Search results for "Nuclear power"
showing 10 items of 60 documents
Nuclear Power, No Thanks?
2012
The greatest misunderstanding related to nuclear energy, which is continuously exploited by its opponents, is the nature of radioactivity. Pierre and Marie Curie carried in the pockets of their laboratory coats test tubes full of highly radioactive substances, unaware that gamma radiation could be harmful at high doses. In contrast, antinuclear propaganda has been so effective that most people are convinced that any radioactive “leakage” is deadly or that radioactive waste has to be buried at a depth of kilometers to avoid harmful effects—in fact, a few meters of soil is enough to absorb even the most intense gamma radiation—or that cancer risk grows exponentially due to nuclear power plant…
Parametric study of the influence of First Wall cooling water on the Water Cooled Lithium Lead Breeding Blanket nuclear response
2019
Abstract In the framework of EUROfusion Work Package International Cooperation R&D activities, a close collaboration has been started among University of Palermo, ENEA Brasimone and ENEA Frascati for the development of the Water Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) concept. In this context, a research campaign has been carried out at the University of Palermo in order to investigate the influence of First Wall (FW) cooling water configuration on the nuclear response of the WCLL BB under irradiation in EU-DEMO, in order to gain useful indications for the WCLL BB pre-conceptual designs. To this end, three-dimensional nuclear analyses have been performed by MCNP5 v. 1.6 Monte Carlo…
On-Line Measurement of Gaseous Iodine Species During a PWR Severe Accident
2015
International audience; Iodine is a highly radio-toxic element, due to its affinity to the thyroid, and represents the major part of the radioactivity released during a nuclear accident. In the context of nuclear safety and radio-protection, we are interested in identifying the iodine gaseous species which are released, in the nuclear power plants, under molecular (I$_2$) and organic (CH$_3$I) forms. Therefore, we are working on providing a spectroscopic database for both species. While the infrared spectrum of the ν6 band of methyl iodide was previously studied, only 4000 lines were assigned. We present the rovibrational analysis of a high quality experimental spectrum, of this band, recor…
Fuzzy risk analysis of a modern gamma-ray industrial irradiator
2011
Fuzzy fault tree analyses were used to investigate accident scenarios that involve radiological exposure to operators working in industrial gamma-ray irradiation facilities. The HEART method, a first generation human reliability analysis method, was used to evaluate the probability of adverse human error in these analyses. This technique was modified on the basis of fuzzy set theory to more directly take into account the uncertainties in the error-promoting factors on which the methodology is based. Moreover, with regard to some identified accident scenarios, fuzzy radiological exposure risk, expressed in terms of potential annual death, was evaluated. The calculated fuzzy risks for the exa…
The socio-economic and communication challenges of spent nuclear fuel management in Finland
2010
Abstract One of the key factors behind the expansion of nuclear energy policy in Finland is nuclear waste management. As in many countries, nuclear waste management agencies are still struggling with the siting of intermediate and low level nuclear waste management facilities, in Finland Posiva, the nuclear waste company owned by the two nuclear power utilities Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum Power and Heat (FPH), has been excavating a underground characterization facility since 2004 in the Olkiluoto site in the municipality of Eurajoki. The facility under construction is meant to be for a part of the final repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The site selection process …
Upward Voice: Participative Decision Making, Trust in Leadership and Safety Climate Matter
2020
A supportive upward voice environment is critical in nuclear power plants in order to provide energy in a sustainable manner. In high&ndash
'We have a solution': Delivering on the promise to take national responsibility for nuclear waste management
2022
We examine the realization of the umbrella promise to assume national responsibility for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Three case studies are used to illustrate how Finland delivers on the promise to take care of its own nuclear waste - a promise that has greatly contributed to the legitimacy of nuclear power in Finland. The article shows how this promise is being challenged by new competitors, business visionaries, and the public. The case studies illustrate the tensions between those who made the promise and the actors who interpret and mobilize the promise for varying purposes and under changing circumstances. We investigate techno-scientific promises by looking at debates ab…
Suomen viidennen ydinvoimalan lobbaus kansanedustajan näkökulmasta
2003
Is there a Nordic model of final disposal of spent nuclear fuel? Governance insights from Finland and Sweden
2017
This paper explores citizen participation in Swedish and Finnish regulatory processes for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Finland and Sweden are considered the most advanced worldwide in term of SNF disposal plans. Our aim is to analyze the institutional waste management frameworks, focusing on the role of civil society organizations (CSOs); how lay-people and civil society organizations have been able to participate and contribute to radioactive waste licensing processes; and the nature of radioactive waste risk debates. We review official documents of the waste companies and nuclear safety authorities, plus information from civil society organizations and laypeople. Our theore…