "Venezuela and Russia are advancing efficiently in the economic-commercial, scientific-technical and humanitarian-cultural areas, prioritising joint projects in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, medicine, education and culture."

Venezuela and Russia have discussed nuclear energy cooperation in the past, with a civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed in October 2010 providing for the construction of two 1200 MWe reactors and a research reactor to produce radioisotopes. Although it appears that the power plant plan was shelved the following year, cooperation in nuclear education continued for Venezuelan students at Russian universities.

Feasibility for AP1000s at Borssele to be studied

21 February 2024

Westinghouse Electric Company has been awarded a contract by the Dutch government to conduct a technical feasibility study (TFS) on the deployment of two AP1000 reactors at the Borssele nuclear power plant site. It comes as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate launches a consultation on the siting of the reactors.

Michel Heijdra of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (left), with Westinghouse's Elias Gedeon (right) (Image: Westinghouse)

Following the award of a contract in December last year to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to conduct a feasibility study into the construction of two Korean-supplied reactors at Borssele, Westinghouse will now evaluate the construction of AP1000 units there. The Dutch government has previously said it also intends to award a third such contract to EDF of France. KHNP was due begin its feasibility study in January and it is expected to last at least six months.

The contract with Westinghouse was signed by Michel Heijdra, Director-General for Climate and Energy at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, and Elias Gedeon, Westinghouse Senior Vice President of Energy Systems Commercial Operations.

"The TFS represents a significant step forward in the country's ambitious strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, aligning with the European Union's climate goals and the Dutch commitment to carbon-neutral electricity production by 2035," Westinghouse said.

"We are honoured to begin work with the Dutch government on this preliminary yet crucial phase to deliver the world's most advanced, Generation III+ reactor technology," said Westinghouse Energy Systems President David Durham. "With our industry-leading, globally-deployed AP1000 technology, Westinghouse is proud to support the Dutch government and offer reliable, affordable, carbon-free electricity and economic benefits to the Netherlands for decades to come."

In December 2021, the Netherlands' new coalition government placed nuclear power at the heart of its climate and energy policy. Based on preliminary plans, two new reactors will be completed around 2035 and each will have a capacity of 1000-1650 MWe. The two reactors would provide 9-13% of the Netherlands' electricity production in 2035. The cabinet announced in December 2022 that it currently sees Borssele as the most suitable location for the construction of the new reactors.

Intention and proposal for participation

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has also announced that its 'proposal for participation' in the construction of the two new reactors will open on 23 February. Interested parties will have until 4 April to contribute ideas about the research for the construction of the reactors.

"This is the first step of the project procedure to arrive at a final choice of location," the ministry said.

"Companies, social organisations, local authorities and anyone who wants to do so can contribute ideas about the locations to be investigated and environmental effects for the construction of two new nuclear power stations," it said. "If the ideas meet the preconditions described in the intention, the ministry will investigate whether these locations are potentially suitable in the next step of the project procedure. In any case, the existing 'guarantee locations' are being investigated. These are Borssele/Vlissingen (the Sloe area), and Maasvlakte I (the port of Rotterdam)."

The ministry will also soon publish its 'intention' for the new reactors, in which it describes how it will involve interested parties and local residents in the project procedure in the future. Interested parties can indicate in which ways they would like to be involved in the next steps.

"The 'intention and proposal for participation' is a formal part of the project procedure for projects of national importance," the ministry said. "Based on a careful procedure, the cabinet will make a final decision on the location in 2025. The project procedure is one of the four work tracks required to make a final decision and start the tender. The first technical feasibility studies, market consultation and first steps for the National-Regional Package were started earlier."

Hyundai E&C shortlisted to build new Kozloduy units

19 February 2024

South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction is the only one of the five candidates deemed to have met the requirements for the construction and commissioning of two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

The existing Kozloduy site (Image: GEN)

The project company Kozloduy NPP - New Builds Plc, had issued a call for expressions of interest in participating in the procedure for determining a shortlist of potential construction companies for engineering, construction, delivery and commissioning of a nuclear power plant​, by 2 February. It says the candidates expressing an interest were Fluor BV, Bechtel Nuclear Power Company Limited, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a consortium led by China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas and partner China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co, as well as China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited.

The initial part of the selection process was to check that those expressing an interest met the qualifying criteria. These include demonstrating construction experience and the commissioning of at least two nuclear units as well as "to have solid experience in the nuclear and turbine island of at least two units or have supplied and installed equipment for two units within the last 15 years - applicants must also demonstrate at least USD6 billion in turnover and profit for the five years period from 2018 to 2022". Candidates from the Russian Federation were specifically excluded.

Kozloduy NPP - New Builds said that, after a commission carried out the pre-qualifying review, "the commission proposed for a shortlist of potential construction companies for engineering, construction, procurement and commissioning of a nuclear power plant at the approved site in Kozloduy with AP1000 technology, on the 'pass/fail' principle: Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co". It added that the commission's report had been accepted and approved by the project company.

Hyundai E&C looks set now to go forward to submit an offer in the next stage of the process.

Bulgaria is aiming to have two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Nikolov told Bulgaria's official BTA news agency in December that the aim was to achieve a price of about EUR6 billion (USD6.5 billion) for each of the units.

Kozloduy units 1-4 were VVER-440 models which the European Commission had classified as non-upgradeable and Bulgaria agreed to close them during negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. Units 5 and 6 feature VVER-1000 reactors that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life extension programmes to enable extension of operation from 30 to 60 years.

When the decision to move ahead with AP1000 units at Kozloduy was given approval by the country's council of ministers in October, the target date for the completion of the first unit was 2033, with the second unit to follow "two or three years after the first one". The 2300 MWe capacity of the two new units would exceed the 1760 MWe capacity of the closed first four units. The Bulgarian government has also said that further units will be needed to replace units 5 and 6 by 2050.

Westinghouse will hold overall Design Authority responsibility for the AP1000 plant, the expression of interest document said, adding: "The responsibilities for the design of individual AP1000 plant systems and buildings shall be delegated by Westinghouse. The responsibility for the design of Modules, Constructions Assemblies and Platforms is aligned with the party that is responsible for the design of the building in which the item is located."

Onagawa 2 restart expected in September

20 February 2024

Tohoku Electric Power Company now expects to reconnect unit 2 of its Onagawa nuclear power plant in Japan's northeastern Miyagi Prefecture to the grid in September. In January, the utility said additional safety construction works had delayed the previously planned restart in May.

Tokohu's Onagawa plant (Image: Kurihalant Co Ltd)

Tohoku said in January that work to fireproof electric cables at the unit was taking longer than planned and it anticipated a delay of several months regarding the completion date of the safety measures.

"As a result of the completion of a thorough investigation including securing the necessary materials and equipment and workers for the construction work, as well as workability on site, the completion date of the safety measures work at Onagawa Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 has been changed from the previous date of February 2024 to June 2024," Tohoku has now said.

"In addition, the timing of 'restarting', when the generators will be connected in parallel to start generating power, is expected to be around September 2024." It added: "Our company will continue to make every effort to complete the construction work, with safety as our top priority."

Tohoku applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in December 2013 for a safety assessment of Onagawa 2 - a 796 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) - to verify countermeasures applied at the plant meet new safety standards. In late November 2019, the NRA approved a draft screening document that concluded the upgraded plant will meet revised safety standards, introduced in January 2013. In February 2020, the NRA approved the final screening report, clearing the way for the unit to resume operation. Tohoku is required to complete the countermeasure upgrades and obtain the approval of local authorities before it will be able to restart Onagawa 2.

The Onagawa plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, but sustained far less damage than expected. The earthquake knocked out four of the plant's five external power lines, but the remaining line provided sufficient power for its three BWRs to be brought to cold shutdown. Onagawa 1 briefly suffered a fire in the non-nuclear turbine building. The plant was largely unaffected by the tsunami as it sits on an elevated embankment more than 14 metres above sea level, but the basement floors of unit 2 were flooded.

GLE laser enrichment on track for 2024 demonstration

20 February 2024

The owners of the Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) joint venture have agreed to double project expenditures in 2024 to accelerate demonstration of the SILEX laser enrichment technology at its Test Loop pilot facility in the USA this year.

Looking back: the Paducah site was home to a gaseous diffusion enrichment plant that ceased commercial operations in 2013 (Image: Department of Energy)

Australian company Silex Systems Ltd, which owns 51% of GLE, and Canadian company Cameco, which owns 49%, have approved plans which include an increase in expenditures to up to USD54.5 million in calendar 2024, Silex has announced. In addition to accelerating the technology demonstration project - which GLE anticipates completing this year - this will allow GLE to progress other key commercialisation activities, including site acquisition activities at Paducah, Kentucky, where commercial operations at the planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) could begin "as early as 2028", the company said.

"Specifically, GLE's CY2024 plan and budget supports the completion of the technology demonstration project, continued pursuit of government and industry support and funding opportunities, site acquisition activities related to the planned PLEF, preparation of the PLEF NRC license application, completion and commissioning of GLE's new facility in Wilmington, NC, and activities to support manufacturing readiness and supply chain development," Silex CEO Michael Goldsworthy said. "These activities provide the potential for GLE to deploy the SILEX uranium enrichment technology in a timely manner to help address the forecast supply gap in nuclear fuel markets in the coming years."

GLE is the exclusive worldwide licensee of the SILEX laser technology for uranium enrichment. The US Department of Energy agreed in 2016 to sell GLE around 300,000 tonnes of depleted uranium hexafluoride to provide the feedstock for PLEF to produce uranium hexafluoride (UF6) equivalent to natural uranium over three decades, with the output to be sold into the global uranium market. The plant's annual output of up to 5 million pounds of U3O8 (1923 tU) is equivalent to one of today's top-ten uranium mines by production volume, GLE says.

The multipurpose PLEF plant has three commercialisation options: the production of natural grade UF6 (containing 0.7% uranium-235) from the processing of depleted uranium; the production of low enriched uranium (LEU) containing up to 5% U-235 and so-called LEU+ (with U235 assays from 5% to 10%) from natural UF6 to supply enriched uranium fuel for existing reactors; and the production of high assay LEU (HALEU) (up to 20% U-235) to supply fuel for next-generation advanced small modular reactors.

"Subject to the successful completion of the pilot demonstration project, industry and government support, a feasibility assessment for the PLEF and market factors, the SILEX technology could enable GLE to become a major contributor to nuclear fuel production for the world's current and future nuclear reactor fleets," the company said.

The US Department of Energy-owned Paducah site was home to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, constructed in 1952 to produce enriched uranium. The plant ceased commercial operations in 2013, and the site is now undergoing a remediation programme. The Department of Energy has been pursuing environmental cleanup goals at the Paducah site since 1988, spending more than USD more than $2.5 billion on cleanup projects since 1990.

Reactor testing of HTGR fuel confirms functionality, Rosatom says

20 February 2024

Samples of the fuel began tests in two research reactors in 2022, with Rosatom reporting they "fundamentally confirmed the functionality of the fuel design" for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR).

(Image: Rosatom)

In a report on progress, the Russian nuclear corporation said: "By the end of 2023, in the IVV-2M reactor, one of the batches of laboratory samples of microfuel elements developed and manufactured by JSC VNIINM (part of TVEL), and fuel compacts developed and manufactured by JSC NII NPO Luch (part of Rosatom's scientific division), achieved burnup of 11-12% of heavy atoms. This practically corresponds to the design burnup values ​​for HTGR fuel."

The temperature of the HTGR fuel was maintained between 1000-1200 °C during the process. The results of the experiments are being taken into account in developing an HTGR design and also in developing a pilot production process for HTGR fuel.

It said: "Based on the totality of accumulated experimental data (including those obtained online throughout the entire reactor experiment), Rosatom specialists have fundamentally confirmed the functionality of the developed HTGR fuel design (TRI-structural ISOtropic particle fuel, TRISO fuel)."

It added that "in the work programme for 2024-2025 it is planned to carry out at the experimental sites of the Rosatom scientific division a complex of post-reactor studies of irradiated samples of HTGR fuel, as well as reactor experiments in the limiting and emergency modes of its operation".

The HTGR project is aimed at a future nuclear power plant "as part of an investment project to create domestic technologies for large-scale production and consumption of hydrogen and hydrogen-containing products".

According to the World Nuclear Association's information paper, HTGR fuel "is in the form of TRISO particles less than a millimetre in diameter. Each has a kernel of uranium oxycarbide, with the uranium enriched up to 17% U-235. This is surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide, giving a containment for fission products which is stable to 1600°C or more. These particles may be arranged: in blocks as hexagonal 'prisms' of graphite, or in billiard ball-sized pebbles of graphite encased in silicon carbide".

Work begins on new Iranian research reactor

19 February 2024

Concrete pouring for a 10 MW research reactor has begun at Isfahan, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has announced. The organisation has also declared operational a new emergency control room simulator for unit 1 at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Concrete pouring operations under way at the Isfahan site (Image: AEOI)

"The concrete placing operation of the main structure of the 10MW research reactor was started with the presence of Mr Eslami, the head of the AEOI, in the Isfahan nuclear site," the AEOI said. "The research reactor is a pool-type multi-purpose research reactor and will be built for various uses and purposes in the fields of industry and health."

According to an AEOI announcement on 5 February, the research reactor will use fuel enriched to 20% uranium-235 and is designed to produce a high-flux source of neutrons. Its main uses will be for the testing of fuel and nuclear materials, production of industrial radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, and development of neutron beam lines for various uses such as radiography, diffraction, material analysis, production of silicon semiconductors and cold neutron sources, and education and research.

Bushehr simulator operational

In a separate announcement, the AEOI said the emergency control room (ECR) simulator at Bushehr 1 is now operational, and is scheduled for full training use within the next few months.

Bushehr 1's new emergency control room simulator (Image: AEOI)

The ECR is used by plant operators should the main control room (MCR) of the plant, a Russian-designed VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor, become unavailable. The ECR "is intended for activating the safety systems, bringing the reactor to sub-critical state and maintaining it for an unlimited period of time, removal of residual heat from the reactor, and monitoring important reactor parameters in case of MCR failure", the AEOI said.

All the components of the ECR simulator as well as the software needed to connect it to the plant's full scope simulator have been developed domestically, AEOI head Mohammad Eslami said.

Bushehr 1 (Image: AEOI)

British company pioneers new nuclear welding technique

19 February 2024

Sheffield Forgemasters has completed weld-assembly of a full-sized small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear vessel demonstrator assembly using Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW). It said the technique took less than 24 hours to complete four, thick, nuclear-grade welds, typically requiring a year of work to complete.

The ground-breaking welded SMR vessel (Image: Sheffield Forgemasters)

"With a diameter of three metres and a wall thickness of 200mm, construction of the vessel showcases the reliability and capabilities of LEBW, setting a dramatic new standard for weld-joining thick-walled components, previously untrialled in a demonstrator model," the company said.

Sheffield Forgemasters deployed specially developed parameters, meticulously fine-tuned during the welding development stage, including innovative sloping-in and sloping-out techniques to start and finish the weld, ensuring a clean and complete weld-join.

"We are delighted to have reached a significant milestone in assembling a nuclear vessel demonstrator, using electron beam welding for the first time at this scale, with 100% success and no defects," said Jesus Talamantes-Silva, research, design and technology director at Sheffield Forgemasters.

Michael Blackmore, senior development engineer and project lead, added: "The implication of this technology within the nuclear industry is monumental, potentially taking high-cost welding processes out of the equation.

"Not only does this reduce the need for weld-inspections, because the weld-join replicates the parent material, but it could also dramatically speed up the roll-out of SMR reactors across the UK and beyond, that's how disruptive the LEBW breakthrough is."

Sheffield Forgemasters - the only company in the UK with the capability to manufacture the large forgings required for SMRs - said the demonstration of LEBW technology's potential opens new horizons for "more efficient, low-cost and less time-heavy nuclear assemblies" and also has far-reaching implications for other projects which require thick-walled welded assemblies.

"We thank the government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for enabling the project through its Nuclear Innovation Programme," said Jacob Pope, development engineer and LEBW machine tool installation lead. "We also thank our esteemed partner, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, for their invaluable support throughout this endeavour. Their remote and on-site assistance played an instrumental role in the success of this milestone, highlighting the collaborative spirit that drives us forward."

"Future company activities include an upcoming joint industrial project supported by key participants from the USA and UK," Sheffield Forgemasters said. "The objective is to initiate a code case or multiple cases to facilitate the deployment of this technology in accordance with the standards set by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)."

In December, Sheffield Forgemasters said it was on track to regain ASME status as a supplier of heavy forgings and castings to the civil nuclear market, to position it for the proposed large-scale expansion of nuclear capacity in the country.

The company, which was acquired by the UK's Ministry of Defence in 2021, says an ASME Section III Division I NCA 3300, NCA 4000 and NQA-1 Code survey and audit, recommended it for Material Organisation (MO), and welding (NPT) accreditations. ASME MO and NPT status means it can supply castings and forgings (material) for civil nuclear applications and also be qualified to carry out weld construction activities on these materials.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News