Nuclear Power Plant Site

Again FG picks Geregu, Itu as 2,400mw nuclear power sites.June 17, Daily Trust, 2015

 We were told in Oct. 2010 that four sites were picked and these are the highlights;

•  that the draft law for the implementation of the national nuclear power programme has been developed, and has been subjected to detailed scrutiny by all major stakeholders with technical input of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA.

• that following site survey and site evaluation exercises embarked upon by the Commission, four sites had been designated for further detailed characterization and recommendation to government.

• the sites are located in areas around Geregu/Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State in the North Central zone; Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in the South-South zone; Agbaje, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State in the South West zone; and Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State in the North East zone."

• that construction work on the nuclear power plants, NPPs, would commence between 2013 and 2014 with 'first reinforced concrete', while start of 'first hot trial run' would begin in 2017, with 2019 set for possible commissioning and handover of the power plants. Hmmmmmmm!! GREAT.

•  that a roadmap, tagged the 'Technical Framework for the Deployment of Nuclear Power Plants for Electricity Generation in Nigeria' and its 'Strategic Implementation Plan' had been developed and approved by the Federal Government for implementation. .

Two days ago,  June 17, Daily Trust reported that the NAEC said the part of its progress is the concluded preliminary site selection activities......

Nigerians are we ready? This is a great plan to better the life and economy of our great Nation. The technical and legal framework is well outlined. Wonderful plan for our great Nation.

From Oct 2010 to June 2015, What has an average Nigerian got to say about nuclear power plant. In 2010 Atomic energy experts called for a setting up of a Nuclear Academy in the country in order to effectively achieve the set objectives of the National Nuclear Power Programme.

In 2008 Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) said that the Federal Government has in 2007 accede to several IAEA conventions in order to fulfill its political commitments to use nuclear energy for the generation of electricity.

Nigeria at the same time ratified the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty. Nigeria does not have a nuclear power programme, but has a robust and rapidly peaceful applications. But there are still challenges.

These include adequately trained manpower for licensing of design and construction of the plant and associated civil works and infrastructure and finally licensing the commissioning, operation and decommissioning of such nuclear plant facilities.

NNRA pointed out that there are dozens of nuclear research reactor and neutron generators in Nigeria but lacked knowledge in the application of radioactive sources.

From 2008, 2010 that these observations were made and published what has Nigerians and the appropriate authorities said about the challenges to tell an average Nigerian that Nuclear Power Plant is save to be at the ‘back of our yard’ like a garden. Off course, legal plans, technical plans may be going on in all the agencies and authorities involved. But an average Nigerian need to be informed.

Nigerians are we prepared

Considering the serious weakness in internal security of our country, lack of continuity in government, poor maintenance culture, and inadequate training of manpower, lack of nuclear physicists makes the proposal more dangerous.

The emergency and quick response to 2002 Ikeja military cantonment, recent insecurity in the country should be a warning example of how prepared we are to accept operation of nuclear power plant which a minor leakage or malfunctioning at any point could be dangerous and massive death for a community or the region

Twenty Six years ago in Goiania, Brazil two people entered a premises where a cesium-137 teletherapy unit was abandoned, not knowing what it was, but a scrap value, took it home to dismantle. That was long time ago, such countries had gone ahead of us to create awareness and get their citizens informed. The scavengers (dustbin, or baban-bola) how informed are they. Recently, the bomb that exploded at Monguno town on Thursay, June 18 2015 was an abandoned bombs by Boko Haram. Innocently and ignorantly, a vigilante took it home.....  

So, what do you think? What I think !!          

• Nuclear Academy in the country in order to effectively achieve the set objectives for the National Nuclear Power Programm.

• With this ambition and growing demand for radioactive sources let there be tighter regulatory measures in order to avoid radiological mishaps in and around the country.

• Go the media, run jiggles, create newsletters, magazines, pamphlets, tell who care to listen the benefits of nuclear energy.

• Train more Nigeria Engineers, nuclear physicists etc, make nuclear industry competence attractive.Send Regulators to the field, sensitize the 'Baban-bolas' in local languages to be conscious of what they pick and take home.
• Let the state and its environs that this plant will be build understand the benefit and embrace it for safety, peace and collaboration. (Consult the traditional rulers, chiefs, elders and the youth)

One Thing the General Public are Concerned... (Uganda)

The Nuclear Industry Explained

Uranium is a slightly radioactive metal that occurs throughout the Earth's crust in most rocks and soils. For example, it is found in concentrations of about four parts per billion in granite which makes up 60% of the earth's crust. It is about 500 times more common than gold. However, there are only a limited number of places in the world where uranium is found in high enough concentrations for it to be deemed economically viable to extract it for use as nuclear fuel. Such concentrations are called uranium ore and they are present in Uganda.

Surveys by the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) show that the country has about 52,000 square kilometres of uranium deposits.

In the early 20th century, it was discovered that radioactive elements such as uranium released huge amounts of energy. A series of experiments over the following decades culminated in the announcement of self-sustaining nuclear chain reactions by Frederic Joliot-Curie in 1939. A nuclear reaction is defined as the process by which two nuclei, or a nucleus and a sub-atomic particle, collide to produce one or more nuclides that are different from those that started the process. A nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series of these reactions. Most importantly, the nuclear chain reaction releases several million times more energy per reaction than any chemical reaction - the potential in terms of power generation is enormous.

Figures from the World Nuclear Association indicate there are currently 437 operable civil nuclear power reactors around the world with a further 71 under construction. Out of the 30 countries currently generating power from nuclear reactors, the five with the highest number of reactors are:

USA - 99 reactors that generated 790.2 billion kWh in 2013 (19.4 % of total)

France - 58 reactors that generated 405.9 billion kWh in 2013 (73.3% of total)

Japan - 43 reactors that generated 13.9 billion kWh in 2013 (1.7% of total)*

Russia - 34 reactors that generated 161.8 billion kWh in 2013 (17.5% of total)

China - 26 reactors that generated 104.8 billion kWh in 2013 (2.1% of total)

Prior to the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 Japan generated 30% of its electricity from nuclear and planned to increase that share to 40%. However, all of Japan's nuclear plants have now been closed or their operation suspended for safety inspections hence the figure of 1.7%.

According to President Museveni, a developed Uganda requires in excess of 50,000 megawatts of electricity which cannot be generated from the country's limited hydro and geo-thermal resources. The country therefore is looking at nuclear energy as a viable option and hopes to begin producing nuclear energy in about twenty years. Already, Uganda is conducting pre-feasibility studies which involve assessing the country's energy needs, proposing road maps, developing expertise and training human resources, establishing policy and regulatory frameworks and mobilizing funding. When that is completed, Uganda will then conduct other studies to establish the viability of setting up nuclear plants in the country.

Developing nuclear fuel

The nuclear fuel cycle is the series of industrial processes which lead to the production of electricity from uranium in nuclear power reactors. It involves the following stages:

Uranium mining:

depending on the nature of the uranium ore and adjoining rock, as well as safety, environmental and economic considerations, a variety of mining methods can be used. In the case of excavation it may be underground (for deep deposits) or open pit (where deposits are close to the surface). In situ leach (ISL) mining is also now commonly used where oxygenated groundwater is circulated through very porous rock to dissolve the uranium oxide and bring it to the surface.

Uranium milling is used to extract the uranium from the ore (or ISL leachate). The ore is crushed and ground to a fine slurry which is leached in sulphuric acid to separate the uranium from the waste rock - this waste rock or 'tailings' must be isolated from the environment. The uranium is then recovered from the solution and precipitated as uranium oxide (U3O8) concentrate - sometimes known a 'yellowcake'. This material is then dried and packaged ready for transport

Conversion:

Theuranium oxide productmust first be refined at a conversion facility into uranium dioxide (UO2) which can be fabricated into fuel rods for use in some reactors - notably the Canadian and Indian heavy water type. However, to get more energy out, most of the uranium dioxide goes through a further process called enrichment. This is where things get a little complicated.

Enrichment:

The aim of this process is to increase the proportion of 'fissile' material or material that is capable of undergoing fission (splitting up of the nucleus). This is the process by which energy is produced in a nuclear reactor. Only 0.7% (this is the concentration of the uranium-235 isotope - but we won't go into that here) of natural uranium is fissile. For most kinds of reactor the concentration of the fissile material needs to be increased - typically to between 3.5% and 5%. Firstly, the uranium dioxide mentioned above must be converted into gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF6) by adding a highly toxic gas called hydrogen fluoride. The uranium hexafluoride is then passed through a series of rapidly spinning vertical tubes known as centrifuges to produce low-enriched uranium hexafluoride. Finally, this is reconverted back to produce enriched uranium oxide (UO2).

Note - Uranium enrichment is a critical component for civil nuclear power generation but also for military nuclear weapons. Weapons grade uranium typically contains 85% or more of 'fissile' uranium-235.

Fuel fabrication:

The final stage of the 'front end' is to press and bake the enriched uranium dioxide into ceramic pellets. The pellets are then encased in metal tubes to form fuel rods, which are arranged into a fuel assembly ready for introduction into a reactor. About 27 tonnes of this enriched fuel is required each year by a 1000 megawatt reactor.

Power generation:

Several hundred fuel assemblies make up the core of a reactor. In the reactor core, the fissile material (uranium-235) fissions or splits producing a huge amount of heat in a continuous nuclear chain reaction. As in fossil fuel burning plants such as coal, the heat is used to produce steam which drives a turbine and an electric generator. To maintain a high level of efficiency in the reactor, about one third of the spent fuel is replaced with fresh fuel every year or 18 months.

Waste from the nuclear fuel cycle can be in solid, liquid or gaseous form and is categorised as either high, medium or low-level depending on the amount of radiation it is giving off. One of the big issues is that at the present time there are no disposal facilities in operation in which the very highest level solid waste i.e. used fuel (not destined for reprocessing) and the waste from reprocessing can be placed. This highly radioactive waste presents many technical issues due to the extremely long periods of time that must pass before it stops being dangerous to humans and the environment. Having said this, the total volumes of such wastes are relatively small. For example, one year worth of high level waste from a 1000 megawatt reactor can be contained in five tonnes of borosilicate (Pyrex) glass, stored in stainless steel containers.

Handling radiation

One thing the general public are always concerned about, and rightly so, is the effect of radiation on people and the environment. Although radiation is naturally present in our environment, it can have either beneficial or harmful effects depending on its use and control. Since the beginning of time all living creatures have been, and are still being, exposed to radiation. Natural radiation comes from cosmic radiation (i.e. the sun and stars), terrestrial radiation (i.e. soil, rock, water, food and even air - all air contains radon which is responsible for most of the dose people get from background radiation) and internal radiation (i.e. mainly from radioactive potassium-40 and carbon-14 inside your body from birth). People who work with or near nuclear materials (i.e. fuel cycle facilities, power stations, medical radiology departments etc.) will be likely to receive some additional varying amounts of radiation depending on their specific jobs. However, note that this occupational exposure is tightly controlled by the regulatory authority of the country where the operations are taking place. Radiation can broadly be split into either ionising on non-ionising radiation depending on how it affects matter. Non-ionising radiation includes light, heat, microwaves and radio waves and does not have sufficient energy to break molecular bonds. Ionising radiation on the other hand is more energetic and when passing through a material it deposits enough energy to break molecular bonds and remove electrons from atoms causing changes in living cells of plants, animals and people.

A common example is the 1986 Chernobyl accident in Ukraine that caused the death of 30 people due to acute radiation poisoning.

In the second part of this series, we will explore in more detail the Ugandan context- how much uranium has been found to date, where it is in the country and how accessible it is. We shall discuss what this means for Uganda in the context of wider natural resources management and governance.

By Luke Williams. He is an Environment, Health and Safety professional.

Benefits and Risks of Radiation

Benefits and Risks of Radiation Sources

Radiation has generated a lot of fear and misinterpretation due to lack of information and invisible nature of radiation. There is nothing necessarily dangerous about it, visible light is radiation, heat is radiation. Its benefits and risks must be established using principles of radiation protection.

Furthermore, Radiation is a weak carcinogen; it is unnecessary exposure that increases health risks. Sunlight becomes dangerous if the exposure is not controlled. Even our intake of food and drinks become dangerous to health if not controlled.

All uses of radiation (ionizing and non-ionizing) are beneficial to human health, environment, industries, research.

So, why the fear.  Let us consider these incidents:

• The Radiological accident in Lilo Georgia 1997 was abandonment of sources and late recognition. In the process of recovery, a source was removed from pocket of a soldier’s winter jacket.

• Accident in Gilan 1996 affected a worker who was performing his duty of carrying heat insulation material. The young man noticed shiny, pencil sized metal object lying in a trench. He picked up the source and put it in the right breast pocket of his coveralls.  Although he returned the source to the trench when he started experiencing dizziness, nausea, etc, yet it was late.

• In Istanbul it was abandonment and human error by not exporting one of the packaged sources without the permission of the relevant body. People should look out for safety and danger signs. (Read more The radiological accident in Lilo/jointly by IAEA and WHO.-Vienna: The Agency,2000.The Radiological Accident in Gilan-Vienna, IAEA 2002. The radiological accident in Istanbul.- Vienna: IAEA, 2000)

The sources used in these companies and industries are for beneficial purposes. None was meant to be harmful or to overexpose the public. Accidents and overexposure occur due to human error, improper awareness, and lack of knowledge.

In application of ionizing radiation, these radiation protection principles and measures must be considered:

·         Justification of the application

·         Optimization – making it as low as reasonable achievable(ALARA)

·         Dose limitation – exposure must not exceed dose limits.

Radiation defined

All these are radiations and forms of radiation classified into ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing because it produces electrically charged particles called ions in the materials it strikes, non-ionizing because it does not carry enough energy to ionize atoms.

So, radiation is defined thus:

• Energy in the form of waves or particles that has enough force to remove electrons from atoms.

• It includes particles and rays given off by radioactive materials, stars, nuclear reactions, and high voltage equipments.

• Most of it occurs naturally and some are produced by human activities.