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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
Yoshiyuki Asaoka, Kunihiko Okano, Tomoaki Yoshida, Ryouji Hiwatari, Seiji Mori
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 1018-1022
Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963376
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Radioactive waste generated from the CREST reactor has been evaluated. Activation of blankets and shields used during a plant lifetime was evaluated by an activation calculation code taking into accounts of the distribution of neutron wall loading and the scenario of blanket replacement. Limits on surface dose limits define the feasibility of recycling by remote handling (RHR) and by hands-on operation (HOR). After 50 years for decay of activated components, surface dose rate of most of components exceeds 10 mSv/h and cannot be recycled. Some of shields are lower than 10 mSv/h and have a possibility of RHR. After 100 years, surface dose rate of all components is lower than 3 mSv/h, and RHR is feasible. Half of shields are lower than 0.01 mSv/h and have a possibility of HOR. After 125 years, dose rate of all components is lower than 1 mSv/h. RHR with a relatively simple shielding precaution may be feasible. In the cases of 150 years or later, little degradation of dose rate can be expected. Therefore, the used components should be managed within approximately 125 years by suitable methods.