WIPP utility shaft reaches station depth milestone

July 14, 2023, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

A truck hauls excavated salt away from the WIPP utility shaft project, marked by a large aboveground steel headframe. The shaft has reached the depth necessary to allow horizontal tunneling work to begin, which will connect the shaft to the WIPP underground repository complex. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office announced that it has made a significant step toward increasing airflow to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) underground with the excavation of a new utility shaft. According to the office, crews working on the shaft recently reached an underground depth, known as station depth, that will allow horizontal tunneling work to begin on connecting the shaft to the WIPP repository complex.

Located in southeastern New Mexico, the repository for defense-related transuranic waste sits 2,150 feet below ground level. Airflow to the underground has been restricted following a radiological release in 2014.

When completed, the 26-foot-diameter utility shaft will provide air to WIPP’s new ventilation system, called the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS). The increased airflow provided by the system will allow for simultaneous mining, rock bolting, waste emplacement, and maintenance operations.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Tokamak Energy: DOE’s tokamak fusion pilot picks

July 14, 2023, 7:01AMNuclear News

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and Tokamak Energy Inc. are the two magnetic confinement tokamak fusion developers to receive a portion of the $46 million in funding announced by the Department of Energy in late May for the first 18 months of a public-private Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program aimed at developing fusion pilot plant designs and resolving related scientific and technological challenges within five to 10 years.

Using intelligent technologies to power our present and develop our future

July 13, 2023, 3:01PMNuclear NewsJamie Coble

Jamie Coble

The nuclear power industry has the opportunity for significant advancements in the coming years, driven by the digital integration of instrumentation and controls (I&C), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and optimized operations and maintenance (O&M) technologies. These developments are the enabling technologies that can ensure the efficiency, safety, and reliability of our future fleet of nuclear power plants, propelling the industry toward a more sustainable and intelligent future.

I&C plays a vital role in monitoring and controlling various aspects of nuclear power plants. Traditional I&C systems have relied on hardwired control circuits, but modern advancements are shifting towards digital I&C systems, also known as digital control systems (DCS). These systems offer enhanced flexibility, scalability, and reliability. They utilize advanced sensors, data acquisition systems, and distributed control algorithms to enable real-time monitoring, fault detection, and control optimization.

South Korea launches public-private SMR alliance

July 13, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear News
A ceremony was held in Seoul, South Korea, to launch the new SMR Alliance (Photo: SK Inc.)

The government of the Republic of Korea and the country’s industrial sector are teaming up to promote the development of small modular reactors. At a launch ceremony for the SMR Alliance, held July 4, the participants announced strategic plans and signed business agreements.

D&D practices in U.S. and Japan the subject of new workshop series

July 13, 2023, 7:14AMRadwaste Solutions

Tohoku University and the University of Michigan are jointly sponsoring a series of workshops focused on sharing experiences between Japan and the United States on the decontamination and decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants.

A full agenda for the workshop can be found here.

The deadline for registration is August 1. A registration form, along with further information, can be found here.

Bulgaria, Ukraine to cooperate on nuclear energy

July 12, 2023, 3:12PMNuclear News
In the foreground, from left: Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko and Bulgarian energy minister Rumen Radev at the MOU signing ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria. Looking on are (from left) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Bulgarian prime minister Nikolai Denkov.

The energy ministries of Bulgaria and Ukraine have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to expand collaboration in the energy sector, including the nuclear energy sector.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update

July 12, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News

Here is a recap of industry happenings over the past month:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

Paragon to supply I&C for Xe-100 SMR

Paragon Energy Solutions and X-energy Reactor Company have entered into a preferred supplier agreement by which Paragon will be the exclusive worldwide supplier for three crucial instrumentation and control systems for X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors: the reactor protection system, post-event monitoring system, and neutron instrumentation system. The new agreement builds on an existing partnership between the two companies in the areas of critical safety mechanisms, which also includes Paragon’s HIPS FPGA system.

Investors confident in uranium bull market

July 12, 2023, 9:30AMANS Nuclear Cafe

The current bull market for uranium seems to be heating up. “Fundamentals are strong, and new political incentives are in place to spur nuclear development,” according to an article on the Proactive Investors website, which also noted that the uranium supply “will need to increase significantly to meet the market’s needs if nuclear is to become a key source of energy in the global push to reduce carbon emissions.”

EU picks Westinghouse-led project for VVER fuel supply

July 12, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News

The European Union has selected a Westinghouse-led consortium to develop and deliver “a secure, fully European nuclear fuel supply” for Russian-designed VVER reactors in the EU and Ukraine, the U.S.-based firm announced last week.

New adsorbent shows promise in helping remove Cs+ from nuclear wastewater

July 11, 2023, 3:01PMNuclear News
(Image: Kuk Cho/Pusan National University)

Researchers from the Pusan National University in South Korea have developed a new calcium-doped ion exchanger for the removal of radioactive cesium from acidic nuclear power plant wastewater. The findings have the potential for developing more efficient and effective methods of remediating radioactive contamination.

Urenco will expand enrichment operations at New Mexico facility

July 11, 2023, 7:00AMNuclear News
A bank of Urenco centrifuges. (Photo: Urenco USA)

Urenco announced July 6 that it will expand enrichment capacity at its U.S. site in Eunice, N.M.—known as UUSA—by adding new centrifuge cascades to increase capacity by about 700 metric tons of separative work units per year, or a 15 percent increase, with the first new cascades coming on line in 2025.

New members for NRC’s ACRS needed

July 10, 2023, 3:02PMNuclear News

There are two open positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). To fill these positions, the NRC is looking for candidates who have extensive experience in nuclear reactor safety issues—especially in the engineering and safety aspects of new light water and non–light water reactor designs and technologies, or in similar areas of nuclear reactor and fuel cycle safety.

More BWRX-300 units to be deployed at Darlington

July 10, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News
Ontario energy minister Todd Smith (left) and Ontario Power Generation president and CEO Ken Hartwick announce plans for three more BWRX-300 units at Darlington. (Photo: OPG)

If we’re in a new nuclear renaissance, its capital would appear to be Ontario. On July 7, just two days after debuting a collaboration with Bruce Power to build up to 4.8 GW of new nuclear generation at the Bruce plant, the government of Ontario announced that it is working with Ontario Power Generation to begin planning and licensing for the deployment of three additional GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) BWRX-300 small modular reactors at that utility’s Darlington site.

Looking back and looking ahead

July 10, 2023, 9:30AMNuclear NewsKen Petersen

Ken Petersen
president@ans.org

It is a great time to be American Nuclear Society president. There are very positive articles in Nuclear News and other places on the advances in fusion, nuclear in space, isotopes, and new power plants. It seems that every month the good news keeps building. I am also fortunate to start my presidency after the extraordinary efforts of past presidents Steve Nesbit (2021–2022) and Steven Arndt (2022–2023).

Steve Nesbit created a special committee to make recommendations on the framework of a generic standard for a high-level radioactive waste repository. The excellent work is currently out for review and, once complete, this standard will be a significant step forward for existing and future reactors. When Steven Arndt started as ANS president last year, he said he would prioritize participation and advocacy, and in these regards he has been an outstanding nuclear advocate. He has taken advantage of being able to travel and has attended numerous conferences in person after the past few years of cancelations, postponements, and virtual meetings for ANS and other industry events. At the same time, Arndt has advocated for a Nuclear Worker Certification program. While the program is not yet approved, I believe it is an excellent initiative, particularly now, with so many people coming to the industry who are new to nuclear—and the growing need for more.

DOE awards governors association $2.6 million cooperative agreement

July 10, 2023, 7:00AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy has awarded an estimated $2.6 million to the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices to work collaboratively with governors to solve the continued challenges posed by waste management and cleanup at DOE sites, the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced on July 5.

Modernization of the existing fleet: Gaining speed!

July 7, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear NewsRobert Austin
Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka nuclear power plant. (Photo: Chubu Electric)

“It is critical after the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station restart that we reduce our cost and increase our capacity factor while becoming more economically competitive.” Ichiro Ihara, chief nuclear officer of Chubu Electric Power, made this observation recently when the Electric Power Research Institute visited the Japanese nuclear power plant for a strategy development session for plant modernization. EPRI’s team of five specialists spent four days at Hamaoka to investigate the feasibility of potential improvements—the third step of the EPRI modernization strategy planning process. It was a trip six months in the making—and the first time EPRI has applied its nuclear plant modernization process outside the United States.

Ontario backs nuclear expansion at Bruce

July 7, 2023, 12:00PMNuclear News
While speaking at Bruce Power, Ontario minister of energy Todd Smith announces his government’s support for planning and consultation to explore nuclear expansion. (Photo: Bruce Power)

The government of Ontario announced Wednesday that it is starting predevelopment work with Bruce Power—operator of the eight-unit Bruce nuclear plant—to site the first large-scale nuclear build in Canada in more than thirty years.