Preparing for (nuclear) licensing beyond 60 years

[FBaggins]

US nuclear utilities could start applying to the regulator from 2017 for operating licence extensions beyond 60 years. Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) say they are preparing for this.

Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the NRC is allowed to issue licences for nuclear power reactors to operate for up to 40 years. The original 40-year period was more to do with amortisation of capital than implying that reactors were designed for only that lifespan. Regulations allow the NRC to extend licences for additional 20-year periods provided the reactor is deemed safe to continue operating. There is no restrictions on how many times a licence can be extended.

First licence renewal extending operation beyond the original 40 years was issued to the two-unit Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in March 2000. Of the USA's 100 operating nuclear power reactors, the NRC has so far renewed 72 of their operating licences and is currently reviewing a further 18. As of the end of last year, 20 reactors had entered the period of extended operation between 40 and 60 years.

In a paper to the commission, NRC staff said, "Based on discussions with the nuclear industry, the staff believes the first application for subsequent licence renewal may be submitted as early as 2017."

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Preparing-for-licensing-beyond-60-years-2402144.html

Some will no doubt pull out additional hair at the news.

[bananas]

1. Union Carbide tried that with Bhopal, Reagan tried it with the Space Shuttle.

Union Carbide, Reagan, and the NRC didn't learn.

Bhopal killed thousands, but the criminal CEO of Union Carbide didn't care.

The 1% are above the law.

Reagan and the CEO of Union Carbide might obstruct the laws of civilized behaviour,
but Reagan and the NRC and Union Carbide can not obstruct the laws of physics.

The lack of accountability creates a moral hazard:
Since they won't be held accountable for their disasters,
and since they have no conscience,
they have no reason to avoid the disaster.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/the-bhopal-disaster/1316/

The Bhopal disaster
By BaoBao Zhang, June 8, 2010

Court rulings come slowly in India, a country known for its bureaucratic justice system. It has been nearly 26 years since toxic gas leaked from a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India, initially killing more than 3,000 people and sickening hundreds of thousands more. On Monday, an Indian court convicted seven former top employees at the U.S. company’s Indian subsidiary for playing a part in the disaster. Each of the employees was sentenced to just two years in prison, according to the BBC, sparking outrage across the country.

Here are five things you need to know about the incident and its fallout, nearly three decades later:

<snip>

While seven top Indian employees of Union Carbide were held accountable in the ruling, Warren Anderson, the CEO of the company at the time of the disaster, managed to elude the court system — literally. According to The Times of India, an Indian court declared Anderson “an absconder and a fugitive from justice” after he fled on bail to the U.S. to avoid prosecution. Anderson, now 89, lives in a million-dollar house on Long Island and refuses to return to India to face criminal charges.

<snip>

[Altair_IV]

2. That's also correct.

Contrary to the scientifically uniformed opinions of some; the Laws of Physics actually *enable* the extension of reactor lifetime.

As with any commercial fossil-fueled electric power plant, the components of the Rankine steam cycle part of the plant are replaceable. As parts age, they can be replaced, just as they do with old airplanes to keep them flying like old Douglas DC-3s. That's why there are fossil fueled plants that are many decades old.

In terms of the nuclear steam supply system; those components can be replaced as well. Even in PWRs, utilities have replaced the large steam generators with new copies of the originals to restore the system to its original state. What many here don't realize, is that the core the reactor which consists of the fuel assemblies is replaced as the reactor is refueled. Basically, the reactor vessel holds the fuel assemblies which spend about 3 years inside the reactor. So the core itself is continually renewed. The only component that can't be readily replaced is the reactor pressure vessel itself.

The pressure vessel doesn't experience wear; but it is susceptible to a type of ageing which is neutron embrittlement. The steel that makes up the reactor vessel is a crystal; the atoms are arranged in a lattice structure. Fast neutrons can dislodge an atom from its proper place in the crystal lattice. When that happens, the steel becomes slightly more brittle. As long as this ageing or embrittlement process is not too severe, the reactor vessel can still perform its function. In fact, extra strength is designed into the reactor vessel to compensate for the effects of embrittlement. As the reactor operates, instruments measure the intensity of the neutrons. Using that information, one can calculate how much embrittlement has occurred from the measured neutron dose; and determine whether that degree of embrittlement is to great for the vessel to continue operating. It's those records that are given to the NRC staff scientists and engineers for their analysis. If the NRC staff agrees that embrittlement is within limits; then they can recommend to the Commission that the re-licensing be approved. If embrittlement were to be too much, the utility has a choice; they can retire the plant, or they can anneal the vessel. If you heat the vessel to the right temperatures, the dislodged atoms have enough energy to move within the lattice and "fall back" into their original lattice positions. That's why metals are annealed after they are worked or forged. We've known how to anneal metals for centuries.

So just as one can keep a vintage aircraft in flight-worthy condition even at an advanced age; one can do the same with a nuclear power plant. Again, the designers of the reactor plants anticipated that they would have service lives beyond the 40 years and 60 years of the original license and first re-license. Therefore, the reactors were designed to have service lives much greater than the 60 years.

Altair_IV

[phantom power]

3. is re-annealing done in situ?

[FBaggins]

4. It can be

if it's needed at all.

[Altair_IV]

5. Correct

I don't believe a single re-licensed reactor has needed annealing. The reactor design attempts to preclude this need.

However, the option is there should any reactor need it, and it is done in situ.

Altair_IV