Is Nuclear Energy a Viable Option
for Yukon?
Chary Rangacharyulu
Saskatoon, SK
1
Expectations
p
of energy
gy options
p
Be affordable $$$
y Be reliable & not intermittent
y Be clean
y Be long-lasting
y
Slide 2
1
Chary Rangacharyulu, 2/4/2011
How does Nuclear Energy Fare with
respect to others?
Source
Advantages
Disadvantages
Nuclear
Little to no emissions in air;
hi h utilization
high
tili ti factor,
f t stable
t bl
base production
High investment cost; long-term
managementt off radioactive
di ti waste,
t
comprehensive safety management
Wind
Renewable,little to no
emissions, low operating costs
Intermittent; high investment costs,
requires flexible back-up capacity,
Impacts landscape and seascape
Solar
Renewable; little to no
emissions
Cost, Chemical processing, deep cycle lead
acid batteries; PV panels contain cadmium;
unreliable
Bi
Biomass
Renewable;
R
bl combines
bi
b
both
th
heat and electricity
High
Hi
h investment
i
t
t and
d operating
ti costs,
t heavy
h
transport
Life Cycle Energy Ratios
Source
Output/Input
Hydro
50-200
Nuclear
43-60
43
60
Natural gas
5-26
Solar
4-12
Wind
6-80
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Source
gCO2 eq/kWhe
Coal
800--1200
800
oil
500--1100
500
Nuclear
5-30
wind
5-30
solar
40--80
40
Biomass
40--100
40
ƒ Concerns about Nuclear Energy
ƒ Radiation levels
ƒ Safety
ƒ Waste disposal
Estimated Radiation Doses from Various sources
(micro Sieverts)
Amount
Source
5
10
g Next to yyour spouse for one yyear
Sleeping
Watching TV at an average rate for a year
10
A day from background radiation
20--100
20
A chest X
X--ray
50
Trans
Trans--Pacific Airplane trip ( ~10 hrs flying)
250
Cosmic Rays at Sea level
300
K-40 (half
(half--life: 1.3 billion years) in our bodies
Near a nuclear plant less than 50 μSv/year
Total effective dose Safe limit: 50 000 μSv/year
Nuclear waste ((classification))
y Low
-level waste : 90% in volume and
1% in strength
y Intermediate
Intermediate--level waste: ~4% in
strength
y High level waste: 3 m3/year (/1 Gwe)
Gwe),
95%
95
% in strength
Storage
g of radioactive materials
y
D
Decay
storage
storaget
- let
l t the
th activities
ti iti die
di down
d
y
Buffer storage
storage-- stock it for transportation/disposal
Interim storagestorage- temporary facility while waiting for
transportation/permanent
p
p
facility
y
Strategic storagestorage- materials with potential future use
(fertile materials such Pu, Th)
y
y
On--ggoingg research…
On
y Artificial
transmutation of longlong-lived isotopes
to render them shortshort-lived species, with some
potential
t ti l applications:
li ti
IIrradiation
di ti
y
Don’t think of nuclear radiation as waste: Think of
Don’
it as energyenergy- RECYCLE
Safetyy in nuclear pplants
I construction
In
t ti andd operating
ti phase:
h
Defense in depth
5 LEVELS
Defense in Depth
p
¾ Prevention of abnormal operation and failures
p
and detection of failures
¾ Control of Abnormal operation
¾ Control of accidents within the design basis
¾ Control of severe conditions including prevention of accident
progression and mitigation of the consequences of a severe
accident
d
¾ Mitigation
g
of the radiological
g
consequences
q
of significant
g
external releases of radioactive materials
International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group Report -10
War fare and Proliferation
Yukon will NOT engage in Nuclear Proliferation
Modular Reactors
Very infrequent to no refueling
y Parallel connections (more efficient)
y Sequential commissioning
y Little or no waste management
y
Project Planning
Regulatory (CNSC)
y Project Delivery (Supplier)
y Operations
y Decommissioning
y
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Licenses all nuclear facilities (accelerators,
research & power reactors
reactors, etc.)
etc )
Canada’s Research reactors: a few kW- MW
P
Power
reactors
t
~600MWe
600MW
y
◦ NRU ~130MW
• CNSC lacks experience in licensing modular
power reactors
Risk Matrix (from WNA)
Development
y Construction
y Operation
y Decommissioning
y
Risk monitoringg and control (WNA)
(
)
y
Development
p
Construction
y Operation
y Decommissioning
y
Licensing Procedure
FFour major steps:
y Applicant
pp
submits a licence application
pp
y Environmental Assessment
y Licensing Technical Assessment
y CNSC renders its decision
Environmental Assessment
air,
i water and
d soilil quality
li
noise
human health
Aboriginal interest, physical and cultural heritage
use of land and resources
Etc..
Regulatory framework consists of laws passed by
Parliament that govern the regulation of Canada's
nuclear industry, and regulations, licenses and
d
documents
that
h the
h CNSC uses to regulate
l
the
h
nuclear industry
y
y
y
y
y
Decommissioningg
30+ years ?
y Energy ministry?,
ministry? CNS
CNS, Yukon Govt.,
Govt
Whitehorse city , Yukon Energy
y
Small Reactor Suppliers
Toshiba 4S reactor
10 MWe 30 years refueling
Cross sectional sketch of the
4S (super safe, small and
simple)
i l ) reactor off T
Toshiba
hib
planned for Galena. It has UZr alloy as the fuel enriched
to less than 20%. It employs
liquid sodium coolant (melting
point: 980C and boiling point:
883 0c)
y http://www.toshiba.co.jp/nucle
arenergy/english/business/4s/i
ntroduction.htm
y
y
You may not want to
dismiss nuclear
option offhand as
you make
k longterm
l
plans
y
Thank You